Which credit card do you use the most?

[irvinehomeowner]

you can just google it, that Costco's new Visa credit card pretty much has the the same cash back terms as existing AE card
So the Fidelity card is better for in-store purchase @ 2%

It's a little better...4% back on gas with a max of $7,000 (versus 3% and $4,000) and 2% on Costco purchases (versus 1% now).

Yes, that's what I was reading, that the bennies are better on the Citi card.

What's interesting is all the Costco Amex cards will get auto-cancelled which is interesting to me because what about Amex's warranty protection on purchases? Does Citi cover that too? I think it does but this is a strange situation.

Not sure if it's compelling enough to get a Costco Visa considering we don't have a Costco Amex (we use SPG) but at least we can use our airline Visa card at Costco now (not to mention my business Visa so I don't need to request expense checks).

 

[Irvinecommuter]

you can just google it, that Costco's new Visa credit card pretty much has the the same cash back terms as existing AE card
So the Fidelity card is better for in-store purchase @ 2%

It's a little better...4% back on gas with a max of $7,000 (versus 3% and $4,000) and 2% on Costco purchases (versus 1% now).

Yes, that's what I was reading, that the bennies are better on the Citi card.

What's interesting is all the Costco Amex cards will get auto-cancelled which is interesting to me because what about Amex's warranty protection on purchases? Does Citi cover that too? I think it does but this is a strange situation.

Not sure if it's compelling enough to get a Costco Visa considering we don't have a Costco Amex (we use SPG) but at least we can use our airline Visa card at Costco now (not to mention my business Visa so I don't need to request expense checks).

Citi has coverage for warranties too but AMEX is still be covering whatever is bought under the AMEX card. 

 

[irvinehomeowner]

Oh yeah.. duh.

I guess they'll just have to send a check rather than an account credit. It will be harder to file too because when i did it, I logged into my Amex account... which I assume will be cancelled once they switch.

 

[daedalus]

Oh yeah.. duh.

I guess they'll just have to send a check rather than an account credit. It will be harder to file too because when i did it, I logged into my Amex account... which I assume will be cancelled once they switch.

Yes, no access come 6/16 I believe.  If you get all your statements electronically and want to have them available make sure you download them.  You can go back 2 years.

 

[ps99472]

Just claim that apple product defective now, you know it's gonna break, save the hassle after June

 

[riznick]

What's interesting is all the Costco Amex cards will get auto-cancelled which is interesting to me because what about Amex's warranty protection on purchases? Does Citi cover that too? I think it does but this is a strange situation.

I called Amex and they said they would continue to honor the warranty protection.

It looks like Citi might have better protections than what Amex offers.  I'm not sure how good they are at honoring their protections.  Amex has always been the best at treating their customers right.

 

[usctrojancpa]

For purchases under $10 I use my Chase Freedom card (as well as their 5% special quarterly rebates) since I get a 10% bonus and $0.10 per transaction having a Chase bank account.  For transactions over $10 I use my Citi Double Cash card.  For all Amazon purchases I use my Amazon Chase card and for all my gas purchases I use my 5% cash back PenFed card.  I have it down cold on when to use each card.  >

 

[eyephone]

I'll be the first one to post on ti, make sure you have self control and are able to pay the balance. 

I guess my advice is to the newbs and non-financial savy people.

 

[irvinehomeowner]

I'll be the first one to post on ti, make sure you have self control and are able to pay the balance. 

I guess my advice is to the newbs and non-financial savy people.

Yep.

What's funny was the last time I spoke to a mortgage guy (not SGIP), they said that not carrying a balance hurts my FICO... is that true?

#toolazytogoogle

 

[ps99472]

If credit utilization is too high, FICO goes down, if no credit utilization, FICO goes down.

Find some middle ground.

In other news, I got approved for Chase Sapphire!

 

[qwerty]

What is so go good about the sapphire? I looked it up and it didn't seem better than any other card?

I'm still loyal to my SPG and use that for all purchases. Doing the math that still gives me the most bang for my buck

 

[ps99472]

http://thepointsguy.com/2015/03/redeeming-chase-ultimate-rewards-points-for-maximum-value/
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/chase-ultimate-rewards-722/
http://slickdeals.net/f/8256561-cha...redit-card-50k-points-w-4k-spent-in-1st-3-mos

Supposedly requires top tier credit to obtain.  The 1:1 transfer to partner airlines is the cards strongest value. Now the kids older, we have some traveling to catch up on.  My goal is to one day exchange points for a first class Singapore Airlines ticket. 

 

[ps99472]

My Chase Freedom has a 5% cashback on grocery purchase this quarter, perfect companion card to feed into my new Chase Sapphire Preferred card points.  Might as well grocery shop for some giftcards for the holidays and maybe a $2-300 Amazon giftcard for myself. 

Chase freedom unlimited card just came out, another good companion card to the Sapphire card.  1.5% cash back on all purchases.  Good for all non category 5% purchases. 

Ultimate reward points can be transferred from one Chase card to another.  So transfer all points to sapphire and then you can transfer to airline miles.

 

[socal78]

What's funny was the last time I spoke to a mortgage guy (not SGIP), they said that not carrying a balance hurts my FICO... is that true?

My credit score is exceptionally high. It's close to perfect, per Experian. Mr. SoCal's is only a few points lower than mine. We have a house payment and one car payment (which we chose not to pay off due to the super low interest rates). That's it. We do not believe in carrying debt, especially credit card. We do use plastic but it gets paid off monthly. So, obviously, I'd say it is not necessary to carry c.c. debt to maintain a great score, as we're proof of that. However, if a person is really young and just starting to establish their credit, perhaps it's one means that can be helpful especially if it's their only line of credit. Otherwise, nah.

 

[Ready2Downsize]

We had a near perfect score too UNTIL we paid off our house. After that it dropped nearly 60 points and the reason noted was we have too few accounts that we make payments on. No kidding.......... no car payment, no house payment, no personal loans and two credit cards that are fully paid before the due date so balance when they are closed out every month.

What do I care? I'm not planning on getting another loan...... ever.

 

[Cornflakes]

What's funny was the last time I spoke to a mortgage guy (not SGIP), they said that not carrying a balance hurts my FICO... is that true?

My credit score is exceptionally high. It's close to perfect, per Experian. Mr. SoCal's is only a few points lower than mine. We have a house payment and one car payment (which we chose not to pay off due to the super low interest rates). That's it. We do not believe in carrying debt, especially credit card. We do use plastic but it gets paid off monthly. So, obviously, I'd say it is not necessary to carry c.c. debt to maintain a great score, as we're proof of that. However, if a person is really young and just starting to establish their credit, perhaps it's one means that can be helpful especially if it's their only line of credit. Otherwise, nah.

One does not need to carry debt on CC for it to count positively for scores. Charge your CC as you normally would, statement comes and CC will report balance to CRAs, you pay off the balance in next 2-3 weeks allowed time and avoid the finance charge.

In my experience, paying off installment loan such as auto loan, works negatively as the score dips due to no more installment loans on your profile.

 

[daedalus]

What's funny was the last time I spoke to a mortgage guy (not SGIP), they said that not carrying a balance hurts my FICO... is that true?

My credit score is exceptionally high. It's close to perfect, per Experian. Mr. SoCal's is only a few points lower than mine. We have a house payment and one car payment (which we chose not to pay off due to the super low interest rates). That's it. We do not believe in carrying debt, especially credit card. We do use plastic but it gets paid off monthly. So, obviously, I'd say it is not necessary to carry c.c. debt to maintain a great score, as we're proof of that.

+1  Same here, except no car payments in years.  841 FICO according to Amex.  The very first loan I ever took out was to buy a house, almost 15 years ago.  Didn't carry a balance on my cards, and my score was a bit over 800 then too.

 

[Paris167]

I know our society labels debt as a bad thing but you can use debt to your advantage. We like using other people's money (aka the bank) to invest and make more money than the interest we pay on the loan, esp since interest is cheap these days. Some of the wealthiest people I know use debt to their advantage.

 

[irvinehomeowner]

Someone posted that the other credit cards have an extended warranty but are they as good as Amex's?

Last year they credited our account for the full price of an electronic that stopped working with minimal fuss (just filled out an online claim form stating when it was bought and how long the manufacturer warranty was).

Has anyone else done that with other cards?

 

[ps99472]

Just disputed a botched shoe purchase with Citi, still under investigation as Citi allows the vendor quite a few weeks to respond.  In the mean time they have credited my account with the purchases but of course it is pending.  I don't believe any bank is as generous and lenient as AMEX when it comes to disputes.  But I do hear Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholders get dedicated service for any issues.  I did call them once and a live person picked up on the second ring!