Author Topic: Good credit card options?  (Read 5834 times)

deek

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Good credit card options?
« on: April 20, 2018, 12:43:54 PM »
Hi All - I have one credit card which I pay off every month. The only thing is, I want a few more perks with a credit card. What are some good options for a travel lover? I really only want one credit card. I have to use my debit enough to keep my rewards checking in tact at my credit union, so there's not much room for a 2nd credit card.

I know people post referrals alot.. are there awesome activation offers with some cards?

Thanks!!

MrGville

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Re: Good credit card options?
« Reply #1 on: April 20, 2018, 12:46:30 PM »
I would probably get the Chase Sapphire Preferred.  I has a sign up bonus after hitting minimum spend and you earn Chase Ultimate Rewards Points.  You can use the points to get cash back, or you can transfer them 1 to 1 to a decent amount of travel partners (Hyatt, Marriott, United, etc.) to book rewards travel. 

PizzaSteve

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Re: Good credit card options?
« Reply #2 on: April 20, 2018, 12:48:02 PM »
If Southwest Air is convenient for you, check out the companion pass for two cards thread.  Easily thousands in value for under 200 in fees.

bacchi

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Re: Good credit card options?
« Reply #3 on: April 20, 2018, 12:48:22 PM »
Citi Double Cash 2% back card. It's no annual fee and there's currently a $100 statement credit offer.

I'd avoid cards with annual fees. They're good for churning -- the sign up bonus makes it worth it -- but rarely are they good for everyday use. The Hyatt credit card gives you a free hotel room for the annual fee but the Hyatt points aren't worth it.

Trying2bFrugal

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Re: Good credit card options?
« Reply #4 on: April 20, 2018, 01:09:29 PM »
I use Chase freedom (free) for purchases (5% cashback calendar), Then I merge the points to Chase Sapphire (has $95 annual fee from second year). If you have both cards, you can merge points.
CSapp has 125% of points value when used for travel/loging.

I do atleast one international travel per year and the points accumulated pay the annual fee easily.
First year, signup bonus was $500 and I had $400 cash back on freedom, both together was $900 and I was able to book the flight ticket about $1150 with that money.

If you straight plain in annual fee haters club, dont bother about the goodies you can score with these cards.
Just get a card with 2% (Bofa has 1.5%, discover it 2%, citi 2%) with no foreign transaction fee (if you travel international).

Credit cards are golden if you pay off full. I stopped using my debit card 10 years back. Always close off all balances each month. Out of 8 cards I use, the only paid card i use is Chase Sapp.

jlcnuke

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Re: Good credit card options?
« Reply #5 on: April 20, 2018, 02:32:50 PM »
What type of travel do you do/plan to do? If you're just traveling domestically and staying in campgrounds the best card would be very different than if you're flying internationally multiple times a year which would be very different than if you're traveling the US in a compact car and staying in one hotel brand everywhere.

JLee

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deek

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Re: Good credit card options?
« Reply #7 on: April 20, 2018, 03:24:16 PM »
What type of travel do you do/plan to do? If you're just traveling domestically and staying in campgrounds the best card would be very different than if you're flying internationally multiple times a year which would be very different than if you're traveling the US in a compact car and staying in one hotel brand everywhere.

More domestic, but I want some international as well - maybe once every 2-3 years.

kenner

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Re: Good credit card options?
« Reply #8 on: April 20, 2018, 07:41:55 PM »
I keep an eye on
https://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/best-credit-card-sign-up-offers/
since it includes both travel and other rewards.

My standard cards are Fidelity (2% back on everything into my investment accounts--default card), and Freedom and Discover for the 5% back categories when they're useful since neither has an annual fee, but for travel I tend to churn since it's an easier way to earn points.

secondcor521

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Re: Good credit card options?
« Reply #9 on: April 20, 2018, 09:08:22 PM »
If you're able to front the annual fee and get the card mid-year (like any time now), I like the following three cards, all of which offer similar benefits packages that can pay you back 3x to 4x your first annual fee and possibly pay you back your subsequent annual fees:

1.  Charles Schwab AMEX Platinum - @lexde has a thread on this one here which lays it out pretty well:  https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/making-$1-150-00-in-12-months-with-my-charge-card/
2.  USBank Altitude Reserve Visa Infinite - I think this is USBank's effort to have a product like the Schwab card (#1) and the Chase card (#3).  I think this card is not well known but I liked what I saw when I looked at the offers on it.
3.  Chase Sapphire Reserved - lots of links out there on this one.

If you tell us more about what airlines you want to fly, or whether you want points or cash back, and what your spending patterns are, people might be able to give better recommendations.

Oh, and lots of people, including me, like Doctor Of Credit, so you might look at that website for options too.

Good luck!

deek

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Re: Good credit card options?
« Reply #10 on: April 20, 2018, 09:27:50 PM »
If you're able to front the annual fee and get the card mid-year (like any time now), I like the following three cards, all of which offer similar benefits packages that can pay you back 3x to 4x your first annual fee and possibly pay you back your subsequent annual fees:

1.  Charles Schwab AMEX Platinum - @lexde has a thread on this one here which lays it out pretty well:  https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/making-$1-150-00-in-12-months-with-my-charge-card/
2.  USBank Altitude Reserve Visa Infinite - I think this is USBank's effort to have a product like the Schwab card (#1) and the Chase card (#3).  I think this card is not well known but I liked what I saw when I looked at the offers on it.
3.  Chase Sapphire Reserved - lots of links out there on this one.

If you tell us more about what airlines you want to fly, or whether you want points or cash back, and what your spending patterns are, people might be able to give better recommendations.

Oh, and lots of people, including me, like Doctor Of Credit, so you might look at that website for options too.

Good luck!

Thanks!!

I would prefer Delta, Southwest, American Airlines.

I don't spend a whole lot. Make only 38k. 1300-1400 monthly expenses. Little extra spending, the extra spending is mostly eating out. A few purchases here and there on Amazon. Try to put most of what's leftover away/E-fund.

secondcor521

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Re: Good credit card options?
« Reply #11 on: April 20, 2018, 11:16:59 PM »
Probably the smartest thing to do would be to get a Chase Southwest personal plus business combination and then work towards the companion pass first, as Chase has something called the 5/24 rule that makes it better to get those two cards first.  You'll probably need to learn about and decide if you're comfortable with something called manufactured spending, which simply put are some tricks that allow you to make it look like you're spending money on a credit card (to meet the minimum $5,000 spend in 3 months or whatever it happens to be) without actually spending money.  Also it will sort of depend on if you have a companion that could travel with you that would be valuable to you.

After those two, then there are AMEX Delta cards...you could probably get two of those also and get a couple of free trips that way.  AMEX limits you to one reward per card per lifetime, so you probably want to make sure that the offers that you get on those are good ones.  I think you can get 50K to 60K on each of these when the offers are at their best (and they happen to be for the AMEX Delta Gold I think right now).  But don't worry about hurrying...they're like sales, they run them every few months.

And then Citi has several AA cards...you could probably get two of those also and get a couple of free trips that way.  I don't recall what the best offers are, but you should at least get 30K miles per card.  And the required spend is usually lower on these, so if you're not comfortable with manufactured spending for whatever reason, you might still be able to shift your spending to get one or two of these offers to work for you.

frugaliknowit

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Re: Good credit card options?
« Reply #12 on: April 21, 2018, 10:22:51 AM »
I have a 2 pronged strategy:

1.  Citi Double gets maximum use, because it pays 2%.  I run as much as possible through that.

2.  About once per year, I look at my planned travel, then look at cards offering big upfront points.  I choose one that optimally fits with my upcoming travel.  I open it, make the required purchases, use the points toward travel.  When I've used up the (mostly) free travel rewards, close the card before the annual fee kicks in.  Move on to the next, etc.  "Pump and dump".

deek

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Re: Good credit card options?
« Reply #13 on: April 23, 2018, 07:55:12 AM »
On the cash back side of things - does anyone have an Amazon VISA Rewards?

5% back on Amazon purchases for Prime members, 2% at restaurants/gas stations/drug stores, 1% on all other purchases.

JLee

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Re: Good credit card options?
« Reply #14 on: April 23, 2018, 08:42:42 AM »
On the cash back side of things - does anyone have an Amazon VISA Rewards?

5% back on Amazon purchases for Prime members, 2% at restaurants/gas stations/drug stores, 1% on all other purchases.

I have the Amazon Prime rewards card but generally use it for consumable items from Amazon. For anything else, I'd rather have price protection and warranty from my Sapphire Reserve. Price protection has saved me north of $100 in the last 6 months.

deek

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Re: Good credit card options?
« Reply #15 on: April 23, 2018, 08:52:42 AM »
On the cash back side of things - does anyone have an Amazon VISA Rewards?

5% back on Amazon purchases for Prime members, 2% at restaurants/gas stations/drug stores, 1% on all other purchases.

I have the Amazon Prime rewards card but generally use it for consumable items from Amazon. For anything else, I'd rather have price protection and warranty from my Sapphire Reserve. Price protection has saved me north of $100 in the last 6 months.

Interesting. When I get time I'll look at all these recommendations for all the details/offers.

NoStacheOhio

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Re: Good credit card options?
« Reply #16 on: April 23, 2018, 08:57:46 AM »
On the cash back side of things - does anyone have an Amazon VISA Rewards?

5% back on Amazon purchases for Prime members, 2% at restaurants/gas stations/drug stores, 1% on all other purchases.

Yes, that's the only card we use on Amazon.

We also have the AmEx Blue Preferred (6% groceries, 3% gas, less on other stuff that I don't really pay attention to)

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!