Credit Card noob, advice welcome

[spacejamz]

Just saw the other day that Discover is getting rid of these benefits in 2018:

https://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/discover-cuts-benefits-shopping-travel.php

Discover cuts benefits

• Purchase protection – no claims can be made after July 13, 2018. Insures damaged or stolen purchases up to $500 for 90 days after purchase.
• Return guarantee – no claims after May 29, 2018. Helps get money back on unsatisfactory items within 90 days, up to $500 per item and $2,500 a year.
• Extended product warranty – ends for purchases made after Feb. 28, 2018. Covers additional year after original warranty expires, for eligible items with warranties 36 months or less.
• Auto rental insurance – no claims after May 29, 2018. Secondary insurance for loss or damage up to $25,000.
• Flight accident – no coverage for flight purchases made after Feb. 28, 2018. Travel accident coverage up to $500,000 when buying airline tickets.

They will still have price protection though so if the price drops, they will refund you the difference if you bought on your discover card...

 

[ch33zw1z]

Well that sucks, it's in the mail coming my way.

Lol...oh well, guess I'll use it like I still planned, and apply for another kind at some point.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Just saw the other day that Discover is getting rid of these benefits in 2018:

https://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/discover-cuts-benefits-shopping-travel.php

Discover cuts benefits

• Purchase protection – no claims can be made after July 13, 2018. Insures damaged or stolen purchases up to $500 for 90 days after purchase.
• Return guarantee – no claims after May 29, 2018. Helps get money back on unsatisfactory items within 90 days, up to $500 per item and $2,500 a year.
• Extended product warranty – ends for purchases made after Feb. 28, 2018. Covers additional year after original warranty expires, for eligible items with warranties 36 months or less.
• Auto rental insurance – no claims after May 29, 2018. Secondary insurance for loss or damage up to $25,000.
• Flight accident – no coverage for flight purchases made after Feb. 28, 2018. Travel accident coverage up to $500,000 when buying airline tickets.

They will still have price protection though so if the price drops, they will refund you the difference if you bought on your discover card...

Yup they gutted their card. I wouldn't use it for any big tech purchases anymore.

 

[manly]

Damn that bites. The only reason remaining to use Discover Card are the quarterly CB offers.

Too late now but for the OP (basic needs, no annual fee), I'd recommend Citi Double Cash. Hard to put a dollar value on it, but with Citi you can use Virtual Account Numbers for most online shopping.

 

[RossMAN]

Well that sucks, it's in the mail coming my way.

Lol...oh well, guess I'll use it like I still planned, and apply for another kind at some point.

It sounds like warranty protection is important to you, why not apply for another credit card that actually meets your needs?

Here's a good blog post about credit card extended warranty and filing a claim. It has some good advice like keep good documentation. While the Chase Sapphire Preferred is an amazing credit card it does have a $95 annual fee (waived first year) and has a $4,000 minimum spend requirement within 90 days to receive the 50,000 points sign-up bonus. With 50,000 points you can buy a few plane tickets, redeem for car rentals, hotels, etc.
http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2018/02/06/chase-sapphire-warranty-review/

 

[spacejamz]

It sounds like warranty protection is important to you, why not apply for another credit card that actually meets your needs?

Here's a good blog post about credit card extended warranty and filing a claim. It has some good advice like keep good documentation. While the Chase Sapphire Preferred is an amazing credit card it does have a $95 annual fee (waived first year) and has a $4,000 minimum spend requirement within 90 days to receive the 50,000 points sign-up bonus. With 50,000 points you can buy a few plane tickets, redeem for car rentals, hotels, etc.
http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2018/02/06/chase-sapphire-warranty-review/

If you are considering that one, you may as well consider the Sapphire Reserved...it has a $450 annual fee but you get $300 back for travel related charges (airfare, hotels, transportation like taxis, tolls, etc) each year so essentially the annual fee is $150. It earns triple points for travel charges and restaurant charges, so depending on how much you travel and eat out, you might make up most, if not all of $150...you also get a credit for TSA Precheck if you don't already have it...

For the $300, you get that back as a statement credit as soon you charge it...for example if you charged a plane ticket for $250 and hotel room for $100, you would see a $300 statement credit on your next bill.

 

[uhohs]

Reasons to keep the Discover IT card
1. Rotating 5% still good
2. US based customer support, you usually talk with folks in Arizona or Colorado? I forgets.
3. Price protection still there for price matching Black Friday and other big sales.

Use other cards for other scenarios where they would be better.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Damn that bites. The only reason remaining to use Discover Card are the quarterly CB offers.

Too late now but for the OP (basic needs, no annual fee), I'd recommend Citi Double Cash. Hard to put a dollar value on it, but with Citi you can use Virtual Account Numbers for most online shopping.

Is the Citi card Visa or mc?

Does it have the Extended warranty?

Edit, MC, and extended warranty is yes...and pretty good overall. The Citi double cash looks like it would be a good card for myself.

So maybe I'll keep the discover, maybe just cancel. Just figured I finally apply...and the vendor I choose is rolling back rewards.

The Chase cards look good for someone who travels or eats out often. I don't do either, and no plans to in the future.

 

[manly]

Is the Citi card Visa or mc?

Does it have the Extended warranty?

Edit, MC, and extended warranty is yes...and pretty good overall. The Citi double cash looks like it would be a good card for myself.

So maybe I'll keep the discover, maybe just cancel. Just figured I finally apply...and the vendor I choose is rolling back rewards.

The Chase cards look good for someone who travels or eats out often. I don't do either, and no plans to in the future.

I don't have the Double Cash Card but I assume it's MasterCard (confirmed by Google). Why does it matter?

As far as features are concerned, here you go:
https://www.citi.com/credit-cards/credit-card-details/citi.action?ID=citi-double-cash-credit-card

General rule of credit cards is to keep them, no reason to cancel (as others have mentioned, Discover Card has enough perks to merit some usage). This quarter is 5% cashback on gas, which is worth a few shekels. Note that if you don't use a CC for a couple years, your bank may close the account. I recently lost my oldest CC this way (and another from 2001).

 

[Scarpozzi]

I have had them all, Amex is the best

I think because they have a higher per charge fee, they don't try to screw you other ways.

OP said he couldn't get extended warranty through Paypal. That's not a dealbreaker for me. I rarely use warranty claims and don't use my Amex to fund Paypal purchases often. Paypal Credit gives you 6 months same as cash over $99....hard to beat that if you really need credit.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Update: Discover card came in, moderate credit limit ( thousands ) which rather surprised me.

I'll likely be giving the Citi Double Cash an application in the near future, as it looks like a card that will fit my requirements. Seems like most people have at least 2 anyways.

I signed up on Equifax and Transunion for credit protection. Equifax is free, and I locked it out for now. Transunion is $20/month, but I really couldn't find a free option. Transunion knew pretty much everything about me going back 10+ years, and allowed me to lock my credit on their site and Equifax's.

Is this $20/month really worth it? What do others do for fraud protection?

Of course, it's my understanding I will need to unlock my credit prior to applying for the Citi card.

 

[Exterous]

Update: Discover card came in, moderate credit limit ( thousands ) which rather surprised me.

I'll likely be giving the Citi Double Cash an application in the near future, as it looks like a card that will fit my requirements. Seems like most people have at least 2 anyways.

I signed up on Equifax and Transunion for credit protection. Equifax is free, and I locked it out for now. Transunion is $20/month, but I really couldn't find a free option. Transunion knew pretty much everything about me going back 10+ years, and allowed me to lock my credit on their site and Equifax's.

Is this $20/month really worth it? What do others do for fraud protection?

Of course, it's my understanding I will need to unlock my credit prior to applying for the Citi card.

$20/month? If you're worried I would just freeze your account and then unfreeze as need be. Cost varies by state but its a one time fee of around $10 each time you freeze and unfreeze

 

[spacejamz]

Yup..just freeze your accounts at all three credit bureaus...there is no monthly charge for doing that....the fees to lock/unlock vary by state but these are just one time charges.

You just need to unlock them when you apply for any new credit...make sure you don't lose your PIN numbers though...it is a pain to unlock if you don't have them...

 

[ch33zw1z]

Ok, thanks for the info. TransUnion and Experian do NOT make it easy to sign up for free.

TransUnion buried it way down, and I fell for it.

 

[zinfamous]

Is the Citi card Visa or mc?

Does it have the Extended warranty?

Edit, MC, and extended warranty is yes...and pretty good overall. The Citi double cash looks like it would be a good card for myself.

So maybe I'll keep the discover, maybe just cancel. Just figured I finally apply...and the vendor I choose is rolling back rewards.

The Chase cards look good for someone who travels or eats out often. I don't do either, and no plans to in the future.

Freedom Card is still good, and has no annual fee. 1% on all things / 5% quarterly rotating purchases is still a nice bonus (or 1.5% on all purchases with no quarterly rotations)

 

[RossMAN]

If you do get a Citi card make sure to take advantage of their VAN service which is awesome.
https://www.cardbenefits.citi.com/Products/Virtual-Account-Numbers

 

[JM Aggie08]

Amex or GTFO. I've been using them since my final years in college. Excellent customer service, great benefits (Gold Card), and they will crucify anyone that puts a false charge on your card. Extended warranty does no suck either.

 

[Exterous]

Excellent customer service, great benefits (Gold Card)

Eh, I'd say Chase has done an excellent job of customer service and benefits with some of their cards - even pulling ahead of Amex in certain areas.

 

[KeithP]

I believe CitiBank and Bank of America both offer cards that offer the virtual credit card feature...one time use cc numbers. That can be nice for security.

-KeithP

 

[ponyo]

For OP use, Citi DoubleCash is probably the best card. Pretty much any card with annual fee is the worst card for him.
Amex devalued their Membership rewards points so much it's sad. When you can't get 1:1 point cash value, that's trash.
One time virtual credit card number is really not that important. That helps the credit card company, not you. I don't care if someone steals my credit card number. The banks will simply give me new one. Banks eat the cost of the fraud, not me.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

I bank with PNC. 1.5% VISA cash back on everything card. No annual fee. I pay for everything with that card. Always pay the balance in full. Last year my bank paid me several hundred dollars in cash back to buy the stuff I would have bought anyways.

 

[JM Aggie08]

Eh, I'd say Chase has done an excellent job of customer service and benefits with some of their cards - even pulling ahead of Amex in certain areas.

I've toyed with the idea of moving to Sapphire Preferred, mostly to save $100 a year in annual membership fees. The 3x on flights and 2x on restaurants and grocery stores is hard to beat for me, as well as free ShopRunner membership. Having no real limit has been great for larger purchases as well.

 

[Exterous]

I've toyed with the idea of moving to Sapphire Preferred, mostly to save $100 a year in annual membership fees. The 3x on flights and 2x on restaurants and grocery stores is hard to beat for me, as well as free ShopRunner membership. Having no real limit has been great for larger purchases as well.

If you travel enough that the 3x airfare is useful the better travel protection of the Preferred might be worth considering. Its more than paid for its annual fee for me many times and it works on award flights too. You'd only get 2x on airfare but some of the redemption offers are better offsetting the lower point generation. The empowered employee you get instead of an automated menu when calling gets addictive too.

 

[TallBill]

My only suggestion is to sign up for Credit Karma if you have not already. Gives great ideas on how to keep your score up by breaking down the categories used to score.

I had opened a few cards for large purchases, essentially for 12-18 month interest free loans. My plan worked out fine, but my average age of credit took a small hit.

Sitting at 815/850 on vantage score right now.

 

[spacejamz]

My only suggestion is to sign up for Credit Karma if you have not already. Gives great ideas on how to keep your score up by breaking down the categories used to score.

I had opened a few cards for large purchases, essentially for 12-18 month interest free loans. My plan worked out fine, but my average age of credit took a small hit.

Sitting at 815/850 on vantage score right now.

I have been using Credit Karma for awhile but still trying to figure out how they got started...a bunch of people had to give out their personal ID info to a company no one knew about at the time without paying anything....that just seems really suspicious...