I have to get some orthodontia done, to the tune of $4,500, with a $2500 deposit. The remaining $2000 will be split into monthly payments. My initial plan was to use a rewards CC at the dentist’s, and then reimburse myself with my 2014 AND 2015 limited FSAs (since it’s a multi-year expense) and my HSA.
The card I was planning to use was my Barclaycard Arrival, before the annual fee kicks in (I’d downgrade when that happens) and while it’s still 0% APR. In order to take advantage of this, I would pay the down payment before August, but this would only net me $55 cash back (@2.2%), and then only 1.1% on the subsequent payments after the card has been downgraded (total $75 cash back). As you can imagine, I’ve already gotten the $440 bonus award because I’ve had it for nearly a year. Also, once my intro year is up, it’s no longer 0% APR but this doesn’t concern me much because I will not carry debt month to month. (While it’s been on 0%, I’ve been only paying the minimum and squirrelling the difference until that time comes.)
But then I got to thinking. Wouldn’t it better for me to get a new card to get a sign-up bonus for the known $2,500 expense? It would be awesome if it was ALSO, like the Barclaycard was, 0% APR for the first year so I can keep the limited FSA/HSA reimbursements in my interest-bearing account (hahahaha), but I think my priority at this point is getting a good bonus. (Having some kind of cashback on spending would be nice too.)
Cards I already have are Chase Freedom and BankAmericard Cash Rewards. I use these for the cash rewards, not travel. According to my credit score that Barclays has provided me, my FICO is in the 770s, as of March.
Based on this, can you think of any cards that might help me optimize this large upcoming expense? I'm definitely not interested in hotel rewards, for what it's worth. Chase Sapphire has come up a lot in my searches, but I don't know if the fact I already have a Chase account makes a difference.
Would love to hear your suggestions, and am happy to answer any questions you might have. Thanks!