recommend your cash back credit card please...

[Ima saver]

Re: recommend your cash back credit card please...

Last year we used the american express blue cash card and got over $500 off of the balance on the june bill.
Now I have just started using HSBC GM Flexible earnings card. They sent you a check everytime you accumulate $100 and request it. I think I have already earned about $50. We buy a lot at Home Depot but we pay it off every month.

[kealina]

Re: recommend your cash back credit card please...

thanks every, i did a search on the boards and am reading all the other posts as well... i will run my findings by DH and see what he thinks... so far i'm considering the citi dividend card, the discover gas card, and the chase cash rewards card...

[sweeps]

Re: recommend your cash back credit card please...

I'd like to reopen this thread considering the situation brewing with the Citi Dividends card and the Chase Cash Plus card. Since they seem to be going away or at least substantially downgraded, we may have to be more creative.

One possibility is the 1.4% mastercard from Emigrant Direct. Minimum $10,000 in an ED savings account.
There is still the 1.5% card from Fidelity/MBNA (2.0% if you choose the 529 savings version).

[Jewelsmom]

Re: recommend your cash back credit card please...

I've earned over $60 from my Discover card over the past year. The regular card has revolving promotions where they will give you 5% back on certain purchases, but I just switched it to the Discover Gas Card to only get 5% back on Gas, and 1% on everything else.

I agree!
Discover Platinum card is our preferred card. Not only do we get the 5% on quartertly promotion (e.g., last fall we paid our daughter's college tuition in full instead of over 4 payments, and with the 5% promo at the time, we got $160 back! on a purchase we would have had to make anyway).

In addition, we can choose to get a gift card instead of the cash. $20 in cashback bonus = $25 Red Lobster gift cards (also good for Olive Garden). I send these gift cards as gifts to new parents for a night out on us, college student birthday gifts, x-mas stocking stuffers, etc.

To add to the savings even more, we go to Red Lobster for "dinner" just before 4pm, and eat off the cheaper Lunch menu.

[greedy4chips]

Re: recommend your cash back credit card please...

Upromise...ways to earn money, copied from their site


With your current credit cards

The easiest way to get free college savings at thousands of participating retailers and restaurants is through the credit cards you already carry in your wallet. Register your credit cards once with us and every time you use one of them at a participating company you'll get a percentage of your spending back into your Upromise Account - automatically. We protect your credit card information with strict security precautions and use the information only for posting rebates to your account.
Register your credit cards

With your grocery and drug store cards

Register your grocery or drug store card and you'll get money for college when you buy brands like Coca-Cola®, Energizer®, Tide®, Huggies®, and many more.
Register to save with groceries

By shopping online thru Upromise

Visit our online shopping section and shop thru our links to get credit for your online purchases. Or, download remindU™, and we'll make sure you get college savings whenever you shop with a participating online retailer whether or not you go thru Upromise.
Shop online thru Upromise

Thru Upromise Special Programs

While the above are the primary ways to save for college with Upromise, companies like Citi®, McDonald's® and more offer special programs.
Find out more

[greedy4chips]

Re: recommend your cash back credit card please...

I just looked in my Upromise acct and here is a juicy tidbit I did not know. I am getting 5% back on my gas purchases at Exxon Mobile and also 2% rebate at Upromise. 6 cents per gallon won't make me rich, but what the hey it's still 6 cents and 20 gallons is $1.20 + $3.00 (5% rebate) = $4.20, is a pretty nice rebate and makes that $60 fillup seem a little less frustrating!

[jasminecox]

This is a great ideas.

[GoodSteward]

I use a Barclay rewards card as a bill pay card. No yearly fee, 2 points on Gas, Groceries, and Utilities, then 1% on everything else. Walmart actually counts as "groceries" also. There is no limit on rewards, and it's 1 cent per point. So 500 points equals 5$. You can use it as statement balance refund, or towards gift cards. We have cashed in over 500$ in statement refunds in the last two years.

Being OCD I didn't like mixing random purchases with my bill card. I decided to get a little better rewards card for random purchases. I ended up getting a CaptialOne Quicksilver card that is 1.5% on everything. No limits on rewards. Being 5 years out of bankruptcy, and the biggest card I have is 6k I was thinking they might give me a 1500$ limit, which is plenty. I don't like carrying balances, so I only need what I can pay off between statements. I about fell out when they approved us for 10,000$. lol

I used to use a discover card, but I can't stand the 5% category rotations.

[QuarterMillionMan]

I'm thinking of signing up for the Harrah's/CET total rewards credit card. Given the fact that I gamble a lot at my local Harrah's in San Diego and that it accrues points to my Harrah's slot card casino account balance, that would help boost my casino slot points. Or I'm thinking about the Southwest Airlines credit card where a free trip is awarded after qualifying purchases. Already I have two credit cards (Citibank & BOA) so I'm hesitant to open up a third credit card but I'm very responsible with credit cards so I'm not afraid of racking up more credit card debt.

[Nutria]

I use a Barclay rewards card as a bill pay card. No yearly fee, 2 points on Gas, Groceries, and Utilities, then 1% on everything else. Walmart actually counts as "groceries" also.

That's sweet.

Too bad for us that the electric company adds a 4% "convenience fee" for CC payments, and the gas co just redesigned their site so that we can't overpay (home-rolled bill leveling).

Being OCD I didn't like mixing random purchases with my bill card.

LOL. Being OCD, I can't stand multiple cards each with small, slowly growing rewards balances!!

I decided to get a little better rewards card for random purchases. I ended up getting a CaptialOne Quicksilver card that is 1.5% on everything.

I recently opened a Chase Freedom Unlimited card (1.5% across the board) to replace a Chase Freedom card (1% + 5% rotating, which was averaging about 1.2% return).

[GoodSteward]

LOL. Being OCD, I can't stand multiple cards each with small, slowly growing rewards balances!! .

This was a side effect i realized after the fact. My OCD isnt happy about it. Haha

[Nutria]

This was a side effect i realized after the fact. My OCD isnt happy about it. Haha

Are you unstoppably driven to find The Perfect Card??

[GoodSteward]

Are you unstoppably driven to find The Perfect Card??

Not really. I dont use a card for everything. Just most bills and some random purchases. It gets complicated tryimg to figure which card is best for each thing.

[Nutria]

Not really. I dont use a card for everything. Just most bills and some random purchases. It gets complicated tryimg to figure which card is best for each thing.

That's why we settled on on the straight 1.5% card...

[GoodSteward]

That's why we settled on on the straight 1.5% card...

I did the math once between the discover card (1% or 5%rotation), a 1.5% everything card, and the Barclays (1% or 2% all the time on certain categories), and it came out a little better on the Barclays based on my projected use. I feel like the combination of our two cards is the better option right now until a 2% on everything card hits (without a yearly fee).