We have no major debt. House and cars paid for; what we charge we pay when the bills come due.
So, what might be the best credit card for perks and paybacks? (We don’t travel, so we’re not interested in those perks.)
Top of my head: American Express blue card.
Honorable Mention: Discover Card
Best Bet: I think Cap One is offering cards based on what your needs are. If you pay monthly and want perks to match, they have that, too. Cap One has one of the largest and most diverse offerings of cards, customers, options, etc.
We have two that pay back. I think Discover is the best, since it pays back cash, which they can either send you or you can use to pay a bill one month. We also have a Visa with World Perks. You can get a Visa gift card at a discount, or some store gift cards for more $ per point. All in all, I prefer the cash from Discover, and use the Visa card only at those rare places that don’t take Discover.
BTW, I agree with you totally about not getting a card that locks you in to using only one supplier of a service.
ETA: Neither of the cards we use have annual fees.
I really like the web interface for Discover, no one ever mentions this but for me this is a factor in what card I use. If it’s a pain in the ass to click thru and read my statement then I’m more likely to hit my limit, miss a due date, or worse not notice an incorrect charge. Discover also lets you use cash back to get gift cards for certain retailers at a discount (I got a $50 Ace Hardware card for $40, I’m using at a wedding present next month). It’s not a big deal but its fun if your like me and look for bargains here and there. I’m sure other cards offer the same thing.
I just found out that Discover doesn’t offer 1% on all it’s purchases, the first $3000 each year is tiered in at a lower rate. Something else to look for, I know some cards do offer a flat 1%.
I wouldn’t consider a credit card unless it had some sort of reward program, and I’d think seriously about getting an instant credit as a perk for signing up. Which card is more dependent on your lifestyle than anything else, but you should get something back.
Discover is good for just getting cash back, and more places seem to accept it these days. I don’t travel much, either, so I can’t comment on those. Automobile companies used to have a card that would let you apply the rewards to a new car purchase - that may be worth looking into if a new car is in your future.
I got an Amazon card (3% on Amazon purchases, 1% on everything else), and they gave me a $30 credit just for signing up. When the credits for purchases get to $25, you’ll be sent a gift certificate for an Amazon purchase. Not as good as cash, but not bad if you do any amount of purchasing through them. It adds a bit to my budget for CDs, DVDs and/or books.
(And if you save change in a jar, some Coinstar machines allow you to direct the entire total (without their 10% cut) toward an Amazon gift certificate.)
You need (IMHO) to look at www.bankrate.com. A great, free resource.
Check out this rundown of cash-back cards. Based on my spending patterns, I got the Chase Freedom card, put all possible expenses on it, and pay it off each month. I’m happy with the rewards I get, but Chase’s service is less than fantastic. Fortunately, I keep things pretty much 100% online self-service so it works fairly well for me.
Thank you one and all. We’ll decide soon.