Quote:
Originally Posted by imjosh
I would add Citi Forward card - 5% cashback at restaurants and Amazon.com.
Yes thanks, I knew I was forgetting something! This is a great card but is made better by also getting the thankyou premier card which lets you use those points for airfare redemptions.
Quote:
Originally Posted by imjosh
Also if you spend a lot of money on groceries each year, consider AMEX Blue Cash Preferred over AMEX Blue Cash Everyday. It gives 6% cashback on groceries with a $75 annual fee as opposed to the Everyday's 3% cashback on groceries with no annual fee (you just have to do the math to figure out which is better for you).
Also if you have a gas station affiliated with a grocery store near you, you can effectively get 6% cashback at gas stations using the AMEX BCP card. That's what I do. Every time I go to Meijer I buy a $25-$50 Meijer giftcard, and use it to fill up my tank at the Meiejr gas station (netting me 6% cashback on gas).
The breakeven point is $2500 fyi. At $2500, the 3% BCE is the same as the 6% BCP after the $75 annual fee. Keep in mind that these cards now have a spending cap of $6000 that earns 3% or 6% per year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by imjosh
It depends on if you travel a lot. If you travel a lot the points cards are usually better.
Points cards are "better" because you can get a better value out of your points than 1c per, where as cashback cards you get 1c fixed. An example I used earlier was you can use 22,000 Ultimate Rewards for $220 cash back, or you can use it for a night at the highest tier Hyatts in the world, like Tokyo or Paris, which routinely go for $800/night, so you get about 4c value per point. But is it really 4c per value? That depends on if you would have paid $800 for that room, or if it's an experience you really wanted.
Quote:
Originally Posted by imjosh
ALSO, if you wanted - consider just opening a bunch of cards on the same day. That way the CC companies won't you are opening a bunch of cards at once (the hard pulls take a while to get reported to the credit reporting agencies). I wouldn't try opening multiple cards with the same people on the same day however, that's more risky (i.e. opening 2 Citi Cards).
Most companies will allow you to apply for 1 personal and 1 business card on the same day and will auto reject 2 personals in a day. It's funny that you mentioned Citi because Citi is indiscriminate and will let you open 2 personals in a day if you want. It's typically called the "2-browser trick" or "2 browser method" but it's not really a trick as Citi allows it. They will not allow 2 personal and 1 business in the same day, however.
I have used the so-called "2-browser trick" to open a Citi AAdvantage Visa and AAdvantage Amex in the same day, and more recently to open their regular HHonors card and the HHonors Reserve card in the same day.
For examples at other lenders, I opened the Chase Sapphire Preferred (personal) and Ink Plus (business) in the same day with no issue.