Credit cards

[clone4life82]

This will go over well with the Dave Ramsey folks on the site….

Wondering what credit cards people have? Do you get the ones that rack up miles? Do you get the ones with a percent kick back or discounts or what do you have?

My wife and I have loosely done the Dave Ramsey thing and are fairly conservative with our spending but have been thinking of getting a percentage kick back on things that we use our debit cards for.

Any input/feedback would be appreciated!

 

[Mr Janny]

This will go over well with the Dave Ramsey folks on the site….

Wondering what credit cards people have? Do you get the ones that rack up miles? Do you get the ones with a percent kick back or discounts or what do you have?

My wife and I have loosely done the Dave Ramsey thing and are fairly conservative with our spending but have been thinking of getting a percentage kick back on things that we use our debit cards for.

Any input/feedback would be appreciated!

We have one card that we get miles on. We use it in place of our debit card, and put nearly all of our purchases on it, and then pay it off immediately, so we there's never a balance. My wife did all of the research on which card was best suited for us, and we ended up with Capital One Venture.

 

[Acylum]

We have one card that we get miles on. We use it in place of our debit card, and put nearly all of our purchases on it, and then pay it off immediately, so we there's never a balance. My wife did all of the research on which card was best suited for us, and we ended up with Capital One Venture.

I do something very similar, without the boss/financial advisor though.

 

[Iastfan112]

Citi Double Cash for most of my credit card usage. Had my Discover longer and with rotating reward, if I its the right one(and I remember) I'll occasionally use it. I'm too lazy to mess with miles or other min/max perks.

 

[Cycloneracer]

I was dumb and ran up a bunch of credit card debt 20 years ago. Cut them up and paid them off. I was pissed. Only had a debit card for 10ish years. Used it for everything. My banker was pissed! Told me I had zero fraud protection and needed a small credit card to use while I traveled. A little older and wiser I carry 3 cards now. Never carry a balance. 2 are cash back cards that offer different promotions. 1 is a southwest card so I can fly to AZ to visit the parents for free in the winter. Discipline has got us some pretty good perks. I only use my debit card at my banks ATM to keep it active.

 

[Pat]

If you can be responsible in spending and pay the full balance each month it’s insane not to use a card. If you’re a frequent flier, it’s sensible to have the card of your airline. However, miles are devalued more quickly (and arbitrarily) than the dollar - I believe cash back is the way to go.
Discover is a good bet and no risk. If your monthly spend is high enough, an AmEx with an annual fee might be a better deal. If you want to get wild and can stand the headache of multiple cards and tracking which to use where, you can max out your return on gas/groceries/Target/etc, but that is more brain space than my family (wife) is willing to commit. Find the best introductory deals before signing up.

 

[NATEizKING]

Discover only for me. I have credit, debit and savings there. There are websites with surveys you can fill out that tell you the best card based on your spending and reward preferences.

My Discover setup:

Everyday expenses like groceries, gas, shopping on credit and paid in full monthly. Once we get within $200 of our monthly limit I tell my wife to quit shopping until the billing period ends.

I setup monthly fixed expenses in a debit account to automatically transfer fixed amount from main local bank. Car and life insurance, mortgage, Alliant, 529's, Roth IRA. Update this once every 6 months when Alliant changes the new budget billing and once a year for mortgage. Only other thing that changes is car insurance moving a buck or two in either direction.

Use the savings for emergency fund as it's generally one of the best % nationally.

 

[dmclone]

Chase Sapphire Reserve. The $550 fee seems like a lot but it's very easy to earn that money back. I also have a Hilton one that costs $100/year, and it's actually harder to justify. We're coming up on 5 years since my wife got the Reserve so now we'll probably open a Reserve in my name to get the points.

 

[DevilDog]

I use a Delta Amex & wife uses Marriott Visa for all of our purchases which we pay off every month. Have enjoyed countless reduced or damn near free trips while maintaining an over 800 credit score.

 

[mkadl]

This will go over well with the Dave Ramsey folks on the site….

Wondering what credit cards people have? Do you get the ones that rack up miles? Do you get the ones with a percent kick back or discounts or what do you have?

My wife and I have loosely done the Dave Ramsey thing and are fairly conservative with our spending but have been thinking of getting a percentage kick back on things that we use our debit cards for.

Any input/feedback would be appreciated!

I have played the credit card games for years. We have 114,00 plus Southwest Airlines points when I remodeled our bathroom. We put everything on our card and when we get home at night pay the bills of the day. When the joining perks are gone and spent I cancel the card. I do get turned down from applying too much. My wife applies and most of the time they will accept her, but not me. There is a Citi Bank one there right now offering $200.00 back for spending $500.00 in the first 3 months. Just dont treat credit cards as a loan. Our go to card we never cancel is the American Express Blue cash preferred. Best cash back card that I can find, I dont like revolving categories. Just remember dont pay interest on a credit card, it can take you down if you treat it like a loan.

 

[throwittoblythe]

I’ve had the Amazon prime card for probably 7 years. I get 5% back on all prime purchases plus something like 1-2% on gas, restaurants, etc. I usually get around $700-$1000 in cash back every year.

We also do the Target debit red card which is the best of both worlds. 5% cash back and no monthly credit card bills.

 

[Urbandale2013]

If you can be responsible in spending and pay the full balance each month it’s insane not to use a card. If you’re a frequent flier, it’s sensible to have the card of your airline. However, miles are devalued more quickly (and arbitrarily) than the dollar - I believe cash back is the way to go.
Discover is a good bet and no risk. If your monthly spend is high enough, an AmEx with an annual fee might be a better deal. If you want to get wild and can stand the headache of multiple cards and tracking which to use where, you can max out your return on gas/groceries/Target/etc, but that is more brain space than my family (wife) is willing to commit. Find the best introductory deals before signing up.

Honestly as long as it doesn’t change your spending you are insane not to use a credit card. I have different ones for different stores. For example I have one that gets 3% back at the grocery store and one that gets 3% at gas stations.

As others said never use a debit card due to the fraud risks. At least if it happens with a credit card it isn’t your money they stole.

 

[SCNCY]

Regarding rewards, try and find one that gives rewards for something your interested in. If your interested in travel, then find a card that converts your purchases in to travel miles or hotel stays.

For me, I use the Bank of America rewards card that gives me 3% back on groceries, 2% back on Gas, and 1% back on everything else. I also the capital one card that gives me 1.5% cash back on all purchases.

 

[ianoconnor]

Double Cash is a great entry point for someone that doesn't want to play the churning game. I pair that with Citi Premier (3x on Gas, Supermarkets, Restaurants, Flying/Hotel) for my two permanent cards.

I also keep 2 IHG cards open that each grant a free night annually that easily covers the fees.

 

[CascadeClone]

We have one card that we get miles on. We use it in place of our debit card, and put nearly all of our purchases on it, and then pay it off immediately, so we there's never a balance. My wife did all of the research on which card was best suited for us, and we ended up with Capital One Venture.

Thats exactly what i do, Citi AA card. Keeps my air miles active so i dont lose them (i travel for work but not a ton).

Im sure there is probably a better choice in terms of pure dollars and percentages, but its good enough.

 

[clone4life82]

Discover only for me. I have credit, debit and savings there. There are websites with surveys you can fill out that tell you the best card based on your spending and reward preferences.

My Discover setup:

Everyday expenses like groceries, gas, shopping on credit and paid in full monthly. Once we get within $200 of our monthly limit I tell my wife to quit shopping until the billing period ends.

I setup monthly fixed expenses in a debit account to automatically transfer fixed amount from main local bank. Car and life insurance, mortgage, Alliant, 529's, Roth IRA. Update this once every 6 months when Alliant changes the new budget billing and once a year for mortgage. Only other thing that changes is car insurance moving a buck or two in either direction.

Use the savings for emergency fund as it's generally one of the best % nationally.

Do you know what the website is where you put in your spending at to figure out which cards are best for you?

 

[Trice]

Agree with others who say that if you have the discipline to pay it off, you're leaving a lot of money on the table (plus some other ancillary benefits like fraud protection) if you don't use a good rewards card.

Beyond that, it depends on your lifestyle. I'm not great on travel or hotel cards, but Costco has a good card (4% gas, 3% travel/restaurants, 2% Costco purchases, 1% everything else). Amazon's Prime card pays back 5% of all Amazon purchases. I don't use this one myself but Verizon has a decent looking card (4% on groceries/gas, 3% restaurants, 2% on Verizon, 1% on everything else).

 

[RLD4ISU]

This will go over well with the Dave Ramsey folks on the site….

Wondering what credit cards people have? Do you get the ones that rack up miles? Do you get the ones with a percent kick back or discounts or what do you have?

My wife and I have loosely done the Dave Ramsey thing and are fairly conservative with our spending but have been thinking of getting a percentage kick back on things that we use our debit cards for.

Any input/feedback would be appreciated!

If you want to compare different credit cards, The Points Guy https://thepointsguy.com/ is a good place to do some research. So is Nerd Wallet https://www.nerdwallet.com/the-best-credit-cards

It depends how you plan to use it (what purchases) and what you want it for (points? cash back? airline miles?). With some cards (like American Express) you can covert your AE points to other points - like Delta or Marriott.

 

[RLD4ISU]

Do you know what the website is where you put in your spending at to figure out which cards are best for you?

Credit Card Recommendations - NerdWallet

NerdWallet will recommend your next credit card. We'll pick the best card for you, whether it's great rewards, a low interest rate, a low annual fee or building your credit score.

www.nerdwallet.com

 

[pourcyne]

I recently got the Casey's Visa card as a supplement (since my major card likes to cut people off if they think something hinky is going on - like too big of a purchase). Pays 2 % on Casey's purchases and 1 % on others, but it has a $2000 limit (pays to read the fine print, which I did not). When that balance is reached and then paid, you get a $20 Casey's gift card. Yes, it has been refused a couple of times since I had reached the limit without knowing exactly how much I had charged.