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saintonan posted:For just a glimpse, this is a flowchart designed to answer what travel rewards card(s) an efficient person should get, and in what order. That rabbit hole goes very deep. Do not want to meet the guy responsible for that chart.
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Apr 15, 2022 17:42
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I think if you decide you want travel rewards, you also have to decide what kind of travel you're targeting redemption for. I think it's best to work backwards from what you want to do, and then figure out what cards will get you there. If you're looking for a week in the Maldives and want to fly lie flat the whole way there, that's a different strategy than say just wanting a couple free domestic flights and a couple nights at the Courtyard Marriot every so often. Most of my spend is on a 2% cash back card from my credit union. I don't travel for work anymore (and when I did it was only 3 times a year tops), and we only fly domestically out of San Antonio or Austin, so we have a Southwest card and a JetBlue card. The larger airline programs are not something I'm interested in right now. Flying anywhere with them usually involves going through a hub thats out of the way. I don't care about hotel room points right now either. I don't have the desire to min/max credit card rewards, I feel like it's just too much hassle for me right now, but we have been able to get a decent amount of domestic airfare in the last few years done on points. Last year we went to Cancun on Southwest points, JetBlue to Orlando a couple years ago, and Southwest to Orlando on points this year. Looking at JB to NYC next year on points as well. If I was looking at International travel, I'd probably be all over the Chase and Amex point systems.
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Apr 15, 2022 19:56
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Thanks for the replies/advice. We haven’t really narrowed down which to prioritize but I think for travel we want to probably go abroad every couple of years but mostly have a couple yearly domestic vacations. It came up a couple days ago but I started googling and there was so much loving information I figured some whittling with experienced people in here would be necessary. I’m also not sure with a small child if we’d be traveling enough to reap the rewards of a travel card and if we should just save the cash back from a more conventional card for groceries and gas for our trips. But it would be nice to get the affiliate discounts. I’ve got a lot of research to do obviously.
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Apr 15, 2022 21:10
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If you don't want to churn sign up bonuses or have way more yearly spend than the average person (100k+) then none of the travel cards are worth bothering with. Just get a 2% cashback card and one or more cards with increased categories that spend in, groceries probably being the most obvious.
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Apr 16, 2022 00:38
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asur posted:If you don't want to churn sign up bonuses or have way more yearly spend than the average person (100k+) then none of the travel cards are worth bothering with. Just get a 2% cashback card and one or more cards with increased categories that spend in, groceries probably being the most obvious. i spend like $25/wk on groceries lol. tops.
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Apr 16, 2022 02:04
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Smythe posted:i spend like $25/wk on groceries lol. tops. A study on the AMI of the various subforums of SA would be interesting to see.
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Apr 16, 2022 02:52
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If you're focused on cash back and more a restaurant guy, Chase Freedom Flex is 3% cashback on all dining, including Uber Eats/Grubhub/Doordash/etc. It also has quarterly 5% bonus categories that you may or may not use. Get that, a 2% general spend card, then get a Citi Custom Cash card and use it for gas, and you're pretty much set.
saintonan fucked around with this message at 03:35 on Apr 16, 2022 |
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Apr 16, 2022 03:28
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A fully bonused credit card selection is something like: Get 2 Citi custom cash cards for 5% on 2 categories each month by applying for a different card first, like the double cash, getting that, then getting the citi custom cash, then product changing your double cash to custom. Then get the citi rewards card so you get a bonus 10% to your thank you points whenever you redeem them (you can let the points stack up until you get the rewards card). Get an Amazon visa for amazon shopping for 5% cashback at Amazon. If gas is not one of your top categories you want a card that gets 4-5% on gas, for me that's just my costco visa, which the added convenience of just handing them the card as both id and card, and there's a costco on my way home from work, works out pretty well. Then get a generic 2%+ cashback card, like the alliant CU visa (2.5%) or the Fidelity 2%. Both of these involve some hoops. If you want travel cards it's generally either churn or loyalty. If you use the same airline a lot or else stay at the same hotel chain, then a co-branded card can make sense. If you don't it's best to churn your card once a year at least to get a sign-up bonus offer, since the miles or points you get from that are generally way more than the % return on spending any of the travel cards give. Finally - do you frequent airports where there are lounges you'd want access to, or is there some other feature of credit cards you really care about like extended warranty, extended return period, cell phone insurance or primary rental car insurance. To really know what cards you might want you should actually do a budget and track your spending for a bit. Though going for a solid 2% cashback on everything is by far the easiest/safest option. Also if you do like the fidelity one you can then make a rule that your 2% cashback goes savings in the form of index fund purchases, as a way to get yourself to save more.
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Apr 16, 2022 06:11
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Chase Sapphire Preferred sign up bonus is back to 80,000 points, which is worth over $800 in cash back and likely also travel rewards. Easily worth at least a churn, would also be a great start into the Chase ecosystem in general.
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Apr 16, 2022 14:03
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asur posted:If you don't want to churn sign up bonuses or have way more yearly spend than the average person (100k+) then none of the travel cards are worth bothering with. Just get a 2% cashback card and one or more cards with increased categories that spend in, groceries probably being the most obvious. Out of curiosity why does average spend make a difference for the value of travel cards?
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Apr 16, 2022 14:29
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Residency Evil posted:Out of curiosity why does average spend make a difference for the value of travel cards? It's a matter of practicality more than anything. For example a trip I'm going to take (if covid ever abates) the flights were 120,000 points round trip. If you're only spending enough to get 12,000 points a year, a lot of us would say one flight a decade isn't worth it and you maybe could use the cash more.
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Apr 16, 2022 15:33
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ranbo das posted:It's a matter of practicality more than anything. For example a trip I'm going to take (if covid ever abates) the flights were 120,000 points round trip. If you're only spending enough to get 12,000 points a year, a lot of us would say one flight a decade isn't worth it and you maybe could use the cash more. Ah gotcha I read his comment the wrong way then. It seems like if you’re spending more money in general, a greater proportion of that is likely to be on things like travel/eating out, where a travel card may go further than a 2% card.
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Apr 16, 2022 16:43
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Residency Evil posted:Out of curiosity why does average spend make a difference for the value of travel cards? It's that you need a high amount of points for a worthwhile redemption. If you need 140k points for roundtrip and spend 15k per year then that's over 4 years to accumulate. By then awards will have changed, potentially multiple times. Even if you get 2x points, like the example, and redeem at greater 2 cents it's probably not worth it over that timeframe. Most travel cards also have an annual fee you need to account for as well. I should note a distinction that when I say travel card, I specifically mean a card that earns miles or hotel points. Cards that redeem points, or miles that aren't miles, against charges, even if those charges are limited to travel, are much easier to use. Requiring the usage of a travel portal is potentially hit or miss.
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Apr 17, 2022 09:38
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I got the Venmo credit card for the great two month double cash back offer. Now that's over, but I've decided to keep it in the regular rotation for one use: hotels. The Venmo card is one of those things that gives you 3% back on your top spend category so if you only use it for hotels then ta-da! You've got a 3% cash back Visa for hotels. I don't want miles, points, or whatever nonsense rewards. I don't want to be tied to one hotel company. I just want cash back.
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Apr 17, 2022 18:11
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Is there any card that beats 6% on groceries?
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Apr 17, 2022 20:13
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Upgrade posted:Is there any card that beats 6% on groceries? Not without a lot of hoop-jumping, but things like Discover It 1st year 5% matched cashback or keeping a fair amount of money on deposit with BofA there's a way to get pretty high cashback.
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Apr 17, 2022 20:30
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Upgrade posted:Is there any card that beats 6% on groceries? For straight cash back, no. Just keep in mind that the Blue Cash Preferred is only 6% on the first $6000 of groceries in a year, so ~$115 a week. Once you hit that 6k cap, everything after that is only 1%.
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Apr 17, 2022 20:44
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saintonan posted:For straight cash back, no. Just keep in mind that the Blue Cash Preferred is only 6% on the first $6000 of groceries in a year, so ~$115 a week. Once you hit that 6k cap, everything after that is only 1%. Citi Custom Cash is probably the best grocery card now, right? AMEX BCP: $5000 spend: $300 (@6%) - $95 (AF) = $205 Net $20000 spend: $360 (6000@6%) + $140 (14000@1%) - 95 (AF) = $405 Net Citi Custom Cash: $5000 spend: $250 Net $20000 spend: $300 (500x12@5%) + $140 (14000@1%) = $440 Net Girbot fucked around with this message at 00:02 on Apr 18, 2022 |
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Apr 17, 2022 23:59
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Girbot posted:Citi Custom Cash is probably the best grocery card now, right? Your math is correct, but if you're getting a Custom Cash, you're very likely using it for either gas or some other non gas/groceries/restaurants category since there are far less options for those other categories. e: also, if you're spending $20k a year on groceries, think about the Amex Gold Card. 4x MR with a $25k cap per year. $250 AF, but that's partially offset by $120 in Uber Cash and $120 in Grubhub credits (the Grubhub purchases code as restaurants so they earn 4x MR). $20k grocery spend would generate 80k MR, which even at the painfully low 0.7 cashout rate (don't do this) would be $560. Not as simple as straight cash back, but worth thinking about in extreme cases like a big enough family to warrant $400/wk grocery bills. saintonan fucked around with this message at 00:56 on Apr 18, 2022 |
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Apr 18, 2022 00:39
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It's my understanding that you can get at least 2 Custom Cash cards through opening directly and a product change. And yeah, I just used some figure below the limit and an extreme example above to illustrate the comparison. The cards used at those spends are beyond my research, but among the common referenced cards (no to low annual fee) I think Custom Cash wins out and will still be primarily used for the core categories because maxing 5% categories has value on its own.
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Apr 18, 2022 01:05
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Girbot posted:It's my understanding that you can get at least 2 Custom Cash cards through opening directly and a product change. You can get the 5% up to like 5.55% if you also get a citi rewards+ card, and yes you can get 2-3 citi custom cash cards pseudanonymous fucked around with this message at 02:32 on Apr 18, 2022 |
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Apr 18, 2022 01:07
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yeah I was reading about that, too. Do direct deposit edit: wait, it needs to be direct deposit because I won't spend anything above what's needed to keep the card active. Girbot fucked around with this message at 01:19 on Apr 18, 2022 |
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Apr 18, 2022 01:16
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Girbot posted:Citi Custom Cash is probably the best grocery card now, right? Thank you for making that case. I've been leaning towards getting a Citi Custom Cash as a grocery card (spending under $500/month on that category, but 5% is 5%, plus $200 SUB). Chase trifecta can't touch that reward rate, even with 2x value through travel partners. The Flex already did the grocery category quarter for this year, and I'm ineligible for the Freedom's one-year 5% grocery reward. Edit: aaaand I was instantly rejected for a Custom Cash. Is Citi wary of low credit utilization or adhering to their own version of 5/24? Because otherwise, I ought to be as close to a safe bet as an applicant can get. Space Fish fucked around with this message at 13:27 on Apr 20, 2022 |
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Apr 20, 2022 06:07
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Space Fish posted:Edit: aaaand I was instantly rejected for a Custom Cash. Is Citi wary of low credit utilization or adhering to their own version of 5/24? Because otherwise, I ought to be as close to a safe bet as an applicant can get. Responsible with credit? Unprofitable!
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Apr 20, 2022 16:09
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Space Fish posted:Edit: aaaand I was instantly rejected for a Custom Cash. Is Citi wary of low credit utilization or adhering to their own version of 5/24? Because otherwise, I ought to be as close to a safe bet as an applicant can get. As this card churning thing gains more notriety and more people do it the banks will adjust their models not just to factor in credit risk but also profitability. The Custom Cash cards are potential loss leaders, if you pay off every month and only use the card for one category I think they will actually lose money on you, generally speaking. I.e. If you optimize it as a gas card and only buy gas with it and always get 5% cash back on every purchase and always pay it off, that's not profitable for Citi.
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Apr 20, 2022 16:23
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I seem to recall some data points from the Citi Premier suggesting they don't like people with low credit utilization. It would make sense if it also applied to the Custom Cash.
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Apr 21, 2022 00:46
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Wife and I sat down and settled on a Delta Skymiles Amex Gold card. We've been daily purchasing from debit forever, and for our goal of just getting something extra for our cash and trying to travel more (and we fly delta basically exclusively)--we are going to give it a year and see how the miles accrue and re-evaluate next spring on whether to upgrade or switch to a different plan. Thanks for all the advice y'all.
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Apr 21, 2022 02:25
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If you're going to pay an annual fee, I feel like the SkyMiles Platinum is a lot easier to justify with the companion certificate upon renewal. Then whatever points you accrue are just a bonus. I get that shelling out $250 for a credit card feels like a lot, though, and you can always upgrade in a year if you want to.
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Apr 21, 2022 06:39
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Shroomie posted:If you're going to pay an annual fee, I feel like the SkyMiles Platinum is a lot easier to justify with the companion certificate upon renewal. Then whatever points you accrue are just a bonus. Yeah we went back and forth on that too but this is our first real travel rewards card and we want to get a handle on how it works and how the perks are applied and stuff because a lot of stuff is sort of abstract right now. No fee for a year makes that a lot easier to do.
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Apr 21, 2022 10:28
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Heh, I also just signed up for the Amex Delta Gold. They are heavily advertising it during the Delta checkout process since it has a sizable Delta credit as a sign up bonus. Yes I would like $400 off the flight I’m looking at right now, and the first year fee waived. (The amount varies but they are all decent.) Unfortunately the instant card number got botched so I have to wait for the physical card to book the flight. Not ideal but eh, easy money. Also no idea why it takes 8-12 weeks to get your credit.
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Apr 23, 2022 14:10
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Don’t they make bank on the processing fees even if you are an auto total balance payer?
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Apr 23, 2022 17:25
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They make 2-3%. So any rewards above that are probably losing them money.
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Apr 23, 2022 17:55
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smackfu posted:Heh, I also just signed up for the Amex Delta Gold. They are heavily advertising it during the Delta checkout process since it has a sizable Delta credit as a sign up bonus. Yes I would like $400 off the flight I’m looking at right now, and the first year fee waived. (The amount varies but they are all decent.) In my experience when Amex says a credit or bonus is going to take 8-12 weeks to post it's actually more like 48 hours.
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Apr 23, 2022 22:34
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USAA just excitedly told me they converted my 2.5% cash back Limitless card into some 1.5% basic card so they can eat my entire rear end Otoh the card had a direct deposit requirement to get the 2.5% so in a way I am finally free Edit: the Fidelity card looks like a decent replacement as a daily driver Tiny Timbs fucked around with this message at 01:10 on Apr 28, 2022 |
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Apr 27, 2022 17:11
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What's the best straightforward cashback card these days? I have had Chase Freedom for a long time but I don't think it's working as well for me with the activations. I do just about everything with it. Nerdwallet shows this Wells Fargo Active Cash card. I'm wary since I only dealt with Wells Fargo for a little under a year in the early 2000s and they were a company that seemed specifically engineered to gently caress me.
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Apr 28, 2022 07:13
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What does "straightforward cash back card" mean to you? There are several 2% on everything cards around if you only want one card, but it will be less efficient than having specific cards for specific purchases.
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Apr 28, 2022 13:13
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The various 2% cards are all very similar and probably what you want for straightforward cashback card you do everything with. The Wells Fargo one is probably ahead of the others for it's not to be underappreciated $200 signup bonus, but if you want to avoid Wells Fargo that's totally fine. Depending on how much you spend at Amazon, the Amazon Chase Visa might be good too. That has 5% at Amazon/Whole Foods, 2% on some decent categories (restaurants, gas stations, drug stores), and 1% everywhere else. For Amazon cards you can put them into your Amazon account and stick them in a drawer, but if you used this everywhere and use Amazon a lot it would be a good option too. Also taking this opportunity to push the Alliant 2.5% Visa. You need to have a checking account with them with 1 monthly deposit (Doesn't have to be direct deposit, transfer from another account counts). The extra .5% is nice but not the biggest deal, but it has no foreign transaction fee and an increasingly hard to find extended warranty feature.
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Apr 28, 2022 14:56
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THF13 posted:Also taking this opportunity to push the Alliant 2.5% Visa. You need to have a checking account with them with 1 monthly deposit (Doesn't have to be direct deposit, transfer from another account counts). The extra .5% is nice but not the biggest deal, but it has no foreign transaction fee and an increasingly hard to find extended warranty feature. You also need to keep $1,000 on deposit in the account which is probably a good way to make yourself have an emergency fund. Also they tend to do promos for getting the account in the first place, I got a $200 visa gift card with avocado toast and latte on the front which I like so much I’m having a hard time spending it.
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Apr 28, 2022 16:08
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I got a Chase Preferred for the bonus, hoping it would arrive by today for a large purchase, but it hasn’t come. The card is in my online account with my other cards, can I add it to apple pay or something without having the physical card?
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Apr 28, 2022 18:08
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Elysium posted:I got a Chase Preferred for the bonus, hoping it would arrive by today for a large purchase, but it hasn’t come. The card is in my online account with my other cards, can I add it to apple pay or something without having the physical card? It depends, cards are starting to provision them ahead of time to apple pay and stuff, but you basically have to check if they did it or not. My Sapphire did that but I couldn't really use it for anything.
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Apr 28, 2022 18:25
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