What is the best rewards card right now?

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I'm definitely considering it. I'm waiting to see if Amex tries to match the CSR. There's rumors going around in churningland.
i have also heard the rumors of amex coming out with something to match csr. i missed out on the 100k amex platinum offer last time around and will jump on it if they offer again

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I've started doing the bank account bonuses. These usually require more work like setting up direct deposit but the bonuses are a few hundred dollars. So on top of the credit card bonuses, this year I've done:

$300 Chase Checking
$200 Chase Savings
$150 Chase Freedom Unlimited
$150 Chase Freedom regular
$110 BofA Cash Rewards
$120 BofA Better Balance Rewards
$100 Discover Bank Online Savings
$400 Citibank
$350 HSBC Bank
=$1,880 so far

and I'm getting ready to do TD Bank and PNC Bank for $300 each.

I just got done with the Chase offers, I will look into the others on your list now. Thanks!
 
I disagree- spending $500 on a card for $100 is way easier than picking up another shift... And doesn't cost you anything as long as you don't buy something you wouldn't have normally bought.

I'm not referring to sign-up bonus, but rather carrying a different card for each spending category to maximize rewards. For example BoA card for gas, AmEx for groceries, Discover+Chase for rotating categories, and Citi for flat 2% on categories that aren't covered by other cards. This is what I was doing but decided just to use Citi for everything. Firstly I have to activate the rotating categories each quarter, secondly I have to remember where to use each card (for example AmEx doesn't even work at Wal-mart and rotating categories are always changing), and my rewards are split between 5 cards which is just kind of annoying.

Mathematically it's better to use them all but honestly it's literally saving me like 1-2%... much less work to just reduce spending. Plus I pay my balance before the statement drops to keep my utilization low which means logging into 5 accounts multiple times a month. Plus I'm too paranoid to trust autopay.

On an unrelated note people who buy things with cash on average spend 10-20% less anyways because handing cash over is more "painful" than using a card. I'm by no means a Dave Ramsey fanatic or anything, his content is designed for total financial illiterates, but I do agree with him on this point. I still carry and use my Citi card but maybe I'll just switch to cash and use the card for recurring expenses (cell phone, internet, etc.)
 
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I've started doing the bank account bonuses. These usually require more work like setting up direct deposit but the bonuses are a few hundred dollars. So on top of the credit card bonuses, this year I've done:

$300 Chase Checking
$200 Chase Savings
$150 Chase Freedom Unlimited
$150 Chase Freedom regular
$110 BofA Cash Rewards
$120 BofA Better Balance Rewards
$100 Discover Bank Online Savings
$400 Citibank
$350 HSBC Bank
=$1,880 so far

and I'm getting ready to do TD Bank and PNC Bank for $300 each.

I generally skip bonus less than 200 unless it's a recurring bonus like BofA better balance. I wait until it goes bigger or if they are really easy to do. I called CSR 4 months back and they said I am not eligible for discover savings bonus since I had an account previously. Planned to pick up Citi and HSBC. Would've forgotten if I didn't see their name again lol. I am just done with Chase and BMO Harris, closing them in December. There are a bunch of banks I am not eligible for since it is region specific. Oh well, you can't get them all...
 
All good must end: Sallie Mae Barclay rewards with the 5% Gas/Groceries is ending 2/28/17. Being replaced by 2% on grocery and utility bills, with 25% redemption bonus to student loan accounts. Probably will keep the card just for the utilities + loan bonus for effectively 2.5% cashback , then dump it when my loan is gone next near.

Anybody else have 5% in grocery or gas to replace this? Going to stock up on gift cards before it ends just to be safe.
 
All good must end: Sallie Mae Barclay rewards with the 5% Gas/Groceries is ending 2/28/17. Being replaced by 2% on grocery and utility bills, with 25% redemption bonus to student loan accounts. Probably will keep the card just for the utilities + loan bonus for effectively 2.5% cashback , then dump it when my loan is gone next near.

Anybody else have 5% in grocery or gas to replace this? Going to stock up on gift cards before it ends just to be safe.
You can get 5% back on gas with PenFed's Platinum Cash Rewards Plus (the green color one) card. You have to open a $25 money market account to get the full 5%.

You can get 3% back on groceries with Amex Blue, or if you pay the fee, get 6% back with Blue Preferred.
 
All good must end: Sallie Mae Barclay rewards with the 5% Gas/Groceries is ending 2/28/17. Being replaced by 2% on grocery and utility bills, with 25% redemption bonus to student loan accounts. Probably will keep the card just for the utilities + loan bonus for effectively 2.5% cashback , then dump it when my loan is gone next near.

Anybody else have 5% in grocery or gas to replace this? Going to stock up on gift cards before it ends just to be safe.
Yep, one of my best daily card. No annual fee, 5% Gas, grocery, amazon all gone. I'll be loading up on gift cards of gas and Amazon to take advantage for the last time. 2017... gas probably gonna go up so go crazy on 6 months+ of gas gift cards!

I have citi double cash... 2% on all so the conversion to a new crappy card is worthless for me.

Not gonna go with 6% Amex blue preferred, I don't buy enough grocery to justify paying annual fee. So, 3% only using Amex blue.
 
Yep, one of my best daily card. No annual fee, 5% Gas, grocery, amazon all gone. I'll be loading up on gift cards of gas and Amazon to take advantage for the last time. 2017... gas probably gonna go up so go crazy on 6 months+ of gas gift cards!

I have citi double cash... 2% on all so the conversion to a new crappy card is worthless for me.

Not gonna go with 6% Amex blue preferred, I don't buy enough grocery to justify paying annual fee. So, 3% only using Amex blue.
The nice part is you actually can get 5% off at Amazon with their store card. It's a bummer, but you can almost get the benefits of that one card with three separate cards. I won't pay for the Blue preferred either; I don't think the math works for me.
 
The nice part is you actually can get 5% off at Amazon with their store card. It's a bummer, but you can almost get the benefits of that one card with three separate cards. I won't pay for the Blue preferred either; I don't think the math works for me.
I ain't paying for prime lol
 
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Math doesn't quite work out for me to go from Everyday to Preferred either. $95/3% difference is $3167, and I'm not confident that I spend that much on groceries. Well, I guess the sign up bonus is an extra $50, so you could say it's only $45/3% = $1500 to break even first year. I still don't have a big enough credit history to open a ton of cards and churn them yet without hurting my score (average account age is only like 4 years).

Right now I'm planning on getting the Discover It card. Jan-March gives 5% gas and wholesale clubs, and I just got a coupon for a BJ's membership ($40 for 16 months + $50 restaurant.com gift card). Plus first year all rewards are doubled, so it's effectively 10% gas and clubs for that quarter. It's a quarterly rotating bonus though, so going to be hit and miss.
 
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Chase freedom and discover have rotating categories. I have both.
 
I was checking my Capital One credit card online and saw an ad for a $200 bonus to open a Capital One 360 Checking account. Needs 2 x >$250 direct deposits within 60 days, but no minimum balance.
 
Tomorrow is the last day to get the 100k points Sign-up Bonus for the Case Sapphire Reserve (Unless you have a branch nearby).

Did that this morning.


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This totally ruined my plan to have my spouse get one in a few month so I could cancel mine.
why not have your wife get the card now? if you are worried about hitting the minimum spend, just go to walgreens and cvs and buy a few $500 visa gift cards
 
Did Amazon just update their 3% rewards card to 5% with a prime membership!? :)
 
Why does AmEx still expect people to pay an annual fee for their card when there are so many great rewards cards that don't charge anything? It's not the 80's anymore and except for the Black Card it is not a status symbol.


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Has anyone thought about changing their Chase Freedom (5% rotating categories) to Freedom Unlimited (1.5% everything). The 5% categories aren't always stuff I spend a lot of money on. I put my rent ($600) and my cable bill and utilities and Netflix, Hulu on this card so maybe the 1.5% freedom unlimited be more beneficial? Amazon prime just upped cash back to 5% so even holiday season 5% from chase freedom isn't as lucrative anymore. 5% gas is nice, but my Amazon card always has 3% gas so 2% difference isn't much more and I don't spend a lot on gas. I have a very good gas mileage compact car and don't float anymore. I think having both would annoy me since I like to simplify things and I know you can convert chase freedom to freedom unlimited which same numbers so I wont have to redo all my auto bill pay stuff.
 
Has anyone thought about changing their Chase Freedom (5% rotating categories) to Freedom Unlimited (1.5% everything). The 5% categories aren't always stuff I spend a lot of money on. I put my rent ($600) and my cable bill and utilities and Netflix, Hulu on this card so maybe the 1.5% freedom unlimited be more beneficial? Amazon prime just upped cash back to 5% so even holiday season 5% from chase freedom isn't as lucrative anymore. 5% gas is nice, but my Amazon card always has 3% gas so 2% difference isn't much more and I don't spend a lot on gas. I have a very good gas mileage compact car and don't float anymore. I think having both would annoy me since I like to simplify things and I know you can convert chase freedom to freedom unlimited which same numbers so I wont have to redo all my auto bill pay stuff.
If your rent and utilities add up to say $1000/mo, maybe you should consider the Citi Double Cash 2% on everything. Is an extra $5/mo cashback over the 1.5% Chase Unlimited enough to sway you to change your automatic charges?

I've made a hobby out of it. I have 12 active credit cards and opened 9 bank accounts for bonuses. :)
 
Has anyone thought about changing their Chase Freedom (5% rotating categories) to Freedom Unlimited (1.5% everything). The 5% categories aren't always stuff I spend a lot of money on. I put my rent ($600) and my cable bill and utilities and Netflix, Hulu on this card so maybe the 1.5% freedom unlimited be more beneficial? Amazon prime just upped cash back to 5% so even holiday season 5% from chase freedom isn't as lucrative anymore. 5% gas is nice, but my Amazon card always has 3% gas so 2% difference isn't much more and I don't spend a lot on gas. I have a very good gas mileage compact car and don't float anymore. I think having both would annoy me since I like to simplify things and I know you can convert chase freedom to freedom unlimited which same numbers so I wont have to redo all my auto bill pay stuff.
5% rotating is still better when it hits the right category, Amazon, gas, online shopping during Xmas and restaurants. Can't beat that.
 
Why does AmEx still expect people to pay an annual fee for their card when there are so many great rewards cards that don't charge anything? It's not the 80's anymore and except for the Black Card it is not a status symbol.


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I only use the everyday reward AMEX card blue cash 3% on grocery no annual fee. I think if you have a large family it makes sense to upgrade to get the 6% cash back on grocery.
 
Did Amazon just update their 3% rewards card to 5% with a prime membership!? :)
That's a different card all together... One is Amazon visa still 3% cash back on Amazon, the other 5% back Amazon prime card or whatever they call it.
 
I do most of my grocery shopping at Walmart since I work there and get 10% off fresh produce and veggies and 10% everything from thanksgiving to New Years but those other cards don't consider Walmart a grocery store, do they?


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I use AmEx blue but they are always trying to give me their regular gold or platinum card. The rewards are ok but no way in hell I am paying an annual fee, too many free options. I have to use my corporate card when I travel for work so not much opportunity for airline or hotel points with a card.


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Currently in my rotation:
Chase Sapphire Reserve: 3% restaurants & travel
Chase Freedom: 5% on Gas now, then groceries come April
Chase Freedom Unlimited: 1.5% on all other purchases

I'm debating whether to rid myself of my Amex PRG but they did offer me a nice retention bonus and the customer service/price protection are top notch.
 
I do most of my grocery shopping at Walmart since I work there and get 10% off fresh produce and veggies and 10% everything from thanksgiving to New Years but those other cards don't consider Walmart a grocery store, do they?
Most don't, but some do. Some it depends on if it's a Supercenter or whatnot. You can always check your statements to see how it's classified, since each location could be categorized differently by various institutions.


Right now I'm looking at replacing the old Sallie Mae 5% gas/groceries with a UMB Simply Reward Visa. 3% gas, grocery, discount stores, restaurants, fast food. Seems like a pretty good card for everyday stuff when categories don't align. Haven't really heard much about the card or UMB, although I think they took care of my HSA a few years back.

I probably will keep the Sallie Mae just for the 2% utilities because it has a 25% redemption bonus toward student loans making it 2.5%, but after the loans are gone I'll dump it and put utilities onto a 2% everything card.
 
I do most of my grocery shopping at Walmart since I work there and get 10% off fresh produce and veggies and 10% everything from thanksgiving to New Years but those other cards don't consider Walmart a grocery store, do they?


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I know Bank of America cards do classify Walmart (even a Supercenter) as a grocery store, but they only give 2% back anyway, which is the same as Citi Double Cash on everything.
Other Citi cards like ThankYou and Dividend also include Walmart as a grocery store but they very rarely offer 5% back on groceries.
 
I have 4 cards in my rotation.

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards: 2x points on all Southwest Airlines purchases and 6,000 point anniversary bonus
Chase Freedom: 5% on the rotating categories. This quarter it's gasoline/travel, next quarter will be grocery stores and I max out the 5% by using gift cards.
Chase Sapphire Reserve: 3% on travel and restaurants
Citi Double Cash: 2% back on all other purchases
 
Chase Freedom: 5% on the rotating categories. This quarter it's gasoline/travel, next quarter will be grocery stores and I max out the 5% by using gift cards.

What exactly do you do with gift cards maxed out?
 
What exactly do you do with gift cards maxed out?
I don't spend enough to make it worthwhile, but you can buy gift cards for other stores at the grocery store to get the 5% that you normally would only be getting 2%. Like Apple, Steam, Google, Amazon, Olive Garden, etc. If you know you're going to shop at those places, it makes sense to buy the gift cards with the % back offer. If you don't shop enough though, you're just stuck with gift cards, which stinks because they are way more restrictive than cash.
 
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I am in for $200 bonus Capital One money market account and $250 Wellsfargo checking account bonus. Fund me a GTX 1080 brah...
 
I don't spend enough to make it worthwhile, but you can buy gift cards for other stores at the grocery store to get the 5% that you normally would only be getting 2%. Like Apple, Steam, Google, Amazon, Olive Garden, etc. If you know you're going to shop at those places, it makes sense to buy the gift cards with the % back offer. If you don't shop enough though, you're just stuck with gift cards, which stinks because they are way more restrictive than cash.
Have you guys tried discount gift card website like raise.com buy one of those gift card when you need it and you don't have to wait for cash back. Granted they have limited options but they have most commonly use gift card on their website
 
I am in for $200 bonus Capital One money market account and $250 Wellsfargo checking account bonus. Fund me a GTX 1080 brah...
Got the Wells Fargo bonus just 3 days after my direct deposit hit, and the Capital One after about 1 month.
 
Right now I'm looking at replacing the old Sallie Mae 5% gas/groceries with a UMB Simply Reward Visa. 3% gas, grocery, discount stores, restaurants, fast food. Seems like a pretty good card for everyday stuff when categories don't align. Haven't really heard much about the card or UMB, although I think they took care of my HSA a few years back.

I probably will keep the Sallie Mae just for the 2% utilities because it has a 25% redemption bonus toward student loans making it 2.5%, but after the loans are gone I'll dump it and put utilities onto a 2% everything card.

It's a shame they replaced Sallie Mae with the dumb Commerce card. I'm going to cancel the card and get the USAA 2.5% cash back unlimited.
 
So, I got in Wellsfargo checking $250 bonus, found Satander Checking $225, and got Capital One savings $200. Not bad for about hour or two of work for $675 during my day off.

HSBC also gives you $350 this year but I am not eligible since I got in on that last year.
 
Anyone partaking in this deal?
Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus & Premier Credit Cards 60K Points w/ $2k spent in 1st 3-Mos

4k spend in 3 months to get 120,000 RR points = $1,200 in gift cards or ~$1,900 on travel, PLUS companion status = bring a traveler with you for free on any flight through December of 2018

Hmm, how are you figuring 120k miles? It's 60k for the plus card or the premier card...Chase usually will not approve for both simultaneously (unless you get one and a spouse gets one).

I have that card (it's my oldest tradeline, have had it since 2001 when it was with FirstUSA and called something else), since almost all of my travel is Southwest these days, it's a good card to have.


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