|
Zero One posted:If you have a Chase Freedom, go to https://www.chase.com/freedom and register your card for their promotion. Does it matter if you have the 'old' chase freedom where it is still your top spending categories as opposed to random? And you still collect cash not the ultimate rewards points?
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2010 02:37
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 24, 2024 04:27 |
|
|
As far as I know it works for both types of cards. Just try to register your card and see if it works.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2010 02:45
|
|
|
I'd like to chime in and trump the AmEx Blue Cash card. 100% of my spending is placed on this card and I'm loving the rewards. Impeccable customer support. I lost my card once on a thirsty Thursday afternoon and got a replacement the next day, which was a great perk. Plus purchase protection plans, travel insurance, and a ton of other programs I don't engage in. But when I mean I spend 100% of my expenditures on the account, its true. For the things I would pay on cash (lunch, a few dollars here and there) I pay with coin that I purchase through the US Mint (and doing so enjoy a 1.25% cash back as the coins are purchased on my AmEx card.) Which is great, as I work in an office. We order lunches in a big group every day, so I'll bring $100 in rolled coins from the mint and pay with that, depositing the paper money in the bank on the way home, earning interest until I pay the balance off 14 days after my due date. Also purchasing coin is a great way to bump you fast into the $6500 tier to earn the best rewards. I'd be more than happy to refer anyone if they're interested.
|
|
#
?
Apr 2, 2010 00:29
|
|
|
slap me silly posted:Let me know how the credit line increase goes - I might try that too, since I lowballed it on the application the exact same way. This month I got a letter saying I went over my credit limit, please pay immediately, and I have no idea why this happened. So I go to check online and it turns out they didn't do the autopay for last month. Why, I wonder. I call them up and ask about it. "Oh, well, there was a credit to your card for something last month so I guess it saw that and didn't change you for the balance amount." (I had returned something at Home Depot) Wait, what? "Yeah, I guess it saw that something had been paid and assumed it was the CC payment." (I love it when service reps anthropomorphize computer programs) So, how do I get the balance paid off? "Well, just wait until the 24th of this month and it'll go through like normal and then you'll be set." But, does that mean I can't use my card this month? "Um, that's right." Can I make a payment now to be able to use it this month? "Yes, but it might think that it's the payment for this statement and then it'll just happen again every month." ... Now comes the fun part: "Why don't you apply for a credit increase and then you won't have this problem?" I... did. I applied twice, and the last time was over a month ago and I haven't heard back. "Oh, there is a comment that says you need to submit a guarantor form." I don't see the comment. "Oh, I guess it's hidden from you." How the gently caress am I supposed to magically guess that they were waiting for a form from me? Why the gently caress won't their automated system work like it should? Will I get charged interest for the amount that I haven't paid on time because their system is terribly coded? Who knows, tune in next month on Moana Gets Some Bullshit Nonsense from PenFed I'm just going to cancel the account next month after I pay my last balance off. I wanted to let everyone know because this is just ridiculous and I would never have signed up if I knew how bad their customer service and coding is.
|
|
#
?
May 5, 2010 04:51
|
|
|
Wow, it sounds like you had it bad. I also hit my credit limit with PenFed. I called and immediately made a payment over the phone. Since I was a new customer, they ended up holding my payment for 10 business days, so I was without my card for about a week. Understandable I guess, but quite annoying since I had it hooked up to various autopays like iTunes and Amazon.
|
|
#
?
May 5, 2010 05:36
|
|
|
Heh, I have a story too. I had a transaction declined when I was nowhere near my limit, so I called up. We went back and forth listing out transactions for a while until the rep realized that yes, my outstanding balance was in fact only $X whereas my limit was $X+$thousands. Then she had to go away for a while - when she came back she explained that they were putting a 10-day hold on all my payments until I had the account for six months, so the payment that had cleared MY bank 5 days ago wasn't going to be credited to the card until next week. Meanwhile I was over the limit and couldn't use the card. So yeah, I'm not impressed with the service either Edit: ^^^^ HAHAHAHA
|
|
#
?
May 5, 2010 05:38
|
|
|
Wow, that sucks. My Charles Schwab Invest First card with 2% on everything is quite nice. Their website interface is a little goofy, but it works, is updated often, and just does what you'd expect.
|
|
#
?
May 5, 2010 17:45
|
|
|
What's a decent interest rate for a credit card if you have average-good credit? I've been using the same, no frills credit card for the past 8 years. They've offered to increase my limit by a fair bit, but it's got me thinking about whether I should stick with this card or look for something better. My interest rate is 20% and I'm using it at the moment to absorb about 2-3k while I finish school.
|
|
#
?
Aug 24, 2010 20:24
|
|
|
20% sounds absolutely terrible. My Visa (through my Credit Union) is 9% and I kinda wish it were lower.
|
|
#
?
Aug 24, 2010 20:55
|
|
|
On my Chase rewards card, it's 13.49%. On my cards I've had for a long time through USAA it's 9.9%
|
|
#
?
Aug 24, 2010 22:27
|
|
|
fyo posted:What's a decent interest rate for a credit card if you have average-good credit? I've been using the same, no frills credit card for the past 8 years. They've offered to increase my limit by a fair bit, but it's got me thinking about whether I should stick with this card or look for something better. My interest rate is 20% and I'm using it at the moment to absorb about 2-3k while I finish school. Interest rate should not be an issue, although 20% is pretty bad and you can probably get it lowered by asking. However, that's just putting another temporary cap on the oil well. Get a job (or another job) if you can, and pay that debt off immediately. You're just wasting cash if you don't, no matter the interest rate. Even transferring that debt to a 0% interest card temporarily will usually cost you a fee. It's really easy to say that you're just going to carry over the balance for a few months, but it ends up getting harder and harder to get rid of, especially with the way things are now. edit: sorry for what became kind of a diatribe, it's just that I know how easy it is to slide into CC debt and how hard it is to get back out 
moana fucked around with this message at 22:39 on Aug 24, 2010 |
|
#
?
Aug 24, 2010 22:35
|
|
|
My best rewards card has 19.9% APR. But I've never carried a balance month-to-month so it doesn't matter, and I get 2% cashback on everything. E: I subscribe to the 'don't buy poo poo you can't afford right now' policy for everything but housing and education, so anything that goes on the credit card is budgeted for in cash. That's why I can afford to not care about APR, only annual fees and rewards. Engineer Lenk fucked around with this message at 22:38 on Aug 24, 2010 |
|
#
?
Aug 24, 2010 22:36
|
|
|
Ah, yeah I suspected it might be a little high. I'll see if I can get them to lower it, and will look into options with better cards.moana posted:You should not cancel this card, as it provides a great deal of credit history and is probably the best thing you've got going for your credit score. Up that limit as long as you won't ring up a bunch of worthless purchases with it. However, I would look around and pick up another card for daily use, maybe if you can qualify for a rewards card. No need to be sorry at all, I appreciate your advice. I agree that credit card debt should be avoided at all costs, but there are a lot of things up in the air at the moment and having this buffer zone (3,000 at the most) is a worthwhile risk, I think. Worst case scenario is I have to work 60 hour weeks for a couple months once I've finished school. Thanks guys.
|
|
#
?
Aug 25, 2010 03:43
|
|
|
Engineer Lenk posted:My best rewards card has 19.9% APR. But I've never carried a balance month-to-month so it doesn't matter, and I get 2% cashback on everything. Just curious, which card is that? Just got a PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa a few weeks ago. I'm pretty excited about it. Nice upgrade from my Target Visa (they send me a 10% off coupon for Target every time I rack up $1000 in charges. What a deal!).
|
|
#
?
Aug 25, 2010 05:41
|
|
|
Man, Delta sure does want me to sign up for their rewards card again. 25,000 miles, and the first year the membership fee ($95) is waived. It's crazy since I've previously gotten the sign-up bonus (when it was Northwest), and canceled after the first year. And yeah, the miles have been devalued, and it's really hard to find a flight for 25,000 miles, but it's pretty easy to find one for 37,500 and that's a pretty good bonus.
|
|
#
?
Aug 25, 2010 19:03
|
|
|
MN-Ghost posted:Just curious, which card is that? Orchard Mastercard. The application process will only offer some people a no-fee card, and it usually starts at a very low limit. There's a $400 annual cap on cash back as well, which I've never hit. I applied on a whim a few years ago and have been using it as my non-groceries (grandfathered in on the Chase Freedom still getting 3%) non-gas (Costco AmEx) card ever since.
|
|
#
?
Aug 25, 2010 21:36
|
|
|
Pinkied_Brain posted:I really like the Citi Forward card. Unfortunately it only gives you "thank you points", but they can be redeemed 100 for dollar at Expedia. So just use them whenever you need to fly somewhere. And Amazon.com is included in that bolded bit. Which means this card is actually better than the Amazon branded card if you spend a lot at Amazon. It works really well if you get another ThankYou card that gives you good points on everyday spending like groceries and gas. The only trouble I have with ThankYou points is that the best way to spend them is on $100 gift certs (10,000 pts) or on flights (30,000-50,000 pts). Both of those require a pretty significant amount of spending, even if you are getting 5 points per dollar. Also that they could be devalued, but that would be a pretty big move.
|
|
#
?
Aug 25, 2010 21:42
|
|
|
Engineer Lenk posted:Orchard Mastercard. The application process will only offer some people a no-fee card, and it usually starts at a very low limit. There's a $400 annual cap on cash back as well, which I've never hit. I applied on a whim a few years ago and have been using it as my non-groceries (grandfathered in on the Chase Freedom still getting 3%) non-gas (Costco AmEx) card ever since. As I was reading your post the banner ad at the top was for the Orchard Bank MasterCard. Never seen their ad here before. Weird coincidence? That's a pretty good reward. Wouldn't want to get it if there was a fee, though. MN-Ghost fucked around with this message at 03:16 on Aug 26, 2010 |
|
#
?
Aug 26, 2010 03:11
|
|
|
So I make around ~1500 a month. I am looking for a rewards card because I am just using my Wells Fargo Credit Card (with no rewards). I am just looking for a general one, I dont eat out too often. I guess I mostly use the money towards grocery, gas, and then other randomness. I currently have a credit score around ~733. I really like the idea of the Charles Schwab Visa but it looks like its discontinued. Also the PenFed card sounds good, besides all the horror stories in this thread. What would be the best middle of the line card for me?
|
|
#
?
Aug 26, 2010 03:39
|
|
|
MN-Ghost posted:As I was reading your post the banner ad at the top was for the Orchard Bank MasterCard. Never seen their ad here before. Weird coincidence?
|
|
#
?
Aug 26, 2010 04:46
|
|
|
DaRealAce posted:So I make around ~1500 a month. I am looking for a rewards card because I am just using my Wells Fargo Credit Card (with no rewards). I am just looking for a general one, I dont eat out too often. I guess I mostly use the money towards grocery, gas, and then other randomness. I currently have a credit score around ~733. I really like the idea of the Charles Schwab Visa but it looks like its discontinued. Also the PenFed card sounds good, besides all the horror stories in this thread. What would be the best middle of the line card for me? You can try the Fidelity Amex, it's 2% just like the Schwab card was. It's an amex though so not accepted at as many places.
|
|
#
?
Aug 26, 2010 06:23
|
|
|
smackfu posted:And Amazon.com is included in that bolded bit. Which means this card is actually better than the Amazon branded card if you spend a lot at Amazon. I don't know. I can't seem to find a single gift card I like on that site with the $100 to 10000 pt conversion. Any sort of decent substitute for something as flexible as an Amazon gift certificate there?
|
|
#
?
Aug 27, 2010 12:14
|
|
|
Chin Strap posted:I don't know. I can't seem to find a single gift card I like on that site with the $100 to 10000 pt conversion. Any sort of decent substitute for something as flexible as an Amazon gift certificate there? I guess it's a toss-up: Amazon Chase Visa: Spend $833 at Amazon to get a $25 Amazon gift cert. Citi Forward: Spend $700 at Amazon to get a $25 Gift Card (3500 pts) to somewhere else.
|
|
#
?
Aug 27, 2010 14:19
|
|
|
FWIW the Amazon Visa also issues a $50 check at 5000 points. It usually takes about a week for me to receive it in the mail.
|
|
#
?
Aug 27, 2010 15:16
|
|
|
Maybe someone in this thread could help me out finding a credit card. Right now I'm trying to get some credit built up so that I can get some better loans to pay for college (I don't qualify for much federal aid and am having to work full-time to pay for college, which I found out I won't be able to do next semester. Thanks for not cosigning mom and dad  ) I'm looking for a card I can get with little credit history (only a loan) that isn't the Discover or Citi Student cards (no-go on those). I just need something that I can pay off the balance each month, so a high limit isn't necessary. Any suggestions?
|
|
#
?
Aug 31, 2010 19:25
|
|
|
Why are you ruling out student cards? They look just like any other credit card on your credit report.
|
|
#
?
Aug 31, 2010 20:13
|
|
|
Sock on a Fish posted:Why are you ruling out student cards? They look just like any other credit card on your credit report. I didn't have the credit to get either of those. Both of them auto-declined me. All that's on my credit report is 5500 in outstanding loans.
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2010 04:15
|
|
|
Just joined penfed and applied for their visa and got approved for $4500, so looking forward to switching over my various autopays from my citi to my penfed card. Hopefully the online rewards works a little easier for me than moana!
|
|
#
?
Sep 24, 2010 16:50
|
|
|
For what it's worth (since I started the thread and didn't really follow up), I ended up signing up for the Rewards system with my Credit Union (First Tech Credit Union). It's something modest, something like 1% of all purchases, or maybe just gas/food/entertainment... I don't recall exactly. There's a $25 'sign up fee' too. Claiming rewards kinda sucks, because it has a site full of merchandise to choose from, they won't just give you cash. Some of the rewards are gift cards though, and I nearly have enough for my 2nd $100 gift card at Best Buy, so I guess it's worth it in the end! The ease of integration with my existing bank card was what tipped me in that direction.
|
|
#
?
Sep 24, 2010 19:11
|
|
|
Anybody else have a Target card? I got a litter a while ago that says the're ditching their current rewards program and just giving 5% off everything when you use the card. I misplaced the letter, does anybody know when the program starts? I can't find anything about it online.
|
|
#
?
Sep 26, 2010 05:49
|
|
|
smackfu posted:Man, Delta sure does want me to sign up for their rewards card again. 25,000 miles, and the first year the membership fee ($95) is waived. It's crazy since I've previously gotten the sign-up bonus (when it was Northwest), and canceled after the first year. I get two of these drat things a week from Delta/Amex now. Do they think I will miss them all or something?
|
|
#
?
Sep 26, 2010 13:32
|
|
|
The absolute worst things about PenFed is their crazy fraud protection. I travel and I get called at least once every week asking to verify my last 5 purchases. Worst I've had was 4 calls in a 2 week period and 2 transaction denials. Their customer support said that there was NOTHING they could do to make the system not freak out nor could they remove me from the system. Edit: To be fair, "nothing" is misleading, what they said they could do was have me call them before I travel - but that even that may not stop the calls because if I say I'll be in virginia but gas up in maryland on the way, the maryland transaction may seem odd. FileNotFound fucked around with this message at 20:40 on Sep 27, 2010 |
|
#
?
Sep 27, 2010 20:18
|
|
|
My head is spinning with numbers right now. Looking at a bunch of different potential rewards cards. What do you guys think of the USAA Amex/Mastercard? It seems like the rewards aren't quite as good. Is that true? e: gently caress ok I was looking at Zync from Amex and originally wrote it off. But now it's looking better as I delve further into this. Lowness 72 fucked around with this message at 05:17 on Sep 28, 2010 |
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2010 01:57
|
|
|
Lowness 72 posted:My head is spinning with numbers right now. Looking at a bunch of different potential rewards cards. USAA has garbage for rewards, but they are somewhat lenient about lending decisions, and VERY generous with limits. I consider them worth it just for the high limits. Zync is a nice card, if you're willing to PIF every month and pay an annual fee. The rewards are boring and middling, and MR-express points are worse than MR points in terms of redemption. The biggest benefit of Zync is that it gets you in with Amex. Amex is famously picky about who they give credit too, but they have been giving zyncs out to practically everybody who asks. Once you have a zync, getting one of their more prestigious/difficult cards (like Blue) should be a snap, after about 6 months of good history on the zync.
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2010 06:31
|
|
|
FISHMANPET posted:Anybody else have a Target card? I got a litter a while ago that says the're ditching their current rewards program and just giving 5% off everything when you use the card. The 5% only counts for stuff you buy at Target. I don't think there's any cashback on stuff you don't buy at Target. Still beats the stupid one-time use 10% off coupon they gave you for ever $1000 you spent, but does not beat any of the actual rewards cards out there (unless you buy a LOT of stuff at Target). I assume the program has already started, but I've pretty much put my Target card away in favor of the PenFed card. I'm also sort of boycotting Target at the moment, so haven't tested it. MN-Ghost fucked around with this message at 07:20 on Sep 28, 2010 |
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2010 07:12
|
|
|
I think the best usage you can get is to find a card that applies a percentage, no matter how small, to ALL purchases. That way you can use your card for all daily uses, no matter how small, and the points just pile up. Like I mentioned, it's been almost exactly 6 months since I signed up for my CU's reward system (it's something like 1% on all purchases) and I just got my 2nd $100 gift card at Best Buy (could also go Lowes, Macy's, Nordstrom, or REI). I did so by using my Credit Card for EVERYTHING... groceries, restaurants, coffee stands, tuition... everything. $200 every 6 months isn't bad when it's effectively 'free'!
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2010 07:24
|
|
|
drat, my favorite daily card is cutting their rewards AGAIN. It may be time to jump ship. Citi Dividend Platnium. Used to be 3% cashback with up to 5% at places like gas stations, now it's like 1% and rarely 2%.
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2010 13:29
|
|
|
Citi Dividend Platinum just tried to navigate my card from a VISA to a Mastercard, and as you mentioned, is cutting rewards. I'm considering moving to Chase Freedom or Sapphire. Does anyone have anything negative to say about either of these?
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2010 23:09
|
|
|
Amazon Rewards Visa just started offering statement credits in the same amount as their paper checks.  Though they did recently freeze my card for anti-fraud, and claimed that they tried to call me three times before doing so. Takes 3-5 days for the account to reappear on their website!
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2010 23:12
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 24, 2024 04:27 |
|
|
MN-Ghost posted:The 5% only counts for stuff you buy at Target. I don't think there's any cashback on stuff you don't buy at Target. Still beats the stupid one-time use 10% off coupon they gave you for ever $1000 you spent, but does not beat any of the actual rewards cards out there (unless you buy a LOT of stuff at Target). I don't have the Visa, just the Target card, so it's 5% off anywhere I could use it. I thought it started right away but I've used it a couple of times and no magic 5% savings.
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2010 23:14
|
|