2% credit card?

[Exterous]

I'm thinking this stinks, couldn't that impact my credit rating? I ask to talk to someone there, so I can complain that their site is fucked up. He says he can only transfer me to CS. He initiates that, I get dropped from the line (dial tone). I call back, the CSR transfers me to some department and that fails too and I give up!

It depends a bit on how BoA handles the application as to whether it impacts your credit. Many CC companies will see the second application for the same card and auto deny it without pulling your credit. Hell - some will auto deny any new card application within a pre-defined window after a previous approval without pulling credit

I recommend against "stockpiling" any type of points reward, because inevitably they will be devalued at some point.

Potential risk aside I would be willing to stockpile Chase UR and Amex MR before a program without good transfer options. Its unlikely that the transfer rates across all of Chase's or Amex's partners would devalue at the same time. I stockpiled UR points for 3 years to book our award flights to Australia because I would rather have a crap ton of UR points than United points in case a United devaluation hit.

 

[uhohs]

How do you figure out what stores get the 5% credit? Trial and error? How does Sallie Mae make their determination?

I look at my CC statements and generally can't figure out whether a particular purchase is associated with a credit. Seems strange.

When you view the transactions on the webpage it shows how many reward points you earn for each purchase.

 

[Muse]

3.) Sallie Mae: 5% on all Amazon purchases, 5% gas, and 5% groceries.

I just applied for (approved) the Sallie Mae Rewards Mastercard (the graphic says barclaycard. It doesn't mention Amazon. A post here says:

5% on bookstore purchases for the first $750 in purchases each month. Amazon codes as a bookstore and as such you can get 5x points on Amazon purchases (as long as the item is sold by Amazon)

So, not all Amazon purchases will get the 5% credit, only Amazon-fulfilled purchases?

 

[RossMAN]

So what happened with the BOFA (timed out) application? Were you approved?

 

[NikolaeVarius]

I just applied for (approved) the Sallie Mae Rewards Mastercard (the graphic says barclaycard. It doesn't mention Amazon. A post here says:



So, not all Amazon purchases will get the 5% credit, only Amazon-fulfilled purchases?

You can't buy stuff off the Amazon marketplace.

For example. I sell something to myself on the marketplace and get 5% cashback on that purchase.

 

[Svnla]

Just deposit $435.83 from 2% cash back Citi Master Card to my bank account today.

Gotta love 2% cash back with no limit and no restriction and no registration.

 

[stlc8tr]

I just applied for (approved) the Sallie Mae Rewards Mastercard (the graphic says barclaycard. It doesn't mention Amazon. A post here says:



So, not all Amazon purchases will get the 5% credit, only Amazon-fulfilled purchases?

Just buy yourself an Amazon gift card to use with Amazon purchases and you'll always get 5% back.

 

[Train]

Just deposit $435.83 from 2% cash back Citi Master Card to my bank account today.

Gotta love 2% cash back with no limit and no restriction and no registration.

You spent $22k in a single month on a single card? Or did you not cash out previous months? If so, why on earth would you let it build up?

I usually apply my cash back to my statement balance monthly.

 

[Svnla]

You spent $22k in a single month on a single card? Or did you not cash out previous months? If so, why on earth would you let it build up?

I usually apply my cash back to my statement balance monthly.

September statement:

Payments = $21,610.54 (1% of that) = $216.11
Purchases = $21,972.38 (1% of that) = $219.72
Total cash back for September = $435.83

I do the deposit into my bank and then pay the whole bill in full and not a credit to my balance to get the full 1% cash back on payment, just like clock work every month. Last month I had $546.79 cash back for August.

Those above purchases do not include groceries, gasoline, and drug stores because I have my American Express Blue for 5% cash back (but at a cap at $50K/year) for those categories.

That's why I laugh whenever I see people say "credit cards are bad/evil/<fill in the blank>". No they are not "IF" you know how to use them correctly. I ONLY use cash/check in places that require them such as my barber, rent, and a handful of other places. Credit cards => cash back => deposit into bank account => pay in full before due date = happy Panda.

 

[ghost recon88]

September statement:

Payments = $21,610.54 (1% of that) = $216.11
Purchases = $21,972.38 (1% of that) = $219.72
Total cash back for September = $435.83

I do the deposit into my bank and then pay the whole bill in full and not a credit to my balance to get the full 1% cash back on payment, just like clock work every month. Last month I had $546.79 cash back for August.

Those above purchases do not include groceries, gasoline, and drug stores because I have my American Express Blue for 5% cash back (but at a cap at $50K/year) for those categories.

That's why I laugh whenever I see people say "credit cards are bad/evil/<fill in the blank>". No they are not "IF" you know how to use them correctly. I ONLY use cash/check in places that require them such as my barber, rent, and a handful of other places. Credit cards => cash back => deposit into bank account => pay in full before due date = happy Panda.

Is that with the Citi card? Why do you have to withdraw the 1% to your bank, to get it? I thought you got 1% right away, then another 1% back at the end of the month when you paid off your balance from your checkings/savings account?

 

[Svnla]

Is that with the Citi card? Why do you have to withdraw the 1% to your bank, to get it? I thought you got 1% right away, then another 1% back at the end of the month when you paid off your balance from your checkings/savings account?

Yes, it is the 2% (Double Cash) cash back Citi Master Card.

I do NOT have to take the money and deposit into my bank account to get the cash back. I could get the full amount as "statement credit" or as a check but in order to get the "full" 1% cash back on my payments, I refer to transfer the cash back into my bank account and then pay the balance in full before due date to get the "full" cash back.

A few posters in Fatwallet Finance forum did a better job with explanation in detail numbers than I am doing now. Let me see if I can find the link later.

 

[Muse]

So what happened with the BOFA (timed out) application? Were you approved?

I was approved (the 1st application). I'm right-now going to call BofA and ask what's up with the 2nd application (which I had thought was replacing the 1st). I want to make sure there's no bad mark on my credit, that's really my thought on this. Plus, I think it's the appropriate thing to do as a customer, point out a flaw in their system. Thanks for the contact info directions you gave in your last post, I'm going to use that to contact them.

Edit:

I would not apply again or call BOFA's regular customer service phone number, yes I know you have an existing credit card with them. Refer to the SD thread which should have a BOFA phone # to their credit decision department - that's who you want to speak with. If you're not satisfied with the answers or knowledge they provide, politely request they transfer you to a supervisor.

The SD thread you refer to is, I think ( ) this:

New Bank of America Credit Card $25 ($30 for Bank of America customer) per quarter for paying on time

I don't see a phone number there (well, I haven't gone through the whole 15 page thread, just the first 3 pages or so). I'll Google "Bank of America credit decision department" and see if I can come up with a phone number. Absent that, I guess I'll have to call the CSR number on my other BofA CC.

Edit2: So, I call a number I found Googling (BofA/ FIA: 800-655-1491), get what sounds pretty much the same as the CSR number, wind up punching in last 4 of my existing Bankamericard, get a live person who I tell the whole spiel to and he transfers me to the credit application department. Woman tells me that the 2nd application will simply be ignored. Their system recognizes that it's a duplicate application, they see this all the time, I will not get a letter of denial (the guy I talked to two days ago said I would), they don't do a credit check, I'm AOK on my first application, which was approved. So, I'll take her word for it, no worries. She said she would contact the online banking folks about the lack of clarity in their messaging when a page timeout occurs. It appeared that my application had failed, which was not the case...

One thing I take from this is that when you apply for a CC online and you are approved, close the page, don't leave it open!

 

[Muse]

Just buy yourself an Amazon gift card to use with Amazon purchases and you'll always get 5% back.

Yo no lo comprendo (I don't understand what you're saying here). Can you explain this in other words?

You can't buy stuff off the Amazon marketplace.

For example. I sell something to myself on the marketplace and get 5% cashback on that purchase.

So, what about new stuff offered by 3rd parties at Amazon? Gets the 5% discount? Or is it only stuff "fulfilled by Amazon?"

 

[uhohs]

I've been meaning to get the Citi Double Cash card for a while now but was waiting for sign up bonuses that haven't materialized yet. Also getting a year of double cashback with my Discover IT makes getting the Double Cash unnecessary till June or July of next year.

 

[Muse]

I've been meaning to get the Citi Double Cash card for a while now but was waiting for sign up bonuses that haven't materialized yet. Also getting a year of double cashback with my Discover IT makes getting the Double Cash unnecessary till June or July of next year.

The principle perk on my Discover card is AFAIK the 5% rotating categories.

Well, I've applied for more than one card because of a sign-up perk, usually cash and never used it again. That seems questionable. However, I have never (as of yet) waited for a bonus to apply for a card.

When I started this thread I was looking for a 2% card. What I found out was several cards of interest to me and I've applied for and received them, including the AMEX Every Day Blue 3% groceries, $250 cash credit for spending $1000 in first 3 months, no annual fee card, the Sallie Mae featuring 5% credit on groceries and Amazon, the BofA $25/quarter bonus card when paying on time monthly, have still been using my 1.5% on everything CapitalOne card.

I figured to apply for the Citi Double Cash 2% card, hadn't gotten around to it, but my last mail delivery actually included the offer, to my amazement. I've gotten dozens of CC offers in the mail, but don't remember getting one I thought right for me. I'm right now doing the online application using the "personal invitation number" included in the envelope. I read the disclosures. One item raises my eyebrows:

Foreign Purchase Transaction 3% of each purchase transaction in U.S. dollars.

Does this mean I have to make sure all use of the card is for US based companies or I will have extra charges added?

It also says that rewards expire if the card isn't used for a 12 month period.

 

[stlc8tr]

Yo no lo comprendo (I don't understand what you're saying here). Can you explain this in other words?

So, what about new stuff offered by 3rd parties at Amazon? Gets the 5% discount? Or is it only stuff "fulfilled by Amazon?"

1. Buy a gift card using the Sallie Mae card and email to yourself.
2. Apply the gift card code to your Amazon account.
3. You can now purchase anything from Amazon (including stuff fulfilled by Amazon and 3rd parties) using your gift card balance.
4. And you get 5% back from Sallie Mae for the entire gift card amount.

Doing it this way also lets you use an affiliate link (to give them some $). It's unclear if refilling your account using Amazon's refill method will work with affiliate links.

 

[kranky]

Foreign Purchase Transaction 3% of each purchase transaction in U.S. dollars.

Does this mean I have to make sure all use of the card is for US based companies or I will have extra charges added?

No, it only applies when a purchase transaction is processed from a foreign country.

 

[Muse]

No, it only applies when a purchase transaction is processed from a foreign country.

Meaning I'm standing on "foreign soil?"

 

[Exterous]

Meaning I'm standing on "foreign soil?"

I think its for when the charge is in a foreign currency. And don't be fooled by companies that offer to charge you in USD instead of the local currency. Its not uncommon for their exchange rate to be worse than paying 3%

 

[RossMAN]

Anyone else sign up for the awesome Discover checking offer?

Just saw it on SD, $300 bonus with two direct deposits.

 

[Triumph]

So this Citi double cash back card, all you need to do to get 2% is be a normal human who pays his bills on time and only spends the money he has?

 

[kranky]

So this Citi double cash back card, all you need to do to get 2% is be a normal human who pays his bills on time and only spends the money he has?

That's it. You can even spend more than you have, it's just that you don't get the second 1% until you pay.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Anyone else sign up for the awesome Discover checking offer?

Just saw it on SD, $300 bonus with two direct deposits.

Yup, signing up for one under my wife's name, one under my name. ($600 total)

Also, combining this with their $100 savings account offer as well ($200 total). I've been waiting for a decent offer to switch over most of my funds. I'm getting sick of Chase (JPMorgan) and their shitty return for my saving's accounts.

Though, it's a damn shame I'm going to have to pay my 25% income bracket on this income vs. credit card rewards income

 

[RossMAN]

Yup, signing up for one under my wife's name, one under my name. ($600 total)

Also, combining this with their $100 savings account offer as well ($200 total). I've been waiting for a decent offer to switch over most of my funds. I'm getting sick of Chase (JPMorgan) and their shitty return for my saving's accounts.

Though, it's a damn shame I'm going to have to pay my 25% income bracket on this income vs. credit card rewards income

Details/info? Thanks.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Details/info? Thanks.

$5,000 minimum deposit into the Savings in order to qualify for the bonus.

Use the sign-up code "SAVE8915" - Valid through 10/31/2015