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Old 09-10-2013, 09:01 PM   #41
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And then there are those of us who could care less about airline miles...
Chase sapphire and a few others offer hotel stays and the like. Maybe you will want to get out of the RV some night when on the road.

Also I used sapphire points for a car rental. And have used airline miles for friends and family to fly to see us.
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Old 09-11-2013, 04:41 AM   #42
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That Sallie Mae card looks like it could be a good complement to the PENFED card, although after the 5% rewards up to a max of $250 for gas and $250 for groceries it's only 1%; but at least you get a true 1% rewards.

However, a better complement to PENFED might be the Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card which offers a flat 1.5% on all purchases, which is better than PENFED's diluted 1%.

Looks like we will have to use multiple cards to maximize rewards overall. For example, we use PENFED for gas and groceries, and then Quicksilver for all other purchases, as we put everything we can on a CC to include cable, electric, insurance, etc., just to get the points which can really add up.
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Old 09-11-2013, 04:56 AM   #43
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Plenty of better cards out there these days. 5% gas rebates? Sallie Mae Card does that, as well as at grocery stores. No fee, no rqmt to have another account. Plenty of Citibank cards do the same thing. I like PenFed, but their credit card has never been the best one.
I believe Sallie Mae only offers the 5% cash back on gas for the first $250.00 of gas charged in a billing cycle.

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Old 09-11-2013, 04:59 AM   #44
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I believe Sallie Mae only offers the 5% cash back on gas for the first $250.00 of gas charged in a billing cycle.

Mike
Yes it does, and I revised my post to be more clear.
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Old 09-11-2013, 05:07 AM   #45
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Yes it does, and I revised my post to be more clear.

My monthly gasoline bill is anywhere between $500 and $700. The 5% cash back works well for me. Even with paying Pen Fed the $25 annual fee (which I hate!), and only receiving the 3% cash back, I still make out in the long run! Still always searching for a better card.

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Old 09-11-2013, 05:09 AM   #46
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My monthly gasoline bill is anywhere between $500 and $700. The 5% cash back works well for me. Even with paying Pen Fed the $25 annual fee (which I hate!), and only receiving the 3% cash back, I still make out in the long run! Still always searching for a better card.

Mike
Oh yeah, with that kind of fuel usage, PENFED is great
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Old 09-11-2013, 08:50 AM   #47
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Our fuel costs are going to drop precipitously from now til May, when we drive back cross country with the bus, so I'll probably stick to my spends on our new SPG rewards card and the trusty Sapphire. But come April, I'll be nosing around for a better deal on the fuel. That old bus gets about 9 to the gallon so the trip from Alaska to SC will be significant!
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Old 09-11-2013, 09:40 AM   #48
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Me, I've simply been amazed to get cash-back points, sign-up rewards, etc. So it wouldn't surprise me to see the banks cutting back what they spend on these kinds of rewards. Banks are about profits.

Amethyst
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Old 09-11-2013, 09:46 AM   #49
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And then there are those of us who could care less about airline miles...
REWahoo

Agree, but there are ways.... Here's an Amex, or check my current favorite, the Barclays Arrival - $400 statement credit for a $1000 spend. Barclays $400 credit can be used for travel expenses on the card, which include hotels, taxis (people use those?), air, train (we're scheming on a train trip).

The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN

https://rewards.americanexpress.com/...pe=notloggedin
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Old 09-11-2013, 09:49 AM   #50
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Chase sapphire and a few others offer hotel stays and the like. Maybe you will want to get out of the RV some night when on the road.

Also I used sapphire points for a car rental. And have used airline miles for friends and family to fly to see us.
Chase points I've turned into cash. Chase sends a check rewarding to the penny on their points - if not directly from the Sapphire, then just by transferring the points to a Chase Freedom card.
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Old 09-11-2013, 10:00 AM   #51
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REWahoo

Agree, but there are ways.... Here's an Amex, or check my current favorite, the Barclays Arrival - $400 statement credit for a $1000 spend. Barclays $400 credit can be used for travel expenses on the card, which include hotels, taxis (people use those?), air, train (we're scheming on a train trip).

The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN

https://rewards.americanexpress.com/...pe=notloggedin
Thanks, but depositing $1k in a Penfed CD is the route I'm taking to keep the 5% fuel discount - at least for now.
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Old 09-11-2013, 12:15 PM   #52
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I came to the conclusion it was much easier to start a 1K money market cd and not cancel the card just yet. The thought of opening just one more credit card was mildly depressing.
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Old 09-11-2013, 12:47 PM   #53
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I came to the conclusion it was much easier to start a 1K money market cd and not cancel the card just yet. The thought of opening just one more credit card was mildly depressing.
+1
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Old 09-11-2013, 03:35 PM   #54
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When offered $400 back on a $1000 worth of expenditures at a cost of maybe 1/2 hour total of online form filling and a phone call to cancel - I can suffer through the depression. It's not so much the money, but the joy of getting $$ back from the card companies without giving them any more than I was going to spend anyway that gives a happy tingle.
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Old 09-20-2013, 09:54 AM   #55
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Update: Penfed has expanded the list of qualifying products which allow members to retain the 5% cash rebate/no annual fee on the Visa Platinum Cash Rewards credit card:

Quote:
Dear XXXX XXXX,

You recently received a change in terms notification from PenFed informing you about an annual fee, which would be assessed to you as well as a change to your rewards earning structure.

After further evaluation of the qualifying criteria, we have decided to expand the qualifying products to include:
• Thrifty Credit Service
• Personal Line of Credit
• Education Line of Credit
• Money Market Savings Accounts

As a result, your card features are as follows:

Gas Purchases at the Pump 5% cash back
All other purchases 0% cash back
Annual Fee None
Foreign Transaction Fee None

Thank you for your membership and we apologize for any inconvenience.
The minimum to open a Money Market Savings Account is $25. I was planning on putting $1k in a CD but now I can keep the card benefit with only a $25 deposit.
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Old 09-20-2013, 10:24 AM   #56
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Follow-up: I opened a Money Market Savings Account online using a credit card to fund the $25. The process took less than 5 minutes, and two of that was waiting for a text message confirm my ID.
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Old 09-20-2013, 10:37 AM   #57
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My purchase profile is more general shopping -- and my latest Credit Card is the Fidelity American Express Card.
If you have a Fidelity Account (mutual funds/stocks/whatever) it deposits 2% cash back on all purchases into your Fido account automatically.


I hope they don't change it!
https://www.fidelity.com/cash-manage...-express-cards
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Old 09-20-2013, 04:12 PM   #58
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My purchase profile is more general shopping -- and my latest Credit Card is the Fidelity American Express Card.
If you have a Fidelity Account (mutual funds/stocks/whatever) it deposits 2% cash back on all purchases into your Fido account automatically.


I hope they don't change it!
https://www.fidelity.com/cash-manage...-express-cards
Me too - real simple, real money. Of course there is that $15,000 spend at 1.5% before it picks up to 2% - those rental insurance premiums are pretty handy for that...
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Old 09-20-2013, 04:45 PM   #59
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My purchase profile is more general shopping -- and my latest Credit Card is the Fidelity American Express Card.
If you have a Fidelity Account (mutual funds/stocks/whatever) it deposits 2% cash back on all purchases into your Fido account automatically.

I hope they don't change it!
https://www.fidelity.com/cash-manage...-express-cards
We use that same card(different account numbers), had been very happy. It's the only card I ever felt I actually received value from my 'points'.

Now 2 weeks they messed up big(Fia Cardholder Services), started randomly denying charges. When I called their fraud detection was all over recent charges. After review, they were all mine, from places I routinely charged with this card at, grocery store, local gas station.

Fia insisted on canceling the card, saying they would overnight a replacement card. Never received the first 3 replacment cards, got the 4th( now USPS, cause they can't figure out how to overnight) only it's one previously canceled. Still waiting, they did give a $50 credit, without me asking.

Bottom line love the card and the people I dealt with, except Fraud Detection. The FD department screwed up, called normal purchases fraud. I'll never rely on this card again.

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Old 09-21-2013, 07:23 AM   #60
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I caved and opened a money market certificate with them today for $1K. Same interest I get where it is sitting now, so I guess it doesn't matter. I looked around yesterday and couldn't find anything else that would give me the 5% on gas year-round (which adds up quite a bit for us when traveling) - not to mention I just switched my PenFed card to one with a "chip" (for international travel).....
I recently requested a penfed CHIP card, and selected a PIN but now that it has arrived it looks exactly the same as the old card. My UK CHIP & PIN card has a "visible" chip on the card.

Does your new card look any different as I can't see any difference and no way to check it before we go abroad as far as I know.
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