What's your favorite credit card?

[GREENBACK]

I agree and I use my cards as if they were dollars in my wallet. I used to but only with cash and now buy mostly with credit. I know from tracking my spending that it's virtually the same for me.

[simpleyme]

Originally Posted by GREENBACK

I do think that those who are in a position where they can use a credit card responsibly are in the financial winner category. If you use your card(s) and pay them off and never incur fees and get rewards; guess what?....... You're winning.

at that game maybe. i see it is the same skill as paying your utilities on time

,but it tells nothing of your overall picture does it?
I see people who "pay off " their card every month but finance their cars

have helocs, untold "smart " loans but by goodness they have no credit card debt

[GREENBACK]

I don't mean to imply in any way that using a credit card demonstrates overall control of your financial life. They are merely a financial tool. Other than mortgage related debt, I have no other financial obligations and I'm saying that they can be used intelligently to the benefit of the user.

If a person has other financial debt but assumes they're ok because they pay their cc bill every month then they need to examine their overall financial picture a little closer.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Citibank simplicity. 5% on gas, drug stores, groceries, and no escalating minimum like am ex.

Am ex costco - for costco use only

Discover - 5% rebates, once quarter it was school and tuition was allowed. I scored 5% back on my DH's tuition, ridiculous! Paid in full no less.

I love my credit cards. Just like I love my ARM. No one holds a gun to my head and tells me to use either but I do.

[GREENBACK]

Originally Posted by LivingAlmostLarge

Citibank simplicity. 5% on gas, drug stores, groceries, and no escalating minimum like am ex.

Am ex costco - for costco use only

Discover - 5% rebates, once quarter it was school and tuition was allowed. I scored 5% back on my DH's tuition, ridiculous! Paid in full no less.

I love my credit cards. Just like I love my ARM. No one holds a gun to my head and tells me to use either but I do.

LAL, you're a great example of what i'm saying here.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by LivingAlmostLarge

Discover - 5% rebates, once quarter it was school and tuition was allowed. I scored 5% back on my DH's tuition, ridiculous!

My only complaint about their 5% deals is the low cap they put on them. Last quarter it was gas and groceries, but a $400 cap. Well, it doesn't take long to rack up $400 in charges in those categories. By December, without realizing it, I had hit the cap so I made a bunch of charges that I didn't get the 5% for.

Surely, your son's tuition was more than the cap.

[kork13]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

My only complaint about their 5% deals is the low cap they put on them. Last quarter it was gas and groceries, but a $400 cap. Well, it doesn't take long to rack up $400 in charges in those categories. By December, without realizing it, I had hit the cap so I made a bunch of charges that I didn't get the 5% for.

Surely, your son's tuition was more than the cap.

This is one of the driving factors which (as I referenced previously) is leading me to move to PenFed's CC over my Discover card. PenFed's rewards aren't capped, so I like that alot, since I frequently have gone over Discover's reward cap. I may keep the Discover card (switching it to the quarterly 'special' card from the gas/automotive card it is now), but don't expect I'll use it too frequently unless the running special happens to match up with a need at the time....

[LivingAlmostLarge]

This was 2 years ago before the cap DisneySteve! They capped after that Fall 2006 quarter the cap was implemented. But boy it sure was nice looking at my 5% back on $10k in tuition alone.

And it was for my dear husband, I have no kids.

[kork13]

Originally Posted by LivingAlmostLarge

This was 2 years ago before the cap DisneySteve! They capped after that Fall 2006 quarter the cap was implemented. But boy it sure was nice looking at my 5% back on $10k in tuition alone.

WOW!!!! That's awesome! ......so..... should we be blaming you for the cap being imposed? Cut into their profits a bit too much, did you?

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by kork13

should we be blaming you for the cap being imposed? Cut into their profits a bit too much, did you?

Funny. Actually, I've always suspected that my BIL and I were responsible for Discover changing another policy. They used to have a cap on the fee for using a convenience check, so the fee could be 3% if the amount was relatively small but it could be a tiny fraction of 1% if the amount was large. By BIL and I used to write convenience checks for nearly our whole credit limit on the first day of the billing cycle, pay a small fee, deposit the checks in our money markets, then earn a couple hundred dollars interest before we had to repay it. Then we'd repeat the process. Eventually, they caught on and removed the cap on the fee, making it a straight percentage regardless of the amount.

[GREENBACK]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

Funny. Actually, I've always suspected that my BIL and I were responsible for Discover changing another policy. They used to have a cap on the fee for using a convenience check, so the fee could be 3% if the amount was relatively small but it could be a tiny fraction of 1% if the amount was large. By BIL and I used to write convenience checks for nearly our whole credit limit on the first day of the billing cycle, pay a small fee, deposit the checks in our money markets, then earn a couple hundred dollars interest before we had to repay it. Then we'd repeat the process. Eventually, they caught on and removed the cap on the fee, making it a straight percentage regardless of the amount.

How did I miss this boat?

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by GREENBACK

How did I miss this boat?

It was sweet while it lasted. Nothing beats using OPM - other people's money - to make more money.

Just another example of beating the CC companies at their own game.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I did that as well before. But I hate to think I did abuse the cap. I think it was because it was school so EVERYONE used the 5% rebate and thus they capped it.

They haven't had the school since! Now it's only cheap stuff like travel, etc. When you can charge $20k tuition for one semester or $40k for a year no cap, well I have to laugh at parents who did what DH and I did.