best rewards credit card?

[soxgirl07]

I've started the credit card rewards game recently.
Definitely ok to have multiple cards, as long as you keep track of them and pay everything off.
I'm in it for the airline miles and have a couple cards that I use for different categories to maximize my points.
My already great credit has actually gone up since I started this.

[soxgirl07]

I would tell you about my cards, but like I said, I'm in it for airline miles and it sounds like you're not interested in that. I will tell you that I flew my family of 5 to visit my brother for free and DH and I are going to Africa for free next month, if that changes your mind.

My mortgage company has a card that makes payments towards your mortgage, so maybe look into something like that if you're interested.

[pinecone21]

I have an Amazon Visa. 3% back on Amazon purchases, 2% gas and groceries, 1% all else. I get it as Amazon credit. So it you order a lot from Amazon (we do diapers and stuff from them), it's a great deal.

[soxgirl07]

Feb 19, 2017 15:08:09 GMT -5 petrichor said:

Feb 19, 2017 14:55:31 GMT -5 soxgirl07 said:

I would tell you about my cards, but like I said, I'm in it for airline miles and it sounds like you're not interested in that. I will tell you that I flew my family of 5 to visit my brother for free and DH and I are going to Africa for free next month, if that changes your mind.

My mortgage company has a card that makes payments towards your mortgage, so maybe look into something like that if you're interested.

I don't think I'm particularly interested in airline miles because we don't fly frequently, but if they get a much better return than cash back maybe it is worth my time to consider.

It just all seems complicated and straight cash back sounds easier to me.

But if, for example I earn just $500 cash back but would have earned enough miles to book $1000 worth of flights, then I should look into those options.

And Afica - wow!

I know that through my chase cards, the points are worth more if I book travel than if I get cash back or other rewards, but other than that I don't know how to compare those apples to oranges. Sorry!

I have referral links for a free card, and one with a yearly charge if anyone's interested, pm me.

[soxgirl07]

It's very complicated to know exactly the right thing for you. I say put as much time into it as you want and if you're earning cash back and you're happy, it doesn't matter if there's a better deal out there.

TBH, the only reason I do any of this is I have an awesome friends who does all the research and then shares with me.

[jojo]

We have 3 different cards, each with a different rewards system.

We have an Amex, a visa for Costco which gets good rewards and a Discover It card. We use the Discover one most often for everyday type purchases. The other ones are mostly for groceries and gas. We charge a lot a month though, including day care so we get a lot of cash back. We turn some into gift cards (like $20 of rewards for a $25 gift card) to buy things we need.

[seadragon2013]

We have an AmEx cash back card (preferred, I think?) that gives 6% back on groceries and 3% back on gas. We also have a Barclay's arrival+ MC for travel and an Amazon card for all Amazon purchases.

There are some good websites out there that can help guide you to the best card for you.

[seadragon2013]

Feb 19, 2017 15:57:10 GMT -5 petrichor said:

Feb 19, 2017 15:51:50 GMT -5 seadragon2013 said:

We have an AmEx cash back card (preferred, I think?) that gives 6% back on groceries and 3% back on gas. We also have a Barclay's arrival+ MC for travel and an Amazon card for all Amazon purchases.

There are some good websites out there that can help guide you to the best card for you.

I was just looking at the amex site and couldn't find where they explicitly state the percentages. I'll have to look again. 6% on groceries is great. I'm assuming that card has an annual fee? If it's the $95 card then that would be $1583 in groceries per year to break even, then it would be savings after that.

Do these rewards include non-grocery items on a grocery store receipt?

It's the $95 card. It does include all purchases made at the grocery store, but doesn't include groceries that you purchase at a store like Target or Walmart. We often eat lunch and use the pharmacy at our local grocery store and I make sure to put it all on the card for the points. 😉

[Deleted]

We use the Citi double cash card for everything. 2% cash back has been lovely.

[luvboston]

Amex blue preferred-
6% groceries
3% gas department stores
1%everything else

Great customer service and online platform

They also have other monthly deals

Chase freedom
5% cash back quarterly on different things like gas, amazon, dept stores etc
1% everything else

[tuscanlatte]

I have the air miles one and love it. If we were going to get another, we'd probably get our local grocery store one because their points are really good for getting money off of groceries.

We used to have 2 but found that splitting the points between 2 cards wasn't getting us anywhere fast enough. I added DH as a user on mine so he got a card, and now we just go for airmiles, so it builds faster.

Our airmiles game is to earn a child free weekend (usually in Montreal at Formula One) each year. It usually gets us enough miles to stay in an amazing suite at a hotel for the weekend, plus a little extra left over. Last time we went our hotel included appetizer vouchers for the evenings and drink tickets for each day, so well worth the points.

[madamewaffles]

Feb 19, 2017 17:11:52 GMT -5 @bruxannie said:

We use the Citi double cash card for everything. 2% cash back has been lovely.

+1. I like how you don't have to reach a milestone amount ($50, $100, etc) before you can transfer rewards to your bank account too!

[caloneis]

Feb 19, 2017 15:08:21 GMT -5 pinecone21 said:

I have an Amazon Visa. 3% back on Amazon purchases, 2% gas and groceries, 1% all else. I get it as Amazon credit. So it you order a lot from Amazon (we do diapers and stuff from them), it's a great deal.

My Amazon card just increased to 5% back on Amazon purchases, you should check if yours has too.

I also have AmEx blue preferred. $75 annual fee but 6% back on groceries (excludes superstores like Walmart so check fine print) and 3% on gas. When I got it, they were offering $150 credit if you charged $1000 in first 3 months.
ETA: catching up on posts, I see others have this card too (could have sworn annual fee was $75 though (haven't had the card for a year yet)...we shop primarily a Meijer and they count as grocery, I think it has to do with how much of the retailers revenue comes from groceries versus other things. I also believe it excludes warehouse clubs.

[nofksgvn]

I have the AMEX Blue Preferred and really like it. Something to note, some merchants can "choose not to participate in qualifying for rewards", per Amex. So while our local Kroger owned grocery qualifies as grocery, their gas station doesn't qualify for gas.

Yes all purchases at the grocery store count for 6%, so load up on any gift cards of places you go frequently.

I'm also trying out the Chase Sapphire Preferred - free the first year, I think $95 after that. It's 2 points per $1 on travel and dining out, 1 point on everything else. Chase points are like Amex, can be used on gift cards, cash, travel, etc. The CSP isn't better than my Amex based on my use, but they have a promo of 50,000 points (worth $450 in cash or $675 in travel) if you spend $4000 in the first 3 months.

[bearfootz]

Here's what we have:
Capital One 1.25% earnings - can redeem as gift cards, statement credit, or as a check. No annual fee.
Disney Rewards Visa - this one offered 1% rewards and other perks that would benefit our upcoming Disney trip

There are a few store cards that I think are worth it if they have no annual fee and offer good discounts:
Target Red Card - because that 5% off each trip is worth it
Kohl's - because they offer additional discounts throughout the year

And yeah, like you said - make sure everything is paid off each month or it defeats the purpose. Anything that can be paid by credit card I switched to auto pay on the Capital One (phone bill, cell phone, cable).

[Deleted]

Feb 20, 2017 10:53:38 GMT -5 @babybean9 said:

Sorry to thread jack, I currently have a credit card with 4.25% interest. Would it be worth switching to something with rewards, or do you think saving on interest overall is better?

that interest rate is great.  I would keep the card for if/when you need to carry a balance for a while.

Rewards cards don't make sense if you aren't paying off the card in full.  Maybe open a rewards card and use that for your regular monthly spending, and pay it off in full each month.  If you need to charge something expensive that you won't pay off in the month, put that on your low interest card.

[spicysalmonroll]

I have capital one venture 2% on everything. I love it. I spend way more on big ticket items like furniture, appliances, vacations than I'd ever spend on gas. So it doesn't make sense to me to have 3% gas 1% on big items. When we've bought our cars for example we put 5k down on the card just for the rewards and paid it right off. Last year we had $2500 worth of rewards that paid for our London trip. And capital one has always impressed me with their customer service.

[alltheteainchina]

We have a Fidelity Investment Rewards card, we charge everything then pay off each month too. I think its 2% back into our Fidelity accounts. It might not be the greatest cash back but free money for our retirement.