This.

It's also a pretty good every day spend card, as it's 2x points on every purchase. You get 10% of travel redemption back, so it's a little better than other 2x points cards like the Venture. I've redeemed over $1600 in travel credit on my Arrival+ card.

Thanks for the Arrival+ rec, just signed up.

No problem.

Even though I don't play much poker anymore, I'm still a poker player at heart, so still happy to help out 2+2 members.

Haha, I should probably start using referral links with all the free advertising I do for credit card companies.

Thoughts on the Amex blue cash everyday? I have a $200 for $1k spend offer. 3% cash back on groceries which seems nice. I have another Amex opened in 2009, so that will help age of credit.

The bce is a fine card. And $200 back on $1000 is nice. I'd you don't have any other amex you want to get right now then go for it

Amex backdating appears to be dead, so I wouldn't count on that.

Thanks. Unless there is a better % card for groceries, then i dont have one in mind. Any idea on if my wife can apply for this same deal, or if she would get the deal if i added her?

not something i was really counting on, but sucks that it no longer works that way.

If you spend a lot on grocers blue cash preferred may be better(6% with an annual fee).

Sallie Mae MasterCard is 5% at grocery store each month up to 250(also 5% at gas and books for 250(

One of my cards was just shut down because I haven't used it in years. I'm not dad because it was a specific store card with a high interest rate.

I shouldn't affect anything other than average length of account and total credit/credit used so I'm not real worried but is there a way to prevent this with other cards?

I don't want to have to make sure I go to dell or best buy or whatever else I have to make sure it's not canceled.

It won't effect your average age, closed positive accounts remain on your reports for 10 years. Credit Karma won't factor closed accounts into its age calculation, but FICO does, so no matter.

Generally speaking, it's good to put a purchase on each card every 3 months or so to keep them active. Amazon will let you buy gift cards in very tiny increments, which is handy. Store cards obviously won't work for that unless they are cobranded with a major issuer, so just do what you can with those. Letting them close isn't a big deal if you've got a decent number of cards, though.

My two oldest cards are ten and twelve years old and they basically have no rewards. I pay my Netflix bill with one of them and use the other one at Redbox every couple of months.

Something to consider in regards to rewards is whether or not they give your rewards dollars into your account or count it as a statement credit. Amex does statement credit. If you're a guy spending 500 a month and paying off in full to get the rewards offer and don't plan on using the card after, it's something to keep in mind

I had no credit except for 4 months on a 5k limit healthcare only card I took out for a surgery. I kept the util high for a few months (because I was unemployed and it's 0% interest for 6 months) and have now paid it down to 10% util. Creditkarma scores

624 Transunion, 585 Equifax

Just got a secured credit card to start the build/rebuild. They claim it reports the highest balance at any point in the month, which seems like it really sucks. On the plus side it stays active even if I don't use it. Sounds like I should only use it for spots where debit cards would be a PITA like hotels and car rentals?

That does sound lame, what secured card is it? They may be mistaken about the reporting, but you can only know by using it I guess.

You might consider opening a Walmart store card. Lax approval requirements, and a free monthly TU FICO. There's a trick as well, whereby you can get a new FICO on demand by re-enrolling in the service. The third card wound help you build faster and help your overall utility. The 5c/gallon gas break is a half decent perk too, devoid of other options. Plus it's a credit limit that you can grow down the line. My initial limit was $400 in August; I got an auto increase to 1k in November, and in March I called in and got an increase to 10k despite barely ever using it. (It's underwritten by Synchrony, formerly GECRB, the same bank that underwrites Care Credit.)

That's the 5k card I have. Maybe that will help me get the Walmart one? I got a secured card from UW credit union. I have a checking account with Chase but didn't think I could qualify for a Freedom card yet.

If you have a clean payment history, it certainly can't hurt I figured that's what you had, I don't know of any others.

Is there any good place online for referral exchange? I did not find anything with a web search.

I get offers every now and then for bonus points for referrals, and would like to take advantage. Right now I have an offer on the Sapphire Preferred for up to 50k points (5k per referral). Those who sign up get 40k pts for a 4k spend in 3 months. Is that something we can post links to here?

OK, super dumb question time. Probably a million resources online for exactly these questions, too, so apologies.

Current status:

Me:
Amex: Amex Blue Cash Preferred
MasterCard: USAA Gold
MasterCard: Citi Diamond Preferred

Wife:
Amex: Blue Cash Rewards
MasterCard: Chase Debit

I don't use any of the Citi Diamond reward stuff. Probably I should? I guess that segue's into my questions pretty well, though.

Assuming I'm not interested in having lots of cards, and just want to be reasonably set up, what should I do?

1. Is the Diamond card a good one? Should I get rid of it, or start using it?
2. We do our banking at Chase. Should that have any impact on which CCs we use?
3. We were thinking about doing United's MileagePlus club card, at least for the 1 free year, since we have a bunch of miles on United at the moment and live in a hub city. Is that a terrible card/plan? I haven't explored much about the other travel cards mentioned recently.
4. Is there any reasons except personal reasons NOT to both be on the BCP card, given I'm paying the fee for it?

Currently we do basically all our spending through Amex cards, so I feel only marginally dumb about not having a great MC/Visa set up.

Thanks for any help.

1) I have never heard of the Diamond card and a quick look says its a no annual fee card without a rewards system? The main advantage of this card is the long 0% APR. So if you're not using it for the APR then you shouldn't be using it because it doesn't seem to earn any rewards.

2) Banking at Chase should not affect what CCs you use, it just gives you more of a relationship to leverage approvals from Chase and sometimes with higher credit limits because they can see your assets. However, Chase has pretty much the best cards in the industry and they are a little bit churnable (you can get the same card and bonus again if you haven't had it in 2 years or more), so you should start getting a new chase card up to every 3 months if you'd like.

3) The MP card is a good option if you don't have status with united as it opens up a lot of extra award availability that you otherwise can't see (XN) and also gets you a free checked bag. If you have status with united then it doesn't have very many benefits except for the 50k bonus miles, and with the way united is doing mileage earning now that's a nice chunk of miles to get without flying. This is the type of card you get for 1 year for free and cancel, then get again a few years down the line when you've passed the 2 year mark.

4) The BCP is only worth it if you spend over $2500 on groceries per year, otherwise the BCE is better because its fee free:



There isn't a reason for you both not to be using that card considering it's not worth it until the $2500+ mark. Moreover, Amex has a lot of great offers through Amex Sync (offers through twitter) and Offers For You (offers from your amex online account) plus small business saturday, so the more Amexs you have, the better. This includes authorized user cards.

If you're happy with Amex you should also compare the new Amex Everyday and Amex Everyday Preferred cards. The preferred can earn up to 4.5 membership rewards points per dollar, which is potentially more valuable than 6% cash if you know the MR program and can transfer to airline partners effectively.

I think if you don't want to have 'a lot of rewards cards' you should get one for everyday non bonused spend like the citi double cash, or the fidelity amex for 2% everywhere. Then get one (or keep the BCP) for groceries and gas. After that, I think you should rotate applications and get maybe 2-4 new cards per year solely for the bonus, and cancel them after the first free year. I would start with Chase if your interests align there because they have the best offerings and you can do them again in 2 years. The explorer cards are a good place to start for you, I also like the Hyatt card for both of you because 4 nights in a Hyatt anywhere in the world can be really awesome (we used ours at the Park Hyatt Tokyo). If you have any specific travel goals in mind I can set you up with a better rotation.

If you're not interested in getting lots of cards, you should find a 2% card and just use that. It really depends where you spend most of your money and exactly how many cards you want to have to carry around.

Here's what I always have in my wallet:
-Ink Classic for 5% at Office Supply stores (I use this to purchase gas cards and restaurant cards if I don't have better offers)
-Arrival+ for 2.2% cashback towards travel on ALL purchases
-Amex BCE for 3% Groceries

I rotate in Discover IT, Chase Freedom, and Citi Dividend whenever they have 5% CB categories that I can use (I have Freedom in my wallet right now for 5% at Restaurants).

I'll prioritize if I have a new card that I need to hit a minimum spending bonus.

I have a handful of other cards that stay in my desk drawer that I only use for random deals, bonuses, or to make sure I keep the card active.

Thinking about getting:

-BankAmericard Cash Rewards

-Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard

-Blue Cash Everyday Card
from American Express

Thoughts? Have a 780 credit score and already have:

Discover
SPG
Chase Freedom
Citi Thank You Preferred

Why are you looking at those cards? Are you getting them for travel?

Arrival+ is great for travel with the large signup and 2.2% on everything, but mediocre for CB. BCE is decent for groceries/gas. BOA is also decent for gas/groceries. Those last two have decent CB bonuses, but they're not great compared to some cards with larger bonuses geared towards travel.

The last two have no AF, while the Arrival+ has an $89 AF that is waived for the first year. Are you going to keep it? Churn it for the bonus?

Basically, what is your plan both immediately and long term?

those all had signup bonuses.

i have three bank of america cash rewards cards (they have different colleges on them lol)
got 175 for 500 spend on all 3. now they can hang out with eachother and collect dust in my drawer.

Arrival + for the Sign up Bonus & then will downgrade once the AF kicks in.

BCE & BOA card ($100 sign up bonus) to solely be used for groceries and gas when thats not a 5% quarter for Discover/Chase Freedom

Don't sleep on the Sallie Mae card to pair with your BCE in those quarters. I haven't crunched the numbers, but even approaching 6k annual spend, the difference in cash back would be negligible between the Freedom, IT, and Sallie Mae vs the BCP, MS notwithstanding.

However, it's nice always knowing what card to use when I buy groceries as opposed to worrying about hitting the cap on the Sallie Mae, and I value my relationship with Amex such that if the difference is close between the two strategies, I'd rather spend more on Amex. I'm still going to get the Sallie Mae for 5% at Walmart and Amazon though. Even with the caps, that card having no annual fee makes it a slam dunk.

Question for Chase CSP cardholders: what kind of value are you getting per UR point? I have seen that many people pair the Freedom with the CSP, and that some value UR points at over 2 cents per by transferring to certain partners. Thus, the Freedom 5% effectively becomes 10%+. Is that redemption rate realistic, or just internet blog braggadocio? I'm heavily Cash Back focused right now, but I think I'll have some opportunities to travel next year, so I'm considering switching up to travel rewards in the near future.