What Credit Cards do you use/suggest?

[PGT]

I wish I had a black card after I saw what strings Amex can pull for you!

I got the Visa black card invite the other day...$495 annual fee worth it. Tempting though just to whip out the black card and present it to people.

 

[ComplexHiAv8r]

I got the Visa black card invite the other day...$495 annual fee worth it. Tempting though just to whip out the black card and present it to people.

Gets yuh into sky clubs too I believe.

 

[Retired in SAN]

I got the Visa black card invite the other day...$495 annual fee worth it. Tempting though just to whip out the black card and present it to people.

Sounds like a wise investment

 

[NickH]

The Visa Black card is a similar tier to the Amex Platinum. Personally, I'd say the Platinum is slightly better, especially with the current 100K MR sign up.

 

[z987k]

Initially, it was like most other banks. Pay stubs for the last 10 years, first born, etc. But, as time has gone on, they have become much easier in the refinancing part. They also have this thing where you can pick your own due date on the card bill which works well with my wife's job. They also have the option of making two half payments each month instead of one full. But I think most banks have this. Great way to pay off the mortgage early.

So if the interest rates drop 1%, they let you just refinance by calling them and saying hey, drop the interest rate on my mortgage?

 

[Retired in SAN]

So if the interest rates drop 1%, they let you just refinance by calling them and saying hey, drop the interest rate on my mortgage?

Actually, I don't even have to call them. They just show up at my door with the papers to sign and Dominos pizza in tow. No. it will actually take some effort on your part to initiate the process just like most other institutions. The point I was making was, because I have been with them for awhile, they tend to streamline the process a little more when refinancing. Nothing is guaranteed.

 

[Trip7]

Chase Sapphire has been perfect for me. Cash back on travel related expenses and no foreign transaction fees. Nice sturdy/heavy premium feel to the card as well

 

[Jurajet069]

I would just leave Wells Fargo anyway, just about any credit union would be a billion times better. USAA is not a credit union, but also really good.

It costs a bank about $200 to get a new retail checking customer, though they will spend more to get more profitable customers. Buying other banks is usually cheaper than growing their own deposit base.

Wells Fargo and I have been fighting over a mortgage for a long time. They are ridiculously unreasonable and I am done with them forever.

 

[NovemberEcho]

Chase Sapphire has been perfect for me. Cash back on travel related expenses and no foreign transaction fees. Nice sturdy/heavy premium feel to the card as well

I have the Chase Sapphire Preffered (miles instead of cash back) and love this card. 1 point normal purchases, 3x points on dining and some other stuff. Very easy to book your travel straight through their website to apply the points. No black outs if I recall as well. Their fraud protection is outstanding as I found out. And the card is made of metal instead of plastic, you def feel like a baller handing it over.

 

[Trip7]

I have the Chase Sapphire Preffered (miles instead of cash back) and love this card. 1 point normal purchases, 3x points on dining and some other stuff. Very easy to book your travel straight through their website to apply the points. No black outs if I recall as well. Their fraud protection is outstanding as I found out. And the card is made of metal instead of plastic, you def feel like a baller handing it over.

Yup, majority of the time I hand it over the cashier makes a comment about how heavy it is. +1 on fraud protection. South African Airways double charged me on a ZED fare and they claimed they only saw one charge. Called up Chase and they credited my account and said we'll handle it from here. Awesome customer service.

 

[Max Power]

Kind of an old thread, but I'll chime in. I've got one card each from Visa, Amex Blue and Discover so that I always have a backup in case I need it. All cash back, no annual fee cards. Rarely carry a balance on any of them (learned that lesson the hard way). I use Capital One Visa for all the expenses that I can while on the road because most places take Visa. Rental cars, large purchases and hotels go on Amex and Discover for home/online purchases. Debit card only for money from an ATM (thank you Aldi for finally taking credit cards). I either use the cash towards something or donate it at the end of the year. I don't make enough or spend enough to use one of the high annual fee cards.

I've had my accounts stolen before (each card once) and every card has been really good about fraud. I just bought a pair of Bose A20 from Bose and as soon as I clicked send, my phone rang. It was an automated call from Amex checking to make sure I authorized the purchase due to the amount.

 

[adk]

Barclay Card Arrival Plus ... winds up being 2.2% cash back rewards redeemable on travel expenses (air, hotel, rental car, and a few other categories). You just click the statement items for which you're redeeming points and it automatically credits your statement, which means I pay the crew rate for hotels and then redeem points after the fact. Also, no foreign transaction fees and (unique to this card) you can get a real pin number and do actual chip-and-pin transactions in other countries.

 

[NovemberEcho]

Barclay Card Arrival Plus ... winds up being 2.2% cash back rewards redeemable on travel expenses (air, hotel, rental car, and a few other categories). You just click the statement items for which you're redeeming points and it automatically credits your statement, which means I pay the crew rate for hotels and then redeem points after the fact. Also, no foreign transaction fees and (unique to this card) you can get a real pin number and do actual chip-and-pin transactions in other countries.

I actually just got the card a couple months ago as well. Will be using it for my trip to Turkey in September.

 

[Gadget]

Hands down best card for all around usage and cash reward- Citi Double Cash, 2% cash back on everything, with no categories and no limits-amazing, keeps it simple! It is a MasterCard, so in order to have an AMEX, I would also recommend the Hilton HHonors AMEX. Unlike any Marriott card, this card always gives you HHonors Gold level at any Hilton property, which can be a big plus--lounge access and some type of free breakfast at all properties. It has good points rewards also, especially on gas (12 points per dollar.)

If you are a Costco shopper, I would also recommend the (upcoming on June 20th) Citi Costco Visa, 4% back on gas and 2% at Costco, 1% everywhere else.

 

[NickH]

Hands down best card for all around usage and cash reward- Citi Double Cash, 2% cash back on everything, with no categories and no limits-amazing, keeps it simple! It is a MasterCard, so in order to have an AMEX, I would also recommend the Hilton HHonors AMEX. Unlike any Marriott card, this card always gives you HHonors Gold level at any Hilton property, which can be a big plus--lounge access and some type of free breakfast at all properties. It has good points rewards also, especially on gas (12 points per dollar.)

If you are a Costco shopper, I would also recommend the (upcoming on June 20th) Citi Costco Visa, 4% back on gas and 2% at Costco, 1% everywhere else.

That's the Amex 'Surpass' Hilton, not to be confused with their regular Hilton card. If you like Hilton products, I'd suggest also getting the Citi Hilton Reserve card, which also comes with Gold status, but gets you a yearly free night at any Hilton worldwide.

 

[bimmerphile]

Anyone have suggestions for closing a card? I have the AAdvantage through barclay (had it when it was still Airways, got rolled over) and I don't really have a use for AA miles after making the change to 121.
Would like to open a card with UAL lounge access, but don't want the credit report repercussions of opening and closing different cards

 

[NovemberEcho]

So long as you don't close cards often, it's such a small dent in your credit report/score i wouldn't worry about it. Especially if your new card will have a higher limit. I closed and opened 3 cards in just a few months time when I replaced my low limit credit rebuilding cards with quality ones and the only effect it had on my score was it went up due to higher limits.

 

[BarbieDreamPilot]

Just to chime in, yes it's just 5 points or so temporarily when you open an account. There is no advantage to closing a no-fee credit card account- the thicker your credit file the better. Just buy a $0.05 washer at Home Depot on each card every year.

The bigger downside of opening accounts is it can impact your ability to get new cards. Chase has a 5/24 rule (no more than 5 accounts opened in past 24 months) on ultimate-rewards earning cards like the CSP or freedom. So if you plan on getting the chase sapphire preferred for its 50k ultimate rewards points then it would make more sense to grab that one first before a UAL card.

 

[typhoonpilot]

That's the Amex 'Surpass' Hilton, not to be confused with their regular Hilton card. If you like Hilton products, I'd suggest also getting the Citi Hilton Reserve card, which also comes with Gold status, but gets you a yearly free night at any Hilton worldwide.

I agree with this but with an asterisk*

That asterisk is if you do not have Hilton status or do not foresee being able to keep it. If you have Hilton Status already there are better cards to use. Hilton points are about the worst value points on the planet. They are rated at about 0.5 cents each compared to Starwood at 2.4 and something like Chase Ultimate Rewards at 2.1. I'd far rather put most of my spend on Chase Sapphire and Starwood Preferred Guest card than a Hilton Surpass. Don't get me wrong, I have the Hilton Surpass but am thinking of cancelling it since I am Hilton Diamond thru March 2018. I just don't use the card unless it's at Hilton where I can get 12 points per dollar.

http://thepointsguy.com/2016/05/may-2016-monthly-valuations/

The Chase trifecta of Chase Ink, Sapphire Preferred, and Freedom Unlimited is a pretty good grouping of cards to get for building UR points. I have not started in on Membership Rewards, but there have been some appealing offers out of Amex over the last year. I jumped all over the Amex SPG bonus in March with both the personal and business SPG cards at 35,000 points each. Just put my first quarter estimated tax payments on them to hit the minimum spend, easy way to generate about 22 free nights at SPG properties for all of $150.

Thanks to learning the ins and out of this game I travel business class on any personal trips between the USA and Asia then stay in nice hotels for little to nothing. It does take some effort and continuous monitoring, but for me it's worth it.


Typhoonpilot

 

[///AMG]

My two are Barclays Gold and AMEX Platinum………waived fees for active duty members and good perks so no brainer.