Credit Cards

Just wondering what cards people have and love/hate?

I currently do not own a single credit card as of now and it's probably time I get one... I am mainly looking for the following on a card:

*No annual fee
*Nice kickback for spending and/or travel rewards (flights mainly)

... I'm leaning to a BP based card (only gas station in my little town) and I spend a fair amount on gas (a lot gets paid back from work) but if I put it on a card I get X% back + my milage from work I win twice.


Open to anything though
THANKS!

My first card was a gas card. Good and easy to build credit with. You buy gas all the time so go for it if there's no fees.

I currently have a Chase and Bank of America card. Had two other Chase cards and a Discover before, but when the market tanked they sent me a thing saying they were jacking up the APR on those three, despite that I rarely carried a balance and if I did it was only for 2-3 months. Never late or anything. I told 'em to go pound sand and keep the interest rate I had or cancel the card... So I closed those accounts.

Now I use the BoA for anything I buy with a credit card. Whenever I save up a large amount of "points" on the card I redeem them for cash (check). Funny, a week after I did that the first time they sent me a letter saying my APR was going up. I called and gave 'em the same spiel I gave the others and they wouldn't take it, so I caved and kept the card. I never carry a balance and wouldn't at the current interest rate they have me at, so although occasionally they used to make a little off me if I carried a balance now they don't get anything now but I still get checks now and again.

Whenever I buy something like from Amazon they'll sometimes have offers for some percent off if you sign up for a card. I usually do those, get the discount, immediately pay the balance in full, and never use the card again. I don't hesitate to use them like they try to use us. Even with the few cancelled cards and whatnot I still have an excellent credit score. So go ahead and get a card or two and build some credit, just don't get in the trap of carrying a balance and paying them interest.

My advice would be to stay away from the large banks for your first card. Are you a member of a credit union? If so I would start there. My first one was with State Employees when I was 18 to build credit. Nearly 10 years later I still have the account and the interest rate on it is a ridiculously low 6.99%.

I also use USAA, which is member only military banking and they offer crazy rewards and incentives with zero red tape that you get with crooks like BoA. If either of your parents were military check to see if your eligible. They're insurance is unmatched as well.

after a ton of research the amex blue cash card has the best rewards with no annual fee that I could find. Down side is that amex isn't accepted everywhere but most places. Great amex benefits/insurance/etc.

I use SPG amex.

I have a discover miles card. its nice because it pays double rewards on travel related purchases like hotel stays (which is why i originally got it, stay at alot of hotels for work) and gas. i used it the reward points to pay for a hotel stay for a weekend trip to san antonio. i dont know the interest rate and im not too concerned with it since i have never carried a balance. i also have a visa thru my credit union but it pretty much never gets used.

I have no intention of ever leaving the balance sit.... its more of a pay for gas/lunch at work throughout the week and end of the month - pay it off.... also in the rare case it would be nice to have for an emergency... would suck if disaster stuck and my checking wasn't full enough to cover the chaos.

I like a lot of what AMEX has but my concern was how/where it was accepted.

Costco AMEX.... There is the Costco fee, but we do that anyway....

I have had minimal issues with places that don't accept AMEX, but have my bank issued VISA to cover those situations, which are VERY FEW and far between.

No Costco here in Wisco... we get Sam's Club...

I'm going to look into Amex anyway, seems like a pretty solid card

Any suggestion what will be the best card you would get? Well, I would say that over the last several months, many of the biggest credit card companies have raised interest rates and tested new annual fees on some products. Well, regarding PenFed, the PenFed Promise Visa is a rarity among charge cards. How so? Try its no-fee structure, to begin with. If you or a part of your household is a member of the United States armed forces or affiliated group, you are permitted to join Pentagon Federal Credit Union and apply for the card.

chase rewards is pretty good....cash back, no fees.

Amex

i hate carrying more cards in my wallet than I have too...and the biggest issue with AMEX is that you HAVE to carry a backup card; for that one place that doesn't take AMEX.

If a business accepts CC's it will 100% of the time take VISA/MASTERCARD.

Chase as Adam mentioned. Nice to have the same as your checking/savings too. I log in and can see all my accounts in one place.

discover card no doubt. Cash rewards are hard to beat.

I little beyond the scope of this thread, but I put EVERYTHING on my AMEX with a spare mastercard on the side for the few places that don't take AMEX. Through this, my wife and I normally get to take a trip once a year on the rewards earned. We have enough points in the last year to fly first class to London and have enough SPG points to displace about $2500 in lodging expenses. We do end up paying some fees, but they are trivial compared to the rewards.

flyertalk.com is a great resouce.

AMEX. Carrying the back up card is a bit of a pain but its the best rewards gig going. I have the blue cash preferred card. It carries a $75 fee but you get more rewards. 6% on groceries, 3% at gas stations, 2% dept stores and 1% everywhere else. One month of rewards pays the contract fee and the rest is gravy. Of course...pay it off every month.

Love my AMEX Black Card

^^^platinum card...same benefits....much cheaper.

Walk into a hotel in Vegas and we'll see who gets the bigger benefits.

Credit in vegas??? isn't that what your casino host is for..lol.

just messin with ya...

good job on the black card...ur doin somethin right

Thanks Adam,

Spending money right, that's for sure

We know you are spending a MINIMUM of $250 large a year to keep it. I will put your American Express Black Card up against my buddies NFL Players card and see who gets the best benefits......lol I kid I kid.

LOL! No doubt the NFL Player card get's the better perks. I did have a guy in St Thomas try and sell me his restaurant though when he saw the black card.

$250,000 in a year qualifies you for centurion, once you accept the invite it's only a $5,000 a year fee to keep the card.

That's not bad at all......is it really made out of Titanium? No cash back right? lol

Yes it's really titanium, and no cash back

Just curious if you've bought big ticket items with the card?

I wanted to buy a car on a credit card..under 25k....but the deaelrship ultimately said no b/c of the fees. they did allow me to pay TT&L though.

I haven't we mostly use it for travel and business. I know people who have bought lambo's and ferraris on theirs though. I'm sure it depends on the dealership. You have to pay the total balance off month to month. There are no fee's other than the $5,000 a year

Buying a car with a normal credit card, is probably a horrible idea unless you have 0 interest for a defined amount of time and you can pay it off in that designated time.

If times get bad though and you miss a credit card payment your interest rate probably jacks up to something over 15%. Then you have a car loan with an interest rate in the teens vs. the 2-5% you can get now through dealer financing.

Cant believe the number of American Express recommendations. I don't think I know one person who has one and I see tons of places that only accept Visa/MC.

I'm about to go for the Capital One Venture Rewards...I'm going to be traveling around the world next Spring so it's a perfect fit.

0 annual fee
0 international transaction fees
1.25 miles per dollar spent

Maybe I just don't know what kind of benefits you get for the black card but why would you pay 5,000 a year to use a credit card.

Not hating just have no idea!!!!

Originally Posted by lfadam

Cant believe the number of American Express recommendations. I don't think I know one person who has one and I see tons of places that only accept Visa/MC.

I'm about to go for the Capital One Venture Rewards...I'm going to be traveling around the world next Spring so it's a perfect fit.

0 annual fee
0 international transaction fees
1.25 miles per dollar spent

I bet 98% of the merchants I frequent take Amex. The biggest issue I have is that they are big advocates for Gun Control which I don't love.

Originally Posted by phatboypimp

I bet 98% of the merchants I frequent take Amex. The biggest issue I have is that they are big advocates for Gun Control which I don't love.

Im sure they will love my purchasing habits

you have to carry 2 cards if your AMEX is your primary card.

98% is not 100%.....mc/visa are accepted everywhere.

I don't see carrying two credit cards as a problem. They aren't that heavy. Plus I have to carry a cash/debit card and my corporate Amex. Considering that I get somewhere between $3500 and $5000 cash back every year on my Amex and I would get $1500-$2500 cash back on the same spend with Visa - it is a no brainer. I will "haul" around my other credit card for $2000+ a year.

Originally Posted by jonblarc7

Maybe I just don't know what kind of benefits you get for the black card but why would you pay 5,000 a year to use a credit card.

Not hating just have no idea!!!!

Buy one get one free on international flights, immediate upgrade to first class, being able to get tickets to sold out shows and events, immediate upgrades to suites in vegas for free plus access to all the vip vegas has to offer, sheer enjoyment of knowing you are winning in the game called life.

The buy one get one free on international flights pays for the $5,000 a year in my case.

The $5,000 annual fee isn't the big hurdle for most people, it's the fact that you have to spend $250,000 a year to even be invited to pay the $5,000 a year.

^^^^boom

Sounds good the international flights thing would have help me out a lot a few years ago when I used to go to china but I don't have it anything like that to spend 250 a year.