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I hate my Citi card so much. Citi has "Extra Cash," the worst credit card rewards of all time. I have had my Citi Diamond Preferred card since 2002 (originally a Platinum Select), and I have never seen a reward from it. Not one thing in all that time. I just paid my bills and never thought about it. When I finally did care about rewards, I found that I didn't have any. What you get are a bunch of completely useless discounts. Hey look! I've got $691.20 in COUPONS (not "cash") to spend on specific retailers! So if I buy $600 worth in Papa John's or UNO Pizza (and not any other Pizza), I'll get $60 free. Hooray!   So I called and asked to switch to their Citi Expedia Card (I've been using Expedia for years), and I immediately got better a rate as well as rewards I can actually use, only losing some services I never used or knew about. So why does Diamond Preferred even exist? If you Google "citi extra cash" it fills in "scam" right away  and has nice suggestions for other letters:
Ema Nymton fucked around with this message at 18:31 on Mar 1, 2011 |
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Mar 1, 2011 18:29
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Just applied for the Chase Continental OnePass Card and Chase Southwest card on the same day...got turned down for the southwest card because they "want to see what I'll do with the other one". Shoot.
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Mar 1, 2011 18:44
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I, also, want to see what you'll do with the other one. Why did you apply for two different airline cards? Anyway, you should have gone for this one: https://www.chase.com/ccp/index.jsp...QqowJ8FPPPpcR2g
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Mar 2, 2011 05:58
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ABlix- posted:With that card it says I get 3 points for dollar I spend. I guess my confusion comes from not knowing what a point entails. Is that like a 3% cash back? Looking at the rewards site for your card, it looks like you can redeem 6000 points for $25, which is 1.25% cash back. You can get $25 gift cards with 6500 points, which is 1.15% cash back. Airfare, like I said before, ends up being about 1.5% cashback. Basically, you'd be much better off with a 2% cashback card.
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Mar 2, 2011 10:04
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Zero One posted:I, also, want to see what you'll do with the other one. Hah! Both were offering particularly good rewards with low minimum spending requirements - Southwest had 2 free roundtrips, and Continental had 50k miles both with a single purchase. My credit should have been good enough to get me both cards, and I'd rather have both hard inquiries together so they drop off at the same time [ / fatwallet ]
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Mar 2, 2011 15:01
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Reading my link to that fancy card again, it looks like it is actually made out of palladium. Isn't that the metal Iron Man uses to fuel his fusion heart? drat that's a fancy credit card.
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Mar 3, 2011 05:50
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Zero One posted:Reading my link to that fancy card again, it looks like it is actually made out of palladium. Yeah I think that's my next goal. Get enough of those to build a functional iron man weapon.
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Mar 3, 2011 05:54
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I applied for a rewards credit card a little while back and was declined due to not "having enough credit history". Although I should have a fair amount, I didn't think much of it. About a month later my I received an offer for the exact same card, but at my old address from close to two years ago. It was also saying it thought I was still in college, which has been a few years back as well. Is there a chance that my "history" isn't a problem, but that whatever their system is showing for addresses and other information could be an issue? IE, what I'm telling them isn't matching up with what they think they know about me? And that could be causing an issue?
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Mar 6, 2011 04:24
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Untagged posted:I applied for a rewards credit card a little while back and was declined due to not I doubt it. They know that people move, addresses don't have to match up. In any case I would go pull at least one of your credit reports from annualcreditreport.com, you can get one from each every 12 months. Or, if you only care about a summary of your report, you can sign up for creditkarma.com for free and get as many "credit report cards" and fake TransUnion scores as you want. edit: as for getting a pre-approval for a card that you were previously declined for, don't think anything of it. Know that "pre-approved" doesn't mean anything at all, many people get declined for so-called pre-approved cards. I've read about people on the AMEX blacklist who start to receive offers for gold and platinum cards, only to be declined for being on the blacklist. They don't really check those things before they send them out. Magic Underwear fucked around with this message at 05:29 on Mar 6, 2011 |
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Mar 6, 2011 05:23
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Magic Underwear posted:Know that "pre-approved" doesn't mean anything at all, many people get declined for so-called pre-approved cards. I've read about people on the AMEX blacklist who start to receive offers for gold and platinum cards, only to be declined for being on the blacklist. They don't really check those things before they send them out. Pre-approved is a huge deal; it's considered a firm offer of credit, and as such, it follows those rules. They are not allowed to deny you for a credit based reason (but they can deny you if your credit changed since the offer was sent or for some other non-credit related issue).
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Mar 7, 2011 15:48
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Direct molestations from banks that say "pre-approved" and whatnot are not pre-approvals in that sense and basically don't mean poo poo. E: I meant "direct mail solicitations", haha
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Mar 7, 2011 15:57
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slap me silly posted:Direct molestations from banks that say "pre-approved" and whatnot are not pre-approvals in that sense and basically don't mean poo poo. I'm sorry, but yes they do. Just because most people believe that they don't, and it works this way in practice, dosen't mean that it's not still a firm offer of credit, and that they are barred by law for declining you for a credit/risk based reason. What they can do is offer you another product (say a $500 uloc instead of a $5000 $ULoc)
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Mar 7, 2011 17:43
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LorneReams posted:I'm sorry, but yes they do. Just because most people believe that they don't, and it works this way in practice, dosen't mean that it's not still a firm offer of credit, and that they are barred by law for declining you for a credit/risk based reason. Even if you're right technically, I don't think you can claim that pre-approvals count for much, especially with all the outs that you've left for the issuer to change their mind on this "firm" offer of credit. Quickly, here are some threads on creditboards of denials of pre-approvals. Anecdotes, I know, but I've been around enough to know that pre-approval is rarely 100%. http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=163032 http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=384287 http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=95319 http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=352682 http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=394494 The point is this: even if legally it counts as "firm", there is so much garbage that goes out that is confusingly similar (invitations to apply, "pre-approvals" with no opt-out notices, etc.), and so many ways for the issuer to renege, that from the consumer's point of view, the term pre-approved loses any weight it might have had.
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Mar 7, 2011 22:53
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I mean, I agree, but I'm working with a legal department right now because I have to tell some people WAY above my paygrade that a marketing campaign going on right now is a binding offer of credit and it makes me a little annoyed to see people take this so lightly.
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Mar 8, 2011 00:04
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I have a Discover card with decent rewards - 5% revolving categories, 1% on everything else. It's my only credit card. It has a $1500 limit. (Has a RIDICULOUSLY high APR from when I got it as a dumb college student, but I haven't paid interest on it in a few years now). I'm trying to decide if I should just request a credit increase (I think I'd get it as I pay in full every month and have never been late on a payment), or get a new VISA/Mastercard with a good rewards program that is also accepted more places than Discover? I know both will make my credit take a little hit. I really want that PenFed card, but I don't know if I have the credit history for it.
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Mar 12, 2011 08:14
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AndrewP posted:I have a Discover card with decent rewards - 5% revolving categories, 1% on everything else. It's my only credit card. It has a $1500 limit. (Has a RIDICULOUSLY high APR from when I got it as a dumb college student, but I haven't paid interest on it in a few years now). Why not do both? Unless I'm mistaken, Discover uses soft pulls for CLIs, so it won't affect your report. I would recommend getting a visa or MC, just because discover is not accepted nearly as many places. If you want the PenFed card (and you don't have any negative marks on your record), you should apply for it. The worst that can happen is they deny you, which isn't really a big deal at all. 1 inquiry = 10 points, roughly. I don't know your credit profile, but if you get turned down for PenFed you should take a look at Citi Forward or maybe even Amex Zync. It isn't a visa/mc obviously but they are practically giving it to anybody who asks (with a clean record). Plus, as I posted above, getting in with amex has some nice benefits.
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Mar 12, 2011 13:08
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AndrewP posted:I'm trying to decide if I should just request a credit increase (I think I'd get it as I pay in full every month and have never been late on a payment), or get a new VISA/Mastercard with a good rewards program that is also accepted more places than Discover? I know both will make my credit take a little hit. Raising your credit limit in your situation can actually raise your score as your credit line utilization will drop.
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Mar 12, 2011 14:39
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It looks like PenFed just dropped their 3% on groceries, atleast for my card. Now it's only 5% on gas and 1% on everything else. Anyone else get an email recently?
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Mar 18, 2011 18:17
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phillytothemax posted:It looks like PenFed just dropped their 3% on groceries, atleast for my card. Now it's only 5% on gas and 1% on everything else. Anyone else get an email recently? Yes, I got this one. Looks like they're giving 2% on groceries until the end of March, then it's down to 1%. I was disappointed because they were pretty good about putting the grocery stores I use into the correct category (I've had some issues with AmEx). Back to 2% Schwab at the grocery store, I guess.
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Mar 18, 2011 21:12
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phillytothemax posted:It looks like PenFed just dropped their 3% on groceries, atleast for my card. Now it's only 5% on gas and 1% on everything else. Anyone else get an email recently? I just realized I am only getting 1% on all other purchases. I shot them an email stating I did not receive notification and requested the difference to be credited immedately. They shot back saying I got it electronically which I do not see record of. They said it was back in December of 2009 I got notification but I don't see it. Did you ever get that?
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Mar 21, 2011 05:49
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The message that I recieved from PENFED said that they had neglected to notify me at the beginning of the month so they were going to continue giving me the rewards through the end of the month.
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Mar 21, 2011 15:18
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It feels strange that I like a credit card. In two months of putting everything on my Amazon-Chase card (and paying it off before the bill cycle) I already have over 6k points and just put it towards a $50 statement credit. The reward system is neat, it's like shopping online where the currency is the points you've earned but they could expand the product catalog to feature more tangibles.
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Mar 21, 2011 16:11
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Orgasmo posted:It feels strange that I like a credit card. If you spend 3k a month, unless most of it is on Amazon, you might do better with an Amex Blue Cash. Assuming like 20% of your spending is groceries/gas/drugstore, you'd get: First $6500: $39 Rest of the year ($29500): $590
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Mar 21, 2011 20:03
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I do a lot of shopping at Costco, drive a car infrequently (gas on mint.com over the last year was $1150), shop at Amazon/REI minimally ($379/$377 respectively), and don't spend much money at restaurants ($358). Am I right in thinking that getting a Fidelity account, with their 2% Amex (for Costco+places that take it) and 1.5% Visa (for everywhere else) is going to be the best plan? edit-There's no card that does extra % back from bars, right? 
mastershakeman fucked around with this message at 20:41 on Mar 21, 2011 |
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Mar 21, 2011 20:35
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mastershakeman posted:edit-There's no card that does extra % back from bars, right? I think this thread would be two posts long if there was. Plane tickets and their drat credit holds. It should be illegal. Got 5% cashback on a ~$650 purchase though, which was pretty drat awesome (Discover). Their "online cashback store" is laughable, though - just give me the cash. AndrewP fucked around with this message at 05:15 on Mar 22, 2011 |
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Mar 22, 2011 05:07
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The Citi Forward card is 5 points per dollar for restaurants which might include a lot of bars. It also covers book stores, and Amazon is classified as a book store so you get 5 points per dollar from Amazon. 5 points converts to raw cash at a bit over 3%, so it is still better than the Amazon Chase card for that even, but you get can get 5 points converting at 5% if you spend it on certain things (including some restaurant gift cards, cruise line gift cards, hotel gift cards, etc). So I use the Citi Forward card only where I get 5 points, and the Fidelity Visa everywhere else. Best of all worlds (assuming like me you don't want to hassle with Amex).
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Mar 22, 2011 13:41
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kaishek posted:If you spend 3k a month, unless most of it is on Amazon, you might do better with an Amex Blue Cash. Assuming like 20% of your spending is groceries/gas/drugstore, you'd get: I've only been on the Amazon for 2 billing cycles so my spending patterns haven't materialized on the statement (too lazy to do a deep dive into banking statements). I know I spent less than $5000 to reach the 5000 pts required for $50 because gas/dining contributes 2 pts and Amazon.com purchases contribute 3 pts and we've made Amazon our first choice for all online purchases. thinking aloud: amex blue: $629 given current spending trend amazon: $300 given a conservative $50 every 2 months, $600 given a liberal $50 every month poo poo gais I think I'm using the wrong card
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Mar 22, 2011 16:46
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Heh, it really depends where the bulk of your spending is. If you do lots of groceries/gas/drugstore, Blue Cash is a good call - no annual fee is nice too. If you eat out a lot, Citi Forward is better for Amazon and gives high rewards at restaurants (which includes some bars). Both have no annual fee so why not get both? Carry them around and use them selectively - Citi when you eat out/Amazon, Blue Cash everywhere else. Also I'm super biased because I've had really good experiences with Amex - I bought a laptop, broke it immediately, and Amex took care of it entirely. Other cards now have this too, but I like their customer service. I can give referrals to the blue cash card which might give a $25 bonus on opening (or at least it used to). PM me if you want one! Hufflepuff or bust! fucked around with this message at 17:59 on Mar 22, 2011 |
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Mar 22, 2011 17:55
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kaishek posted:Heh, it really depends where the bulk of your spending is. If you do lots of groceries/gas/drugstore, Blue Cash is a good call - no annual fee is nice too. If you eat out a lot, Citi Forward is better for Amazon and gives high rewards at restaurants (which includes some bars). Both have no annual fee so why not get both? Carry them around and use them selectively - Citi when you eat out/Amazon, Blue Cash everywhere else. I can't find anything in their marketing materials about how points redemption works. Can you tell me? Do you get a statement credit, do they mail you a check, or do they force you to choose from some list of poo poo that is not equivalent to cash money? This is one of my major complaints about most credit card rewards programs. They purposefully obfuscate what their rewards are really worth. edit: Googling a bit reveals that it's 10,000 points for a $100 gift card to major stores, 14,000 points for a Visa prepaid, 16,000 points for a $100 check. So 5% back if you care for the gift cards, 3.57% for the prepaid, 3.125% if you don't want either. I don't really care for the gift cards, they'd probably just induce me to spend money that I otherwise wouldn't. My Amazon Visa already gets me 3% at Amazon, 2% at restaurants, and the reward can come in the form of a statement credit so I don't have to deal with the hassle of depositing a paper check or carrying around another card that I have to use to spend exactly $100. Non-cash rewards also means that your rewards-based spending is not generating reward points. An extra $100 to spend before you reach the next reward payout milestone. With the prepaid that effectively makes the percent back 3.44%. With the gift cards, 4.75%. Sock on a Fish fucked around with this message at 19:35 on Mar 22, 2011 |
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Mar 22, 2011 18:56
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Chin Strap posted:The Citi Forward card is 5 points per dollar for restaurants which might include a lot of bars. It also covers book stores, and Amazon is classified as a book store so you get 5 points per dollar from Amazon. 5 points converts to raw cash at a bit over 3%, so it is still better than the Amazon Chase card for that even, but you get can get 5 points converting at 5% if you spend it on certain things (including some restaurant gift cards, cruise line gift cards, hotel gift cards, etc). Is there a Citi list of what they categorize as bars vs restaurants? It doesn't make much sense to try and guess and then find out later on a bill. The Blue Cash card looks nice, but only for big spenders (due to only going to 5% after the first $6500), which is why the 2% flat Fidelity Amex/1.5% flat Fidelity Visa combo looks really good to me.
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Mar 22, 2011 21:00
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I'm thinking about the Fidelity amex, but I'm worried about using an amex day to day will be annoying with people not accepting it. Is this actually a problem? My only other card is a 1% I've had since 2005. It's a visa so I suppose I could also carry it around if the amex isnt accepted.
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Mar 24, 2011 07:48
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Pardot posted:I'm thinking about the Fidelity amex, but I'm worried about using an amex day to day will be annoying with people not accepting it. Is this actually a problem? It is a problem, mainly at certain restaurants. Most bigger retailers accept amex but I carry a visa card just in case. Also, if you travel internationally, Amex isn't useful in places like Europe.
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Mar 24, 2011 13:48
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last laugh posted:It is a problem, mainly at certain restaurants. Most bigger retailers accept amex but I carry a visa card just in case. Also, if you travel internationally, Amex isn't useful in places like Europe. in DC, I have only had a problem with place not accepting it that are tiny dry cleaners, stuff like that. All bar, restaurants, etc. no problem.
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Mar 24, 2011 20:33
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kaishek posted:in DC, I have only had a problem with place not accepting it that are tiny dry cleaners, stuff like that. All bar, restaurants, etc. no problem. Liquor stores seem to be problematic too.
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Mar 25, 2011 20:08
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Any suggestions on a good card to apply for if I have no past credit history? I want something with OK-rewards that I won't be declined for. It's ridiculous having an income of $50,000+ and not being able to get a decent credit card..
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Mar 26, 2011 14:44
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If you want a debit card with some sick returns, look into SAC FCU. They're giving 4% back on your checking account a month, up to 25,000 bucks. Way better than any rewards program I've ever found. You have to do e-bill, and make 12 purchases a month with the card. I'm pulling 70 bucks a month or so.
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Mar 26, 2011 14:56
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I have a chase freedom card that I'd like to keep, but I don't live in a place that has Chase banks anymore. I've always paid it online with balance transfers, but I'd like to close out my associated chase checking account because I'm not depositing in it. My question is, how do people pay for their credit card if they don't have a linked checking/savings account at the same bank? Do they do wire transfers? Isn't that expensive?
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Mar 26, 2011 16:53
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Defenestration posted:I have a chase freedom card that I'd like to keep, but I don't live in a place that has Chase banks anymore. I've always paid it online with balance transfers, but I'd like to close out my associated chase checking account because I'm not depositing in it. Can't you just get paper statements and write a check? Or use online-bill-pay with whatever other checking account you might have?
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Mar 26, 2011 17:04
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ABlix- posted:Any suggestions on a good card to apply for if I have no past credit history? I want something with OK-rewards that I won't be declined for. It's ridiculous having an income of $50,000+ and not being able to get a decent credit card.. There are so many credit cards out there it isn't even funny. If you are worried about getting declined for no credit, I'd recommend first going to your bank...if you have a BoA checking account, try one of their cards (they aren't great cards, but no annual fee and more likely to be approved). Start with that for a bit, and go from there. For slightly better rewards and no annual fee, try the Chase Freedom or Citi Forward. Like I've said, I also like American Express Blue Cash. You can apply, worst case scenario you'll be declined (don't go crazy with 6 applications, but 1-4 shouldn't hurt you in the long run...of course stopping when you get a card.) Defenestration posted:My question is, how do people pay for their credit card if they don't have a linked checking/savings account at the same bank? Do they do wire transfers? Isn't that expensive? You can pay with any linked checking account. I pay my chase cards with a BoA account. TLG James posted:If you want a debit card with some sick returns, look into SAC FCU. They're giving 4% back on your checking account a month, up to 25,000 bucks. Can you get it in any way other than living in IA?
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Mar 26, 2011 17:09
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TLG James posted:If you want a debit card with some sick returns, look into SAC FCU. They're giving 4% back on your checking account a month, up to 25,000 bucks. Is this it? http://www.sacfcu.com/?q=open-new-account quote:Membership in SAC FCU is available to anyone who lives, works, attends school, or worships in Douglas, Sarpy and Cass Counties, NE, and Pottawattamie County, IA. Businesses and other entities qualify if they are located within any of the four counties. Is there a church of Making More Money in northeast Iowa?
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Mar 26, 2011 17:22
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