Can we discuss credit card rewards strategies?

[y4m]

Jan 7, 2015 10:41:03 GMT -5 randp1 said:

Jan 7, 2015 9:26:03 GMT -5 y4m said:

Crap!  I already got it

i just checked their site.  there is a 25k pt bonus.  i hope you are getting that.  if you just signed up and didn't get it, i would call them.


www262.americanexpress.com/apply-card/spg/007/spg-001

it really is a great card!!

Yep I've got the 10K + 15K bonuses!

[y4m]

randp1 - did you register for your double points? thepointsguy.com/2015/01/registration-now-open-for-spg-double-take-promotion/

[randp1]

Jan 7, 2015 10:43:50 GMT -5 y4m said:

randp1 - did you register for your double points? thepointsguy.com/2015/01/registration-now-open-for-spg-double-take-promotion/

no, but i'm not planning to stay anywhere by april.  it looks like it is only double points if you stay at a hotel - not double points on purchases.  i'm reading that correctly, right?  

[Deleted]

Jan 7, 2015 10:26:27 GMT -5 v said:

@bonsoirlune -- what is the redemption scheme like with the PNC card? 4 points per dollar on everyday purchases sounds extremely generous if a point is worth a penny (which seems to be a pretty normal redemption rate for points cards), but if that's the rate I'm shocked that I've never heard of the card because it would be the most generous one out there.

I think it's a little less, but they offered a crap ton of points for signing up - it's a newish card - so I'll see how I like it - if not I'll take my free points and probably switch to the citi double cash.

[heliocentric]

We aren't very skilled at this, but I've been happy with the Barclay Arrival+ that we got in August. We travel a few times a year so it's been worth it for that.

We also have the Costco Amex. The cash back can only be used as Coscto, but I consider it a "free" card since the annual fee covers Coscto membership. I think it's also 3% on gas and I drive a lot. I also like the AmEx protections. We cracked the screen on our brand new computer a few months ago (our own fault) and AmEx paid to fix it.

I never considered my Banana Republic card in the same category, but I agree with the others who mentioned it if you buy a fair amount of stuff from Gap brand stores. The rewards are pretty good, you get bonuses on your birthday, and if you are Luxe status you always get free shipping. I only use it at Gap brand stores, but just got a promotion for $10 rewards if I use it elsewhere just 1x this month.

[v]

Oh, and y4m, if you do a lot of online shopping, the UPromise card is fantastic for that. I get 10% back on purchases from all sorts of stores.

I will take a moment here to AW that I got $4,563.41 in credit card rewards last year, and have another $1499 worth of points waiting to be redeemed for flights. But that's from a combination of 9 cards, and one of the most generous ones is one you can no longer get (I will SOB when they discontinue it or change the points program).

[y4m]

Wow nice! I do a ton of online shopping. Interesting...

[y4m]

Can you do Upromise if you don't have any schooling costs to pay though? v

[v]

Jan 7, 2015 13:30:26 GMT -5 y4m said:

Can you do Upromise if you don't have any schooling costs to pay though? v

Yup!  You can get a check instead of student loan credit.