Best credit card deals

[cbo111]

So, while my credit is unlocked for a week while I open a Verizon account (yes, you have to unfreeze equifax, experian, and transunion just to open a wireless account!)
Anybody got recommendations for cash-back credit card offers? We like to use cards for all purchases and pay in full each month.
Thanks for your inputs, chuck


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[braumeister]

It depends so much on what you value.

Generally speaking, my Fidelity Visa gives me 2% cash back on everything.

My PenFed Visa gives me 5% cash back on gas at the pump.

Beyond those, I use a Hilton Visa when I stay at Hilton brand hotels, and a Marriott Visa when I stay at Marriott brand hotels. The extra points are well worth it.

I use a Delta Amex when I buy Delta tickets (where I live, it's practically the only option) and the points are very useful.

I use an REI Visa for purchases there, because otherwise I wouldn't qualify for the rebate.

Etc., etc.

The various cards for various purposes thing has become a whole paradigm and you have to think through it to get what you want.

 

[jonat]

Check out this thread about Chase Sapphire Reserve. If you travel, this could be a good bet.

 

[Senator]

The Fidelity 2% cash back, at the end of every statement period, directly deposited into my account, is hard to beat.

No picking categories, no having to redeem, cash I can use on a discount airline, no hassles at all.

$1,019 to date, tax free, with another $50+ coming after this statement closes.

 

[fh2000]

So, while my credit is unlocked for a week while I open a Verizon account (yes, you have to unfreeze equifax, experian, and transunion just to open a wireless account!)

You do not have to unfreeze all 3. You can try to apply first and ask bank which bureau rejected your application. Once you unfreeze that one, call their internal processing department to finish the application process.

That is how I applied and got my Chase CC.

 

[pb4uski]

We recently transitioned to the Citi Double Cash card. Probably seen it advertised on TV. 1% when you charge and 1% when you pay. Since we're on autopay it's effectively 2% on everything.

 

[RetiredGypsy]

I just got a Chase Freedom card. $500 in the first three months and get $150 back. Add an authorized user and get another $25.

Discover It is doubling the 1% on everything and 5% back on the quarterly categories in the first year.

I like the City Double Cash Back card, but it's annoying that I can't get to the rewards until I hit $25.

 

[RonBoyd]

Try this website: Doctor Of Credit - Your Prescription For Healthy Credit


For instance: End-of-Year Credit Card List and Analysis [2016] - Doctor Of Credit

 

[KmmFIdreamer]

It depends so much on what you value.

Generally speaking, my Fidelity Visa gives me 2% cash back on everything.

My PenFed Visa gives me 5% cash back on gas at the pump.

Beyond those, I use a Hilton Visa when I stay at Hilton brand hotels, and a Marriott Visa when I stay at Marriott brand hotels. The extra points are well worth it.

I use a Delta Amex when I buy Delta tickets (where I live, it's practically the only option) and the points are very useful.

I use an REI Visa for purchases there, because otherwise I wouldn't qualify for the rebate.

Etc., etc.

The various cards for various purposes thing has become a whole paradigm and you have to think through it to get what you want.

I use rewards cards a lot too. Southwest is my go to airline and I have had that card for a while. (I fly short hops on Frontier a lot too but figure their credit card bonus offer is not worth it as I get fares from $29 -$49 out of Denver anyway a lot.) I got a Hawaiian air card specifically for our 2016 Big Island trip and was gonna cancel it afterwards - but I decided to keep it and gradually accumulate points for a trip in another 4-5 years. It is easy enough to drive to Vegas or Phoenix for us and go from there once we are retired. ( DH wants to go back to HI and see Pearl Harbor and I want to go to Maui or Kauai at some point. So I am envisioning a stay in Vegas, on to Honolulu for a few days, the on to the other island for a longer stay, and back to Vegas to pick up the vehicle and sorta rest before driving home.)

I got both the Hilton Visa and Hilton Amex this last year for the signup bonus. I prefer to use the Amex for gas/grocery purchases at 5x points. I will go for the Marriot card next month since I have some big bills coming in January that will meet minimum spends.

As far as cash back - the only ones that I do are Discover and my bank debit visa so I don't have a lot of imput there...

Do check out "The Points Guy" for some tips on cards and travel hacking.

 

[Walt34]

Consumer Reports has a beta credit card comparison tool. I ended up with a Chase Sapphire preferred despite the $95 fee after the first year. I've had it about four months and have already racked up enough points for that much in an Amazon gift card.

Credit Card Comparison Tool - Consumer Reports

 

[pb4uski]

Interesting tool. I plugged in my numbers. Our "go-to" citi Double Cash Back card was 11th of 71 cards after 1 year, but was 1st of 71 cards after 3 years... so I feel fine... I prefer to keep things simple.

 

[wolf]

We recently transitioned to the Citi Double Cash card. Probably seen it advertised on TV. 1% when you charge and 1% when you pay. Since we're on autopay it's effectively 2% on everything.

+1 on the Citi 2X. Also, use Chase, 3% on restaurants and travel.
Also, watch for many"promos", being offered. ie. $200 reward spend $500 in 90 days. More common, $100 reward, spend $500, 90 days.

 

[O2Bfree]

I got a Fidelity Visa when Costco dropped Amex. But then Costco upped the cash back percentages on their Visa. I made a spreadsheet to analyze the rewards of the two cards based on my typical spending patterns, and the Costco Visa came out on top.

 

[jw72]

1 year ago I did not do business with Citi bank. Now I have 2 cards, Costco Visa for gas and Costco shoping everything else Citi 1+1. And just ran my spending, after 3 years Citi 1+1 was #1 and Costco was #3

 

[cbo111]

We recently transitioned to the Citi Double Cash card. Probably seen it advertised on TV. 1% when you charge and 1% when you pay. Since we're on autopay it's effectively 2% on everything.

Thanks for the tip. From a cash-back perspective this seems like a good candidate. No annual fee is a plus as well.

 

[broadway]

There are some really hardcore points churners when it comes to rewards credit cards.
All fine and dandy when one spends a lot, but I estimate my entire yearly credit card usage at less than $10K.

The best bang for the bucks are the spend $500 get $100/$150 rewards.
I just applied for Fidelity VISA with 2% cashback plus the rewards.

For restaurants and gas, I use the Chase AARP with 3% cashback.

Right now I am using the Chase Freedom Unlimited with 1.5% cashback for everything but will switch to the Fidelity VISA if I get it.

 

[pb4uski]

Thanks for the tip. From a cash-back perspective this seems like a good candidate. No annual fee is a plus as well.

The no annual fee was key for us. We had a grandfathered Discover card that paid 2% on everything but had a $65 annual fee. When they assessed the annual fee last February, I called and asked them to waive it and they refused to do so. DS had been using the Double Cash card and was happy with it so we decided to go with it. A small bonus is that Mastercard is universally accepted, whereas Discover is widely accepted but not everywhere.

 

[CaliKid]

I do not like carrying multiple credit cards but that is definitely the key if you want to maximize value. As others have said having specific hotel, airline and store cards gets you the most cash back by far. I did recently get the Amazon store card (5% at Amazon) which is actually nice as I now just have one line item for Amazon at month end rather than 20! Some of the hotel cards give you a low level of "status" but usually very low. However, that card plus some stays can get you into a level where you get free breakfasts, fast wi-fi, etc... which can be beneficial if you travel much. I just tried that Consumer Reports link and the result didn't really make sense. It suggested a Discover card that pays 1.5% in miles but doubles it for year 1. We spend a ton so it's good for year 1 to get 3% but not good for year 2.

 

[FiveDriver]

We have 2 main Cards.
The Sam's Club MasterCard that gives 5% on Gas at any station, 3% on Dining & Travel, and 1% on everything else. But for the "everything else" we always go to the Citi Double Cash Card. The Billing Cycles are about 2 weeks apart on these cards, so at any time there's an Interest Free Loan for 45 days -- pay it in full and there's no Interest. At the end of the year, each of these gives us a nice overview of spending habits.

I got the offer from Discover to get me to use my old Disco Card...spend $1000 and get $50, but that's less than our other deals. And Discover isn't recognized everywhere.

That Chase Freedom Card and their quarterly categories was more trouble than it was worth.

And I am philosophically opposed to paying an Annual Fee on any Card....their perks are simply not worth it to us. These Credit Card Companies must hate me -- I haven't paid interest on any card since Reagan's First Term.

 

[RonBoyd]

4 Credit Cards That Will Make You Feel Like a Millionaire | Credit.com

(See, also, my above comment on "Doctor of Credit.")

 

[Senator]

I use my Amazon store card on Amazon. I never carry it, it is a preferred payment method for them. 5% immediate cash back.

I use and carry my Sams card for all gas at 5%, at Sam's, and any travel expenses which is 5%.

I carry my US Bank Cash Plus card for fast food. That's 5%. It is also set up for autopay for my cell phone at 5%.

I use my Fidelity 2% cash back card for most everything else.

All in all, it's pretty good tax free money back.

 

[RockyMtn]

Costco Citi Visa for Costco, travel, dining out and gas.
Amex Blue Preferred for groceries and ATT cell bill.
Citi MasterCard double cash for everything else.

 

[Amethyst]

I've not figured out how a "mileage" card is somehow better than a "cash back" card. If my card gives me 2% cash back on everything, I can use that money to buy airline tickets, but a mileage card only lets me use points on travel...correct?

Amethyst

 

[Senator]

I've not figured out how a "mileage" card is somehow better than a "cash back" card. If my card gives me 2% cash back on everything, I can use that money to buy airline tickets, but a mileage card only lets me use points on travel...correct?

Amethyst

I agree. You are right. And if you fly discount airlines, you likely cannot use the miles at all. Spirit only takes miles from their own card. If you do not use the miles, they are lost.

Miles are generally worth .02, the same as a 2% cash back card.

There are some cards that may let you be a bit more flexible, but none are as flexible as cash. Just try and make a mortgage payment with airline miles...

 

[audreyh1]

I agree. You are right. And if you fly discount airlines, you likely cannot use the miles at all. Spirit only takes miles from their own card. If you do not use the miles, they are lost.

Miles are generally worth .02, the same as a 2% cash back card.

There are some cards that may let you be a bit more flexible, but none are as flexible as cash. Just try and make a mortgage payment with airline miles...

I agree with this. Miles are often worth less than 2 cents according to several pointguys articles I have read. In fact, when some folks see them available for that price they pay for the miles with cash as they consider it a good deal.

What is a mile worth: http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/value-miles-points/