New CC recommendations

[cypher1]

Been seeing more posts on CCs recently, just thought I'd ask what type of card you suggest? I've been thinking about switching to one from my the credit union, or look at other benefits/rewards with different names. I always pay my Chase CC bill on time in full each month, but would like to hear the advantages others get with their card(s).

[disneysteve]

I think the most important thing is to have a card that pays a reward that is meaningful for you. For example, if you hardly ever fly, don't get a card that earns airline miles even though some people swear by them.

We travel pretty regularly and we use a Marriott Premier Visa. What I like is that the points earned from the credit card get combined with the points earned from the hotel stays themselves which helps the rewards add up faster. We typically do a free vacation every other year and a few overnight stays along the way.

[ukgaz]

I just received my Costco American express credit card. I get

No annual fee when have costco membership
1% when used at Costco
3% Cash back on Fuel
3% Cash back at Restaurants
2% Cash back for Travel
1% Elsewhere.

Combine with the $100 Costco membership instead of the normal $50 you get additional 2% cash back when shopping at Costco. So if you spend $3300 in one year at Costco your membership is free!

[disneysteve]

I think the most important thing is to have a card that pays a reward that is meaningful for you.

I just received my Costco American express credit card.

This is a perfect example of what I meant. My wife and I don't shop at Costco so the card that is such a great deal for ukgaz would have no appeal at all to me.

[cypher1]

The majority of monthly bills/utilities go on there, so I figured I'd take an extra step into more benefits of the card. Traveling I'm not concerned with, but for a % of cashback/rewards, I won't argue. I honestly don't pay attention to the varying interest rate on mine, and luckily I don't have to deal with Chase customer service. Guess its been something I've been putting off for awhile, and just want to change it.

[disneysteve]

I honestly don't pay attention to the varying interest rate on mine

Same here. I honestly have no clue what the interest rate is on any of our cards. We pay them off in full every month so it doesn't matter a bit.

[ferriwinkle]

I have the Costco AMEX with Executive membership like ukgaz, it's awesome for us. Our other card is a "home rebate" card through Wells Fargo. Since we have our mortgage through them, we got this home rebate credit card. What it does is earn a 1% cash back on all purchases, when your cash back gets to $25 it is credited to the principal of your mortgage.

[cypher1]

Here's another random question. Do most of you have 1 or more CCs under your name? I always had mainly one, but will need to cancel to my West Elm since it was used only twice for promotions for furniture shopping in the past. I really don't care about the credit limit, or need more, but was wondering if others used more than 1 card. I realize if you have your own business, that would also make sense to have another.

[disneysteve]

We have 4 cards that we use. Our Marriott Visa, a Chase Visa (used to be AOL Visa), and we each have a Discover card. We use the Discovers almost exclusively for their 5% cashback deals. We mainly use the Chase and Marriott cards for everything else, mainly Marriott.

[JoshuaHeckathorn]

I use the Costco AmEx True Earnings card as well, and I love it. This is actually a business card for me, so I get 4% back on gas. Add in all my other Costco purchases throughout the year and the result is a nice fat check.

What's extra nice about Costco is you can just swing by any store with your cash back check and actually have them give you cash. Most people don't realize that. They think you need to spend it in the store, but why do that if you're not going to get more cash back on your purchase? Cash it, put the money in your bank account, and continue making future purchases on your card like normal so you keep reaping the cash back benefits.

Anyway, if you're looking for cash back and don't shop at Costco, the Discover More card is also a good option. It doesn't have an annual fee, and it offers up to 5% cash back in certain spending categories like gas, restaurants, and groceries.

I also use the Citi Premier Pass Elite card for personal expenses. There isn't a travel rewards card on the market that even compares, for those out there who are interested in banking travel rewards.

Also, one card is perfectly fine if that's what you can handle and you maintain a low credit utilization ratio. To maximize your FICO scores, it would be better to have at least a few cards that you use sparingly and pay off in full each month. Personally, I have 3 personal cards and 3 business cards. That works for me.

[cypher1]

Appreciate all the info. I don't "need" another card, and pretty good about budget spending. I don't shop at Costco, so I like hearing about the other options. What are the differences or advantages for various CC types as Mastercard, Visa, Discover, AMEX? Of course I don't believe in paying an annual fee just to use card, but I'm sure others who do, have their reasons, and AMEX requiring full monthly payments. It just seems Visa/Mast seem to be the most common type of cards, IMO. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[disneysteve]

From a general use standpoint, the cards are all similar. From a merchant's standpoint, Visa and MC charge lower processing fees so that's why Discover and AMEX aren't as widely accepted. Discover has special categories of charges each quarter that earn 5% cashback up to a certain limit, though my Chase card does something similar.

I would not pay an annual fee for a CC unless that fee gets you something that makes it worth paying. My Marriott card charges $65/year but each year on my account anniversary, I get a free night stay at any Marriott property up to category 5. That's worth up to $250 depending on where we choose to use it. So for $65/year, we get an upscale weekend getaway every year. Makes paying the fee a good deal to us.

[Slug]

Here's a relevant NY Times blog post from yesterday that discusses CC selection. See the comments section too for additional ideas.

Products of the Pros: Credit Cards - Bucks Blog - NYTimes.com