Help. I deserve credit card rewards!

[Stwicky]

I spent $180,000 with my credit card last year. Lots but not unusual. Certainly I am missing out on a rewards credit card. But which one gives me the best benefits? I want the best cash rewards. Help.

 

[pb4uski]

We use Citi DoubleCash. 2%... 1% when the charge is made and 1% when the payment is made and we have our account on autopay. That would be $3,600 on $180,000 of purchases.

The thing that I like best about it is that there are not any rotating categories to try to remember... it is just 2% on anything and everything.

If you take your reward as a statement credit you don't get 1% on that payment so I just have the reward transferred to the same checking account that is use for the autopay to get the full 2%.

So for example, you spend $1,000. You get $10 reward for the purchase. If you pay your $1,000 balance you get another $10, a total of $20 or 2% of the $1,000. OTOH, if you pay your $1,000 balance with $990 cash and $10 statement credit you only get another $9.90, a total of $19.90 or 1.99% of the $1,000.

If you have a lot of fuel purchases and are a Sam's Club member, I suggest the Synchrony Sam's Club credit card... 5% on all gas purchases anywhere. That was real handy when we had the travel trailer and were only getting 11 mpg.

 

[foxcreek9]

I spent $180,000 with my credit card last year. Lots but not unusual. Certainly I am missing out on a rewards credit card. But which one gives me the best benefits? I want the best cash rewards. Help.

Depends what the categories are, if you want as simple as possible then a 2% card (Citi double, Fidelity Visa). The big bucks are in the bonuses if you play it right.

 

[foxcreek9]

[-]I should add, don't get any new card without at least $500 in bonuses at first, if you have a spouse don't get joint accounts, but individual accounts and double the fun.[/-]


This card could be a gold mine for you, but it ends soon. 3% back unlimited

https://creditcards.chase.com/a1/freedom-unlimited/affiliates2023matchtest?

 

[Go-NoGo]

Start here, lots of good recommendations.
https://www.nerdwallet.com/best/credit-cards/rewards

Get a 2% cashback card from Fidelity or Ally bank while you work through the list on signup bonuses, travel rewards, restaurants, gas, etc. At your spend rate, you are leaving $300/month on table that you could be getting with the 2% rewards.

Once you are more familiar with the landscape you can get the cards with higher signup bonuses (which might fit you better) and rewards.

 

[foxcreek9]

Start here, lots of good recommendations.
https://www.nerdwallet.com/best/credit-cards/rewards

Get a 2% cashback card from Fidelity or Ally bank while you work through the list on signup bonuses, travel rewards, restaurants, gas, etc. At your spend rate, you are leaving $300/month on table that you could be getting with the 2% rewards.

Once you are more familiar with the landscape you can get the cards with higher signup bonuses (which might fit you better) and rewards.

Problem with Nerdwallet is they steer you to cards that pay them the largest referral fee. Best site is Doctorofcredit.com

 

[njhowie]

If you are Amazon Prime, I think the Amazon Visa (issued through Chase) is a good deal.

 

[pb4uski]

Problem with Nerdwallet is they steer you to cards that pay them the largest referral fee. Best site is Doctorofcredit.com

It looks like there are a number of good 2% cards out there now. When we first got the Citi DoubleBack card it was the only 2% card out there.

1 Personal Credit Cards

1.1 AmEx Everyday No Annual Fee, 1-1.2 Membership Rewards Points, No Annual Fee
1.2 Capital One Quicksilver, 1.5% Cash Back, No Annual Fee
1.3 AmEx Everyday Preferred, 1-1.5x Membership Rewards Points $95 Annual Fee Waived First Year
1.4 Chase Freedom Unlimited: 1.5x Chase Ultimate Rewards, No Annual Fee
1.5 Capital One Venture Miles Rewards: 1-2% Cash Back, $59 Annual Fee
1.6 Barclays Arrival Plus: 1-2.1% Cash Back, $89 Annual Fee Waived First Year
1.7 Bank of America Travel Rewards – 1.5%-2.625% No Annual Fee
1.8 Bank of America Premium Rewards – 1.5%-2.625% – $95 Annual Fee
1.9 SoFi Credit Card – 2%, No Annual Fee
1.10 TD Bank Double Up – 2%, No Annual Fee
1.11 Alliant Visa Platinum Rewards Credit Card – 2%, No Annual Fee
1.12 Citi Doublecash: 2% Cash Back, No Annual Fee
1.13 Wells Fargo Active Cash: 2% Cash Back, No Annual Fee
1.14 Visa Fidelity: 2% Cash Back, No Annual Fee
1.15 Paypal Cashback Mastercard: 2% Cash Back, No Annual Fee
1.16 SDFCU Premium Cash+ Card – 2% Cash Back, No Annual Fee Or Foreign Transaction Fees
1.17 FNBO Cashback – 3% Cashback First Six Months Then 2% [Select States], No Annual Fee
1.18 Discover it Miles 3% Cash Back For First Year, No Annual Fee
1.19 Alliant Cash Back 3% Cash Back First Year, Then 2.5% ($99 AF Waived First Year)​

 

[JDARNELL]

I am in the Chase Ultimate Rewards points ecosystem for the majority of our credit card spending. My return this year is valued at $10,787 which included 4.5 domestic airline tickets, 1 international ticket, 29 Hotel nights, and 6 rental car days. If I have to use a card that just give me cash I use a Capital one 2% cash back card. I find thought that Chase UR points gives me a much better return than 2%.

 

[Chuckanut]

The best card for a person depends on their spending patterns.

Here’s what I do. I have the Fidelity 2% card for most purchases. It’s my go to card. I also have the Costco Citi card which gives me 4% back on gasoline and EV charging, and 3% back on travel expenses like hotels, air travel and restaurants.

Neither have a yearly fee.

Depending on your spending patterns other cards I (often with a yearly fee) may make sense.

 

[Sojourner]

I am in the Chase Ultimate Rewards points ecosystem for the majority of our credit card spending. My return this year is valued at $10,787 which included 4.5 domestic airline tickets, 1 international ticket, 29 Hotel nights, and 6 rental car days.

Wow! How much did you have to spend on your Chase credit cards in 2023 to get over $10,000 in rewards?

 

[4legsgood]

If you are Amazon Prime, I think the Amazon Visa (issued through Chase) is a good deal.

For sure, if spent on amazon.

"5% Back rewards or 90 Day Payment Terms apply to U.S. purchases made at Amazon Business, AWS, Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market, if at the time of purchase the Basic Card Member has an eligible Prime membership on the Amazon account from which they applied."

There is a cap on the 5%:

"You can earn 5% Back on the first $120,000 in purchases each calendar year, 1% Back thereafter."

 

[audreyh1]

These are the cash back rewards cards we use the most:

• Fidelity Visa 2% on everything and no foreign transaction fee
• Amazon Prime store card 5% on all Amazon purchases. (This is different from the Chase card)
• Costco Citi Visa 4% on gas/EV charging, 3% on all dining, hotels and travel, 2% on Costco purchases, no foreign transaction fee
• American Express Blue 6% on grocery purchases up to $6000 a year, 6% on streaming which covers most of our subscriptions plus app purchases. Has annual fee.
• Bank of America 3% on category of choice, ours is online shopping, up to $2500 a quarter. We get a bonus bumping it to 3.75%

 

[Rosie]

We use Citi DoubleCash. 2%... 1% when the charge is made and 1% when the payment is made and we have our account on autopay. That would be $3,600 on $180,000 of purchases.

An excellent cash rewards card. Just bear in mind that the Citi Double Cash card now charges a fee for foreign transactions.

 

[teej1985]

It looks like there are a number of good 2% cards out there now. When we first got the Citi DoubleBack card it was the only 2% card out there.

I think your quoted list is aged. That Alliant 2.5% card hasn't charged a fee in a while, or there's an easy way to get it waived

 

[audreyh1]

The Fidelity 2% back on everything card has been around forever. It may have been an American Express at first but changed to Visa many years ago.

 

[Sunset]

OP - Did you pay off the CC statement fully each month ?

What CC do you currently have ?

 

[teej1985]

The Fidelity 2% back on everything card has been around forever. It may have been an American Express at first but changed to Visa many years ago.

There's no "may have" about it. It 100% was an AmEx. They also had a Visa that was 1.5% until you spent enough annually and then it was 2% after that

 

[Sunset]

These are the cash back rewards cards we use the most:

• Fidelity Visa 2% on everything and no foreign transaction fee
• Amazon Prime store card 5% on all Amazon purchases. (This is different from the Chase card)
• Costco Citi Visa 4% on gas/EV charging, 3% on all dining, hotels and travel, 2% on Costco purchases, no foreign transaction fee
• American Express Blue 6% on grocery purchases up to $6000 a year, 6% on streaming which covers most of our subscriptions plus app purchases. Has annual fee.
• Bank of America 3% on category of choice, ours is online shopping, up to $2500 a quarter. We get a bonus bumping it to 3.75%

I have the same CC and I get 5.25% due to the bump up , are you sure yours is only 3.75%

3% x 1.75 = 5.25%

 

[audreyh1]

I have the same CC and I get 5.25% due to the bump up , are you sure yours is only 3.75%

3% x 1.75 = 5.25%

You must be a higher tier BofA customer than I am.

3% x 1.25 = 3.75%

 

[Cobra9777]

We continue to increase our spend at Amazon. I'm a Subscribe & Save junkie. So we have the Chase/Amazon card for 5% cashback. Everything else goes on the Fidelity 2% card. There's no foreign transaction fee and no action required for redemption. The cashback is automatically deposited into our Fidelity CMA on the same day the statement balance is paid.

We also have an old, grandfathered, no-fee AMEX Blue Cash for 5% off groceries, gasoline, and drug stores. But we stopped using it recently because AMEX does not recognize our local Walmart Neighborhood Market as a "grocery" store. Also we don't spend near as much in these categories as we did back in 2008 when I first got the card. Back then, we both had long commutes, plus 2 teenagers at home with insatiable appetites.

For 2023, we got $1.7K cash back on $71.7K spend, for an average 2.4%.

 

[Sunset]

You must be a higher tier BofA customer than I am.

3% x 1.25 = 3.75%

I did open a ML account and transfer in a 100K in stocks to it so I'd qualify for the platinum level.

 

[CaliKid]

To me it depends on a lot of things. Namely, your lifestyle.

Simplest: 2% cash back. Done. I believe with B of A/Merrill if you move some amount of investments over you can bump it up to around 2.65% cash back. I like the Capital One Venture card as it gives each family member their own card number so it's easier for me to remind the kids that the card is for actual emergencies not their day to day life! You get 2% statement credits... and I believe it's still tax free!

We travel a lot so getting a card for your hotel brand of choice is a no-brainer. We have a couple - Hyatt and Marriott. The annual fee is $75'ish but you get a free night each year which is worth way more than the annual fee. It's primarily used for hotel purchases as you get such a better rate of return on points there AND you get elite nights credits toward status.

We have a Southwest card and most years between flying and credit card we get a Companion Pass. Being able to have DW fly for free is awesome. I realize SWA is not for everybody but it works for us. We save thousands through that benefit. So even though the points earned on spend are only worth 1.5% the added value of the CP make this an easy choice for us. Plus, you get some number of points and four free upgraded boardings by having the card. If you fly much I'd get the card for your chosen airline.

We also have the Amazon card as it's 5% back on Amazon purchases. We drop about a $1k a month at Amazon so to me that's a no-brainer.

Lastly, Capital One Savor card as it's 4% cash back on entertainment purchases. We spend a lot on sports and entertainment so it's well worth the annual fee for us.

All cards are set for auto-pay so it's really not a big deal to have a few cards... at least to me.

 

[JDARNELL]

Wow! How much did you have to spend on your Chase credit cards in 2023 to get over $10,000 in rewards?

No idea. I don’t track what I spend vs the points value because points are given at different evaluations. For example if I spend eating out I get 3 points per dollar. If I buy a gift card at an office store I get 5 points per dollar. Then with promotions for groceries etc I get 5 points per dollar. Then by transferring these points to the chase Safire reserve I get 1.5 cents per point so I can make $1 into 7.5 percent return at the worst case.

If I transfer those points to say Hyatt I can then take that initial $ spent leverage from 7.5 percent into many times more. Example. I spend 15k points at Hyatt that I created for $2000 in spend and it saves me $650. That a 32.5 percent return. Points saved me this summer in London at $650 a night for a room as it was a last
Minute trip for a week.

If you are manufacturing points at market value you can do it for 7 tenths if a cent and routinely redeem them for double or triple that. You can do it for 0 also. So that is how I would value worse case points cost. Worst case redemption would be 2.1 cents at a Hyatt in any major us city. Worst case airfare and rental car at 1.5 cents.

Many people get hung up on $1 equals one point but it can be so much more. We don’t really use points for high end travel just average travel, full size rental, and economy airfare. We could leverage points value more if we did luxury.

 

[pb4uski]

...AMEX does not recognize our local Walmart Neighborhood Market as a "grocery" store. ...

That is ridiculous... bad AMEX!