Credit Card Suggestion?

[oldtoyota]

Any recos for a credit card?

Amex has ticked me off by lying to me, so I want a Visa or Mastercard.

I don't care about interest rate, because I don't carry a balance.

What I care about most is downloadable transactions. My current Mastercard only offers PDFs of past transactions, which means I would have to enter in all transactions by hand. I only use that Mastercard when some store doesn't take the Amex.

But, now, Amex is going to lose me because they won't remove a $25 unfair charge from American Traffic Solutions.

[madmax]

Chase freedom:

https://www.chase.com/freedom‎

Chase is trying to compete with Amex, customer service is pretty good. They rush mail replacement cards, extend warranties etc etc 5  % cashback in rotating categories, 1 % on everything.

Website has a search/download transactions feature:



My only gripe so far is that they pull your credit every time you ask for an increased limit while Amex never pulled my credit score and was pretty liberal about cc limit increases until I got to a $50000 limit.

[Dellainacan]

The only card I use is a chase card through southwest. Awful interest rate. But live transaction data online when you swipe.

The main reason I use the card is for airfare. We fly free once a year because of points. It's pretty easy to rack up points.

[oldtoyota]

The only card I use is a chase card through southwest. Awful interest rate. But live transaction data online when you swipe.

The main reason I use the card is for airfare. We fly free once a year because of points. It's pretty easy to rack up points.

Is there an annual charge for the southwest card? I ask because a friend signed up to get the credit card and free plane ticket...but then she was charged $99 as an annual fee. That was the cost of the plane ticket, so it seemed silly.

[oldtoyota]

PS: I have not applied for a credit card in a long time. Is it normal to have to give your salary information?

[madmax]

Yep, I've always had to give out my salary

[oldtoyota]

Okay. Thanks!

I am getting the Chase Freedom. Should be here in two weeks. Then, I'll get off of Amex.

[chasesfish]

Best reward is a the Fidelity AMEX card, which isn't actually AMEX, but PNC now under a grandfathered AMEX license.

Chase is good too

[aj_yooper]

Best reward is a the Fidelity AMEX card, which isn't actually AMEX, but PNC now under a grandfathered AMEX license.

Definitely agree.  2% all the time, in cash if you do a Fidelity account. 

[nawhite]

Barclaycard world arrival card:

2.22% cash back on all purchases (if you use it to zero out travel purchases, 2% otherwise)
$400 sign up bonus when you spend $1000 in 3 months
$89 annual fee waived the first year

not sure about downloading transactions.

[sparky603]

Barclaycard world arrival card:

2.22% cash back on all purchases (if you use it to zero out travel purchases, 2% otherwise)
$400 sign up bonus when you spend $1000 in 3 months
$89 annual fee waived the first year

not sure about downloading transactions.

+1, I've had a Chase Freedom for over a year now and really like it.  Just got my Barclay world arrival card in the other day, which is also offering 0% APR for the first 12 months. 

[madage]

Barclaycard world arrival card:

2.22% cash back on all purchases (if you use it to zero out travel purchases, 2% otherwise)
$400 sign up bonus when you spend $1000 in 3 months
$89 annual fee waived the first year

not sure about downloading transactions.

You can download to the formats in the attached image. Excel, Quicken, Quickbooks

Edited to add: This card is awesome if you have travel charges. The cash redemption rate is only 1%.

[Fireman]

I am getting the Chase Freedom. Should be here in two weeks. Then, I'll get off of Amex.

Unless the Amex card has an annual fee, i'd at least keep the account open to show length of credit history.  I made the mistake of canceling my first credit card when I got a better one not realizing it would lower my score by shortening my credit history.

Just a thought.

[chucklesmcgee]

Barclaycard world arrival card:

2.22% cash back on all purchases (if you use it to zero out travel purchases, 2% otherwise)
$400 sign up bonus when you spend $1000 in 3 months
$89 annual fee waived the first year

not sure about downloading transactions.

Definitely seconding this. My new favorite general use card. Fidelity AMEX is nice, but the Mastercard has much better merchant acceptance and better rewards. The sign up bonus will cover the annual fee until year 6. Also, every monthly statement comes with an free FICO score.

[aj_yooper]

Barclaycard world arrival card:

2.22% cash back on all purchases (if you use it to zero out travel purchases, 2% otherwise)
$400 sign up bonus when you spend $1000 in 3 months
$89 annual fee waived the first year

not sure about downloading transactions.

Definitely seconding this. My new favorite general use card. Fidelity AMEX is nice, but the Mastercard has much better merchant acceptance and better rewards. The sign up bonus will cover the annual fee until year 6. Also, every monthly statement comes with an free FICO score.

Sounds like a good card, but the Fidelity AE is free with cash refunds.  AE is not as widely accepted as Visa or MC, but not by much.

[gimp]

My only gripe so far is that they pull your credit every time you ask for an increased limit while Amex never pulled my credit score and was pretty liberal about cc limit increases until I got to a $50000 limit.

a $50000 limit

Holy hell. I am curious.

[madmax]

a $50000 limit

Holy hell. I am curious.

I used to put a reminder on my calendar and call in every six months asking for an increase. Started with $10000, Amex kept doubling it until I ended up going from 40K to 50K. Now they send me a letter asking me to fill a form that lets them get my tax transcripts from the IRS. Oh well.

[Dellainacan]

The only card I use is a chase card through southwest. Awful interest rate. But live transaction data online when you swipe.

The main reason I use the card is for airfare. We fly free once a year because of points. It's pretty easy to rack up points.

Is there an annual charge for the southwest card? I ask because a friend signed up to get the credit card and free plane ticket...but then she was charged $99 as an annual fee. That was the cost of the plane ticket, so it seemed silly.

Two options. One without an annual charge and one with it. The one with it they reimburse you by adding the points back to your card for the fee.

[MoneyCat]

Another recommendation:  The BankAmericard 123 Cash Rewards Visa.  3% cashback on gasoline, 2% cashback on groceries, and 1% cashback on everything else.  I basically combine that with my Discover It card for Discover's 5% categories and ShopDiscover discounts and it's saved me a lot of money.