Rewards Credit Cards?

travman23 · 06-16-2008, 05:23 PM

Wondering what some of you have for these since there are so many any more. I just signed up for the Chase Freedom card this weekend: Chase Freedom Credit Card, Rewards Credit Card or Cash back Credit Card, VISA, Visa Credit card, Chase Freedom Visa and I don't think I've found a better deal out there so far. 3% cash back on your top 3 category purchases and 1% on everything else plus $50 cash back after your first purchase. I don't get why anyone would opt for the points system over the cash back option. It's $0.01 per point and most of the rewards are basically the same cash value as taking the cash back rebates.

The gift cards are funny, 1000 points get you a $5 card which you could have had $10 cash back instead. The 5000 and 10000 points cards for $50 and $100 are equal to the cash back ammounts though.

Any other good deals out there? I also have a GM Mastercard that earns 5% towards a new car but the problem is you can only cash up to $2000 on that at once and also I am screwed because they will not allow that to be used along with a GM Family First discount (part of the employee discount program) which I am eligble for so it's 1 or the other and the GM employee discount is usually well over $2000 on most vehicles so not sure what I am going to do with that card but I can hold onto it for now I guess because at some point the family member that allows me to qualify for the GM discount will pass away and I will no longer be eligible for that. If you have State Farm insurance they have a 1% back CC you can use towards your account, however I no longer use them so I weaned myself off of using that card because its doing me no good now.

ISUFan22 · 06-16-2008, 05:25 PM

I use the same exact card - personal and business.

I always save up $200 worth of points before I redeem them - because at $200 you get a $250 check. :)

travman23 · 06-16-2008, 05:27 PM

Originally Posted by ISUFan22

I use the same exact card - personal and business.

I always save up $200 worth of points before I redeem them - because at $200 you get a $250 check. :)

I saw that, I can easily rack that much up in a year or less. I try to use my CC to pay for about everything as then I can just make a payment once a month on what I spent. I never carry a balance but I like to have that cash on hand or earning interest somewhere before it leaves my account instead of just taking a little at a time out with a debit card like many do. If you can save money and even earn a little this way you are going to come out better over the long haul I think.

AnkenyCy24 · 06-16-2008, 05:29 PM

I have a Sony Visa. You get one point per dollar spent. Probably not the best out there. But, occasionally I'll check my balance on their rewards site, and can get some pretty cool things. I've gotten a PS2, extra controllers, and a digital camera so far with it. Like I said, there's probably better ones out there, from a money back option. But, this one has worked for me for years...

ISUFan22 · 06-16-2008, 05:30 PM

Originally Posted by travman23

I saw that, I can easily rack that much up in a year or less. I try to use my CC to pay for about everything as then I can just make a payment once a month on what I spent. I never carry a balance but I like to have that cash on hand or earning interest somewhere before it leaves my account instead of just taking a little at a time out with a debit card like many do. If you can save money and even earn a little this way you are going to come out better over the long haul I think.

I've been doing the exact same thing for nearly a year now and it works perfectly.

CC companies have been making (and still are on one acct) enough money off me - time for a return. :)

For a while, the card I had was 0% interest too - so I'd just pay the minimum, max it out, pay the balance and do it again.

In order to stay disciplined, I record each transaction in my checkbook as if I spent that money out of my checking acct.

isuarch80 · 06-16-2008, 06:07 PM

I've got the GM card - got almost another $3k off my truck a while back, and the American Airlines card which I only use for work, and they pay the annual fee... going to Hawaii first class on miles and staying a week for free on the beach. :)

sunset · 06-16-2008, 06:11 PM

Great topic, I'll be interested to see what everybody uses. I work for a bank so I've always been loyal to our brand, but if there is a big enough incentive......

CyGuy33 · 06-16-2008, 06:27 PM

I've got nothing, no credit card just the debit card. I was looking into something but don't know which direction to go. I will be paying attention to this thread.

ericlambi · 06-16-2008, 08:45 PM

I used to do the CC for everything and pay off the balance every month. Was doing Discover card with a cashback bonus. I found myself timing my purchases based on the billing cycle, which wasn't good. At certain times of the month it would be almost two months until my next payment and I think I bought more stuff because of this. I just do the debit card now and I think I buy less because of it.

SlyCy · 06-16-2008, 09:38 PM

Capital One for me. Truely no hassle rewards.

We put all of our monthly expenses on it to rack up points and then pay it off at the end of the month. 8 airline tickets in the past 2 years for free because of it.

Kyle · 06-16-2008, 09:44 PM

I use my Citi card for virtually everything. The rewards are not that great as it is a points system that typically returns less than 1%. I've had it for like 8 years now though, its my only card, and they've been fairly good to me (they just took off a late charge when I got busy around finals time and made my payment 5 days late).

If I use the points to donate to charity or pay off my student loans I get a 1% return rate. Right now I'm saving them for another year until I graduate so that I have a bit of safety net with regards to making my first student loan payments.

aeroclone08 · 06-16-2008, 09:49 PM

Yep, Chase freedom here too. I've had it for 4 or 5 months and will be cashing out my $250 after next month's statement.

superdorf · 06-16-2008, 09:57 PM

I realize that this won't be a popular opinion... But please realize that utilizing cards of these nature are making your everyday purchase more and more expensive.

Check out this site:
Unfair Credit Card Fees

Just a small excerpt from the site:

The credit card interchange fee is the biggest credit card fee you've never heard of. Nearly $2 of every $100 American consumers spend using credit cards go directly to the credit card industry through the interchange fee.

In 2007 alone, America consumers paid over $42 billion in credit card interchange fees. Even consumers who don't use plastic pay more through higher prices.

So you may seem like you are getting something for nothing, you aren't. We are all paying for your first class trips, your digital cameras, and your cash back.

1100011CS · 06-16-2008, 10:02 PM

Thanks

Originally Posted by superdorf

I realize that this won't be a popular opinion... But please realize that utilizing cards of these nature are making your everyday purchase more and more expensive.

Check out this site:
Unfair Credit Card Fees

Just a small excerpt from the site:
So you may seem like you are getting something for nothing, you aren't. We are all paying for your first class trips, your digital cameras, and your cash back.

Phaedrus · 06-17-2008, 12:16 AM

Originally Posted by CyGuy33

I've got nothing, no credit card just the debit card. I was looking into something but don't know which direction to go. I will be paying attention to this thread.

It's a scam. Keep the debit card; you'll end up spending 15-20 percent more using the credit card to get that 1% cash back.