What Credit Card?

The wife wants to get a new(different) credit card. She has had a GM card for years. It was nice in that it accumulated money that could be used for a down payment on any GM vehicle. Now that she has bought an non-GM car and probably won't be getting another car for some time she would like to have a credit card that pays actual cash back.

The first requirement would be that it has no fees.

Second would be that it pays back actual cash, none of this "points" or "credits" BS.

Third would be that it would be universally acceptable.

We see lots of ads on TV but usually can't read all the fine print at the bottom of the screen so we are looking for "real-life" experiences. Any suggestions, recommendations?

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/credit-cards/

I have a Worldpoints Mastercard from Bank of America. I know BoA are widely regarded as being The Devil Incarnate, but I've never had any problems.

No fee, mid-single-digit interest rate, 1% back in points or cash, no problems with customer service. I'm happy.

Sometimes fees are worth paying. We have a Southwest card that we use for work and it's paid for a ton of airfare including a companion pass for my mom so she could travel free for years, and that was at $59/year fees. Not a big deal to pay that when thousands of dollars in airfare is paid for from it!

But for cash back we have an HSBC card that my wife and I use personally. It's something crazy like 2% cash back and there is no annual fee. My wife handles that statement so I don't remember the exact cash back amount.

Topic of interest for me. I currently use a US Air cc but it isn't anything special. My wife and I have thought about running 100% of our monthly expenses through a card (up to and including our mortgage payment), as we'd pay the balance in full each month and reap the rewards of the card.

Are any of the Amex cards worthwhile? They seem to offer a lot of perks but also seem to have high annual fees.

In before someone says "credit cards are evil, just use cash!"

If you are a Costco member, their Amex is a pretty good deal, IMO.

+1 for the Costco card, if you're already a Costco member.

"Points" are real money. Just tell them to apply it to your account and it's done.

Capitol One all the way. I have the Venture version (which is miles, which for them is actually just travel $$$ reimbursement, I buy tickets wherever I want and they apply the cash to my bill) but they have straight cash-back as well.

I have a BoA cashback card (the one they seem to advertise on TV every 30 seconds) and it seems to tick all the required boxes (no fee, "real cashback"). They also used to have deals along the lines of "spend $X within the first Y days and you'll get an additional $Z as cashback". The actual amount of $Z seems to vary, though.

Re the Costco card, that would be my second choice (I already had an Amex before we became Costco members, I think the Costco card is probably the better deal).

So, you guys know that I, as a vendor, have to raise my prices to cover the extra credit card fees I am charged to give you "free" money, right?

If you're outdoorsy, an REI credit card offers 15 percent back on all REI purchases (5 percent instant rebate, 10 percent part of your standard member dividend) plus 1 percent return on all other purchases (half the merchant fee because, as members, you own half the card). A lifetime membership with REI is 20 bucks. Don't know of any other fees but may be worth looking into if you're so inclined.

I have an AMEX Blue Cash card. It isn't quite as commonly accepted as VISA or MasterCard, but it's getting pretty close. It has no fees and real cash back. Usually the cash is applied towards whatever balance is on the card, but they will mail you a check if you've been using it but kept it in a drawer for a couple months when they put the cash back bonus on it.

Interest rate? Haven't checked; it gets paid off whenever a bill comes in, so I don't really care.

I've found the card from your bank/credit union good enough for me, usually lower interest rate and no fees. Although no other benefits such as cash back or mileage, just plain lower interest rate and no fee card. I don't find the benefits of other cards, like GM or airline or whatever worth the extra $$ in fees or interest rate. I have 2 from 2 different credit unions that are single digit APR w/no fees. Use one for kids college tuition and the other for online purchases. VISA is more readibly accepted.

I have never found a "points" based system that beats a high cash back (1.5% to 2%) if you were to convert the "points" into money.

YMMV, but as was also stated, don't get a fee card. The $60-$80 a year basically removes the whole point...

Discover. Had mine since '87 and have never seen the need for another card. Not that I don't have others, mind you.

Tom_Spangler wrote: In before someone says "credit cards are evil, just use cash!"

Dave Ramsey?

Streetwiseguy wrote: So, you guys know that I, as a vendor, have to raise my prices to cover the extra credit card fees I am charged to give you "free" money, right?

A rewards credit card doesn't have higher fees compared to a regular card. They both go through the same network, are processed the exact same, and cost the vendor the same.

Mine had a $5000 entrance fee and a $2500 annual fee, but you should see the looks it gets!

(That really is what it costs for an Amex Black, and no, I don't really have one.)

dculberson wrote:

Streetwiseguy wrote: So, you guys know that I, as a vendor, have to raise my prices to cover the extra credit card fees I am charged to give you "free" money, right?

A rewards credit card doesn't have higher fees compared to a regular card. They both go through the same network, are processed the exact same, and cost the vendor the same.

So whats the "noncompliant" card fee for? My processor certainly won't tell me.

http://www.nerdwallet.com/cash-rewards-credit-cards

Thanks for the ideas and info. Interest rates are sort of immaterial. We use the cards as a convienence and have never carried a balance over at the end of the month on the GM card or the Citi card that I got in 1977.

The GM card has gotten us ~$5k off on her last two Buicks but we have switched cars makes and would rather have the cash now.

Streetwiseguy wrote: So whats the "noncompliant" card fee for? My processor certainly won't tell me.

Are you sure that's not a PCI noncompliance fee? Is it charged on specific cards or on your whole account? PCI noncompliance is bad and you should fix that. Do a google search on "pci noncompliance" for more info. It has to do with meeting standards for data protection and you lose a lot of safe harbor provisions if you're PCI noncompliant. (Meaning a data breach could cost you big bucks.)

If it's a per-card fee it might be check or debit cards or it might be the card didn't have all security info or was manually keyed in. I'm sure there are other options I don't know off hand.

Alan Cesar wrote: http://www.nerdwallet.com/cash-rewards-credit-cards

Great site! Thank you!! Per the calculator, looks like an Amex Blue might be best for us.

dculberson wrote: If it's a per-card fee it might be check or debit cards or it might be the card didn't have all security info or was manually keyed in. I'm sure there are other options I don't know off hand.

He's in canuckland, btw, if that changes anything.