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Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.

PUNCHITCHEWIE posted:

Just a fyi the credit "score" you get from a free credit report from one of the three big agencies is generally 50 - 100 points below your actual fico score.
I'm assuming you mean 50-100 points higher than the actual score?

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Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.
A couple people I know signed up for PerkStreet, which is an online bank that features a 2% reward card.

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.

alreadybeen posted:

Most airline cards offer one mile per dollar. The Starwood card offers one point per dollar which can then turn into 1.25 airline miles (at least on American Airlines). Might want to check that out first.
Wait, really? Is there a limit?

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.
If you want AA miles, as has been posted, your options are basically Citi AA cards, Barclays US cards, or SPG Amex. If you've tapped all three, you can try for a business version of any of those, complete with a separate signup bonus. Keep in mind that Citi offers like 10 versions of AA cards, and they'll generally give you a second, different one after a while, complete with a signup bonus. Barclays too, sometimes.

nickutz posted:

I actually already have the AMEX SPG which I got 10k starpoints after the first purchase but couldn't meet the higher spend for 15K extra starpoints. I may end up keeping that card because starpoints are so much more valuable than HHonors. Once I get the 40k Hhonors points from my spend requirement I'm not sure how much more I'll use it.
The consensus is more or less that once you reach the $10k on the Hilton to get the annual free night, your spend is best spent elsewhere.

nickutz posted:

I've never bothered to manufacture spending but if I could pay my rent with my card I would rack up points like crazy.
It's possible to do this, but in most cases you'll have to eat the transaction fee yourself. Unless you're getting a bonus for big spend, it's generally not worth your time.

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.
Freedom and Sapphire is a pretty good combo.

This page actually describes a number of pretty lucrative combos:
http://www.drcreditcard.net/fr-best-combos.html

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.

oxsnard posted:

That's a fantastic site but all the Internet nerding out on credit cars makes me feel like that time I tried to build a warhammer 40k army back in high school.
I find the difference is that women care very much about free vacations.

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.

Harry posted:

I was under the impressive the only good thing about the Forward card was the discounted gift certificates you could buy, but they discontinued that.
No. The best uses were typically either:

1) Redeeming your points towards mortgage and student loans(*), effectively 5% cashback on D&E.
2) Redeeming your points for 1.25-1.33 cents of airfare each if you have another ThankYou card with an annual fee, for effectively 6.25%-6.65% cashback on D&E.

* Typically issued as a check. Linco, if you're sly, you might be able to get them to issue a check that could be deposited in your retirement account...

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.

kaishek posted:

The difference lies in what kind of award you are looking for. If you are looking for business class, ever, then traditional airline miles are the best way to get those. Even certain types of expensive domestic flights, like transcons, are a better value with traditional miles.
I agree on this. These sorts of fixed value programs are great for domestic economy tickets, however.

I have a Barclays Arrival and a Citi Thank You card, for reference.

kaishek posted:

Also for what it is worth, I have found United to have very good award availability in most cases, while AA and Delta have AWFUL award availability in most cases. Something to keep in mind.
I personally have had fantastic luck redeeming on AA, *knock on wood*, but I absolutely agree on Delta.

IIRC, there was a study done recently, where they found that United had the best award availability, AA was a close second, US Airways a distant third, and Delta in last place.

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.
This site has a review of all three:
http://www.drcreditcard.net/fia-fidelity-amex.html
http://www.drcreditcard.net/barclays-arrival.html
http://www.drcreditcard.net/chase-sapphire-preferred.html
(You were referring to the Preferred version of the Sapphire card, right?)

quote:

I asked before, but I was hoping for a few more opinions or examples: how do the redemption programs for flights for most cards compare to finding a flight (economy) on a site like Kayak or Priceline? I plan to take one international round trip flight to Japan each year, and may have one or two other domestic flights each year.
Generally, there are two kinds of redemptions.
1) A card that transfers points to a frequent flier program, from which you can redeem for available award seats. Pro: this can have amazing value. Con: you sometimes have to be willing to be flexible with your travel, and they can be hard to find at peak travel times.
2) A card that credits your points toward the cash value of the flight. Good news: Any seat, any time. Bad news: a lot less bang for your buck.

I haven't used the FIA Amex, but for the Barclays card, you receive 2 points for every dollar spent on travel and dining and 1 point for every other dollar of spend(*). Each point can be used for 1 cent towards any airfare of your choice, and you receive 10% of your spent points back later. The points for purchases (including signup bonus points) post immediately after the spend, so you don't have to wait for the statement to close, which is awesome.

* There are two versions of the Barclays card. The version with the annual fee has a bigger signup bonus and gives 2 points on all purchases, plus a few other odd perks.

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.

The Leck posted:

I'm looking to pick up a new card - I currently just have a Discover card, and would like to get some better rewards and possibly a more accepted (Visa) network. I'm looking at the Chase Freedom, Sapphire Preferred, Amex Blue, and the Fidelity Amex that's been mentioned a lot here. How much travel do you need to do to make the Sapphire Preferred worth it over a straight cash back card? Any obvious "get this first" cards? It sounds like all of them are pretty reasonable choices, and I'm experiencing some analysis paralysis.
Someone has actually come up with a formula for that, detailed here. The CSP gets 2.14 points (2 points + 7% dividend) on dining and travel, and 1.07 (1 point + 7% dividend) on everything else, but there is an annual fee (waived the first year.)

Incidentally, having both a Freedom and a Sapphire Preferred is considered one of the best credit card combos, as detailed here

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.

Dantu posted:

I just looked into this and the offer is 25,000 miles but it is also contingent on paying the annual fee, which is not waived. Do you have to front-load annual fee cards, ie pay the annual fee when you sign up, in situations where it isn't waived? I've never not had the fee waived. If that is the case I could see you not getting the miles because the program merge will probably be done by 1 year from now, won't it?
The advertised offer is often not the best one. Google is your friend.

EDIT:
https://www.barclaycardus.com/apply/Landing.action?campaignId=1695&cellNumber=31

quote:

Bonus Balance Transfer Dividend Miles: Cardmembers will be awarded one (1) mile for every one dollar ($1.00) in balances that are transferred to the new Account, in the first 90 days after the new Account is opened, up to a maximum of ten thousand (10,000) miles. There is a fee for Balance Transfers. Balance Transfer Checks do not qualify as balance transfers and are not eligible for bonus miles.

Bonus Dividend Miles: Thirty five thousand (35,000) bonus miles will be awarded in the first billing cycle in which you have made a purchase or balance transfer (that is not later returned or rescinded). There is a fee for Balance Transfers.

Anniversary Bonus Miles: Beginning with the first anniversary of Account opening and every anniversary thereafter, Cardmembers will be awarded 10,000 Anniversary Miles. Anniversary miles will be reflected on the billing statement following payment of your Annual Fee, if applicable.

First year annual fee waived.

Small White Dragon fucked around with this message at 20:36 on Aug 12, 2013

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred gives 2 points per dollar on dining and travel, plus a 7% annual bonus. It does give the added ability to transfer points to partner airlines, gets an added bonus when redeemed for travel, and has no foreign transaction fees.

The Chase Freedom gets 5 points per dollar in rotating categories, and 1 point on everything else. If you have a Chase Checking account, you can get an 10% annual bonus.

In order for the Sapphire Preferred to make sense, assuming you're not using any of the extra features, you need to spend at least $4150 on the bonus categories (dining and travel) to cancel out the annual fee. My guess, from what you said above, is that you are not spending that much on those items.

However, if you think these benefits might be useful someday, I suggest getting the Freedom card now. If you get a Sapphire Preferred in the future, you can transfer the points between those two cards.

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.
I thought Citi covered loss within 90 days. I dropped my iPhone 5 at about 80 days, sent them a filled out form and the receipt for the repairs from Apple, and they cut me a check a few weeks later.

Anyway, this seems to go into a lot of detail on those benefits:
http://www.americanexpress.com/us/content/card-benefits.html

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.

FISHMANPET posted:

My credit score recently jumped about 115 points, now around 720, guess it's time to apply for Amex again.

E: Blue Sky is worse in every way from Blue Cash, right? Or am I missing something? I end up doing a moderate amount of travel so I could make use of the $100 vouchers, but with 1 point per dollar and 7500 for a $100 voucher, that's 1.3%. The cash has opportunities for higher earnings, and it's just straight cash. Right?
The credit only comes with the Blue Sky Preferred, which has a $75 annual fee. You're correct that the return is 1.33% per point when used for travel expenses, but the Preferred card does offer 2x points "at U.S. restaurants, for hotel rooms purchased directly from hotels and for car rentals purchased directly from select car rental companies."

It's probably not a card I'd suggest for most people.



If you're looking for an Amex other than Blue Cash, the most talked about reward cards seem to be:
- Starwood Preferred Guest (1x point on everything, but has a 25% transfer bonus in big batches. $65 annual fee)
- Premier Rewards Gold (3x pts on airfare, 2x pts on gas, large annual bonus at $30k spend, but high $175 annual fee)
- Mercedez Benz Card (3x pts on gas, 2x pts on restaurants. $95 annual fee)

Points from all three of these cards can be transferred to a variety of airline frequent flier programs.

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.
According to the site, for redemption purposes "eligible travel purchases" means purchases at airlines, hotels, car rental companies, cruise lines, travel agencies, tour operators, commuter railways & trains and online travel sites that are billed to your account and submitted by the merchant using the appropriate industry or merchant code. So it's pretty broad.

If hotels are more your thing, it might be useful, and there are a lot of creative ways you can use the Amex incidental credits other than baggage, but I guess that's moot now.

Anyway, the Blue Cash card is pretty good, hope it works well for you!

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.
If you have another MR-earning card, the Blue for Business is kind of fun, given that has no annual fee and it gets an annual 30% bonus.

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.

the yeti posted:

Is there such a thing as a card with favorable treatment of vehicle related expenses other then gas?
There's a Mercedez Benz card that gives 5x points on purchases with them ;)

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.

oxsnard posted:

Hey so I just saw an ad for the HHonors Amex Surpass card. With 12 points per dollar spent at Hilton properties I'm starting to think that it might be worth looking into in addition to my Chase Sapphire Preferred. The annual fee is 75$ but I can stay at Hilton properties at least 80 nights a year. Since the value of HHonors points seems to be a little under half that of traditional points, that would still equate to just under 6 points instead of the 2.14 I get with the sapphire card.

My question is that I am wondering if you still get the traditional points at Hilton in addition to the 12 points per dollar through the card? If so this card seems like a no brainer.
Yes, the points you receive from the card are in addition to anything Hilton gives you.

Hilton points are valued at about 0.4 cents each, which means your return is roughly 4.8 cents per dollar on Hilton spend. The highest valued hotel points are SPG at something like 2.95 cents each, so you're obviously coming out ahead.

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.

Dantu posted:

Essentially it depends on who you are trying to impress. If you plan on applying for a new card or loan you want to pay before the statement cuts so it shows 0% utilization.
I'm not really sure about that, some of the geeks over on the boards where they obsess over these sorts of things claim a small utilization is better than 0.

Of course, regardless, you should always pay off everything by the due date.

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.

OldSenileGuy posted:

One concern I had about the Amex Blue Cash Everyday - I currently already have the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card, and my 0% introductory APR on that doesn't run out until January. Will Amex allow me to open another credit card with them and get a whole new introductory 0% APR period, even though I already have pretty much the same card? Same question actually goes for the Chase Freedom card. I currently have a Chase Slate card that I never use - I only got it to transfer a high balance onto it and pay it off at 0% over time. Those payments will be finished by the end of this year, and the 0% APR on that card is up in February of next year. Will they let me basically reset the 0% APR clock by getting a new card?
It's possible they might consider the Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred to be the same product and thus you lose out, but yes, in general, you can signup for noticeably different cards from an issuer you already have a card with, and you'll get the introductory bonuses.

Here's an example with Amex. If you have a Platinum card, they won't give you the signup bonus if you sign up for a Mercedez Benz Platinum card or a Gold card. But, you can signup for a Starwood card, Delta card, Blue Cash card, .etc and get that introductory bonus.

In any case, you should always check their T&C when you do this.

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.

Juice Box Hero posted:

1) Can I use my Barclaycard's travel rewards for upgrades on flights and hotels booked with my citi travel card?
The way Barclays Arrival works, you charge it to the card, and you can apply your points towards travel expenses. Presumably upgrades qualify.

Juice Box Hero posted:

2) Can airline miles be exchanged for points on a rewards credit card or vice versa?
Some cards permit you to transfer points to select airlines. Amex BCP and Barclays Arrival do not do this.

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.

kaishek posted:

Starwood actually has a decent transfer rate, Wyndham less so.
Starwood can get 1.25 miles/dollar, while Wyndham is 0.8 miles/dollar (which is actually a lot better than a number of other hotel cards).

However, Starwood has a $69 annual fee, and a Wyndham card can be had without the annual fee.

(Not that I'm saying Wyndham is amazing or anything, but not everyone wants to or should have an annual fee card.)

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.
Unfortunately, the best general travel cards either charge a forex fee (Amex PRG), or don't have EMV (Chase Sapphire Preferred, Barclays Arrival).

There are a couple hotel cards that might be worth considering:
Chase Marriott Card (https://creditcards.chase.com/credit-cards/marriott-credit-cards.aspx)
Citi Hilton Card (https://www.citi.com/credit-cards/credit-card-details/detail.do?ID=hilton-hhonors-reserve-card)

They both have an annual fee, but are chip + signature, have no foreign exchange fees, and you can get a free night in their hotels every year, which can often save you more than the cost of the annual fee. Both cards give you hotel status, and the Hilton card actually gets you free breakfast at any Hilton, which can sometimes save you a lot of money.


skipdogg posted:

If you fly a specific airline to Europe every time, get the top card from them that you can. United Mileage Plus or Citi AAdvantage World Elite, the benefits usually outweigh the annual fee cost.
If you have frequent flier status with AA, the top card may not be useful. It's definitely that way in the case of the Citi AAdvantage World Elite, although maybe the United Mileage Plus card is more useful.

In comparing the two cards, the United Mileage Plus Club Card
- has a lower fee ($395 vs $450)
- gives you two bags instead of one (although the Citi AA Exec card allows the benefit to be used on a larger group)
- has a better earn rate (1.5 miles on all non-United purchases!)
- and better ancillary benefits, like Hyatt and Avis benefits.

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.
To my knowledge, the only no annual fee card without a ForEx fee is the Barclays Arrival. However, Barclays hasn't gotten onboard the Chip train (...yet).

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.
Apparently in Europe, /you/ can be liable if there's a fraudulent charge with a chip-and-pin transaction. I assume this isn't an issue for chip-and-signature?

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.

Dantu posted:

CSP with EMV is here! Also, United Miles apparently have been devalued, glad I just got my Mileage Explorer last month.
It wouldn't matter if you got the card before or after the devaluation?

What matters here is when you use the miles, not when you got them. FWIW, if you book before February 1 or so, you can use the old chart.

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.

ex posted:

I have recently just signed on as a salesman for an oil and gas equipment company. This new job will involve a lot of taking clients out for lunches/dinners/golfing/snowboarding/sporting events/concerts/drinks and the odd trip here and there. Since I get to utilize my own personal credit card/charge card/etc. for these purchases and will be fully reimbursed by my employer, I would like to maximize my return potential.

My goal would be to rewarded in the following categories:

1) Flight Rewards - I want to maximize my reward miles and take essentially get a free trip once per year-ish.
2) Entertainment - I will have to entertain quite often in this position - if there is a card that gives me front of the line access to a lot of events (Amex?), heads up on tickets, etc.
3) Access to VIP lounges
I highly recommend you have a separate credit card for all work-related issues, for accounting purposes.

That said, if you can't get an Amex platinum, the Chase Sapphire Preferred gives 2x points on all travel and dining, and the regular American Express Mercedes Benz gives 2 points per dollar on dining. All of those cards look fancy, too, which might be helpful to you.

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.

ex posted:

Thanks, that Chase card looks attractive since a majority of my expenses will be from dining out. I should have probably added that I reside and do most of my business within Canada. I don't think this will effect anything on the Chase card but the Amex MB card's advantages lie in purchasing from US gas stations and restaurants.
Oh, I'm mainly familiar with US offerings. The MB card is not advisable if you travel internationally -- it charges a foreign exchange fee.


Linco posted:

I currently have the Citi Foward card, and get 5 points on resturants/entertaiment. I would like to pick up another card that gets at least 2 points for all categories to pair with it. A sign up bonus would also be nice. Any suggestions?
How about the Barclay's Arrival? The one with the annual fee gets 2 points per dollar plus a 10% rebate on redemptions. If you redeem for travel, you get 1 cent per point, so effectively it's a 2.2% cash back card. The points are not transferable to any airline/hotel, but then again, neither is the Forward's.

(Incidentally, they have stopped offering 5 points per dollar on new Forward applications, so it's possible that might be discontinued for current card holders at some point.)

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.
On the topic of devaluations, Hyatt today announced a new chart. This and UA is (somewhat) of a blow to Chase's Ultimate Rewards.

Steve French posted:

That said, it looks like the Arrivals card is really highly regarded; but not the one we've been offered. We've been offered the no-fee card, but there's also another card with an $89 annual fee, waived the first year, that gets 2x miles on *everything*, and you get 10% of the miles back when you redeem on travel expenses (which seems to include gas?), so it's effectively 2.2x.

Seems to me if you plan to spend $8900 a year or more on that card on non-travel purchases, you'd rather have the card with the fee (I would), and I plan to ask if they're willing to transition my card to that one instead of the no-fee card.
It is a highly regarded card. And the no annual fee version gives 2% (or 2.22% when you factor in the 10% rebate) back on travel and dining.

Factoring in the 10% rebate, it's more like 8900/1.11 ~= $8000 spend to make up the difference.

Again, this is all if you use the rebate on travel -- anything else gets noticeably less value.

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.

semicolonsrock posted:

What is the new preferred credit card of choice for maximum rewards? I'll be flying + in hotels a lot, and would like to maximize what I get. Ideally it would give something like free hotel/flights, though I may be set on the flights front from frequent flier miles. I don't have a car etc. so that is not as important.
On any particular airline or hotel chain?

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.

Magic Underwear posted:

Just apply for it. Amex has no issue with giving out multiple cards. In fact, Amex will backdate your new card so that it appears to be just as old as your first card. Could be a good boost to your average age of accounts.
I've heard they only do this as far back as you've continually had a card. So if you cancel all Amex cards and then re-apply, they may not backdate.

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.

skipdogg posted:

Depends on the provider. AT&T doesn't charge me extra to pay with a credit card, but everyone else I deal with does. The fee to pay my 45 dollar water bill is something like 4.95 which obviously doesn't make sense.
Geico actually gave me a discount for letting them bill my credit card. Sure, why not?

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.

landcollector posted:

What are everyone's opinions on the Visa Black Card? On the one hand, the factor of having a card made of stainless steel is interesting. On the other, $495 Annual Fee (no waiving here!).
If you want a useful expensive black card, get the Citi Prestige or the Citi Executive AAdvantage card.

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.

FISHMANPET posted:

I'm looking for a rewards card that doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee, as I'm going to be buying some stuff from other countries fairly regularly. I've already got a Discover that doesn't charge a fee, but nobody takes Discover, so I'm looking for either Visa or MasterCard. I know Capital One doesn't charge foreign transaction fees, and the Quicksilver card gives 1.5% cash back, any other cards I should look at?
Barclays Arrival has no foreign transaction fee. The no annual fee version gets 2x points on travel and dining, and when you redeem for travel, you get a 10% rebate.

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.
What do you want to use the rewards for?

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.
Offhand, I might suggest the Chase Freedom. It has rotating 5% cash back categorie! and gas is usually there ever other month or so. Right now, they're running a better-than-usual signup bonus.

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.

Juice Box Hero posted:

What are you looking for? Better purchase protection?

E: looks like platinum is 90 days too. You could try for a centurion card.
I think all the Amex cards with an annual fee have extended warranty for 1 year and accident/dissatisfaction coverage for 90 days.

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.

Kilty Monroe posted:

I'm seeing advice from the internet ranging everywhere from waiting a whole year between applications to "apply to everything at once so all the inquiries fall off at the same time" which sounds hilariously dumb and I'm not taking seriously, but I'm still not sure how long I should actually be waiting.
The thing is that inquires don't hit immediately, so you can often apply for more than one card at the same time, and they won't see the other applications, unless maybe your application needs additional review.

Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.
IIRC, in some states those numbers can be used against you if sued or in divorce court.

nickutz posted:

To add to rewards chat: Anyone done anything cool with their points lately?
I booked the entire family (5 people) to the other side of the world and back in J/F.

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Small White Dragon
Nov 23, 2007

No relation.

yoyodyne posted:

I'm filling out an application for an Amex Blue card, and I'm in between jobs, but the next job starts on Jan 2nd. Should I go ahead and fill all of the employer info now, or should I wait until my first day?
Assuming the job is a sure thing, I think it's perfectly reasonable to use.

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