Need a Good Credit Card

The Crowing One · February 2013

I'm not a good believer in credit, and as such my credit cards have lapsed in the last few years.

However, my work recently swapped from a corporate card system to a reimbursement system. I'm not happy.

I need a decent card for rewards, and gas/travel/grocer seem my biggest expenses. Is there a good cash back or Hilton-based reward program out there? interest is less of an issue as charges should be cleared within a week at most. I just want to get as much back for this huge inconvenience as possible.

So, suggestions ahoy?

saint2e · February 2013

For Travel Rewards, Starwoods Preferred Guest American Express cards always seem to come up. They don't include Hilton hotels, but they seem to be very competitive in the "Travel Rewards" card considerations:

http://www304.americanexpress.com/getthecard/learn-about/Starwood-Preferred/26129?PID=14&BUID=CCG&PSKU=SPG&CRTV=STALM&VEID=834372983&AFFID=k3414

I guess you can also earn considerable bonus points for signing up.

matt has a problem · February 2013

If you have a Costco nearby, the AMEX TrueEarnings card is great, 4% cash back on gas purchases. Plus it gets you a Costco membership.

:edit: That's the business one, the personal card is 3% on gas - http://www304.americanexpress.com/getthecard/learn-about/Costco-TrueEarnings

The Crowing One · February 2013

Unfortunately, neither work with my usual purchases. But thanks!

38thDoe · February 2013

Wife and I use Amazon.com Visa cards. You can use the points at amazon, but you can also get the points as cash. And you get 3x points by buying stuff at amazon.com with the card. So it makes more sense to buy everything you would need on amazon with the card and then get the cash back. I think you also get 2x points for travel/groceries/gas so that might be good. No annual fee.

a5ehren · February 2013

This site is always helpful when I want to look this stuff up: http://www.nerdwallet.com/the-best-credit-cards

I personally prefer cash back over travel rewards. That link will take you to their best-of list, but you can do your own search if you want.

Karrmer · February 2013

I've always liked credit union cards, and credit unions in general - though the list that a5ehren linked is probably a better place to start, but might not hurt to see what your credit unions have to offer.

Essee · February 2013

Discover is usually super-awesome about cash-back rewards, and they're a very pleasant company to deal with. They're totally who I'd get a card from right now if I were able, since my mom has had nothing but good things to say about them over the many MANY years she's had them. The only downside is, unlike Visa, it's not the case that literally everyone all over the world accepts their cards (but they're not unpopular by any means). I've definitely heard very good things about Amazon's card too though! Just have no personal experience with them. I personally currently have a BofA rewards card because of my particular situation, and while things haven't been... completely nightmarish for me... I really don't have any reason to highly recommend them, and I don't like the way their fraud department handles things when they suspect a problem (has been a repeated headache for me). The cash-back rates they're offering right now are kind of competitive with the most common amounts of rewards (1% on everything, 2% on groceries, 3% on gas), but... mmm...

Yeah, if you're doing things the best way, you never really have to worry at all about the actual interest rates on credit cards. Using credit cards as if they were debit cards with a one-month (or less, if you wish) grace period on paying them is totally the way to go. Never paid a cent of interest in the 5 years I've had a credit card!

Whacktose · February 2013

If you're serious about the hilton points, there are 2 hhonors cards available after a quick google, both of which give you a 40,000 point bonus for signing up and have no annual fee: One is a citi visa signature card and the other is an AMEX. Visa signature cards are nice, because they can give you some random perks like early access to purchasing tickets to shows and the like. The citi card also seems to give you bonus points for groceries & gas. Citi's website is easy to use, and it is very easy to make payments online. I don't know much about basic AMEX perks, but I know they are accepted less places than Visa (french restaurants in manhattan aside).

I don't know much about cash-back cards because I live 4 tha pointz.

Mr. Bookworm · February 2013

You should get a card that doesn't differentiate between types of purchases and gives you flat (but generous) cashback for every category.

Inquisitor77 · February 2013

Cashback cards have become much more common over the past several years. The Costco AMEX used to be a great deal, but there are now comparable cards out there that don't require the stringent American Express credit rating or a Costco membership. Bank of America has a Cash Rewards 3%/2%/1% card very similar to the Costco AMEX. Citibank, CapitalOne, and Chase all offer a 1% "all purchases" and rotating 5% "select categories" cards. REI has a Visa which gives you 1% cash back on all purchases and 5% on all REI purchases.

Keep in mind the limitations of each of them, and also how you get your money back. That's very, very important. The Costco AMEX gives you cash back by giving you a single check at a set date every year. You then have about 6 months to take that check into a Costco and either use it on purchases or get cash back from the customer service desk. Just 5 years ago, this was considered a fantastic way to get money back, because you actually got cash back at some point. However, the market is quickly moving past this.

The REI Visa will immediately discount the 1%/5% onto your account balance, so you literally do nothing and get the most temporal benefit up front. The Citibank and Bank of America cards let you log into the website and request a check be mailed to you.

I don't have any personal experience with the other cards, but some of them claim to be "cash back" but actually should say "gift card back". Some of them only let you claim rewards above a certain $ threshold. Some of them place onerous expiration dates on the cash back rewards that make it very difficult to actually get your purported cash back. It's really important to read the fine print on all of them.

Have you done an actual credit score check lately? A lot of these cards have higher-than-average score requirements, and the fact that you haven't had any standing credit for a while may actually mean you aren't eligible for anything but a starter Capital One card...

LaPuzza · February 2013

I really like Discover. Their site and customer service are fantastic. The overlooked value is in the gift card rewards. For example, they run a promotion where grocery stores give you 5% cash back. I spend 800 bucks in grocery stores, I get $40 in cashback. I can get the $40 in cash, or in a $50 gift certificate. They work like real gift certificates, whether electronic or mailed, so you can use them in conjunction with any other discounts.

I really like their moble ap, too, because you can redeem cashback on the spot for a certificate. If I see a shirt I want in Gap, taptaptap I have an e-certificate, show my phone to the girl at the register, and I walk out with a shirt. I can do the same thing at Gamestop or Dick's Sporting Goods or a lot of other places. I basically don't spend money at the mall anymore unless I'm in the food court.

But, unlike Visa/MC, it's not accepted everywhere, so it's not an option as your only card.

a5ehren · February 2013

Inquisitor77 wrote: »

Cashback cards have become much more common over the past several years. The Costco AMEX used to be a great deal, but there are now comparable cards out there that don't require the stringent American Express credit rating or a Costco membership. Bank of America has a Cash Rewards 3%/2%/1% card very similar to the Costco AMEX. Citibank, CapitalOne, and Chase all offer a 1% "all purchases" and rotating 5% "select categories" cards. REI has a Visa which gives you 1% cash back on all purchases and 5% on all REI purchases.

Keep in mind the limitations of each of them, and also how you get your money back. That's very, very important. The Costco AMEX gives you cash back by giving you a single check at a set date every year. You then have about 6 months to take that check into a Costco and either use it on purchases or get cash back from the customer service desk. Just 5 years ago, this was considered a fantastic way to get money back, because you actually got cash back at some point. However, the market is quickly moving past this.

The REI Visa will immediately discount the 1%/5% onto your account balance, so you literally do nothing and get the most temporal benefit up front. The Citibank and Bank of America cards let you log into the website and request a check be mailed to you.

I don't have any personal experience with the other cards, but some of them claim to be "cash back" but actually should say "gift card back". Some of them only let you claim rewards above a certain $ threshold. Some of them place onerous expiration dates on the cash back rewards that make it very difficult to actually get your purported cash back. It's really important to read the fine print on all of them.

I use Chase Freedom (one of the 1% all the time/5% on select stuff cards), and there are so many different ways to redeem that cash back that it's silly.

They recently added a thing where I can directly redeem my rewards during Amazon checkout (like there's an extra box above the gift card box), which is amazing.

Have you done an actual credit score check lately? A lot of these cards have higher-than-average score requirements, and the fact that you haven't had any standing credit for a while may actually mean you aren't eligible for anything but a starter Capital One card...

Yeah I'm actually a little worried about this as well. Unless OP has a fairly large income, lack of credit history might be a problem.

FireWater · February 2013

If you pay all of your balances on time (sounds like you do since you are getting reimbursed). I would strongly recommend the Amex green or gold card, they provide excellent benefits and force you to pay it in full monthly so no balances. Their customer service is excellent, they treat the card holder as the client, not the vendor. Give it a shot!

kaliyama · February 2013

FireWater wrote: »

If you pay all of your balances on time (sounds like you do since you are getting reimbursed). I would strongly recommend the Amex green or gold card, they provide excellent benefits and force you to pay it in full monthly so no balances. Their customer service is excellent, they treat the card holder as the client, not the vendor. Give it a shot!

The Starwood lets you carry a balance. IMO that's better just in case a reimbursement goes slowly or you have to put some emergency expenses on the card.

They way I would do it:
1) check your credit score so you see what kind of cards you can get before you start applying and putting hits on your credit report
2) Get the best visa you can, b/c everyone will take a visa. best card out there is probably the chase freedom. Fatwallet has a good thread on this at http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/711457/
3) Get the best amex/discover you can find, and use that instead of the visa wherever possible.

MegaMan001 · March 2013

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is my new card of choice. Free for the first year and 40,000 points bonus if you spent more than $3,000 in your first three months. That's two round trip tickets basically anywhere in the continental U.S.

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