Credit Cards with good perks??

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by albireo13 Hmmm ... I just got a cash rewards CC offer in the mail from BoA. It looke good at first ... 3% cash back on car fuel 2% cash back on groceries 1% back on everything else The APR was 14%. The one hook was that if there was one late payment, the APR doubled to ~28% indefinitely! You have to be very disciplined about paying off the balance each pay period. There were also late payment fees in there as well. Read the fine prints!

My BofA credit cards are ebilled to my BofA checking account and automatically paid one day ahead. I also get a 10% bonus on the cash rewards from having a BofA checking account.

[Chuckanut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by albireo13 The APR was 14%. The one hook was that if there was one late payment, the APR doubled to ~28% indefinitely!

FWIW, I once got nicked with a late payment fee that was easilyh 4x more than the interest.

I ended up setting up my bill-pay at the bank to automatically make the usual minimum payment amount every month. I might still pay interest, but not that darn late fee. Mostly though, I just make sure I don't miss a payment and always pay it off the month I get it.

Often, if I make a big purchase on a CC I tell bill-pay to make a one time payment of that amount immediately, thus sucking the money out of my checking account as though I had paid cash.

[CaptTom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckanut FWIW, I once got nicked with a late payment fee that was easilyh 4x more than the interest. I ended up setting up my bill-pay at the bank to automatically make the usual minimum payment amount every month. I might still pay interest, but not that darn late fee.

I hear you on the late fee. Never want one of those!

But most CC companies will let you "pull" your payment automatically. In other words, you set it up with the CC company, not the bank. If for whatever reason they fail to pay themselves on time, not your problem!

IMHO, there are two good reasons not to auto-pay. If there's any risk of overdrawing the account, or if you have inconsistent cash flow and need to defer some bills from time to time. You could also argue that paying every bill as late as possible means more interest income. Big companies that move large amounts of cash will do this, but it's probably not worth the effort for most individuals.

[Amethyst]

Over the years, I've had late fees twice, each time due to some stressful situation at home that caused me to forget to pay until a couple days late. Both times, I pleaded "good customer, please give a break" with a rep on the phone and got the late fee removed. Two different cards...I doubt it would work twice with the same card.

[Livefree]

Quote:

Originally Posted by albireo13 Just applied for the Amazon 5% signature card. If you use the Citi 2% card for monthly bill paying (utilities, cell, internet, etc) do you get cash back for that? I guess they aren't really purchases. Given that, how about using it to pay your monthly mortgage payment?

Yes everything that's charged gets the rebate. Not sure about Mortgage payments. (I would check with your bank on this)

I used to pay my sons tuition with the card, but the school started charging a fee, making it not worthwhile. I also pay my Insurance polices with the card.

[calmloki]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 I have those two cards. Maybe it’s worth moving $100K over.

Looked at that yesterday and don't find the (BofA card point bump offer) anymore. Which could be lack of skill, but was hoping our Merrill cards would work.

[tulak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Livefree I used to pay my sons tuition with the card, but the school started charging a fee, making it not worthwhile. I also pay my Insurance polices with the card.

I use credit cards to pay for insurance. I always pay the entire year at once and I find this is a good way to fulfill bonus requirements for new credit card offers. Otherwise it takes awhile to spend the $2-3k required.

[Sunset]

Quote:

Originally Posted by calmloki Looked at that yesterday and don't find the (BofA card point bump offer) anymore. Which could be lack of skill, but was hoping our Merrill cards would work.

Were you looking for this:
https://www.bankofamerica.com/prefer...wards/details/

[calmloki]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunset Were you looking for this: https://www.bankofamerica.com/prefer...wards/details/

Think that is the one, thanks. Unfortunately it doesn't work with our Merrill+ cards and is limited in reward categories so even with a .75% reward bump it doesn't beat the dead easy 2% on anything Fidelity cards.

[43210]

1.75 * 1.5% = 2.625% > 2%
Also
1.75 * 2% = 3.5%
1.75 * 3% = 5.25%

[RetiredGypsy]

I just received this reply from a Discover rep when asked about their protection offers:

Quote:

...yes Auto Rental Insurance, Extended Product Warranty, Flight Accident Insurance, Purchase Protection, Return Guarantee will be discontinued . This will be Effective February 28, 2018 due to low customer usage. Does this information help?

Bold added by me for emphasis.
I can't recommend Discover anymore. That's too much to give up, and one of the best reasons to use a credit card.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by calmloki Looked at that yesterday and don't find the (BofA card point bump offer) anymore. Which could be lack of skill, but was hoping our Merrill cards would work.

Thinking about it more I don’t think I’ll bother. I’m getting 2% to 6% in the US already depending on the category and it would difficult to figure out which assets to transfer.

[kaneohe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ExFlyBoy5 Pretty much any issuer except: USAA, PenFed, NavyFCU and other credit union affiliated banks. I don't know of any large commercial issuers that "require" what you speak of. I have had Bank of America and Chase cards that didn't require me to have a separate account.

The Fidelity 2% VISA requires you to have a Fidelity account to get the 2%.
You don't have to have a Fidelity acct to get the VISA, but in that case, you only get 1%.

I got the Fidelity acct yrs ago because I had to...... to get a sign up bonus of some sort. After that bonus was received, the account balance was $2 for many yrs (too lazy to close acct). Came in handy belatedly when this card and 2% rewards came around....w/ a small sign up bonus too.
I