What is a good credit card to get for rewards

[Mama_Zappa]

@Voyager

…We don’t do enough shopping any one place to make a card like the Amazon card worth it.

Not dissing Discover at all here, but as a note: our Amazon card converted to one where I can get all sorts of rewards with it including a credit against my next statement. e.g. every time I save up 10,000 points, I can convert that to a hundred-dollar payment against my account. Or I can spend the hundred bucks at Amazon, or use it for hotels etc.

We used to have a Toys R Us card because the kids were younger and, well, we bought a lot of stuff at TRU :). The Amazon card meets our needs better these days. I think I had a Discover card at one point but back then it was accepted at so few places that I don’t think I ever used it. It’s better now, I understand.

[overlyverbose]

I use Discover. You can use your cashback bonus on gift cards from different merchandisers. I’m a huge book fan, so I used to get all Borders gift cards and buy all my books for free. Now I get Bed, Bath & Beyond, Starbucks and Old Navy gift certs, or travel certificates (Alamo rental, etc.) depending upon my family’s needs. The rewards come in really handy for kids’ clothing (bought with the Old Navy certificates) and household goods like new blankets and sheets (thanks to the Bed, Bath & Beyond certificates).

[RealityChuck]

I use a Marriott card. Get tons of points for free stays. Also, I don’t pay an annual fee, though that wouldn’t apply to new cards: when I signed up 25 years ago, they promised no annual fee ever. Just last month, after a couple of changes of card provider, they were planning to charge one, but someone pointed this out, so the fee was eliminated.

[voguevixen]

@Mama_Zappa

I think I had a Discover card at one point but back then it was accepted at so few places that I don’t think I ever used it.

I’m so old I remember when you could only use the Discover card at Sears!

[Wesley_Clark]

@ZipperJJ

Other than $150/mo on gas where else do you spend money?

A gas company credit card might make more sense for you. A BP card gives you 5% off at BP.

Speedway

Marathon

Sheetz

Shell

I use the Amazon rewards card but I spend a lot of money at Amazon, and very little of my monthly use goes to gas or even groceries.

One tip on the credit card - if you are going for maximum rewards, use your credit card! Nothing wrong with getting your 1% back and paying off the bill at the end of the month instead of paying cash on the spot. Pocket the cash and get the rewards!

One of the appeals of my debit card is that like jtgain said, I can trace all my purchases to see where I am spending my money. But by and large most of my purchases are at the gas station, grocery store or amazon.com (a good deal of my online purchases for shoes, clothes, electronics, etc. usually end up coming from amazon). But mostly gas and grocery.

[AskNott]

@voguevixen

I’m so old I remember when you could only use the Discover card at Sears!

Yes, and years later, when they sold out to some bank, Sears was ticked off that I hadn’t used my Sears card for years.

[AskNott]

Unless you pay off your balance each month, as you should, forget about the rewards! Go for the lowest interest rate. Don’t you dare make your payment a day late, for that will allow them to jack up your interest rate to an unbelievable rate.

Credit cards are a racket; legalized loan-sharking. If you need to borrow money, your credit card is the worst place to borrow it.

If you do pay off your balance every month, you are waaaay ahead of the game, and you can shop for the best points/miles/ money-back. Don’t go for the tempting cash advance; that’s the unkindest cut.

[Voyager]

@Mama_Zappa

Not dissing Discover at all here, but as a note: our Amazon card converted to one where I can get all sorts of rewards with it including a credit against my next statement. e.g. every time I save up 10,000 points, I can convert that to a hundred-dollar payment against my account. Or I can spend the hundred bucks at Amazon, or use it for hotels etc.

We used to have a Toys R Us card because the kids were younger and, well, we bought a lot of stuff at TRU :). The Amazon card meets our needs better these days. I think I had a Discover card at one point but back then it was accepted at so few places that I don’t think I ever used it. It’s better now, I understand.

For Discover you can use your points against your account at any time and in any denomination.
I run into places where I can’t use Discover maybe once or month or less, but we have a no-fee rewards Visa card for that. However, Discover is pretty much useless in Europe - I don’t think we even carried it last time we went. I too have had it since
Sears owned it - since 1987 according to my card, in fact.

[pricciar]

I like the Amazon cards. If you use Amazon a lot the points can add up really quickly. Here’s one tip. If you get an Amazon Rewards Card don’t use your points to buy an Amazon Gift Certificate. Get cash. Using an Amazon GC is costing you 6 points per dollar. Better off getting a check and applying those funds towards something else.

[PunditLisa]

@AskNott

If you do pay off your balance every month, you are waaaay ahead of the game, and you can shop for the best points/miles/ money-back.

That would be me. I have 3 cards that I mainly use now and I milk them for everything they’re worth. My main goal is free/discounted travel:

1. Marriott Premiere Visa - $65 annual fee - includes a free night at a category 1-5 hotel, which is always worth more than the annual fee. I’ve gotten dozens of hotel nights by charging everyday stuff on this card, including the Marriott Waikoloa on Big Island and the JW Marriott Camelback, which retailed for over $400/night. Lately, however, I’ve switched most of my spending to…

2. Capital One Venture card - a few months back, they had an awesome promo where they’d match your airline miles up to 100,000, plus a 10,000 point bonus if you spent $2500 in three months, which is depressingly easy when you’ve got a kid in college. Annual fee is $95. It earns 2 points for every dollar spent. Redemption is in cash back for travel purchases made on the card at a rate of 100:1. (110,000 points = $1100 cash back.) Plus, I can now shop all airlines and itineraries instead of searching for an award ticket on one specific airline. Love, love, love this card.

3. Delta SkyMiles AMEX gold card - Annual fee is $95 - I keep this card for one benefit: It allows me and up to 9 travel companions on my itinerary to get one free checked-in bag. (Otherwise, it’s $50 for a round-trip flight). I’ve saved me and my friends overy $1000 this year on checked bag fees by charging our Delta flights to this card. No brainer.

Prior to this, I’d earned 12 RT tickets to/from Maui (retail value over $8,000) for annual fees of ~$1000. (My husband had a card, too.) Since then, the miles needed has increased and they ended their DoubleMiles benefit, so I’ve quit charging to this card except Delta flights.