credit card recommendations

[mtnrider]

I wanted to improve my credit card bonuses and rewards. 

I’ve looked at https://www.doctorofcredit.com/best-current-credit-card-sign-bonuses/, but none seem to apply to me.  Many cards are related to travel and dining.  I rarely travel.  I eat out once every month or two.  I’m usually not buying more than $50 of gas.  I'd rather not deal with the cards that reward rotating categories.  My back of the envelope calculations are that I'd get around 2% or less on them anyway, so no win there.

I spend around $800/month on a credit card, and already get 2% cash back. 

Can anyone suggest some low hanging fruit?
 

[bacchi]

Chase Sapphire Preferred ($600 cash) if you can get Chase cards and can drum up some more spend.

There are some $300 cards out there, like Wells Fargo Propel and at least one Bank of America card.

I believe the Cap One "miles" are really just cash points. Verify and confirm.

[therethere]

If you aren't interested in travel hacking/credit card churning. And you don't have high spend in the bonus categories (travel, gas). Then your 2% card is probably the best card for you. It's hard to beat a straight 2% unless you want to carry multiple cards and switch off depending on your purchase type.

[FireAnt]

Chase Freedom Unlimited is 3% back up to $20,000-- that is in the first year only, then goes down to 1.5%. May be worth it for the first year though!

[mtnrider]

If you aren't interested in travel hacking/credit card churning. And you don't have high spend in the bonus categories (travel, gas). Then your 2% card is probably the best card for you. It's hard to beat a straight 2% unless you want to carry multiple cards and switch off depending on your purchase type.

Is there a credit card churning for dummies site that explains the basics?

The easiest things I've heard say that I could get a card that rewards groceries, buy prepaid cards at the grocery store, then cash those in.  But from what I can tell, the margins aren't very high doing this on a cash-back card for an open-ended card like a visa prepaid card, and since I don't buy stuff like Starbucks or (much) gas I'm not sure it makes sense.  It might be better for airline miles.  And it's more labor intensive than I'd like.

The more advanced stuff seems to be taking out a cash loan from one credit card, moving the balance to a newly-opened card to get the bonus credits.  But at least in the few cases I've seen, the real payoff here is for airline points.  Cash back doesn't seem so great considering that if you miss something in the credit card agreement, they could slap you with retroactive usury interest payments.

I don't want to be picking up dollar bills in front of a steamroller, but there's something not risky, I might give it a shot.

[mtnrider]

Chase Freedom Unlimited is 3% back up to $20,000-- that is in the first year only, then goes down to 1.5%. May be worth it for the first year though!

This one looks interesting.  It's not as lucrative as I'd have thought -  $800 * 12 * (.03-.02) = $96, but it's not nothing.

Chase Sapphire Preferred ($600 cash) if you can get Chase cards and can drum up some more spend.

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-sapphire-preferred-increased-bonus-to-60000-points-annual-fee-not-waived-in-branch-only-current-live-online-tomorrow/

It's 60,000 points after you spend $4000 in 3 months.  That's $600 in points - $95 fee - $40 opportunity cost = $465.  That's pretty good.  But you're right that I wouldn't make the spending requirements for this one, unless something big came up.  The Chase site indicates that buying cash-like purchases doesn't count as spending, so I probably can't game the system.

There are some $300 cards out there, like Wells Fargo Propel and at least one Bank of America card.

I believe the Cap One "miles" are really just cash points. Verify and confirm.

Wells Fargo Propel
https://millionmilesecrets.com/guides/is-the-wells-fargo-propel-credit-card-worth-it/
$300 cash after you spend $3000 within 3 months.  3 points per dollar on stuff like travel and eating out.  I won't make the spending for this one.

Capital One Savor
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/capital-one-savor-signup-bonus-down-to-300-previously-500/
Yes, it looks like points can be converted to cash. $300 cash after you spend $3000 within 3 months.  4% back on eating and entertainment.  I won't make the spending for this one either.

BoA has a similar one
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/bank-america-premium-rewards-credit-card-now-live-50000-point-bonus-100-annual-travel-credit/
But I wouldn't hit the spending limit there either.

[GizmoTX]

Barclay's Uber Visa card: $100 awarded after spending $500 in 3 months. 4x for dining out (restaurants, take away, food delivery); 3x airfare, hotels, vacation homes (AirBnB), rideshare; 2x online shopping (does not include utilities), video & music streaming; 1x all else. Points convert to cash. No annual fee, no foreign transaction fees. Good travel card, except for merchandise purchases.

[mtnrider]

Barclay's Uber Visa card: $100 awarded after spending $500 in 3 months. 4x for dining out (restaurants, take away, food delivery); 3x airfare, hotels, vacation homes (AirBnB), rideshare; 2x online shopping (does not include utilities), video & music streaming; 1x all else. Points convert to cash. No annual fee, no foreign transaction fees. Good travel card, except for merchandise purchases.

This one is possible!  It looks like I'd get 1x for my typical purchases.  So the full reward would be $100-(.01*500)=$95.

Again, not nothing, but I'm not going to get to FIRE faster doing this!

I've heard stories of people pulling in thousands per year from credit card wizardry, but maybe that's gone now.

[bacchi]

$3000-$2400 = $600 left to purchase.

How does your grocery store handle its own gift cards? Mine just runs them through as a normal purchase. Test this with a small $25 gift card that you can use next time. Amazon sells some too (Safeway, Albertsons).

Or...pay some taxes. There's a 2% fee but that's $15 (.02 * 600) to get back ~$300.

Amazon credit works, too, especially as we approach the holidays.

Some car insurance takes credit cards. Same with house insurance.

[Saving in Austin]

Credit card churning for dummies site:

https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/

[geekette]

Since most of our monthly spend is in the grocery store, we have the Amex Blue Cash Preferred. It has a $95 annual fee, but 6% back at grocery stores and streaming services, 3% gas and transit, 1% for everything else.  $250 cash once you spend $1000 in the first three months. 

There's also a no fee Amex with 3%/2%/1%, and $150 after the $1000 spend. 

The fee makes sense for the first year due to the higher bonus, but after that, you can either downgrade to the free one, or, if the numbers pencil out, keep paying the annual fee.z

We get 6% back on gift cards and prescriptions at our grocery store.  You're limited to $6k in grocery purchases a year, though, so it's not a huge money maker.

I think you have to get business cards to really rake in the money churning gift cards and such, and for me, that's just too much work.

[mtnrider]

$3000-$2400 = $600 left to purchase.

How does your grocery store handle its own gift cards? Mine just runs them through as a normal purchase. Test this with a small $25 gift card that you can use next time. Amazon sells some too (Safeway, Albertsons).

Or...pay some taxes. There's a 2% fee but that's $15 (.02 * 600) to get back ~$300.

Amazon credit works, too, especially as we approach the holidays.

Some car insurance takes credit cards. Same with house insurance.

Pretty much everything except rent is spent through credit cards.  But your point is taken...

I guess my best shot is to try to "bunch" my payments.  Pay the car insurance early and push the car registration fees to the last day to get them in the same credit card billing cycle.  If I'm falling behind, I could buy more dry goods.  Maybe even try to get some grocery store gift cards, as you suggested.

I sometimes have medical bills that bring me over my normal spending.  My current plan is to wait for a big planned purchase, apply for one of these cards and switch to it then.

Hey, I'm getting the hang of it now!

[Car Jack]

Discover It card.  If referred, you get a $50 credit (and the referer gets $50).  They pay 1% on everything and 5% on rotating categories and after the first year, they double your cash back.  I referred my wife and we use her card when the rotating category pops up.

Once your first year goes by, if you don't use it anymore, it's one of the better "low balance forgiveness" cards, forgiving up to $1.99 a month.  I get $1.90 in gas on it every month, unless it's got a tradeline attached to it.

[mtnrider]

Discover It card.  If referred, you get a $50 credit (and the referer gets $50).  They pay 1% on everything and 5% on rotating categories and after the first year, they double your cash back.  I referred my wife and we use her card when the rotating category pops up.

Once your first year goes by, if you don't use it anymore, it's one of the better "low balance forgiveness" cards, forgiving up to $1.99 a month.  I get $1.90 in gas on it every month, unless it's got a tradeline attached to it.

Low balance forgiveness?  I had to google that, and found a list: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/small-balance-waiver-a-k-a-lots-of-free-99-cent-amazon-gcs/

I guess some cards might have a flat rate fee for retailers to use them, but they still would have to eat, probably at least $1.40 of that fee.  I wonder why they do that?