Credit cards - need recommendations!

[walkinwood]

Read the terms on the American Blue Cash carefully and see if they mesh with your spending habits. They do not consider warehouse clubs (eg. Costco) to be supermarkets, and warehouse gas stations are not eligible for the gas cash back.

 

[kaneohe]

discover IT.....1 yr only of doubling normal rewards so for Q3/Q4 10% for amazon.com

Chase AARP 3% restaurants all year
Chase AARP (different one) 3% travel all year

 

[kaneohe]

When folks say x% back on everything or x% back on purchases, does that include things like paying bills (e.g. property taxes)? I assumed such clever tactics have been excluded from the rebate.

probably not if the fees exceed the rewards..........

 

[Greencheese]

Barclay Sallie Mae Mastercard for all gas/groceries since 5% on my spending is about $15/month.

Discover IT for everything else. Only had 1 issue of a server tripling my bill and Discover took care of it with just a quick phone call. Plus the shop Discover deals are typically really good.

Oh and Target Redcard since there's not a Walmart around me...

 

[jags86]

FYI Sallie Mae Mastercard is no longer available. Sorry :-/

 

[gauss]

FYI Sallie Mae Mastercard is no longer available. Sorry :-/

Yikes -- Thanks for the heads up.

Since the terms for existing card holders will likely be changing (for the negative) soon, I will need to seek a replacement.

-gauss

 

[Marketwatcher]

Have any of you ER folks had a problem getting cc without an income from work? I plan to ER in 6 months and, since I'm currently working, decided to open some new cc. Over the past week, I've received the Amex BCP (for grocery cash back), CITI double cash as my go-to card, BoA for gas rewards, and Discover IT, US Bank signature visa, and Chase Freedom for rotating cash back 5% categories . The credit report pulls affected my credit score (847 reduced to 830), but I was getting dinged on my score for not having enough accounts open anyway! Now it will be a fun hobby to see how I can maximize my cash back.

Is it hard to get cc after you've retired?




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[Done]

Is it hard to get cc after you've retired?

With a good credit score, you can still get credit cards, but I found that the credit limit is lower since it is based on income, not assets. Probably not a concern if you pay it off each month. I am glad that refinanced my mortgage (several times as rates were dropping) while employed, since I doubt I would qualify now.


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[Done]

I had been using Fido Amex for 2% cashback on everything, but wanted a card with chip & PIN and no foreign transaction fees for international travel. I got the Barclaycard Arrival Plus Mastercard which gives 2.2% (now lowered to 2.1%) on everything as a statement credit on travel charges. It also offered a $400 bonus and no annual fee for the first year. I may cancel once the $89 annual fee kicks in, or get the free Arrival version just for international use.


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[EastWest Gal]

I don't have a cash back card but may look into one as a back up. I've been using an AA miles card for years. 3 of us travelled to Hawaii from PA free a few years ago.

Next year we're going first class. Free. I calculated the savings and it's more than any cash back card.

If I needed the miles I could have paid DS tuition bill by credit card, but the fee for that was large, since the school did not want to pay the CC company their fee--they wanted me to foot that bill. The school could have afforded it....sigh.


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[jags86]

I don't have a cash back card but may look into one as a back up. I've been using an AA miles card for years. 3 of us travelled to Hawaii from PA free a few years ago.

Next year we're going first class. Free. I calculated the savings and it's more than any cash back card.

If I needed the miles I could have paid DS tuition bill by credit card, but the fee for that was large, since the school did not want to pay the CC company their fee--they wanted me to foot that bill. The school could have afforded it....sigh.


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Not free--you paid $0.02/point by virtue of not using a 2% cash back card.

The points game is never free travel--it's deeply discounted travel. Something I always have to remind myself.


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[Walt34]

Is it hard to get cc after you've retired?

No. DW has obtained two and she hasn't worked for 13 years and has no income. We think the credit limits are crazy high too, but we have good credit scores so apparently that's all that matters. And we've never come even close to the credit limits.

 

[gauss]

Is it hard to get cc after you've retired?

Easier than I thought at first in that DW is still working and CC companies can use household income.

 

[audreyh1]

We use Penfed Visa 5% on gas/2% groceries/ 1% everything else but this card is primarily only used for gas. Rebate is monthly statement credit and no annual fees. Not sure but I think newly issued cards may not get the 5% rebate.

When folks say x% back on everything or x% back on purchases, does that include things like paying bills (e.g. property taxes)? I assumed such clever tactics have been excluded from the rebate.

Property taxes usually have a hefty fee tacked on if you pay by credit card.

But AMEX will still give you your rebate - np just probably not worth it.

 

[audreyh1]

Have any of you ER folks had a problem getting cc without an income from work? I plan to ER in 6 months and, since I'm currently working, decided to open some new cc. Over the past week, I've received the Amex BCP (for grocery cash back), CITI double cash as my go-to card, BoA for gas rewards, and Discover IT, US Bank signature visa, and Chase Freedom for rotating cash back 5% categories . The credit report pulls affected my credit score (847 reduced to 830), but I was getting dinged on my score for not having enough accounts open anyway! Now it will be a fun hobby to see how I can maximize my cash back.

Is it hard to get cc after you've retired?

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No problem. We've gotten several cards since retiring. We just give whatever our prior income tax total was. In a couple of cases I've been asked to specify whether this was investment income. And I always check "retired" if asked for employment status.

 

[walkinwood]

Property taxes usually have a hefty fee tacked on if you pay by credit card.

Depends on where you are. In Denver, there is no surcharge to paying with a credit card, so that's what I do.

 

[jazz4cash]

Property taxes usually have a hefty fee tacked on if you pay by credit card.

But AMEX will still give you your rebate - np just probably not worth it.

yup....its 2.5% for us. Didn't realize it was different from the 1.49 ACH fee to debit a checking/savings account.

 

[stephenson]

I got the Sapphire Preferred and the Fidelity Amex ... will learn how to balance between the two.

Thank you everyone for great advice!!

Lots of additional options were offered which I may try as I learn a bit more ...

 

[Marketwatcher]

Got a couple more cards since my last post to this thread. I'm using the no-fee BankAmericard Travel Rewards card for its no foreign transaction fee when I go to Canada. Because I'm a BoA customer, I get a 10% boost on all cash back on their cards. I also got the Better Balances card because I can get $120 a year back with hardly any spending on the account.

These 8 cards will do me for a while. I'm not looking to churn for sign up bonuses, although I am getting $550 back in bonuses.



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[sengsational]

This thread has a link to a Consumer Reports article that makes card suggestions based on spending patterns: http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/more-free-credit-card-money-500-a-79387.html#post1654035

Here's the link: http://www.consumerreports.org/rewards-cards/rewards-cards-that-will-maximize-your-benefits

 

[I earned it]

I/we have 1 credit card, it's from USAA I have zero idea if we get any cash back or promo,s but we suffered thru an I'd theft credit card thing, cost me 950. Down to 1 card , I trust this company, I was a soldier once and they are a military type organization , they are always pleasant to deal with. If I had them when the credit card thing happened I'm sure I would not have been stuck for the 950. Don't believe all the hype zero liability if stolen stuff. I can give you my rant on how I ate the 950 bill. Blow by blow, if I live till 150 I'll never get 950 worth of promos . Needless to say I take a dim view of credit cards, no one ever got rich off the promos.

 

[calmloki]

Not rich, but we did bank $1583.56 in our Chase checking account this Saturday, mostly from three promos on our Chase Ink Cash and Sapphire cards. Fraud or ID theft on an account is a serious PITA though - no doubt about it. We kinda camp out on Quicken and our various bank and card accounts through the month though and always reconcile everything - think a fraudulent charge would get picked up within a matter of days.

 

[Marketwatcher]

I had a fraudulent charge on an Amex card back in June when I was in NYC for business. Someone charged $900 at Rite Aid (must have been for gift cards). It seems the clerk at the hotel skimmed my card. I caught it when I checked my account online after my trip. I had no problems getting the money back and a new card quickly.



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[Texas Proud]

I/we have 1 credit card, it's from USAA I have zero idea if we get any cash back or promo,s but we suffered thru an I'd theft credit card thing, cost me 950. Down to 1 card , I trust this company, I was a soldier once and they are a military type organization , they are always pleasant to deal with. If I had them when the credit card thing happened I'm sure I would not have been stuck for the 950. Don't believe all the hype zero liability if stolen stuff. I can give you my rant on how I ate the 950 bill. Blow by blow, if I live till 150 I'll never get 950 worth of promos . Needless to say I take a dim view of credit cards, no one ever got rich off the promos.

Yes, zero liability is a myth.... but there is a $50 limit if you notify them in a timely manner... and most banks waive that $50...

So I will ask (instead of getting the blow by blow), how long was it before you notified the CC company of the bad charge

 

[stephenson]

I earned it,

I think USAA is very much like any other banking company ...it has morphed significantly from the very specific days it grew up in ...as you can see from some of the other responses, most companies will respond the same way.


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