What Credit Card Should I Get ? FAQ

bpd67 said:   Need some help, with the BP card changing terms I'm looking for a new CashBack card.

Our biggest item is fuel, we spend about $600-$700 a month in fuel and another $3-$400 in groceries. Also, another $500-$1000 in misc expenses. So our bill avgs about $2k a month. I'm looking for the best option, all the different cards have my head spinning.

From my research is seems that either the Chase Freedom or the Penfed would be the best options.

Can anyone help me out?

Gas: Penfed Platinum Cash Rewards Card 5% CB on gas .25% on all else) or
New Penfed Platinum Rewards Card (5pts/$ at for gas, 3pts/$ for groceries, 1pts/% all else) - Rewards website will be available around Feb 11, 2012.

Groceries: At your spending level, Sallie Mae (5% CB on groceries, capped at $500 spending/month aka $25 rewards/month)
With increased spending AMEX Preferred ($75/annual fee, waived first year) 6% back on groceries, 3% gas/dept store, 1% other

If your preference is CashBack, Howie888 has suggested some good cards. One option is to do the AMEX preferred and purchase gas gift cards at grocery stores, that would shift all of your gas spending to grocery stores which gives you 6% CashBack (with the $75 annual fee).

Sallie Mae 5% gas/grocery (capped at $500 spending/month) + PenFed Cash 5% gas would be good ones for you to look into. If you wanted to add a third card, you could do Fidelity 2% to get an extra 1% on your monthly miscellaneous spending (use of the other two cards will get you 1% on misc).

Another option is the HHonors AMEX - which will give you 6 HHonors points at gas and grocery, 3 points everywhere else. For most people, HHonors points are worth .3-.6 cents/pont, which puts it at a 1% to 3% card. However, after years of use, the points will accumulate. Could pay for a nice vacation once the young ones grow up. If used effectively, HHonors points CAN be worth more than 1cent/point- I shoot for at least 1.2 cent/point redemption value.

bpd67 said:   Does the AMEX preferred have a cap on spending? Also, I have never had an AMEX card but I remember years ago they were not excepted everywhere, has that changed for the most part.

No cap on rewards (or spending) with the AMEX. You get those percentages regardless of what you spend.
AMEX is more widely accepted than 15 years ago. There are still some places (mostly small businesses) that don't accept them. It's always good to have a VISA backup. There's only one establishment I visit that doesn't accept AMEX.

imbatman said:   bpd67 said:   Does the AMEX preferred have a cap on spending? Also, I have never had an AMEX card but I remember years ago they were not excepted everywhere, has that changed for the most part.

No cap on rewards (or spending) with the AMEX. You get those percentages regardless of what you spend.
AMEX is more widely accepted than 15 years ago. There are still some places (mostly small businesses) that don't accept them. It's always good to have a VISA backup. There's only one establishment I visit that doesn't accept AMEX.

Thanks for the replies everyone, I think I'll look into the AMEX preferred. I'll earn enough in the first 1-2 months to cover the fee after the first year and I'll come out further ahead with less work than having any other card.

And I have an old Visa Vehicleadvantage card that gets 1% that I can use as a backup, had that one for years.

Lake Michigan CU Visa (3% gas, 2% groceries, 1% everything else) counts Target and some online purchases as groceries. They send out a year-end summary of charges divided into categories.

sabre said:   Dont forget FW Cash Back when signing up for AMEX Blue. I got $20 by linking to them when i signed up.
Is that only for the everyday card, or does it work on the preferred one as well?

sabre said:   Dont forget FW Cash Back when signing up for AMEX Blue. I got $20 by linking to them when i signed up.

cardselection is $30. It's fine to support FW CB but they are almost never competitive in the CB arena these days.

jl8065 said:   Question from a first-time user and total newbie:
I'm about to pay for a big (9K) contracting job and was wondering what the best card to do it with would be? I am also in the market for a new card for general use (I do fly international once a year), but could also get a separate card for this transaction if I can get a higher % Cash Back as a new user. Any tips and suggestions are greatly appreciated. And I apologize in advance if my question is not in line with the forum's usage norms.

If it's a onetime charge for 9k - Chase AARP (gets 5% CashBack the first 6 months). That'll be a good general card for business too. There's some folks reporting issues with Chase right now - search AARP in FWF to find the thread.
If it's outside of 6 months, you're probably best off with a 2% card (Fidelity 2% AMEX is my recommendation)
Neither of those cards have good signup bonuses
For your international travel - do the 2x50 American Airlines cards. and the 100k signup bonus miles can be used on any OneWorld airline for international travel to pretty much anywhere. Another suggestion is the PenFed Travel AMEX which gives 5% CashBack on airfare purchases (and 20,000 points signup bonus good for $200 airfare), it's my card of choice when I'm actually purchasing airfare. I think 5% CashBack is as good or better than any airline card that gives 2 pts/dollar on airline purchases, so I stopped using my airline specific card. Others may disagree with that.

Chase Slate has a 15 mo on BT, no fee deal.

DW has three Chase cards, two dormant and one with an expiring promo BT.

Should I (a) cancel the two dormant and apply online, or (b) call to have her apply and have her talk over closing the existing/reallocation over the phone?

tajar96 said:   Is the Chase AARP 5% still active ? Can someone im me the link please. What is the second best card in the market after AARP ? I saw Capital One Cash with $100 bonus, is there anything better ? Or I could go for a business credit card like Chase Ink or something that has good rewards too. any recommendations folks ? TIA.

Really depends what you put on the card, the AMEX preferred is pretty good if you want 6% at grocery stores and essentially anything else you can buy at a grocery store. It's $75 a year though, after the first year. I'm going with the Penfed Platinum Visa.

CokeSlurpee711 said:   All, just denied the 2% Fidelity AMEX

The Sallie Mae cards intrigue me. The % for groceries more so 2% on all...

Goal was Sallie Mae on groceries, PenFed on gas, Fid AMEX on misc, maybe Citi Fwd for restaurants/Amazon. Should I have applied for that one first? I bet. Hindsight 20/20.

Thanks for any advice

Current profile:

Chase:
1.7K - AARP - open 5 months love it, times up soon to the sockdrawer maybe a rare travel as it's 3%
10K - Southwest - open about 3 months - got for the sign up & occasional travel may or may not keep LT

AMEX:
14K - BCE - opened little under a year before I discovered the awesomeness of these forums & BC Preferred
2K - Hilton no fee - same as above - pay cable bills at 6 points per $1 & that's about it
2K - Delta Gold - got for the sign up & occasional travel may or may not keep LT

PenFed:
3.5K - PlatCash Visa - Gas only. open lil over a year - wanna keep using - love instant statement credit

BoA/FIA:
3K - Americard - opened for bonus used sparingly essentially sockdrawered

Discover:
4.5K More - opened since 08 small purchases ($10 if I'm short a GC at Sam's or there's a good deal on ShopDiscover etc

Other notes: AU on 2 25K+ CCs from my dad for 7-8 years & paid of a 20k car note back in 09.

Don't really care about my score that much; paid off house outright; not looking to move for 2-5 years.

Thanks in advance for any feedback...

know your score - why did Fidelity deny your app? Use that as a means to get a free credit report. You are eligible for one with denied credit application. If they denied it for too many recent apps, I figure Sallie Mae will do the same. Citi Forward is a little more lax - you may get that card if you apply for it. If it was for too many recent apps, I'd suggest waiting 3-6 months before applying for anything else.

If you go on trips with someone else on Delta, I would recommend upgrading to the the Delta Platinum AMEX over the Delta Gold. (free companion ticket vs $99 companion ticket, but only $50 higher annual fee). But if you don't have a need for a companion ticket - call AMEX and ask them to convert it (without doing a hard pull) to either an AMEX Blue Cash (no annual fee +3% at grocery) or a Blue Cash preferred (annual fee less than Delta Gold +6% at grocery). My wife converted her Delta Gold to Blue Cash with no hard credit pull, it's the card she uses most (she does most of the grocery shopping). If you still want a card for airfare - call PenFed ask for PenFed travel AMEX (5% on airfare).

From the looks of things, you need an everyday card. FIA or Sallie Mae 2% cards are good. In the meantime - AMEX Blue cards could supplement your everyday spending via gift cards at grocery stores (read that threadfor more info)

Also, Chase AARP - if you're considering sock drawering it - call and ask them to convert to Chase Freedom without a hard pull. You wouldn't get the signup bonus, but you'll get 5% rotating categories.

CokeSlurpee711 said:   Thanks for the prompt reply!

imbatman said: know your score - why did Fidelity deny your app? Use that as a means to get a free credit report.
What's this procedure? Or do they just snail mail me a reason?

Thanks for the AARP conversion tip; Freedom looks like nice AF free rotator. Will do when the time comes.

Also, I've got Blue Everday... Not getting the higher Delta card was real stupid on my part, but its where I am now...

My goal was something like:

PF - Gas, SM - Groceries, Forward - Amazon/Restaurants etc, FIA - Everyday (other misc) Then my travel partners cards.

Was denied the PF travel AMEX back when I got the PF Plat Cash.

Thanks again

last time I was denied credit (citi), they sent me snail mail with the reason (which they also gave me over the phone - too many recent apps) that also contained information on how to get my Equifax report for free. You're only able to get a free copy of the report pulled by FIA (if they pulled 3 agencies, you can get a free report from each).

If you're interested in Delta Platinum - you can also call and ask to be upgraded to that card without a hard pull, you'll get the free annual companion ticket after 1 year of conversion.

PenFed approved one card but not the other? Weird. How long ago was that VISA approval?

I basically have the same breakdown as you for my cards (except since my wife gets most of the groceries with AMEX Blue Cash, so I use SM 5% for gas+grocery), Forward for dining/bookstores, 2% FIA card for other, PenFed Travel for airfare. Various hotel cards for hotels.

I currently have Discover, USAA Cash Reward MC, Chase Amazon Visa, & AMEX Blue.

I live overseas now, so I basically can't use any of these for daily purchases & just use cash all the time. The only time I really use a credit card is ordering things from the US (usually Amazon) or, when I travel.

I'll be staying at a Starwood for a week next month, so I'm kind of considering getting the Starwood AMEX. But, then on my next trip the following month there is no Starwood, and I'll probably be staying at a Hyatt for 3 weeks.

I noticed there is no mention of any Hyatt point cards in this thread and was wondering if there was a reason. The Chase Hyatt Visa card has a $75 annual fee, but you get 2 free nights after your first use, plus a free night every anniversary, automatic platinum status which gives you a 15% point bonus on each stay, & 3:1 points:$ spent at Hyatt & 1:1 spent elsewhere. Plus, there is no foreign transaction fee. Is there some negative I'm missing that's keeping it from being listed here?

It seems that Visa is excepted much more overseas than Discover or AMEX, so I'm leaning more towards the Chase Hyatt Visa than the Starwood AMEX.

I'll probably also stay 3 or so weeks per year at Marriott, but that's not coming up for 6 months, so I'm not really looking at that yet.

I've never stayed at a Hyatt, but I'm almost certain I'll spend 3 weeks in one during April. I almost went for the SPG AMEX, but then I saw the 2.7% foreign transaction fee & decided against it (since most of my transactions will be foreign.)

So, now I'm trying to decide between the Hyatt & Marriott visas. At the moment, I'm thinking I'll spend at least 3 weeks at each this year, but I could probably work it where all the stays were with the same chain if I wanted. At least the Hyatt gives you automatic platinum status. I don't think the Marriott does that. I guess maybe I should wait until I find out for sure where I'll be staying the 3 weeks in April.

Edit: I think I'll go ahead & get the Marriott Premier as it pays 2:1 on airfare, dining, & rental cars.

7lowe said:   I've never stayed at a Hyatt, but I'm almost certain I'll spend 3 weeks in one during April. I almost went for the SPG AMEX, but then I saw the 2.7% foreign transaction fee & decided against it (since most of my transactions will be foreign.)

So, now I'm trying to decide between the Hyatt & Marriott visas. At the moment, I'm thinking I'll spend at least 3 weeks at each this year, but I could probably work it where all the stays were with the same chain if I wanted. At least the Hyatt gives you automatic platinum status. I don't think the Marriott does that. I guess maybe I should wait until I find out for sure where I'll be staying the 3 weeks in April.

Edit: I think I'll go ahead & get the Marriott Premier as it pays 2:1 on airfare, dining, & rental cars.

Marriott premier gets you automatic silver status. also additional spending gets you "nights" that count towards higher status only.

Took a week or so for my Marriott card to arrive after approval. You could always book now and change payment method later with that card when it arrives. Even pre-paid stays are often not charged until the status complete.

I have the old AMEX Blue Cash to use for the 5% categories, and a Fidelity AMEX (2% cash-back) for the rest. Stellar credit, no loans/mortgages/balances. Looking for the best non-AMEX cash-back card for me (some places don't take AMEX) - ideas? I don't travel or fly much at all.

Also I have a few other cards I never use - only got them to jump on specific hot deals. Cancel them or not? Thnx.

imbatman said:   In your situation, I wouldn't cancel cards unless they have annual fees.
As for other cards- what sort of spending do you have? How often do you find yourself getting 1% what sort of purchases are those?I try to use the AMEX's everywhere, but occasionally something like a Dr office, bed 'n breakfast, utility company or a specialty store won't take them. Probably only a few grand a year, but I'd like some kind of reward if possible.

A question about upgrading credit cards. I have a Citi account that I opened a long time ago. It is my go to for spending that's not groceries or gas. But Citi offers a card that has rewards that are slightly better than what I get with my old card. Can I call and ask them to upgrade me to the new card? If so, what date will show for how long the account has been open, the old card date or the new card date?

What card for restaurants and/or fast food? I'm currently using the Discoever card when its that time of the year to save 5% or my AMEX preferred with its general 1% off everything. I spend around $500-$600 a month in "restaurants" and about $100 in "fast food".

I searched the summary post and it appeared the Chase ink at 2% was best, but it looks like that doesn't exist anymore.

I use the PenFed for 5% off gas.
I use the AMEX Preferred for 6% groceries, 3% department stores and 1% off everything else.
I use Discover for the rotating 5% categories. I really only use it for restaurants 5% when they come up.