Credit Card with rewards?

Maverick2002

Diamond Member
Jul 22, 2000
4,694
0
0
Does anyone use a credit card with rewards? I've only ever had 1 card, and always with my bank, but never had any sort of rewards. I use it for most of my purchases, so it definitely sees a lot of activity. I have 2 questions:


1) If I get a credit card not through my bank, can I still manage it online via my bank's system?

2) Are credit card rewards worth it? Does anyone use one with rewards? What are the typical rewards (like cashback, or discounts, or what)?
 

Jeeebus

Diamond Member
Aug 29, 2006
9,181
901
126
so your question is... is a credit card that gives you stuff back for using it better than one that does not? gee, i dunno, let me think about that...
 

LS21

Banned
Nov 27, 2007
3,745
1
0
youve been wasting tons of money by using a CC with absolutely no benefits

get a points card if you travel a lot, or a cashback card if you do not
 

Baked

Lifer
Dec 28, 2004
36,052
17
81
No, use debit card instead. If you use credit card, they charge fees and uber high interests and get you into debts.

/sarcasm
 

oznerol

Platinum Member
Apr 29, 2002
2,476
0
76
www.lorenzoisawesome.com
Reward card generally come with high interest rates. These are not cards for keeping a balance. If you pay it off in full every month, they're pretty good - definitely better than one without rewards. Chase Freedom is good for 3%, Amex Blue Cash is good if you're a spender.
 

GTaudiophile

Lifer
Oct 24, 2000
29,767
33
81
Well, after using the Chase Visa United Platinum card for about 2 years, I have around 150K miles with them, good for about 3 international round-trip tickets. If the value of each is around $1K, then I have about $3K worth of tickets.

Sounds worth it to me...just for using their plastic...and paying it off in full every month.
 

zoiks

Lifer
Jan 13, 2000
11,787
3
81
Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
Well, after using the Chase Visa United Platinum card for about 2 years, I have around 150K miles with them, good for about 3 international round-trip tickets. If the value of each is around $1K, then I have about $3K worth of tickets.

Sounds worth it to me...just for using their plastic...and paying it off in full every month.

How long did it take you to accumulate 150k miles?

I researched all the credit cards that offer rewards but almost all of them couldn't provide a good miles redemption rate for the rewards.
For example, my citibank professional card offers 1 mile for each dollar spent (outside of the few places you get double or triple miles). I checked and found that in the summer if I wanted to go to Europe from SFO, I needed 131000 points. Basically the fare was 1310 and you need to multiply that by 100 to calculate the points needed. I found other credit card companies were similar.
Except for one.
I applied and got my BofA Alaska Airlines card. Miles needed to go to Europe on continental airlines was only 50k for coach class. I was able to go to Europe this last summer this way. Miles required for other travel destinations such as Asia or Australia are very reasonable.
 

GTaudiophile

Lifer
Oct 24, 2000
29,767
33
81
In less than two years.

I have the UAL Chase Visa Platinum card. Depending the type of purchase, I get 1 or 2 miles per dollar spent. I also earned miles through travel...keep that in mind.

A "saver" airfare from IAD to FRA is 50K miles.
 

oznerol

Platinum Member
Apr 29, 2002
2,476
0
76
www.lorenzoisawesome.com
Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
Well, after using the Chase Visa United Platinum card for about 2 years, I have around 150K miles with them, good for about 3 international round-trip tickets. If the value of each is around $1K, then I have about $3K worth of tickets.

Sounds worth it to me...just for using their plastic...and paying it off in full every month.

How much did you spend to get that? I was always under the impression the miles cards were roughly the equivalent of 1-2% cash back cards.

So to get $3K worth of tickets, you would have had to spend $150K. I suppose even it was 5% back, you would have had to spent $60K.

Wouldn't you rather have $3K in cash than 3 round-trip flights?
 

dullard

Elite Member
May 21, 2001
26,047
4,691
126
1) Yes, they are worth it. For example, I got my Chase Freedom card about 1.5 years ago and I have already received $500 in cold hard cash from them. Absolutely free. I didn't spend much either to get that, nothing that I wouldn't have already spent. If ~$250/year for doing nothing sounds good to you, then you should consider a reward card.

2) As noted above, credit cards with rewards come with high interest rates. Thus, NEVER ever use this for anything that you don't intend to purchase anyways and that you have cash to pay off when you get the bill. If you really must keep a balance, have another credit card with a low interest rate for your balances (but really, you should avoid that as well).

3) Yes, you can pay it through your bank online. Or, just like almost any other bill you can pay it through the other company's website. This latter option is a little bit more work (you have to actually sign in at least once in your lifetime to a website), but you never have to worry about your bank changing their fee structure for their website like banks love to do. Heck, I refuse to use my bank's bill pay to make certain that I never have any bank fees. It is just as convenient to pay from the other end.

4) For most people, the best reward card out there is Chase Freedom. Click me! You earn 3% cash back on your biggest categories each month and 1% back in all other categories. On top of that, if you let the reward accumulate to $200 they give you a bonus $50 (effectively making it a 3.75%/1.25% cash back card). Also, right now they give you $50 for your first purchase. So, if you get the card now then spend $5000 over the next few months/years, you'll get $250 in cash back ($50 signup + $5000*3% + $50 bonus = $250).

5) Yes, if you are a big spender, there are better reward cards. But those don't work well for most people.
 

jonnyGURU

Moderator <BR> Power Supplies
Moderator
Oct 30, 1999
11,815
104
106
I pretty much exclusively use my Discover Card because of rewards.

I typically get 1% back, 5% back at select retailers and when I exchange my "cash back" for gift cards, I can usually get another 5 to 10% back on top of it.

I used to always use my PayPal credit card, which paid 1.5% cash back and 5% for money in my PayPal account, but now their money market rate sucks, is not FDIC insured and in the long run I get more back with the Discover Card.
 

oznerol

Platinum Member
Apr 29, 2002
2,476
0
76
www.lorenzoisawesome.com
Originally posted by: dullard
1) Yes, they are worth it. For example, I got my Chase Freedom card about 1.5 years ago and I have already received $500 in cold hard cash from them. Absolutely free. I didn't spend much either to get that, nothing that I wouldn't have already spent. If ~$250/year for doing nothing sounds good to you, then you should consider a reward card.

2) As noted above, credit cards with rewards come with high interest rates. Thus, NEVER ever use this for anything that you don't intend to purchase anyways and that you have cash to pay off when you get the bill. If you really must keep a balance, have another credit card with a low interest rate for your balances (but really, you should avoid that as well).

3) Yes, you can pay it through your bank online. Or, just like almost any other bill you can pay it through the other company's website. This latter option is a little bit more work (you have to actually sign in at least once in your lifetime to a website), but you never have to worry about your bank changing their fee structure for their website like banks love to do. Heck, I refuse to use my bank's bill pay to make certain that I never have any bank fees. It is just as convenient to pay from the other end.

4) For most people, the best reward card out there is Chase Freedom. Click me! You earn 3% cash back on your biggest categories each month and 1% back in all other categories. On top of that, if you let the reward accumulate to $200 they give you a bonus $50 (effectively making it a 3.75%/1.25% cash back card). Also, right now they give you $50 for your first purchase. So, if you get the card now then spend $5000 over the next few months/years, you'll get $250 in cash back ($50 signup + $5000*3% + $50 bonus = $250).

5) Yes, if you are a big spender, there are better reward cards. But those don't work well for most people.

Chase Freedom has a $600 cap per month in the 3% categories, which is a max of $18/month. After that it's 1% only. It's basically intended for groceries/gas/utilities.
 

rh71

No Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
52,844
1,049
126
Got $161 & $118 checks in the mail from Citicard (Dividend) just the other day... small % from purchases (personal & joint cards) for the last 6 mo. or so. Free money baby.
 

dullard

Elite Member
May 21, 2001
26,047
4,691
126
Originally posted by: ducci
Chase Freedom has a $600 cap per month in the 3% categories, which is a max of $18/month. After that it's 1% only. It's basically intended for groceries/gas/utilities.
That is exactly what reward credit cards are best for. Put the groceries/gas/utilities on that you would buy anyways. It is quite reasonable to buy $100 of gas, $200 of utilities and $300 of groceries each month (shift it around a bit for your personal needs).

By the way, with the $50 bonus for accumulating $200 of rewards, you get $22.50/month not $18/month. Small difference I know, but noticible.

If you do happen to spend more than $600, 1.25% cash back isn't bad, but you could do better with a second reward card.
 

Injury

Lifer
Jul 19, 2004
13,066
2
81
They are worth it only if you find value in what you are getting back.

When I was in college I saw a lot of companies trying to get people hooked on cards that give you free music downloads from some site that has probably since tanked for spending a certain amount of money. That's a straight up crock of shit.

Many cards out there give you rewards such as money back, travel rewards or gas rewards. All of these are great as long as you don't look at it as a reason to spend more money on things you don't need. Spending $100 just to earn $1 worth of points is stupid, but you'd be surprised at how many people do it. Many cards only offer rewards for certain purchases, too. One card may offer rewards for gas, groceries, and clothing, but not on electronics or home goods or something. Some cards may only offer points for shopping at certain stores, and some cards may offer double or triple points for shopping at certain stores. I get double points on mine for travel related purchases including gas, so despite the fact that I usually have the cash to pay for gas, I always put it on my card. I get double points and free shipping for shopping online at the Apple store so I always purchase online despite the fact that I can get items within 20 minutes at the local apple store.

The trick is to figure out how many of your regular monthly payments you can put on your card and pay off each month. I have a certain amount budgeted into my monthlies that I have set aside for paying them, so personally I put as many of them as I can on my card and immediately pay my card company that amount so that I don't even see the bill. I get the free points and have really done nothing different. I'm still trying to figure out how to pay my rent from my credit card. I get a check for $50 for every $1000 spent, which means that paying my rent + monthly bills would get me $50 free dollars every other month.

The bottom line:
It's all about understanding how much these cards return and avoiding spending extra just because of it.
 

Eeezee

Diamond Member
Jul 23, 2005
9,922
0
76
Here's an example for you

1) One of my checking accounts is through Chase (but I had to switch to BofA when I moved because there's no Chase around here - even so, I do all of my credit card payments online, it was just as easy with Chase as it is with BofA). I signed up for the Chase Freedom card (1%/3% cash back) about a year ago. It shows up right next to my checking account on their website

2) I just received $250 from them, which is the cash back in action. You get a $50 bonus if you save to $200 in cash back, which is what I did. That means I spent somewhere between $6666 - $20,000 on the card last year (closer to $10k really, since some purchases are 1% and others are 3%). So yeah, it's not much, but that's $250 that I wouldn't have had if I just used a debit card or cash.

$250 = half of a month's rent for me. That's pretty awesome. I go on the principle of "use the credit card on EVERYTHING" because that's an effective 1%/3% discount on everything you buy.

Edit: Also, I never keep a monthly balance. I don't even know what my interest rate is because I've never kept debt on the card beyond the grace period (20 days I think?)
 

JEDI

Lifer
Sep 25, 2001
29,391
2,738
126
Originally posted by: Maverick2002
Does anyone use a credit card with rewards? I've only ever had 1 card, and always with my bank, but never had any sort of rewards. I use it for most of my purchases, so it definitely sees a lot of activity. I have 2 questions:


1) If I get a credit card not through my bank, can I still manage it online via my bank's system?

2) Are credit card rewards worth it? Does anyone use one with rewards? What are the typical rewards (like cashback, or discounts, or what)?

best general credit card is 2% rewards on EVERYTHING:
https://www.hsbcapply.com/star...hardbankfoxtrot?media=

then u need a 2nd credit card that gives 5% cashback on gas:
Penfed
 

zoiks

Lifer
Jan 13, 2000
11,787
3
81
Originally posted by: JEDI
Originally posted by: Maverick2002
Does anyone use a credit card with rewards? I've only ever had 1 card, and always with my bank, but never had any sort of rewards. I use it for most of my purchases, so it definitely sees a lot of activity. I have 2 questions:


1) If I get a credit card not through my bank, can I still manage it online via my bank's system?

2) Are credit card rewards worth it? Does anyone use one with rewards? What are the typical rewards (like cashback, or discounts, or what)?

best general credit card is 2% rewards on EVERYTHING:
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="https://www.hsbcapply.com/start/orchardbankfoxtrot?media=">https://www.hsbcapply.com/s......bankfoxtrot?media=</a>

then u need a 2nd credit card that gives 5% cashback on gas:
Penfed

The hsbc card would be good but it has a reward cap of $400/yr.
 

JEDI

Lifer
Sep 25, 2001
29,391
2,738
126
Originally posted by: dullard
1) Yes, they are worth it. For example, I got my Chase Freedom card about 1.5 years ago and I have already received $500 in cold hard cash from them. Absolutely free. I didn't spend much either to get that, nothing that I wouldn't have already spent. If ~$250/year for doing nothing sounds good to you, then you should consider a reward card.

2) As noted above, credit cards with rewards come with high interest rates. Thus, NEVER ever use this for anything that you don't intend to purchase anyways and that you have cash to pay off when you get the bill. If you really must keep a balance, have another credit card with a low interest rate for your balances (but really, you should avoid that as well).

3) Yes, you can pay it through your bank online. Or, just like almost any other bill you can pay it through the other company's website. This latter option is a little bit more work (you have to actually sign in at least once in your lifetime to a website), but you never have to worry about your bank changing their fee structure for their website like banks love to do. Heck, I refuse to use my bank's bill pay to make certain that I never have any bank fees. It is just as convenient to pay from the other end.

4) For most people, the best reward card out there is Chase Freedom. Click me! You earn 3% cash back on your biggest categories each month and 1% back in all other categories. On top of that, if you let the reward accumulate to $200 they give you a bonus $50 (effectively making it a 3.75%/1.25% cash back card). Also, right now they give you $50 for your first purchase. So, if you get the card now then spend $5000 over the next few months/years, you'll get $250 in cash back ($50 signup + $5000*3% + $50 bonus = $250).

5) Yes, if you are a big spender, there are better reward cards. But those don't work well for most people.

does Chase Freedom work for Walmart?

ie:
if walmart is the ONLY store you use this credit card with, do you get the 3%?
 

JEDI

Lifer
Sep 25, 2001
29,391
2,738
126
Originally posted by: zoiks
Originally posted by: JEDI
Originally posted by: Maverick2002
Does anyone use a credit card with rewards? I've only ever had 1 card, and always with my bank, but never had any sort of rewards. I use it for most of my purchases, so it definitely sees a lot of activity. I have 2 questions:


1) If I get a credit card not through my bank, can I still manage it online via my bank's system?

2) Are credit card rewards worth it? Does anyone use one with rewards? What are the typical rewards (like cashback, or discounts, or what)?

best general credit card is 2% rewards on EVERYTHING:
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="https://www.hsbcapply.com/star...hardbankfoxtrot?media="><a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="https://www.hsbcapply.com/start/orchardbankfoxtrot?media=">https://www.hsbcapply.co.........foxtrot?media=</a></a>

then u need a 2nd credit card that gives 5% cashback on gas:
Penfed

The hsbc card would be good but it has a reward cap of $400/yr.

that's $20000 :Q

my biggest expense by far is my mortgage. and they dont take credit cards :(