Help. I deserve credit card rewards!

[calmloki]

How did BofA screw up the auto pay?

With all our other cards (except Navy FCU, which regrettably may lose our CC business), we have the card company pull the card payment statement balance from an external bank that gets a bunch of rent payments each month. Of course we are on top of all accounts and reconcile everything beforehand, but having the card company pull the statement balance means I don't have to remember to go to Chase and set a payment amount each month - it just happens.

BofA initially required setting up auto card payment from an external account to be setup by phone AIR. That wasn't working and payments in late 2022 were falling on the weekend, weren't posting online until several days after the due date, then incurring a late charge, which I'd whine about. This was during a time we were paying for a flood in our house, so the monthly balances were over $7000 month after month. Set up normal, self actuated payment another way and then had BofA pull full balance payments on top of my payments three months in a row, with hours spent on the phone with their collection department each month getting assurances that all was well and corrected and being subjected to the presumed normal attitude of card collection reps who normally deal with deadbeats, not people who happen to have had thousands of dollars extra pulled from their checking accounts.

Like I say, I'd have loved to keep collecting the extra .062% points above our Fidelity card, but I just couldn't stand the repeated hassle. Different feel - like having the credit balance due in a few weeks be in red online rather than black. We just didn't mesh. I'd put them with Wells Fargo and Citi, rather than Chase, Navy or Fidelity.

 

[2017ish]

We have a mix of cards, and try to take advantage of some sign-up bonuses as well. Last year we netted benefit of 10,719.94 with less than 180,000 spending. The net benefit does not include airport lounges.

Primary card is the Bank of America Travel Rewards mentioned by others (2.625 points per dollar spent with 100K in index funds at MerrillEdge; and redemptions towards "travel," which is defined MUCH more expansively than chase's rules). This card is no annual fee and no foreign transaction fee.

Secondary/Primary is Chase Sapphire Reserve. Big annual fee, no Foreign transaction fee, reimburse global entry, substantial travel credit each year, and priority pass lounges world wide. (We travel 6 months of the year, much of it internationally.) We use this for all "travel" as defined by Chase, and restaurants for 3 points per dollar spent. At redemption time, we either take a 1.5 multiple redeeming through Chase portal, or transfer the miles. So, at a minimum, we are getting 4.5 points per dollar spent.

Ancillary card is BoA customized cash rewards card. It gives us 5% in our designated category, but limited to 2500 spending per quarter in that category. We use it via the store's apps at Kroger, Sam's, BJ's, and Walmart (including the pharmacy)--all of which qualify as online transactions. If we are in the USA, we exhaust the category each quarter and switch away until the end of the quarter...

Finally, our primary spend is on whichever card we are binging on for sign-up bonuses. Every other year, one of us does this with Chase's Southwest Airlines card (With a not terrible annual fee, you can avoid foreign transaction fee on this one). Right now, we are working on getting free companion pass for 2024 and 2025. Should have it by mid-year, as we put all charitable contributions and property tax payments on the card after DW signed up at the last eligible day in December....

As others noted, the "best" or "reasonably decent" option will vary by person. We only rarely stay at hotels internationally, preferring AirBnB or the local equivalent. In the US, our "hotel" preference on road trips is quality/comfort Inn, which is not known for excellent credit card kickbacks!

______________
E.T.A.--we'll likely be getting Amazon card later this year as well. We buy enough through the site to make the variance between 5% and 2.625% worthwhile (we exhaust the 5% customized cash card without using amazon purchases for it....).

 

[meleana]

We use several, but like American Express Blue for 6 percent back on groceries, 3 percent on gas and 1 percent on everything else.


Except for everything else we use Amazon Prime Visa which gives 2 percent back and 5 percent back on Amazon purchases and sometimes deals on other categories, and occasionally we will use Discover when they have 5 per cent back in certain categories.

 

[Librarian]

Good advice here

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.

But RIGHT NOW a hell of a deal w/ Chase Freedom Unlimited. (no annual fee)
1.5% cash back on everything
3% on drug stores & dining
5% on travel booked via Chase portal
BUT if you apply now:
UNLIMITED cash back match offer for 1 year.
So that doubles the above % for 1 year.
That would be 540K+ points based on your spending--WOW!


I am a credit card point convert.
We travel a lot & have numerous cards, each giving us benefits, evaluated annually.
(we have Reserve for travel charges, medevac travel insurance; also each have SWA priority cards as it is our primary airline; Capital One Venture X is our latest for everyday spending at 2%)

 

[Fermion]

Ok, that was scarily easy.

I wasn't going to do anything after reading this thread because I thought it too much trouble but then yesterday I got a email from Fidelity about $150 bonus for signing up for their 2% cash back card so I figured that would make it worth the effort. I did a temp thaw on all 3 agencies (I think they only use Transunion though) and then applied online using the $150 bonus code. In 30 seconds they said approved, for $25,000 limit.

Kind of glad our credit is frozen because none of that seemed very secure, just some email checking and asking which dog you like or something.

 

[Slater]

I have a Capital One card, try my hardest to put majority of purchases on it, hoping to maximize my travel rewards as I hate blowing dough on vacations....

 

[lucky penny]

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

Yes -- 5% reward for purchases on Amazon & Whole Foods (& I take the reward as a statement credit instead of using it for future purchases).

For everything else I use Citi's Double Cash Mastercard & send the reward to my checking account.

 

[teej1985]

With all our other cards (except Navy FCU, which regrettably may lose our CC business), we have the card company pull the card payment statement balance from an external bank that gets a bunch of rent payments each month. Of course we are on top of all accounts and reconcile everything beforehand, but having the card company pull the statement balance means I don't have to remember to go to Chase and set a payment amount each month - it just happens.

BofA initially required setting up auto card payment from an external account to be setup by phone AIR. That wasn't working and payments in late 2022 were falling on the weekend, weren't posting online until several days after the due date, then incurring a late charge, which I'd whine about. This was during a time we were paying for a flood in our house, so the monthly balances were over $7000 month after month. Set up normal, self actuated payment another way and then had BofA pull full balance payments on top of my payments three months in a row, with hours spent on the phone with their collection department each month getting assurances that all was well and corrected and being subjected to the presumed normal attitude of card collection reps who normally deal with deadbeats, not people who happen to have had thousands of dollars extra pulled from their checking accounts.

Like I say, I'd have loved to keep collecting the extra .062% points above our Fidelity card, but I just couldn't stand the repeated hassle. Different feel - like having the credit balance due in a few weeks be in red online rather than black. We just didn't mesh. I'd put them with Wells Fargo and Citi, rather than Chase, Navy or Fidelity.

weird, I set up auto pay in BofA to pull from my Alliant Credit Union checking account and I've never had any issues at all. There was never any phone call involved.

 

[timeismine]

We've found a combination of cards helps fund what we like to do most but have a hard time justifying the cost: going first-class, or at least a step above economy class/chain hotels. The airlines give a free-ticket's worth of points for signing up and spending $3K or so in the first three months. Using the card to upgrade yourself to their higher status levels gets you upgraded seats, which we save for long-haul trips. Plus you can use "points + cash" with most airlines and hotels to reduce the cost of a trip by up to 50%, and still sit up front.

Airport lounge benefits are worth it if you travel frequently or take long trips: most offer better food for " free" than you'll find out in the terminal, better seats, restrooms, and a more comfortable atmosphere. Takes a little of the sting out of modern travel.

Airlines also offer "points sales" and other opportunities to members if you can travel at a moments notice or decide to travel in the future within 24 hours.

Hotels give you room upgrades for free, special deals, and perks similar to the airlines.

All this for spending money you will spend anyway.

Throw in one of the bank cards with the 2%+ rebates, and you get a cash-balance to spend for the stuff the other cards don't cover. Sort of a diversification strategy to arbitrage your spend.

Plus, when you pay off the balance, they sometimes send you those blank checks you can float for 6-9 months at 0% to 2% interest.

 

[imbatman]

Ancillary card is BoA customized cash rewards card. It gives us 5% in our designated category, but limited to 2500 spending per quarter in that category. We use it via the store's apps at Kroger, Sam's, BJ's, and Walmart (including the pharmacy)--all of which qualify as online transactions.

What do you mean by "store's apps" exactly? Do you mean you use like tap and pay like GPay or such at store registers that gets coded as online or do you mean literally you somehow pay in store at Kroger using a Kroger app?