My wife and I use our American Express platinum for a majority of our purchasing. I want to get rid of it. AMEX is not accepted in every store, plus this particular card has a $195 dollar annual fee. We earn lots of points with AMEX and lots of purchases earn double and triple points,but there has got to be another card out there that is accepted at more retailers and that does not have a fee that earns a lot of points as well. We keep a zero balance and charge anywhere from $3500 to $5000 a month. This is the only card we use other than Cabelas card I use when purchasing at Cabelas.
The best card is no card. If you keep a zero balance every month then you already have the cash. Use cash on location and a debit card for off site purchasing. No annual fees.
Plus no monthly bill, no interest paid on food/goods that have been long since consumed, no collection calls if you hid a run of bad luck, and the list goes on and on The rewards are nothing more than a gimmick to trick you into spending more money on stuff you can't afford to impress people that you don't really like.
Apparently by the responses, some people aren't interested in free money? I've earned thousands of dollars worth of credit card points over the years while never paying any annual fee's or interest. This has helped pay for vacations and hunting gear. I pay balances in full every month. A person with financial discipline can easily take advantage of generous credit offers. FYI, I make my living as a Credit Analyst. Regarding the OP's question. I don't really have a go to rewards card. I have taken advantage of a number of credit card offers which offered generous reward points to sign up. If the card charges an annual fee after the first year I will close before that charge occurs. I recently did this on two airline cards which earned me 100,000 miles with Delta and United.
CC aren't the problem. Like Cooter, the problem lies in people that can't control themselves. We mainly use Capital One Platinum. 1.5% back on all purchases and no fees. We don't buy anything that we don't have the money for. Pay it off immediately, and this had gotten us a very high credit score. Cash back goes directly to savings.
^Agreed^ Society tells you that CC are more secure and you risk losing all your money using a Debit card. Yet, society doesn't teach people to live Debt free. Cash is Always King!! The "rewards" are not worth it! I have an American express that is used for work, but I use my Debit card and cash for everything else.
Chase and Capitol one are probably pretty close. Some of the responses are pretty funny but I suppose not surprising. Society isn't to blame for people failing to live within their means. Its peoples sense of entitlement and lack of discipline that gets them in trouble.
Solid advice, anyone saying cash is king or rewards are gimmicks simply miss the benefits and are throwing money away and not building their credit. I work in the Credit Card Industry on the Private Label end and have this discussion regularly. If you are paying off your card every month and earning 1.5-3% back you are earning money without paying interest, it is really a no brainer.
I have AMEX, and If I'm not mistaken, we pay no annual fee... We pay it off every month, and the rewards are very good. I'll double check, but I'm pretty sure there is no annual fee. I put over $40K a year on the card. I use it for everything.
IMO problem is many people end up spending more with credit cards than they would if they only used cash. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I'm the opposite. My mind hates my accounts going down. So charging the CC or Debit Card (I always charge CC for Alaska Airlines miles but treat it as a Debit and pay it off every 2 weeks) hurts me. Like I hate to see my balance go down. Cash on the other hand? It has already left the account. The sting already happened. I can burn through cash quicker than anything because psychologically to me, it was already spent when it was withdrawn. Having cash on hand is like having free money, which is why I rarely keep more than the few emergency $100s on hand. I've considered other cards, but for where I live Alaska Airlines makes the most sense. 15k miles is a free roundtrip instate if you are smart booking. (If you go anywhere in Alaska for fishing/hunting much, you will be flying given the limited road system). They also offer a companion fare for $119 (so for a $1000 ticket, your significant other can come and its less than $600 each now). I've had $1000s of free airfare from my CC over the past 4 years and never paid a cent in interest. No brainer.
I use capital one. Like said above, it's paid off after every purchase. I have capital one because you can use it world wide. So when I travel out of the country for work, I can use it wherever I go, with no international fees. It makes things very easy. Capital one has a number of options too on rewards.
I use an American Express card that gets me Delta miles and gets me free baggage when we fly. Worth the $55 a year in baggage fees alone. We also use the built up miles to upgrade to first class on occasion. Then there is the Chase card that gets some cash rewards. I turn in the rewards points in for $$$ in November to add it too our Christmas fund. I also use our bank debit card for local purchases like groceries or a night out. Charges on each card are entered into my checking account register the same way and that way I canhave AmEx and Chase cards paid off completely each month. No interest to pay that way and I never see a time I would be overdrawn on my account. No debt, no interest, and no overdrafts. Plus rewards that are like FREE MONEY!!! Life is good!
I'm another that uses a CC just for the perks. It gets paid off monthly. I have a Capital One card - it's 1.5% back cash rewards. Like others have said, that can pay for hunting gear, vacations, etc. It's a little bit at a time, but it'll add up. If you have a good financial conscious - then you shouldn't have any issues using a credit card that is paid off monthly.
i have a visa through state farm bank, yes state farm has a bank i get 1% on everything all time everywhere, and some higher percent if you pay for your state farm services on the card, car insurance etc. if you let your total points sit and continue to grow when you cash them in, into a state farm bank account you get a 25% bonus if you are cashing in $250 - $500 a 35% bonus is cashing in $500 - 1000 (I think) I cash in those points + added bonus every year around Christmas
