New Member with a Question

[baloncesto]

Hello MMM forum members!

I have been a long time lurker and have finally decided to join to be a part of the discussions. I have read many of the blogs and forum dialogues and I am very impressed with the amount of knowledge that is thrown around to help others. I am a recent college grad and therefore, I have many questions on life, money, investing, and taxes.

My first question is a recommendation for a credit card that has generous cash back rewards or points for airfare miles. I have never had a credit card but would like to open one up to take advantage of "free" money for my regular spending. I will never carry a balance, but would like to open one up for the points and to help build my credit.

[Lews Therin]

What country are you in?

I also recommend using the google search while for mmm site (Look in the FAQ threads) in order to do searches, since a lot of the basic questions will have threads on them, it's usually just hard to find.

[baloncesto]

Thanks for the reply, Ben. I am in the USA. I will keep trying to search to find threads on this topic, but I also know that certain credit cards have different specials/offers at different times. Thanks.

[Lews Therin]

From what i've heard, This will be a good source.

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/

[SimpleCycle]

Some of this depends on what you spend on.  For example, Chase Sapphire Reserve has 3x points on restaurant meals and travel spending, but the typical Mustachian may not spend much in those categories, making the hefty annual fee not worth it (although honestly, the way Chase points work, it may still be worth it).  It also depends which airline you fly.  I think the Southwest Plus is a screaming good deal at a $69 annual fee, 50k sign up bonus, and Southwest points tend to have a higher redemption value than other airline points, at least flying from my city.

Read a bit on the site linked and The Points Guy about how all this works, then decide on a card and just go with it.

[Dezrah]

I just want to comment on the "cash-back" versus "airline miles" rewards.

Personally, I don't travel a lot.  On the occasions where I do fly, I will usually shop around for the best time:value:quality balance for that particular trip.  Over the years I've flown on all the major airlines, but I've never flown on one substantially more than the others.  Basically it just doesn't make sense for me to lock myself into one of these airlines with miles.  I'd rather just get a cash-back card and give myself a "discount" on every purchase, including those airline tickets.

My advice is to just stick with cash-back, no fee for now.  Once you know your patterns, you can do the math and switch cards down the line.

[baloncesto]

Thanks for the advice @Dezrah and @SimpleCycle

[Lanthiriel]

I think Mr. Money Mustache himself posts his card recommendations here: https://www.cardratings.com/advisors/mrmoneymustache?SRC=636824

I have no idea how often this is updated, though.

I live on the West coast and personally use an Alaska Airlines Visa as my primary card. They seem to have the cheapest miles tickets and I'm a general fan of the airline. Just starting out, though, something like the Citi Double Cash card would be a good place to start. 2% back on all purchase isn't a bad choice.