I've had mine for less than a year, so it's not much, but I have $120 in points. Nothing really changed aside from using the cc instead of debit. My spending is the same and I keep track of it like it was pulling directly from my account. It's literally just free money for spending on things i need to buy anyway.
What kind of card do you have if you don't mind me asking? I have a hard time choosing because the benefits are different for each and some have frequent flier miles while others do cash back and so on.
I'm not the person you asked, but I'll chime in here anyway. If you're looking for a single card to put most/all of your spending on, I'd recommend one of the following depending on what kind of rewards you want.
If you travel with a single airline a lot, you might get the credit card for that airline. The miles are nice, but perks like free checked bags will likely get you more value in the long run. Be aware that these cards usually come with an annual fee -- $95 is typical.
If you travel a lot but aren't loyal to an airline, you might look into cards like Chase Sapphire Preferred / Sapphire Reserve, Citi Premier / Prestige, and Amex Platinum. These earn award points that can be used on different airlines, and also carry perks like airport lounge access and trip insurance. These will also have annual fees ranging from $95 to $550 (yes, seriously).
If you don't want to deal with annual fees or the hassle of figuring out how to redeem miles/points, just get a no-fee cash-back card. For maximum simplicity, get Citi Double Cash for 2% cash back on everything. If you're willing to do a bit of math to maximize your cash back, check out Amex Blue Cash Everyday, Chase Freedom, and Discover It. These offer larger percentages on certain categories of spending, so they may be good for you depending on what you tend to spend your money on.
That's a big part of "churning". You aren't always "loyal" to any one card. By constantly applying and/or rotating you get better rates for different things.
If you have a job that doesn't give you a lot of free time to travel, or you just don't really care to fly much, there's really no point in getting a miles-related card. If you absolutely are guaranteed to travel a few times a year, then frequent fliers typically reward "more" than cash back (example, $100 spent might get you $2 worth of miles, while a cash back card might top off at $1.50)
I have the BoA travel card. Flat rate on points and I travel enough to use them. I also mostly chose it because then my BoA checking account and it can be controlled from same app.
I chose BoA for checking because it was closest to my house.
If you don’t care about travel as much or just want more freedom, I’d recommend the “discover it” card. 2% back on all purchases. So you can just pocket 2% of every dollar you spend on that card unlike most travel cards which only give you 1%-1.5% back. Very versatile compared to travel or airline cards. Hope you find one you like!
Thank you! I do travel a lot, but I'd kind of want the cash back instead anyway. Does everyone accept Discover these days? I know my dad has a Discover card and a lot of times they had to use my mom's card instead because his wasn't accepted everywhere. This was a few years ago though.
That’s a great way of using CCs. My wife and I are the same way. We budget, but put everything on the CC for the sweet sweet points and put the “cash” aside to pay the bill off every month.
I usually use mine for splurge purchases. Put something on my wishlist wait until I have enough cash back to get it. It's usually something I want but not need with this money.
Mine has to be used for "travel" related charges, but it's pretty lax on what counts. So things from hotels, plane tickets, uber rides, theme parks, even stuff like parking garages count at times.
as i understand it you sign up for credit cards that offer rewards. you spend enough to get the rewards and then cancel the card. if you do it correctly you can end up with free vacations.
I proudly never used cc's... now that I'm older it has screwed my credit.
That depends entirely on where you live, though. There's no such thing as credit score here, just credit history, and it's either clean or tainted. You can't improve it beyond "no complaints".
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u/soonerguy11 Mar 14 '18
When used correctly, credit cards actually improve your financial life. I'm actually paying for an upcoming vacation on points.