Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Best Reward Credit Cards
Old 07-18-2009, 10:54 PM   #1
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 223
Best Reward Credit Cards

I have the Discover More card for 5% back on various purchases at certain times of the year, a Capital One Mastercard that has 1% back on everything and 2% back on groceries, and I'm planning on applying for a Penfed card for 1.25% cash back on everything. I'm also thinking about the Discover Miles card because of a special where you can get 12,000 miles in the first 12 months of using the card.

What other cards are out there?

Does anyone know if the Associated Bank card offering 5% back is real?
inquisitive is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 07-18-2009, 11:30 PM   #2
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 4,172
AB card is 5% on market, gas, drugstores, 1% on rest.

Schwab card is 2% on everything; no foreign fees.
kaneohe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2009, 07:22 AM   #3
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 223
2% back on everything! I wouldn't have applied for the Capital One card if I knew about the Schwab. The Schwab and AB cards are next on my list. Am also going to get a TJX card for what amounts to 5% back on purchases at Marshall's, TJ Max, A.J. Wright's. Thanks for the info.
inquisitive is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2009, 12:28 PM   #4
Full time employment: Posting here.
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 920
Citicards had a big bait-and-switch with a 5% card awhile back, I don't recall the exact specifics but soon after everyone signed up they greatly reduced the reward.
tuixiu is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2009, 01:33 PM   #5
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 4,172
Quote:
Originally Posted by tiuxiu View Post
Citicards had a big bait-and-switch with a 5% card awhile back, I don't recall the exact specifics but soon after everyone signed up they greatly reduced the reward.
Not sure I'm thinking about the same one....but I wouldn't call it a bait-and-switch. Rules were there from the start.....a short (90 day??) period of 5% on everything, then 1%. Came just at the right time....sent DD a card
to put wedding expenses on, including the reception. Two can play that game.
kaneohe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2009, 01:41 PM   #6
Full time employment: Posting here.
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 920
Hah! I just noticed your name.

I went to Kaneohe Elementary School when living in Kailua as a boy.
tuixiu is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2009, 01:48 PM   #7
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 4,172
I loved to walk/fish that reef in the Bay there.
kaneohe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2009, 02:03 PM   #8
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 7,746
Quote:
Originally Posted by kaneohe View Post
Not sure I'm thinking about the same one....but I wouldn't call it a bait-and-switch. Rules were there from the start.....a short (90 day??) period of 5% on everything, then 1%.
There was one that had 5% on gas, grocery, drug stores, 1% everything else. Then after a year or so they revised it to make it much crappier. And they rejiggered the point values required to redeem for gift cards, essentially making the reward worth even less.

I just got a new 2% cashback fidelity rewards card. It is American Express, so not accepted everywhere. We also use a Chase Freedom for 3% back at gas, groceries, restaurants (actually any top 3 spending categories of 15 different categories, those are just the ones we typically qualify for). The chase freedom has a deal where you redeem $200 in cashback for a $250 check.

The Amex and the Chase Freedom both have referral programs where you go online, click through their site to tons of different retailers to get even more points back. Walmart.com, target.com, orbitz.com, Southwest Airlines Vacations come to mind with 2-3%+ extra rewards for each place typically.
FUEGO is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2009, 02:08 PM   #9
Full time employment: Posting here.
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 920
Quote:
Originally Posted by FUEGO View Post
There was one that had 5% on gas, grocery, drug stores, 1% everything else. Then after a year or so they revised it to make it much crappier. And they rejiggered the point values required to redeem for gift cards, essentially making the reward worth even less.
Yeah, that one. I remember there was a thread in here about it, outstanding deal for awhile but short lived.
tuixiu is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2009, 02:29 PM   #10
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 4,172
Quote:
Originally Posted by FUEGO View Post

I just got a new 2% cashback fidelity rewards card. It is American Express, so not accepted everywhere. We also use a Chase Freedom for 3% back at gas, groceries, restaurants (actually any top 3 spending categories of 15 different categories, those are just the ones we typically qualify for). The chase freedom has a deal where you redeem $200 in cashback for a $250 check.

The Amex and the Chase Freedom both have referral programs where you go online, click through their site to tons of different retailers to get even more points back. Walmart.com, target.com, orbitz.com, Southwest Airlines Vacations come to mind with 2-3%+ extra rewards for each place typically.
Chase Freedom may be in its' last days although there may be so many users that it's hard to shoot all of us at once
Chase Freedom Card is being downgraded
Maybe if you're a "good" user who puts everything on the card
(not just the 3%), you'll have a longer life. The word on the street is to get to $200 ASAP so you can get the $250 before that option disappears.

The Schwab card is VISA so pretty much accepted anywhere.
kaneohe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2009, 03:20 PM   #11
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 7,746
Quote:
Originally Posted by kaneohe View Post
Chase Freedom may be in its' last days although there may be so many users that it's hard to shoot all of us at once
Chase Freedom Card is being downgraded
Maybe if you're a "good" user who puts everything on the card
(not just the 3%), you'll have a longer life. The word on the street is to get to $200 ASAP so you can get the $250 before that option disappears.

The Schwab card is VISA so pretty much accepted anywhere.
I had heard about the freedom being downgraded from a thread here at the ER forum. But I still haven't received any notice of that. I do put almost everything on that card (up until last month). I should push over the $200 rewards amount this month with some upcoming airline ticket purchases.
FUEGO is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2009, 07:38 PM   #12
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Htown Harry's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 1,525
This blogger specializes in airline mileage cards, but also mentions PenFed and other cash back cards. The site has exhaustive comparisons if you are interested in travel benefits:

Free Frequent Flyer Miles Credit Card Intro

He particularly likes the Starwood Amex card because the points can either be used for nights at the Sheraton / Westin family of hotels or converted to airline miles at 25,000 miles per 20,000 points. Like most points cards, it has sign-up bonus.
Htown Harry is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-20-2009, 06:29 AM   #13
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
dixonge's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Jalisco, Mexico
Posts: 1,745
We recently received a USAA AmEx w/ the 5% on groceries/gas/etc. (limit $600/mo. for the first year I think?) then 1.5% on everything else. Cash is just credited to you annually. Beats what we had w/ our Wells Fargo debit card.
dixonge is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-20-2009, 07:20 AM   #14
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Naples
Posts: 2,179
Good article in the paper Sunday says one should use a cash back card instead of points or airline mileage cards because the new trend is for card companies to change the rules regarding awards. Get your cash back at the end of every month is the only way to go. Before you get a chance to use airline miles, they will probably have changed the rules. I have a American Express Small Business card that went from 5% to 3% cash back on gasoine and 1% on everything else. I like the sounds of the USAA AmEx card but not enough to change cards. Anyone else have a great cash back card?
JOHNNIE36 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-20-2009, 07:24 AM   #15
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
ziggy29's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: North Oregon Coast
Posts: 16,483
We use the 2% Schwab card for most of our purchases. Like dividends being real cash in investing, cash back is a bird in the hand rather than "promises" with points and miles that tend to get watered down in value over time.
__________________
"Hey, for every ten dollars, that's another hour that I have to be in the work place. That's an hour of my life. And my life is a very finite thing. I have only 'x' number of hours left before I'm dead. So how do I want to use these hours of my life? Do I want to use them just spending it on more crap and more stuff, or do I want to start getting a handle on it and using my life more intelligently?" -- Joe Dominguez (1938 - 1997)
ziggy29 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-21-2009, 03:00 PM   #16
Dryer sheet wannabe
saxquiz's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 11
I have a Chase Freedom card and it gives 1% on everything you buy but your most purchased 3 categories get 3%. The categories are pretty large too. Most of the stuff I buy gets 3%.
saxquiz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-21-2009, 03:27 PM   #17
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
clifp's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 7,733
Quote:
Originally Posted by ziggy29 View Post
We use the 2% Schwab card for most of our purchases. Like dividends being real cash in investing, cash back is a bird in the hand rather than "promises" with points and miles that tend to get watered down in value over time.
The hassle free nature of the Schwab card rebate is one of the nicest benefits. Every month 2% of your purchases get added back to your Schwab account balance.

I still have unused miles from an old United Airline card, worthless Sharper Image gift cards from my Discover card rebate, and even the Costco Amex card isn't completely hassle free. I got the Amex/Costco rebate check and had it in my wallet for several weeks by the time I got around to cashing it, the check barcode was unreadable. This meant I had to have the check reissued, the process was surprisingly painless but still not hassle free.
clifp is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-22-2009, 09:36 AM   #18
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 223
We should state whether these cards are annual fee or not.

Schwab and Discover More have no annual fee.

Starwood American Express - annual fee

Does the Chase Freedom have one?
inquisitive is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-22-2009, 09:55 AM   #19
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
ziggy29's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: North Oregon Coast
Posts: 16,483
Quote:
Originally Posted by inquisitive View Post
We should state whether these cards are annual fee or not.
Perhaps. I would assume most of us here have categorically ruled out cards with an annual fee. I know I won't pay one, and I think I'm far from alone.
__________________
"Hey, for every ten dollars, that's another hour that I have to be in the work place. That's an hour of my life. And my life is a very finite thing. I have only 'x' number of hours left before I'm dead. So how do I want to use these hours of my life? Do I want to use them just spending it on more crap and more stuff, or do I want to start getting a handle on it and using my life more intelligently?" -- Joe Dominguez (1938 - 1997)
ziggy29 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-23-2009, 09:00 AM   #20
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 223
Quote:
Originally Posted by ziggy29 View Post
Perhaps. I would assume most of us here have categorically ruled out cards with an annual fee. I know I won't pay one, and I think I'm far from alone.
Hence why we need to specify whether the card has an annual fee. I would not pay one either and have only mentioned no annual fee cards, but there are some other ones mentioned in this thread.
inquisitive is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Do credit unions cancel credit cards because of inactivity? FANOFJESUS FIRE and Money 11 12-22-2008 04:21 PM
Keep your house or the credit cards? saluki9 FIRE and Money 20 12-09-2007 06:59 PM
Secured credit cards? summer2007 FIRE and Money 3 10-16-2007 09:07 AM
Anyone know a credit card that gives reward points for using their checks? Olav23 FIRE and Money 5 01-08-2007 02:37 PM
Another way to profit from credit cards SLC Tortfeasor Young Dreamers 98 09-27-2006 03:59 PM

» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 06:17 AM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.