Cash Back Credit Cards?

[Sojourner]

Premier Rewards - $95 annual fee, but $100 reimbursement on baggage fees. 3.5% on dining and wholesale clubs with no maximum, 2.625% on everything else.

Are there any no-fee (or low fee, or fee waived for the first year) cards that reimburse baggage fees—say up to $100—for any airline? I'm flying United next month (part of a group reservation, I didn't book the tickets myself) and so far haven't found a way to avoid or get reimbursed for the baggage fees. Cards like the United MileagePlus Explorer won't work in this case, since they only give free baggage if you booked your airline tickets with that card, which I didn't.

 

[Drake3287]

I am credit card hoarder and have near $400K in total credit limit on 30+ accounts. I have scanned this thread and thought there may be some credit cards that members here are not considering.

Just curious, like many here I have an extremely high credit score and at the same time I try not to have to many credit cards simply so it doesn't effect my score because of the high credit limits. Have you found this to be an issue?

Although I certainly have a handful of cards I thought having to many came with negative side effect.

 

[Done]

Any BofA Cash Rewards card user see the new options for changing the categories eligible for the higher cash-back percentages? I heard it is being rolled out today but I haven't seen anything in their online banking yet. Or it's there and I can't find it, so I am the usual outsider looking in. I'll give it another few days in case it's being rolled out on a staggered basis.

In online banking under Accounts, select the card account and then the Rewards tab. The default bonus category is gas but you can choose another. This category pays 3% cash back times your Preferred Rewards multiplier (up to x1.75 = 5.25% for Platinum Honors).

Cash back redemption has also been improved:
You can now redeem your cash rewards for any amount, anytime for statement credits, deposits made directly into a Bank of America checking or savings account, and for credit to an eligible account with Merrill Lynch or Merrill Edge.

 

[tapahelp]

Just curious, like many here I have an extremely high credit score and at the same time I try not to have to many credit cards simply so it doesn't effect my score because of the high credit limits. Have you found this to be an issue?



Although I certainly have a handful of cards I thought having to many came with negative side effect.

If you open credit cards/accounts without a plan, it will lower your score for a long time though not for the reason many seem to think - inquiries. It’s because your average account age lowers considerably.

A FICO score above 760 will not benefit you that much. There are no real side effects if you open a lot of accounts but carefully.
Only negative side effect of having too many accounts is the time it takes to maintain them.

 

[steelyman]

Only negative side effect of having too many accounts is the time it takes to maintain them.

If you're in the habit of carrying cards in your wallet in a back pocket, excessive cards expose you to the dreaded "fat butt" fashion risk.

 

[Dtail]

Are there any no-fee (or low fee, or fee waived for the first year) cards that reimburse baggage fees—say up to $100—for any airline? I'm flying United next month (part of a group reservation, I didn't book the tickets myself) and so far haven't found a way to avoid or get reimbursed for the baggage fees. Cards like the United MileagePlus Explorer won't work in this case, since they only give free baggage if you booked your airline tickets with that card, which I didn't.

I am only aware of the BOA Premium rewards account. So even though they charge you a $95 annual fee, if one has $100 of baggage fees anyway each year, the annual fee is effectively free.

nerdwallet.com has comprehensive reviews of the best credit cards.

 

[scrabbler1]

In online banking under Accounts, select the card account and then the Rewards tab. The default bonus category is gas but you can choose another. This category pays 3% cash back times your Preferred Rewards multiplier (up to x1.75 = 5.25% for Platinum Honors).

When I click on the Rewards tab, I see nothing about default bonus categories. The only thing I can click on is a "learn more about your rewards program" link. That opens up a new window which tells me, "Soon, you'll be able to choose the category where you want to earn 3% cash back." and lists a bunch of categories such as dining, online shopping, gas, travel, etc. So, I don't have it yet. Oh well.

 

[Dtail]

When I click on the Rewards tab, I see nothing about default bonus categories. The only thing I can click on is a "learn more about your rewards program" link. That opens up a new window which tells me, "Soon, you'll be able to choose the category where you want to earn 3% cash back." and lists a bunch of categories such as dining, online shopping, gas, travel, etc. So, I don't have it yet. Oh well.

I just got it today. It is being rolled out supposedly all this week through Sunday.
I believe the Preferred status customers go first and so on.

 

[tapahelp]

If you're in the habit of carrying cards in your wallet in a back pocket, excessive cards expose you to the dreaded "fat butt" fashion risk.

Have you heard about slim wallets?

 

[audreyh1]

I just got it today. It is being rolled out supposedly all this week through Sunday.
I believe the Preferred status customers go first and so on.

I logged in and they had a banner right away. I set mine to online shopping which included a pretty decent "example" list of Merchants including amazon.com, apple.com, target.com, walmart.com, bestbuy.com. I'd like to see a more comprehensive list and know if paypal.com and bhphotovideo are included.

Qualifying merchant categories*
The Online Shopping category includes online and mobile app purchases in a wide variety of merchant categories* including, but not limited to:

Bookstores | Clothing and Apparel | Department Stores | Discount Stores | Electronics | Specialty Retail Stores | Sporting Goods
Merchant examples**
amazon.com
dickssportinggoods.com
macys.com
nordstrom.com
apple.com (includes iTunes & Store)
etsy.com
microsoftxboxlive.com
target.com
groupon.com
qvc.com
ticketmaster.com
bestbuy.com
kohls.com
nike.com
walmart.com
wish.com
Some classes of merchants are excluded from the Online Shopping category such as doctors and hospitals, government services and taxes, insurance, membership organizations, schools, utilities and other non-retail services.

**Entities listed here are examples of the type of companies/merchants that frequently appear as transactions at Bank of America within this category; this is not a comprehensive list. Listing an entity does not imply affiliation or endorsement.

If paypal is not included I'll probably go to some of these online merchants directly.

 

[gcgang]

https://www.rewardstock.com

I saw Rewardstock (above link) pitched on SharkTank the other day. While not just credit cards, I think the idea is to be able to evaluate all your rewards programs, hotels, airlines, etc, and figure out best way to use them.

Anyone familiar with this?

 

[Sojourner]

I am only aware of the BOA Premium rewards account. So even though they charge you a $95 annual fee, if one has $100 of baggage fees anyway each year, the annual fee is effectively free.

nerdwallet.com has comprehensive reviews of the best credit cards.

Thanks for reminding me about nerdwallet.com. I found a good no-fee card that will reimburse me for my baggage fees (or any travel expense, apparently). The BoA Travel Rewards card has a 25,000 point sign-up bonus, which is worth $250 in statement credits towards travel purchases. No annual fee, and you only have to spend $1,000 in the first 90 days to get the bonus. Exactly what I'm looking for.

 

[kgtest]

https://www.rewardstock.com

I saw (above link) pitched on SharkTank the other day. While not just credit cards, I think the idea is to be able to evaluate all your rewards programs, hotels, airlines, etc, and figure out best way to use them.

Anyone familiar with this?

I feel like that business model would just push the provider into peddling warez for the highest paid advertisers. Eventually the tech debt would overpower the perceived value to the consumer causing demise.

 

[Dtail]

Thanks for reminding me about nerdwallet.com. I found a good no-fee card that will reimburse me for my baggage fees (or any travel expense, apparently). The BoA Travel Rewards card has a 25,000 point sign-up bonus, which is worth $250 in statement credits towards travel purchases. No annual fee, and you only have to spend $1,000 in the first 90 days to get the bonus. Exactly what I'm looking for.

Excellent.
One last point.
If you wish to use the Travel card for other expenses than travel, you can get around the statement credit application of rewards by transferring the points to another BOA credit card and then get the full cash back.

 

[audreyh1]

Thanks for reminding me about nerdwallet.com. I found a good no-fee card that will reimburse me for my baggage fees (or any travel expense, apparently). The BoA Travel Rewards card has a 25,000 point sign-up bonus, which is worth $250 in statement credits towards travel purchases. No annual fee, and you only have to spend $1,000 in the first 90 days to get the bonus. Exactly what I'm looking for.

This has been a great travel card, although I started using the Costco VISA last year for dining and hotels overseas since they dropped foreign transaction fees and give 3% rewards in those categories.

 

[audreyh1]

Excellent.
One last point.
If you wish to use the Travel card for other expenses than travel, you can get around the statement credit application of rewards by transferring the points to another BOA credit card and then get the full cash back.

It’s easy to get the credits as long as you purchase at least some dining and travel/hotel on the card.

 

[jimbee]

If you're in the habit of carrying cards in your wallet in a back pocket, excessive cards expose you to the dreaded "fat butt" fashion risk.

 

[Timeisprecious]

I'm curious who uses these cash back credit cards and how they work for you. Any down sides the reviews and promotional information fail to mention?

My cash back card is great - about $35 a month back to me with no downside whatsoever. I just kinda wish I could get a bigger percentage payback (1%; 2% for restaurants and gas). I've had this card/account for 25+ years so cancelling and swapping would hurt my credit, but I'm also not sure I really want another card just for a slightly larger payback benefit. After retirement I'm sure I'll get a card that accumulates TRAVEL POINTS (gotta love it!)!

 

[Drake3287]

My cash back card is great - about $35 a month back to me with no downside whatsoever. I just kinda wish I could get a bigger percentage payback (1%; 2% for restaurants and gas). I've had this card/account for 25+ years so cancelling and swapping would hurt my credit, but I'm also not sure I really want another card just for a slightly larger payback benefit. After retirement I'm sure I'll get a card that accumulates TRAVEL POINTS (gotta love it!)!

Not sure which card you have but it sounds like you could do much better and unless you already have financial/credit issues, don't worry about having another card hurt your credit score. And unless you fly a lot, cash back cards are usually a much better deal then airline or hotel cards.

 

[Sunset]

My cash back card is great - about $35 a month back to me with no downside whatsoever. I just kinda wish I could get a bigger percentage payback (1%; 2% for restaurants and gas). I've had this card/account for 25+ years so cancelling and swapping would hurt my credit, but I'm also not sure I really want another card just for a slightly larger payback benefit. After retirement I'm sure I'll get a card that accumulates TRAVEL POINTS (gotta love it!)!

Don't want you to feel ganged up on or anything, but if you can handle a credit card, then I think you should have at least 2.
One could get stolen, and only having 1 means you go a week without one, and should that happen immediately before a trip, you are in an awkward place as travelers checks are passe.

Besides, you could leave any auto pay things on the card you have, and just use the new one for all other spending.

As someone else mentioned you are missing out on a lot and could easily get 2% on everything or more.
For example Chase freedom card gives 5% on different categories each 1/4 (ex gas & tolls & wholesale clubs this month), so I use that card for those things , and another card for other stuff.

 

[Sunset]

Someone asked about my credit score, as I have about 8 cards, most are fee free, long term that I use a bit, and each year I get a new card or two. Use them and usually cancel them before the year is up.
I thought it was 800 - 780 depending upon timing.

Turns out it's 820, from one of the big 3 credit companies (rather than some made up number).
They also have a neat simulator which showed adding a new credit card didn't even move my credit score.
This makes sense, since I have 8 old cards, if you think each averages 10 years, adding a new one would be 80 yrs / 9 cards for age vs current 80 yrs / 8 cards, not much difference.

 

[audreyh1]

I also have a credit score 820+ and numerous credit cards. It might have been pushed down to 790+ the year I added 3 cards because the deals were so good as that caused several hard credit pulls, but the score has rebounded since.

 

[sengsational]

This thread reads a lot like Clark Howard's Best Credit Cards guide:

https://clark.com/credit-cards/best-rewards-credit-cards/


I decided to replace the DiscoverIT 1% card with the Fidelity 2% card. I rarely catch any of the 5% stuff on the DiscoverIT...too disorganized to recall what's 5% and often it's not stuff I buy. The Fidelity card will be a simplification.


First I called the (separate) customer service of the Fidelity card and found out I needed to thaw all 3 credit bureaus . They're probably only going to check one, but they make you thaw all three. So I came up with this bit of Credit Thaw Documentation for myself and the rest of the world.


And... it worked! The online application for the Fidelity card went through. NOW what I'm I going to do the rest of the day?


I might research the cards with monster sign-up bonuses if you spend big bucks in the first 3 months... I have some trips on the calendar I haven't paid for yet.

 

[scrabbler1]

The expanded BofA Rewards options appeared for me today. I don't charge a lot of stuff on my CC, but being able to change the 3% choice from month to month will be somewhat helpful.

 

[Dtail]

On a related note, let's say one has 2400 of charges towards the quarterly limit, but then charges 5k for a travel expense (travel being the 3% choice), does one get the full credit?
I believe it is yes.