Please recommend credit card

[SheWhoWalksAtLunch]

So I’m aware that Credit Card Churning is a thing, but I’ve never really paid attention because I was more focused on reducing expenses to pay down debt and increase savings. 

I am suddenly faced with a $4,000 expense that I can put on a credit card.  We are debt (and mortgage) free and I have the $4k in cash savings, but I’d rather not draw down savings when I know I can cover this expense out of income over the next 3-4 months.  If I can find a card with 0% financing for that time, that would be great.  If I can get other benefits in addition, that would be fantastic.

I took a look at nerd wallet last night but was overwhelmed by options and am honestly a little bit nervous about opening a new credit card.  The DH and I have shared a joint amazon card for the last 10 years, and we each have even older personal Discover cards for discretionary spending, but that’s it.

Please recommend a card and please advise me on the best way to sign up.  Note:  we currently have our credit reports locked up, so I know I’m going to have to dig out the passwords and open them back up adding an additional step to this process before I can apply.

Primary desire - 0% financing for at least 6 months with no annual fee

Other considerations:
1) We will be attending a family wedding next July in New England.  Points that can be redeemed for a hotel within a reasonable commuting distance of UNH Durham would be useful but are not required.  We plan to drive the 1,000 miles mostly to bring home things that don’t fly well (local liquid delicacies and heavy/sharp tools inherited from family) so airfare is not useful at all.
2) I am not opposed to cash back on a card.  I would use it on regular monthly expenses.

So, which card should I apply for?  Which cards should I avoid?

If all my questions can be answered by reading a preexisting post somewhere, just point it out and I will do my homework.  I have a few days before I need to make this payment, so I have some time to learn before I leap, but I'd love some expert opinions.

[Sugaree]

If it were me, I'd look at one of the Chase cards that earns Ultimate Reward points.  The Freedom and the Freedom Unlimited don't have an annual fee.  The Sapphire Preferred has an annual fee.  I think it's $95 and waived the first year.  This will have a better sign up offer than the Freedoms, but if you have it you can transfer points between all three of the UR cards.  There's also a higher end Sapphire reserved that has a stupid high fee and is really only justified if you travel for work like 75% of the time. 

[SheWhoWalksAtLunch]

Good point.  We don't pay annual fees on the cards we have now, and I forget that some cards have annual fees.

Origional post edited to add additional preference:  no annual fee.

[Sugaree]

Honestly, I think I'd go for something like the Citi Double Card.  Without the Sapphire card for the sign up bonus and ability to conglomerate points from the Freedom cards, you probably won't earn enough points to get a hotel room.  Hotel points are pretty underwhelming IMO. 

This is of course assuming that the purchase you want to make isn't going to fall into some kind of special category. 

[leavesofgrass]

I second the Chase Sapphire Preferred. The $95 annual fee is waived the first year, and you get 50k bonus points by spending $4k in the first 3 months. This will definitely get you a hotel room plus more. It's a great deal. I take advantage of credit card sign up bonuses all the time, and this is one best deals out there right now.

[SheWhoWalksAtLunch]

I ended up going with the Capitol one Quicksilver.  It seemed to be the best fit for our immediate needs.  I was astonished by how quickly we were approved.  Goes to show there's a whole 'nother area of FI  that I need familiarize myself with.

[Milkshake]

Credit card churning is only really effective if you pay off the balance in full every month. Getting cards with 0% interest generally comes with the caveat that they have little to no sign on bonus. Most of my cards have 20+% interest, but it doesn't matter because auto-pay in full is set up upon card approval.

[SheWhoWalksAtLunch]

Thank you.  We pay our other credit cards off every month and have done so for years.  We needed a 0% card for a one time expense that i would rather not take out of savings if I don't have to.  We have enough coming in every month to cover our day to day expenses, pay off this card long before the introductory period ends and still make small contributions to the emergency fund until I can get it back up where I want it.  After we've cleared this debt I will take a more in-depth look at credit card churning.  I hadn't thought of picking up a high interest card primarily for the sign on bonus.  You've given me something to think about.

[TomTX]

Thank you.  We pay our other credit cards off every month and have done so for years.  We needed a 0% card for a one time expense that i would rather not take out of savings if I don't have to.  We have enough coming in every month to cover our day to day expenses, pay off this card long before the introductory period ends and still make small contributions to the emergency fund until I can get it back up where I want it.  After we've cleared this debt I will take a more in-depth look at credit card churning.  I hadn't thought of picking up a high interest card primarily for the sign on bonus.  You've given me something to think about.

You would rather have a 0% loan for a year on $4k than get paid $540 cash money? Okay....

Note that Chase UR points can be turned into cash at 1 cent per point (CPP) - so that $4k bill on a fresh Chase Sapphire Preferred gets you 4k points for the spend, and 50k points for the signup bonus. No annual fee for the first year. At the end of the year, just downgrade it to a card with no annual fee.

[SheWhoWalksAtLunch]

Thank you for the recommendation.  Unfortunately, I've already committed to the new card, but once this current expense is paid off, I need to start paying more attention to options like the one you suggest.  Our debt busting focus and low yearly spend in the past didn't make watching the credit card market worth wile, but once we're retired and traveling more in those first years, I know I will need to up my game.  If you can point me toward a place to start learning more, it would be greatly appreciated.

[Milkshake]

A good source is https://www.travelmiles101.com/
They have a free class that you can either read through or get sent to your email once per day. Good source for beginners.

Otherwise there are several threads on this site that discuss credit card churning. The link below is the google search for this site and "credit card churning":
Credit Card Churning Search

[SheWhoWalksAtLunch]

Perfect.  Exactly what I need Milkshake.  thank you!