Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 01-04-2018, 11:47 AM   #21
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 17,203
Quote:
Originally Posted by REWahoo View Post
To get the best deals you need multiple cards. Here are my recommendations:

http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...ml#post1989897

I looked at your list.... but the USAA is not available to everybody...


I would like to know what people have that IS available without having an account somewhere or some other requirement like auto deposit in said account...
Texas Proud 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 01-04-2018, 11:52 AM   #22
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
ExFlyBoy5's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: ATL --> Flyover Country
Posts: 6,649
Quote:
Originally Posted by Texas Proud View Post

I would like to know what people have that IS available without having an account somewhere or some other requirement like auto deposit in said account...
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.
__________________
FIRE'd in 2014 @ 40 Years Old
Professional Retiree
ExFlyBoy5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2018, 11:54 AM   #23
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 236
I always find this web-site to be invaluable for keeping up with the best credit card deals:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/credit-cards/
NameRedacted is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2018, 02:27 PM   #24
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: The Great Wide Open
Posts: 3,789
We use Southwest Rapid Rewards by Chase, all points go to Companion Pass. This will be 2nd year DW will fly for free, as long as I am with her. I can change my companion 3 times, I believe, in calendar year.
After we qualify there, we use the Delta Am Ex card to bump the points/miles there.
Winemaker is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2018, 02:48 PM   #25
Moderator
Walt34's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Eastern WV Panhandle
Posts: 25,299
Like the OP, for decades I was highly adverse to credit cards. I had one from Sears that I got in 1972 simply to establish some credit and I figured they'd give it to me because at the time I worked for Sears (later it morphed into a M/C). So every few months I'd buy a shirt or something and then pay it off when the bill came in. Later on I got a Visa card via the credit union but that was it for decades.

In the last two years I acted on mailed offers for a Chase Sapphire Preferred for the 1% cash back and it doubles the warranty on stuff that has one. So I used that card when I bought the snow thrower last month. The other new card is a Capital One M/C that offered a $150 cash back if I spent $500 with it in three months (I bought groceries with it so that was easy) and offers 1.5% cash back on purchases.

And lately off and on the Sears M/C has been offering a 10% statement credit for purchases of groceries, gasoline, and restaurant meals so while that was in effect I used it for those items. This month it's online purchases so anything I buy online will go on that card.

Naturally, we pay all these cards off every month and we don't buy anything we weren't going to be buying anyway, but it's sort of like finding a $20 bill in the parking lot every month.
__________________
When I was a kid I wanted to be older. This is not what I expected.
Walt34 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2018, 02:50 PM   #26
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 317
I use Citi Master Card
2% on everything No annual fee
I have my electric, cable, cell phone etc. automatically debited from it
Livefree is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2018, 03:24 PM   #27
Full time employment: Posting here.
 
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 873
We mostly use our Fidelity Visa card and get back 2% on every purchase. With our expensive Obama health care insurance we actually save over $300 per year using our Fidelity Visa card.

Use American Express for all other stuff. Get miles and free companion ticket every year with this one.
kimcdougc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2018, 11:51 PM   #28
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 64
Are you a Bank of America customer? BofA has a terrific suite of no-fee credit cards. If you have $100,000 in Merrill Edge account, you can supercharge the amount you get in cash back on the credit cards. I have over $100,000 with Merrill Edge in Vanguard ETFs. That gets me 75 per cent bonus on all cash back. For example, I get back 5.25 per cent on all gas purchases, 3.5 per cent on all groceries (including any purchases at Walmart!) and 2.625 per cent on everything else. I get this through the Cash Rewards and Travel Rewards cards. So with two cards, I get back at least 2.625 per cent on everything. And the Travel Rewards card has no foreign transaction fee, so it's great for travel. I have other credit cards as well, but these two are a great two card solution if you can park money in a Merrill Edge account.
Marketwatcher is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-05-2018, 02:52 AM   #29
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
bmcgonig's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,577
Some general advice. Always carry at lest two credit cards if you're traveling. Sometimes one will be rejected for potential fraud reasons. Sometimes that's easy to remedy (they send you an email/text immediately if they reject and ask you to confirm or not). But other times it's not.

Also, if you rent cars abroad, make sure the card offers primary insurance coverage. Most of the time the insurance coverage is a multiple of the actual rental cost. I've been living in Europe for the last year and have been driving a rental car for all that time. The cost of the car is usually less than €10/day, sometimes €5 (compact car). The insurance would be >€20. And then there would still be a deductible of €1500 whereas the CC coverage has no deductible.
bmcgonig is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-05-2018, 09:26 AM   #30
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 2,643
Quote:
Originally Posted by Livefree View Post
I use Citi Master Card 2% on everything No annual fee. I have my electric, cable, cell phone etc. automatically debited from it
This is a very good way to get cash back on all your bills, and not worry about late fees or writing checks.

One caution: if some business where you used your card gets hacked, they'll re-issue your card with a new number. If it's the card you use for automatic payments, this can be a nightmare. Trust me, happened to me twice!

I finally smartened up and now use one card ONLY for automatic payments, and a different card for routine purchases. This way if one of those random businesses I use my card at is hacked, my automatic payments continue.
CaptTom is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-05-2018, 09:34 AM   #31
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 2,643
Quote:
Originally Posted by bmcgonig View Post
Some general advice. Always carry at lest two credit cards if you're traveling. Sometimes one will be rejected for potential fraud reasons. Sometimes that's easy to remedy (they send you an email/text immediately if they reject and ask you to confirm or not). But other times it's not.
And don't think that notifying them of your travels ahead of time will make any difference. This happened to me, with a long line of customers behind me, none of whom (or the cashier) spoke my language. Not fun.

Cell phones don't work inside many larger stores, so the text may not get to you until it's too late.

When I finally did get to speak with someone, they explained that the "possible fraud" decisions were made by a computer, which apparently isn't tied into the note they put on my account about being out of town travelling. Even listing the exact destinations and dates was no help.
CaptTom is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-05-2018, 09:44 AM   #32
Dryer sheet aficionado
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Florida
Posts: 36
I like cash back.

I also like to keep it simple.

5% Amazon cash back card used exclusively for Amazon purchases.
Citi double cash back (2% cash back on everything) for all other CC purchases

The Citi card is great. The app for it is super user friendly and easy. I pay it off monthly through the app and I can direct deposit my cash back money whenever I want via the app as well.
RAchip is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-08-2018, 03:34 AM   #33
Full time employment: Posting here.
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 816
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?
__________________
“Earth is the insane asylum of the universe.”
― Albert Einstein
albireo13 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-08-2018, 05:04 AM   #34
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Amethyst's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 12,597
I use it for electric bill (in months where the CC rebate exceeds the $2.00 fee, which is virtually all year for us). Also for Verizon bill. Don't have a mortgage but if the bank allows CC's and doesn't charge exorbitant fees for using them, why not?

Quote:
Originally Posted by albireo13 View Post
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?
__________________
If you understood everything I say, you'd be me ~ Miles Davis
'There is only one success – to be able to spend your life in your own way.’ Christopher Morley.
Even a blind clock finds an acorn twice a day.
Amethyst is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-08-2018, 11:25 AM   #35
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Sunset's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Spending the Kids Inheritance and living in Chicago
Posts: 17,008
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marketwatcher View Post
Are you a Bank of America customer? BofA has a terrific suite of no-fee credit cards. If you have $100,000 in Merrill Edge account, you can supercharge the amount you get in cash back on the credit cards. I have over $100,000 with Merrill Edge in Vanguard ETFs. That gets me 75 per cent bonus on all cash back. For example, I get back 5.25 per cent on all gas purchases, 3.5 per cent on all groceries (including any purchases at Walmart!) and 2.625 per cent on everything else. I get this through the Cash Rewards and Travel Rewards cards. So with two cards, I get back at least 2.625 per cent on everything. And the Travel Rewards card has no foreign transaction fee, so it's great for travel. I have other credit cards as well, but these two are a great two card solution if you can park money in a Merrill Edge account.
+++1
Annoyingly it does take a 3 month waiting period to get preferred status.
Merrill gives you 30 free trades per month if you have 200K with them, which makes it nicer. (and a $600 bonus for funding your new merrill account or moving stocks to it, to fund it).
Sunset is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-10-2018, 06:36 PM   #36
Dryer sheet aficionado
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Castle Rock
Posts: 31
Venture Capital. 2% on everything. When redeeming, points can be used for any airline, hotel, car rental or airbnb.
If you redeem for cash you only get 1%. $99 annual fee after the first year. We haven't paid a penny on any of our trips for 3 years now. Well worth the annual fee. They also had a 40k bonus when we signed up.
We spend a quite a bit on business so I honestly don't see us ever paying for a trip again. Points are for life too.
As a bonus their spokeswoman Jennifer Garner is quite hot too.
ghsebldr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-10-2018, 10:15 PM   #37
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
audreyh1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Rio Grande Valley
Posts: 38,006
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marketwatcher View Post
Are you a Bank of America customer? BofA has a terrific suite of no-fee credit cards. If you have $100,000 in Merrill Edge account, you can supercharge the amount you get in cash back on the credit cards. I have over $100,000 with Merrill Edge in Vanguard ETFs. That gets me 75 per cent bonus on all cash back. For example, I get back 5.25 per cent on all gas purchases, 3.5 per cent on all groceries (including any purchases at Walmart!) and 2.625 per cent on everything else. I get this through the Cash Rewards and Travel Rewards cards. So with two cards, I get back at least 2.625 per cent on everything. And the Travel Rewards card has no foreign transaction fee, so it's great for travel. I have other credit cards as well, but these two are a great two card solution if you can park money in a Merrill Edge account.
I have those two cards. Maybe it’s worth moving $100K over.
__________________
Retired since summer 1999.
audreyh1 is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 01-10-2018, 10:29 PM   #38
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 4,661
Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptTom View Post
This is a very good way to get cash back on all your bills, and not worry about late fees or writing checks.



One caution: if some business where you used your card gets hacked, they'll re-issue your card with a new number. If it's the card you use for automatic payments, this can be a nightmare. Trust me, happened to me twice!



I finally smartened up and now use one card ONLY for automatic payments, and a different card for routine purchases. This way if one of those random businesses I use my card at is hacked, my automatic payments continue.


GREAT idea to use one card for auto payments only. I hadn’t thought of that. Thanks!
Scuba is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-11-2018, 05:38 AM   #39
Full time employment: Posting here.
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 816
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!
__________________
“Earth is the insane asylum of the universe.”
― Albert Einstein
albireo13 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-11-2018, 07:11 AM   #40
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
audreyh1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Rio Grande Valley
Posts: 38,006
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scuba View Post
GREAT idea to use one card for auto payments only. I hadn’t thought of that. Thanks!
That’s what I set up after a couple of compromises. I use a couple of older legacy cards that I don’t carry anymore.
__________________
Retired since summer 1999.
audreyh1 is online now   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
Credit Card for Bonuses and Perks ferco Life after FIRE 35 06-25-2023 06:58 AM
Perks for Sharing Activity, Health Info mickeyd FIRE and Money 1 04-16-2015 06:19 PM
Doing without the perks... 13 days to go walkinwood FIRE and Money 27 04-19-2008 04:02 PM
Credit Cards and Credit Matuski Other topics 21 08-14-2006 12:40 PM
Ever wonder about giving up perks saluki9 Young Dreamers 20 02-28-2005 05:05 AM

» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:16 AM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.