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Credit Card Decision
DemonStacey
TTODewback's DaughterIn love with the TaySwayRegistered User regular
TTODewback's DaughterIn love with the TaySwayRegistered User regular
Thinking about getting one of the two following cards but don't understand what the one does AT ALL.
Thing to note: This will be a card that is paid off in full each month. I just would like to make some money off my monies.
Card 1:
Earn 1% cashback for every dollar spent.
Card 2:
The more you pay, the more you'll earn back with a statement credit.*
Pay 10% or more of your current balance and get a statement credit worth 50% of that month's interest charges.*
Pay 5% - 9.99% of your current balance and get a statement credit worth 25% of that month's interest charges.*
What in the world does card 2 mean?
Does that mean if I paid 100% I wouldn't get anything? Or would I get 50% of the interest that would have occured?
Thanks!
Thing to note: This will be a card that is paid off in full each month. I just would like to make some money off my monies.
Card 1:
Earn 1% cashback for every dollar spent.
Card 2:
The more you pay, the more you'll earn back with a statement credit.*
Pay 10% or more of your current balance and get a statement credit worth 50% of that month's interest charges.*
Pay 5% - 9.99% of your current balance and get a statement credit worth 25% of that month's interest charges.*
What in the world does card 2 mean?
Does that mean if I paid 100% I wouldn't get anything? Or would I get 50% of the interest that would have occured?
Thanks!
DemonStacey on
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Wouldn't be helpful unless you carried a balance which you shouldn't do.
Hmm interesting. So there are higher than 1% cashbackers out there?
oh that sounds pretty nifty...
I will look at that. Thanks!
http://www.creditcards.com/cash-back.php
This. I've ran into quite a lot of restaurants that don't take Discover, which makes it a bit pointless since I get double cash back on restaurants and gas.
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3% back on Amazon.com purchases
2% back on Gas, Restaurants, Drug Stores, and Office Supply Stores
1% everywhere else
Discover does straight cash as their reward, which is nice, but other cards do this essentially now. The thing to look for is to see what the cash or account credit option is -- it SHOULD be equivalent to 100 pts equals $1. With the Amazon card, I can get a $25 gift cert in the mail for 2500 pts, or I can just use it on Amazon directly. That's nice.
With Discover, the rewards often end up being more than 1%. If you get a Starbucks Gift Card, your $45 turns into $50.
Similarly, some merchants offer big bonuses for using your Discover card. Groupon gives you 15% back if you click through the ShopDiscover portal. 15%!
Yeah, I never had a discover card, but my buddy did. It was his only card. There were a few incidents where he wound up looking like a deadbeat dickbag.
Though nowadays, debit cards and all. Just throwing it out there, OP.
They can be great cards, but you need to have a Visa or Mastercard for the multitudinous places that do not take Discover or Amex.
Yeah, Discover is awesome (from personal/family experience), so I think (seeing as how you're going to be paying off anything you have every month) if you're interested in them it wouldn't be too bad to also get a Visa/Mastercard credit card of some sort. I mean, Visa is almost literally taken anywhere, so. Assuming you're going to pay off anything you use in full (which you are), and there's no yearly fee or anything, there's no real reason NOT to have a backup card you only use every once in a while. It even makes your credit report show more available credit just by being there.
But if you already have a debit card, you don't necessarily need to do that. There's just not really any downside to doing it as long as you're being awesome, like me, and not carrying a balance from month-to-month. Because then you're using a credit card as a debit card that just happens to build credit (and can be paid off at the end of the month instead of immediately), which is really the best way to use them.
So there is more to consider when picking a cc. 1% only is pretty meager offering and you could do better.
I've been very pleased with my Amazon card. It's been the most usable bonus I've had on a card outside of a bank one which deposited back the 1% directly into a checking account. The other perks make it more worthwhile, in my opinion.
Also: don't ever carry a balance. Assuming you pay back monthly you are essentially getting free shipping on something from Amazon every other month simply for buying with your card.
This. If you do it right, it increases your payback drastically. Instead of $800 spent=$8 cash, you end up with $800 spent=$40 cashback=$50 Gift Card.
Also, Discover has a great Android Ap - I use it to cash in my cashback when I'm in the store where I want to spend it, and just give the e-certificate code to the store and get my stuff for free. tap-tap-tap=Free Shirt! is a very fun process
Blue Cash from Amex
3% on groceries
2% on gas
1% on everything else
Citi Forward Visa
5 points on Restaurants(including fast food),
5 points on bookstores (notably including Amazon.com, whether you buy books or not, the main reason I got this card really as I do tons of shopping there, It is actually a better rate than the Amazon.com store card if you use your points intelligently.)
5 points on Video Stores and Movie theaters
5 points on Music stores
However, reward points aren't as straight foward with this one. Statement credits come out at like 3.X% due to the point conversion. Amazon gift cards clock in at 4.1% when they are available though, which is as good as cash for me.
I find they are great as the Visa is fantastic for places where you often can't use your Amex (certain restaurant's etc.)
Also, I'm sure you know this, but I'll echo it again: Never leave a balance on your card. Always pay it off in full. If you don't, then you might as well not bother shopping for a credit card, because you're going to get shafted so far up the ass in fees and interest rates that your paltry 1% cash back bonus will be but a single tear drop of lubrication for your chafing, burning bunghole.
I've been using this card card in various forms over the last 10+ years - I've never had any issue with it. Bonus - it doesn't charge fees for out of country transactions.
Insert all the usual advice about "don't carry a balance" here - this fact can't be stressed enough. Once you're in a hole on credit cards, it can be... difficult... to climb your way back out of it.
Oh don't worry paying it off will be no problem. I'm 24 I own a house and a car and I have used nothing but a debit card all my life... Paying things off is NOT something I let slide. I've just been looking at credit cards and realizing that since so many people DON't pay their cards off those of us that do can literally get free money... Thus the thread!