Tell me about your rewards cc!

[lightbulbsun]

I don't have a credit card (only debit for my checking acct) and I feel like I'm missing out since some of them seem to have really good rewards.

Tell me how much you love your rewards cc, please!

[fuckyourcouch]

i have a discover card, which does cash back. you can use the rewards for gift cards and such or just apply it to your bill, or have the amount transferred to your bank account. it's nice.

i also have a southwest airlines card, which is awesome because you get miles for everything, and then usually travel related expenses (tickets, rental cars, hotels, etc.) are something like 2-5 points per dollar. also they run promotions regularly where if you sign up you get 2 free RT tickets on them, which is awesome.

[circa1978]

I have Amazon's reward card, which gives you a percentage of your purchases as a credit on amazon.com. I love it because I generally forget about the credits for a while and then get a prompt while I'm checking out that I can use them. Several times my entire purchase has been "free" that way. I also have the Target debit card - 5 percent off everything in store and online and free shipping.

[fuckyourcouch]

Oct 25, 2012 10:54:54 GMT -5 circa1978 said:

I have Amazon's reward card, which gives you a percentage of your purchases as a credit on amazon.com. I love it because I generally forget about the credits for a while and then get a prompt while I'm checking out that I can use them. Several times my entire purchase has been "free" that way. I also have the Target debit card - 5 percent off everything in store and online and free shipping.

oh i have this too. i forgot about it, don't use it very often.

[glitzyglow]

I have the Amazon Rewards Card, which I like. I normally forget it accumulates points and when I go to check out it, it's all, "Would you like to apply your $XX.XX reward?" Yes please! I have a Discover card, but I don't use it enough to get any rewards. I think I have earned $.43.

[amberlyrose]

I have the United Club Card with Chase and an Amex Platinum.
I would probably look what you would use your card on first before picking one.

We travel a lot, so having the Amex backing purchases, airline fees, and the easy customer service was big for us. We also fly quite a bit with United and Southwest, but the military tends to fly us on United or Delta, so we chose United so we can max the benefits we get.

[lightbulbsun]

Oh, I'll look into the amazon one. I buy stuff from there all the time so that would be awesome.

Thanks!

[Deleted]

Provided you always pay off your cards (i.e., do not have any balances), using credit cards is a wonderful thing. It is important to build credit. You will need a good record if you ever make large purchases (e.g., a house).

Below are cards I have or have had in the past:

AAdvantage Citi MasterCard
American Express Blue
Chase Freedom Visa
Continental Airlines OnePass Plus MasterCard
Discover
Hyatt Visa
Ritz-Carlton Visa

I travel a lot, so airline miles and hotel points are valuable to me. They may not be for you or others.

Think of what you often buy and select a card accordingly. Discover and Amex Blue are great for cash back on many common purchases (like gas or groceries). However, they are not as widely accepted as Visa or MasterCard.

If you are only going to get one card, it may be wise to get a Visa or MasterCard, if only because you will be able to use it in more places.

Good luck.

[MrsBean]

I also have an Amazon Visa and I love it because we order so much crap from Amazon. The points add up quickly.

[lightbulbsun]

Thanks miso. I've actually had a discover card in the past and then I got my debit from my bank (visa, so I can use it everywhere) so I kind of stopped using the discover and closed the account. H and I managed to get financed for our house without either of us having CCs

I do travel a lot. I heard that capital one had a good travel rewards card. I also have a continental onepass account so maybe it would make sense to get that cc?

[-Moe-]

I like airline cards, mostly because 1) I travel 2) they give you perks while traveling and 3) I like flying for free if I can rack up points.

What sucks is that now, the annual fees have kept increasing.

However, Miso gave me a great tip, if you pay off your ccs on time, and know the annual anniversary of your card (when they'll bill you for that $90), you can call and "cancel" because you don't want to pay for that fee, and they'll tell (often, not always) wave the fee.

Once they called my bluff and I ended up canceling it (Boo). But I "reinstated" the card a year later with the same mileage number (Which is cool because the first year they give you a gazillion miles - ok, not a gazillion but usually enough for a free domestic flight).

[Deleted]

Oct 25, 2012 12:15:46 GMT -5 lightbulbsun said:

Thanks miso. I've actually had a discover card in the past and then I got my debit from my bank (visa, so I can use it everywhere) so I kind of stopped using it and closed the account. H and I managed to get financed for our house without either of us having CCs

I do travel a lot. I heard that capital one had a good travel rewards card. I also have a continental onepass account so maybe it would make sense to get that cc?

Don't close your accounts. If you don't want to use a card, just don't use it. The longer you have a credit card, the better your credit will get. (Again, provided you're all paid off.)

Take some time to evaluate your spending habits. If you write a few things down and compare, it will probably become obvious to you what type of rewards will benefit you most.

[PinkSquirrel]

My main points card is the Capital One Venture Card. We got the one with the monthly fee because we charge everything to it and pay it off right away. We'll get far more in free travel than the yearly fee. My favorite thing about it is that points are so easy to use. You just tell it which travel related expenses to apply it to

[Deleted]

LOL. Yup. What Moe said.

[Deleted]

I have a MasterCard with rewards through my credit union. It's ok. I do get a little depressed when I realize that I have spent $15,000 just to get 15,000 points, which is enough to pay for $150 Old Navy gift certificate. Or a pair of old man sunglasses. The thing I do like about mine is I can donate the points to charity if I want, and I do.

I'm thinking about getting one with travel points or something. If I'm going to be spending all this money and racking up points, I would rather it be for something worthwhile, not just a shitty ON gift certificate.

[lightbulbsun]

Oct 25, 2012 12:18:37 GMT -5 @misoangry said:

Oct 25, 2012 12:15:46 GMT -5 lightbulbsun said:

Thanks miso. I've actually had a discover card in the past and then I got my debit from my bank (visa, so I can use it everywhere) so I kind of stopped using it and closed the account. H and I managed to get financed for our house without either of us having CCs

I do travel a lot. I heard that capital one had a good travel rewards card. I also have a continental onepass account so maybe it would make sense to get that cc?

Don't close your accounts. If you don't want to use a card, just don't use it. The longer you have a credit card, the better your credit will get. (Again, provided you're all paid off.)

Take some time to evaluate your spending habits. If you write a few things down and compare, it will probably become obvious to you what type of rewards will benefit you most.

Lol, I know not to cancel now. I got the card in high school and paid it off every month, and then canceled it in college because I was dumb.