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morcant posted:Hm... That $250 cap on gas/groceries is actually probably more than generous for my usual expenditures. Does the 5% for Amazon apply even if you're buying, say, kitchen-type goods? I did see that card in the OP, but for some reason filed it in my brain as related to books only. It applies to anything you buy on amazon except digital orders (I.E. ebooks/movies/music).
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Nov 25, 2014 03:10
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hbf posted:Anything that is billed as "amazon". Amazon is a bookstore according to them. They don't see any sort of itemized purchase. The one exception is digital media (including kindle e-books  ). Everything else including 3rd party merchants gets you 5%.
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Jan 10, 2015 07:10
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TraderStav posted:Is this the place (if any on SA) to talk about manufactured spend? This would probably be it.
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Feb 15, 2015 15:06
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Aren't you worried that one day you're going to load your and your wife's card and go home to see that your credit card is now classifying it as a cash advance?
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Feb 16, 2015 21:09
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Abu Dave posted:If i'm trying to build credit, is it best if I wait for the monthly bill to show up or pay the balance immediately if I am able to? Set up an autopay to pay the full statement balance on the due date each month. Doesn't need to be more complicated than that.
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Feb 21, 2015 04:05
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Does Amex only let you get one signup bonus ever from any of their cards? I recently opened my first card with them and got a $250 bonus (blue cash preferred). Now, when I go to their site while logged in, all of the signup bonuses disappear for all cards. When I open a new browser and visit anonymously, I see signup bonus offers for all their cards. I'm not talking about churning the same card, it looks like they just wont ever give you any signup bonus for any of their cards again once you get one.
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Mar 22, 2015 18:27
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Here are some things to consider with bank account bonuses. I've been doing them for about a year now: #1) Typically the bonuses require to you do some combination of the below. Be sure to save the requirements of getting the bonus somewhere, as its typically way more complicated than the spend $X get $Y system of credit card bonuses. i) make a minimum opening deposit ii) maintain a minimum or average balance for a minimum amount of time iii) make $X or more of direct deposits (paycheck or gov't benefits) per month for Y months iv) make a minimum number of debit card transactions v) pay X number of bills (minimum $Y per bill) [per month for Z months] with the bank's bill pay service #2) Unlike credit card bonuses/rewards, any bank account bonus is treated as taxable interest. You will get a 1099-INT for it at the end of the year. So, if you get a $100 bonus and your marginal federal+state+local (if you live in NYC like me) tax rate is 40%, then your after tax bonus is only $60. #3) While bonuses are taxable, unfortunately you cannot deduct fees against your bonus. So if you get a $100 bonus, and incur $50 in bank account fees from that account, and your marginal combined tax rate is 40%, you only make  after taxes and fees.#4) Because of #3, it is almost just as important to avoid incurring fees as it is to meet the requirements of getting the bonus. Typically, the criteria for avoiding fees are the same metrics as under #1 above, but with different amounts. So you may need to only do $100/mo of direct deposits for 3 months to get the bonus, but you need to maintain a $500 minimum balance every month to avoid a monthly fee. You should also save down somewhere the minimum criteria to avoid fees as this can also be complicated. Another fee to avoid is an early account closing fee - so find out the minimum amount of time you need to keep it open to avoid that fee, and save down your account opening date. You should rarely go for a bank account bonus if you cannot also ensure that you will avoid the monthly/other fees. Read the fine print, and copy and paste the fine print into a word doc for future reference. If there are fees you cannot avoid, be sure to calculate your after-tax-after-fees net bonus to make sure its still worthwhile. Because of all of the above, many/most bank account bonuses probably aren't worth the time, but I do them anyway because I don't value my time since I'm a goon. In case you're wondering, the IRS doesn't tax credit card bonuses because it views them as "rebates" rather than income since you have to spend money to get them. Swingline fucked around with this message at 02:25 on Apr 15, 2015 |
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Apr 15, 2015 02:19
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Duckman2008 posted:I keep going back and forth on this question and would love an outside opinion. You should just use your Citi card for restaurants/bars if that's not too much of a pain. I have 3 cards (including the Citi 5x points you have) so that I get 5% on restaurants/bars (citi forward), 5% on grocery stores and amazon (sallie mae), 2% on everything else (citi DC). Citi points can be worth one cent each - they will allow you to redeem for that as a check towards your student loan or mortgage (doesn't have to be through citi), and they have gift cards that get you one cent per point. For example I get CVS gift cards since I spend a lot of money there anyway on personal care products. Also I think citi points are actually worth 1.2 cents each on travel (I never travel except for business so can't confirm).
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Apr 20, 2015 02:51
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fruit loop posted:Anyone here have an Amazon store credit card? Retail store cards seem dumb to me, but I spend over a $100/mo at Amazon, often more than $200, so it seems worth considering, since I heard they have a 5% reward rate. Sallie Mae Barclaycard has 5% back on Amazon (excluding digital items) up to $750/mo and 5% back on groceries $250 per month. Swingline fucked around with this message at 18:09 on May 10, 2015 |
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May 10, 2015 17:45
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fruit loop posted:That sounds awesome, but does "up to $750/mo" mean that total amount of the reward can't exceed $750 in a month or that it only applies to the first $750 of spending in a month, so I shouldn't use to buy a laptop or something expensive? Right.
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May 10, 2015 18:10
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Duckman2008 posted:I must have missed a notice: I went through my benefits for my Citi Forward card and it looks like the killed 5x's points for dining. My Citi forward is still giving me 5x on dining.
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Sep 20, 2015 23:43
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Star War Sex Parrot posted:Not credit cards, but somewhat related: I'd be stupid not to jump on a free $400 for two $250 direct deposits, right? Yes. But it's not quite as good as it seems since that $400 will be taxable income (unlike credit card rewards) and there may be account maintenence fees.
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Oct 22, 2015 18:06
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