Credit Card Rewards and Recommendations

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Credit Card Rewards and Recommendations

hbf: Jul 26, 2003; No Dice.

I'm trying to build credit after having basically avoided credit my entire life. I currently have 1 card, a basic wells fargo visa cash back card (~$3k limit), which I have had for 10 months. I've always paid it in full every month. I have no other credit lines or anything on my credit report, positive or negative, except for a hard pull a few months ago for a loan that I ended up not going through with.

I want to get a 2nd card with hopefully better rewards, but primarily to continue to build my credit. I was planning on an "appathon" approach where I apply for several decent cards at the same time and pick the best as I am guessing I won't be accepted at some. Is this a good idea?

# ¿ Dec 2, 2014 19:33

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 00:19

hbf: Jul 26, 2003; No Dice.

Doghouse posted:

How does the Sallie Mae mastercard work with Amazon, do you get 5% back on any Amazon purchase or just books?

Anything that is billed as "amazon". Amazon is a bookstore according to them. They don't see any sort of itemized purchase.

# ¿ Jan 9, 2015 00:12

hbf: Jul 26, 2003; No Dice.

I was recently added as an authorized user on a credit card for a family business. Issued a card and all that. Will this line effect my credit score at all? I checked my report and it does not even seem to show up, and they didn't run an inquiry when I was added. I understand this is called "piggybacking" and the score rules were changed a few years ago to prevent abusing it, but just wondering what, if any, effect it can still have.

# ¿ Mar 24, 2015 22:35

hbf: Jul 26, 2003; No Dice.

I'm looking for a card that preferably has: no foreign transaction fee, no annual fee, and has a chip/will be accepted around Europe. Based on the OP it looks like the BoA Travel Rewards meets the requirements, but was wondering if there is anything else that is decent?

# ¿ Apr 21, 2015 00:11

hbf: Jul 26, 2003; No Dice.

The Capital One Venture Rewards card seems to be similar, but a better sign up bonus and $59 fee after the first year. Are they prone to waiving the fee if you ask/make a big deal about it?

# ¿ Apr 21, 2015 16:59

hbf: Jul 26, 2003; No Dice.

FISHMANPET posted:

Most everything we can get in American right now is Chip & Sig (though I guess WF has some Chip & Pin cards?). Anyway "the internet" says that you'll have problems with a Chip & Sig card in Europe, especially at unmanned terminals like in train stations.

However there's a goon in the Europe travel megathread that says he's had no problems with his Chip & Sig cards in Europe. The last 2 or 3 pages of that thread have been about paying for things in Europe. It can get confusing.

the main thing I'm after is avoiding a 3% fee for foreign transactions, and an annual fee. a few of the recommended cards that have that (aside from the BoA card) don't even have chips. I'm guessing not having a chip is limiting?

# ¿ Apr 24, 2015 03:46

hbf: Jul 26, 2003; No Dice.

THF13 posted:

Capital One Quicksilver or Bank Americard Travel Rewards are your best bets. Both now have a EMV chip, no foreign transaction fee, no annual fee, and 1.5% cashback. You need to redeem the Bank Americard towards travel expenses but that shouldn't be an issue.

Cap1 quicksilver has an annual fee after the first year ($59). Just fyi.

# ¿ May 4, 2015 17:57

hbf: Jul 26, 2003; No Dice.

asur posted:

No, it does not.

Woops was thinking of the Venture card. Didn't realize the Quicksilver didn't have foreign trans fee and an EMV.

So opinions on Cap1 Quicksilver vs BoA Travel Rewards? Looking mainly for a card to use traveling in Europe with no fees. Don't bank with BoA or have any other Cap1 products.

hbf fucked around with this message at 20:10 on May 6, 2015

# ¿ May 6, 2015 20:01

hbf: Jul 26, 2003; No Dice.

Just got approved for a cap1 quicksilver I need to take on a trip to avoid fees. Do they usually take the full 10 days to get you the card?

# ¿ Jun 2, 2015 22:37

hbf: Jul 26, 2003; No Dice.

Massasoit posted:

Any no fee chip and pin cards out there with no overseas charge? Doesn't have to be rewards card but that would be cool too.

No, I don't think with Pin. If you can handle just chip+sig there's the Cap 1 quicksilver and BOA americard from the OP.

Another good bonus for the Quicksilver if you use Uber is they are giving 20% back for all Uber charges until April 2016. Pretty sweet deal.

# ¿ Jul 4, 2015 15:34

hbf: Jul 26, 2003; No Dice.

spatula posted:

plastiq.com is a service that will take your credit card payment and send your landlord a check for a 2.5% fee. There's also Radpad.

I don't think there's any "pay rent with cc" companies that are less than 2.5% so there's really no way to game it and almost always a loss when using them.

# ¿ Aug 27, 2015 22:57

hbf: Jul 26, 2003; No Dice.

Are any cards offering 5% off groceries? I know there were some that had rotating, but selectable categories at some point. It seems like Discover IT/Chase Freedom are just random rotation. Really gonna miss that Sallie Mae card when it dies in a couple months :rip:

hbf fucked around with this message at 17:55 on Jan 7, 2017

# ¿ Jan 7, 2017 17:49

hbf: Jul 26, 2003; No Dice.

Saint Fu posted:

Amex blue cash preferred is 6%.

This does look like the best bet for ~5% off groceries, even though it has $95 annual fee. thanks!

# ¿ Jan 8, 2017 22:27

hbf: Jul 26, 2003; No Dice.

Baddog posted:

Just want to also point out that grocery stores also sell giftcards to almost everything, and krogers-chain stores give 2x or 4x fuel points on giftcards. I always get a buck/gallon off of gas, as well as the 6% off of the giftcards.

Good to know! For some reason I thought there was something to prevent people from doing this.

Does anyone know if the Amex blue cash preferred is strict about what a "grocery store" is? Sallie mae cash back worked at most Targets for example. And do they ever do better than the $150 on $1000 spend sign up bonus?

And just FYI it looks like the card has a 10% cashback offer right now for Amazon for 6 months (max $200)

# ¿ Jan 10, 2017 17:57

hbf: Jul 26, 2003; No Dice.

Anyone know much about the southwest card? Specifically, do points earned with the card from just regular spend count towards your status/companion pass? The website is sort of murky on this detail, though it is clear the sign up bonus DOES count. Had to take a bunch of work trips with them this year and just realized I'll be at companion pass with the signup bonus+ minimum spend. They are pretty weird with points sometimes which is why I'm asking, for example this Jan I got a double points bonus on business select tickets, but the extra points didn't count towards status.

Also some extra salt in the wound from the dead Sallie mae card... I used my remaining credit to pay off my balance to be done with the card. Well it turns out credit doesn't count as a payment, so even though my statement balance was zero'd I got a late fee. Some real poo poo right there. They waived the fee after some discussion on the phone, but I'm wondering if it will count as a late payment or not.

# ¿ Mar 7, 2017 17:57

hbf: Jul 26, 2003; No Dice.

No idea if this is actually working but according to this email I got, Chase Southwest card is offering CA residents a companion pass as a sign up bonus. That's a huge offer.
see here: http://madfientist.cardratings.com/cards/18
Note thats a referral link from another site (not mine), but I consider them reputable. I'm not in CA so I couldn't get the offer to show up, but for a companion pass it's worth a shot.

# ¿ Nov 7, 2017 19:19

hbf: Jul 26, 2003; No Dice.

I signed up for the Southwest Premier card less than 2 years ago. Does anyone know if I can sign up for the Business Premier card and get the sign up bonus again?

# ¿ Sep 4, 2018 20:29

hbf: Jul 26, 2003; No Dice.

Do Southwest credit card signup bonuses change often? I'm seeing 40k now for the personal cards. Swore it used to be higher? Just hit 45k points unexpectedly and trying to hit companion pass. Can't do a business card because I got a bonus last year for that.

# ¿ Sep 23, 2019 04:16

hbf: Jul 26, 2003; No Dice.

Is there any way to trigger higher than 40k point sign up bonus on any non business southwest card? I heard in the airport at a kiosk it is 50k, but I'm not flying soon. I'm just close enough to companion this year if I hit just over 40k more points by Dec 31

# ¿ Nov 1, 2019 18:26

hbf: Jul 26, 2003; No Dice.

Resonance22 posted:

I was curious about this (a 50k personal + 70k business offer would hit the new 125k threshold for 2020 after spend), so I Googled and found this:
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-southwest-cards-50000-points-after-2000-in-spend-use-at-own-risk/

It looks like if you apply with those specific links, it's the 50k offer from in-flight. The application page itself doesn't specify the actual point rewards though.

hmmmm might have to roll the dice and do this. People in the comments seem to say it's working and confirmed the points at least until a few days ago. Scary that it doesn't mention anything though. Thanks!

I can't tell from the site, but do both of those earn 50k? What would be the point of going for the one with a higher annual fee?

# ¿ Nov 1, 2019 22:11

hbf: Jul 26, 2003; No Dice.

Resonance22 posted:

Yup, both should be the 50k points offer after $2k spend.

Here's a chart that shows the benefits between the two cards:

https://www.southwest.com/html/rapidrewards/partners/credit-cards/southwest-airlines-rapid-rewards-cards/index.html

Well I went for it. Will report back with what happens. Hopefully I can hit the spend and get the bonus credited before Dec 31.

# ¿ Nov 4, 2019 23:58

hbf: Jul 26, 2003; No Dice.

If I have an old Cap1 card I don't use, are they likely to allow me to switch it to a different product and still get the sign up bonus? And how do I go about doing that, just over the phone? Thinking about converting an old Quicksilver to Savor to get 4% on dining (RIP uber card)

# ¿ Feb 9, 2020 01:10

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 00:19

hbf: Jul 26, 2003; No Dice.

Girbot posted:

You're generally not eligible for sign up bonuses with product changes.

Also keep in mind after the first year you'll need to spend $9500 on dining and entertainment to make up for the $95 annual fee vs the SavorOne 3% back.

I'm personally going to use my Bank of the West 3% (Dining, Gas, Groceries) for restaurant spend for the quarters Discover IT isn't on 5% restaurant now that Uber is dead.

BofA is another option for 3% but I using that for drug stores since that's the best option that isn't covered year round elsewhere for me (currently 5% with Discover, though).

If you're going to cover that $9500 in spend after the first year, or you want to take your free year and product change again after, yeah, just give them a call. You could also just open the Savor fresh, keeping the Quicksilver, if you're going to meet the $3000 spend in 3 months and consider the bonus to cover the annual fee through the first 4 years.

If you don't have a Bank of America Cash Rewards card and don't think you'll get better value on getting 3% on gas, online shopping, travel, drug stores, or home improvement/furnishings and opt for 3% on dining, they have a $200 bonus on $1000 spend in 90 days. The 3% is only good up to $2500/quarter, but if you're spending that much the Savor becomes better regardless of annual fee as you're breaking the $9500/year needed to cover it from the extra 1%.

Thanks for the info. I'm dumb and saw $0 annual fee and stopped reading, didn't realize it was just the first year.

# ¿ Feb 9, 2020 16:46

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Credit Card Rewards and Recommendations