Credit card with the best benefits/rewards

[mymankeith]

My daughter is getting married next year, and we have to begin booking and paying for things, and I had an idea to get a 0% interest card, and at least try to get 6 months to a year interest free on the card, and then I thought, I might as well try to get rewards/benefits from it too. After the interest rate is up, we will then get a loan to pay it off with a cheaper rate.We are not huge credit card people, so I really don't know all the ins and outs of rewards cards. Which ones have the best deals? Thanks

 

[HM]

The best reward card we have is our GM Card. They have 5% on all purchases, It's unlimited to how many you can earn in a year, which is awsome, but you can only use so many on a new car at a time (depends on the vehicle I think and can be like $1500 or $1000). This might be a good card for you if you intend to buy a GM vehicle in the future.

The second best reward card we have is an American Express card. But it's based on things that you probably won't be buying for the wedding... groceries, gas, dining out.

You will take out a loan to pay for your daughter's wedding (to pay off the card)?
Do people do that?

 

[Alexle2007]

I got a Discover It card when I was secretly planning DH's surprise Disney cruise for his 50th birthday. I got 14 months free financing and then the 1% for the purchase. Had to go this route since he tracks everything that goes on our every day credit card.

 

[mymankeith]

You will take out a loan to pay for your daughter's wedding (to pay off the card)?
Do people do that?

I don't know. LOL, but i figured getting a personal loan from our bank would have a better interest rate than what a credit card would have when the 0% ends. We do have a great credit score (around 800), so I can maybe call which ever card I have and see what kind of rate they would be willing to give me first.

 

[hsmamato2]

Not 100% sure of your plans or finances.... but usually rewards are only valuable if you can pay off the cc as you go....otherwise you are at best breaking even,or just plain losing money by paying interest. Also not sure if the best reward cards offer the 0% financing, usually it's one or the other.... your description sounds like you will not be paying this off in the short term (18 mos. or less) which makes me anxious..... For example if you said "I need to float some money for a wedding, I want a cc offer for 0% for 18 mos, I will have it paid off within that time frame to avoid paying interest" -that sounds feasible. (If you are SURE it will be paid off before that time) Not telling you what to do (as noted above I don't know the situation) but if you really intend to spend that much $$$ on a wedding that can't be paid off you are probably better off with a bank loan with a set interest rate so you know what you need to do. (truthfully I would actually recommend not spending that much for a wedding if it can't be paid off quickly within your income but that's not what you asked)

 

[elaine amj]

There are a lot of good rewards cards - but they are primarily good only if you plan to pay your bill in full every month. If you hit any kind of interest, the rewards are totally not worth it. Rewards cards typically have a higher interest rate.

I believe (not 100% sure) that most rewards cards don't also have a 0% "loan".

I choose my rewards cards based on what I want to have in the future. e.g. Southwest is now offering a card with 50,000 points. Flights typically range between 20,000 - 40,000 points round trip. So a decent deal - but you have to pay an annual fee.

I have never done a 0% CC so have no clue how those work or how good they are.

 

[supersnoop]

If there were one "best" card, there wouldn't be 10,000 different cards available.

You can get rewards, cash back, or 0% interest on purchases for a promotional period. You might be able to get a combination of two of those, but not all three. Will you be able to use the rewards (do they hold any value to you)?

My recommendation: find one that gives you the best reward; the most "value" up front. Then, find a second card with a 0% rate for balance transfers, and use that to pay off the first card.

 

[mymankeith]

Thank you all for your suggestions so far. We are not going CRAZY expensive on the wedding, but its going to cost enough to not have it payed for in a year or 18 months. I was just trying to figure out a way to maybe get some benifits since I was spending a decent amount of money, and I do get now how if you can't pay it off right away, the rewards might not worth it. I did think of multiple cards......like southwest being one then I could get them tickets for their honeymoon.

That's why I love your suggestions. Like I said....I really didn't know how rewards worked...so I love all the help.

 

[elaine amj]

If there were one "best" card, there wouldn't be 10,000 different cards available.

You can get rewards, cash back, or 0% interest on purchases for a promotional period. You might be able to get a combination of two of those, but not all three. Will you be able to use the rewards (do they hold any value to you)?

My recommendation: find one that gives you the best reward; the most "value" up front. Then, find a second card with a 0% rate for balance transfers, and use that to pay off the first card.

There is a cost for balance transfers though, isn't there? it will be good to make sure you are aware what the cost would be (I think it varies by card?). It might still be worth it if you have to be for a loan anyway.

 

[AriesAriel]

We had a USAA card for years but then we got the offer for 50,000 points from Southwest.

I have to say, I love the SW rewards Visa. We do pay it off each month, so the APR doesn't matter to us. It does have an annual fee, but since all four of us flew to Disney on those 50,000 points - I don't mind paying $100! (Basically we all flew for that $100!)

They also have a rapid rewards website. So if I am looking to buy something online, I go there first - see which store is offering the best reward - THEN buy what I need.

If you earn 110,000 points in a year you get their companion pass.

So, if you plan on spending a lot of money on a charge card and want to earn free flights, I definitely think their card is the best. JMHO

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

I just got an offer in the mail for the Discover It card. 2% back on all purchases for the first year. 5% back on rotating categories(up to $1500). 1% back on everything else. 0% interest for 14 months. What I also like is that I can use my rewards for discounted gift cards. We eat at Chipotle a lot and use the rewards to buy $50 gift cards for $45. We just got the offer for my husband- wish I would have got it 7 months ago when I got mine for the extra 1%!

 

[Ngwira]

If there were one "best" card, there wouldn't be 10,000 different cards available.

You can get rewards, cash back, or 0% interest on purchases for a promotional period. You might be able to get a combination of two of those, but not all three. Will you be able to use the rewards (do they hold any value to you)?

My recommendation: find one that gives you the best reward; the most "value" up front. Then, find a second card with a 0% rate for balance transfers, and use that to pay off the first card.

This isn't true. I just opened a Susquehanna Bank American Express which is giving me ALL three. 3% back on gas up to 6k a year and 2% on grocery stores, plus 1% on everything else, plus $200.00 sign up bonus when I spend $1, 000 in 3 months, plus 0% interest for a year. I have excellent credit too. 805 FICO. Maybe look into it. Good Luck OP>

 

[alymae1010]

Chase Freedom is doing their promo for $200 if you sign up and spend $500 in 3 months, plus a 0% APR for 15 months. The Freedom does the rotating categories that give you 5% cash back. Just another suggestion, but others have thrown out some viable options too.

 

[eliza61]

another vote for my chase freedom and american express. I use it for absolutely every thing.

There are cards with zero % interest offers but usually they are for specific purchases and usually large item. for example when we replaced our HVAC, we got a 0% visa through carrier for 18 months but of course the darn thing cost 20K. lol,

I generally pick cards on a couple of reasons.

1) flexibility. for example target rewards really doesn't work for me simply because it's very inconveinent for me to get to a target (i've been in the store 2X since christmas). any thing that cost me time and energy I tend to lose interest in very quickly.

2) large variety of items I can use the reward points on. I just used my american express card for my cruise, I got enough points to cover the cost of my car rental for my upcoming trip to disney in August.

stuff like that. these are my only two cc and I'm not a big cc churner (back to point number one)

 

[supersnoop]

There is a cost for balance transfers though, isn't there? it will be good to make sure you are aware what the cost would be (I think it varies by card?). It might still be worth it if you have to be for a loan anyway.

Not always. The $0 balance transfer is getting more rare, but it's still out there. I think Chase still offers it on their Slate card.

 

[sharona]

I agree with what the others have said re the rewards cards are only valuable if you pay in full each month but... if you're going to be taking out a loan to pay off the expenses, definitely run them through a rewards card first then use the loan to pay when you get the statement. You'll need to decide what is more valuable - cash back? airline miles? hotel points? Keep in mind that value diminishes for miles and points if the programs get changed so choose something with a immediate redemption in mind. I like the Chase UR points since you can transfer them to hotels or airlines as needed (transfers to Hyatt is a good bang for your buck if you're going to one of their premier properties) or get cash back if you prefer. Freedom card doesn't allow transfers - you'd need Sapphire... Make sure you get a good "sign on" bonus, don't take the offer on the website, do some googling to find the best offers.

 

[elaine amj]

I agree with what the others have said re the rewards cards are only valuable if you pay in full each month but... if you're going to be taking out a loan to pay off the expenses, definitely run them through a rewards card first then use the loan to pay when you get the statement. You'll need to decide what is more valuable - cash back? airline miles? hotel points? Keep in mind that value diminishes for miles and points if the programs get changed so choose something with a immediate redemption in mind. I like the Chase UR points since you can transfer them to hotels or airlines as needed (transfers to Hyatt is a good bang for your buck if you're going to one of their premier properties) or get cash back if you prefer. Freedom card doesn't allow transfers - you'd need Sapphire... Make sure you get a good "sign on" bonus, don't take the offer on the website, do some googling to find the best offers.

Very true. Loads of blogs and websites out there devoted to the subject of credit card hacking/churning/rewards. Southwest is good for flights, Hyatt has 2 nights free stay at Cat 1-4 properties (we ended up choosing the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress (near WDW) and it was fabulous), Hilton also has one for 2 free weekend nights at ANY Hilton property, Marriott's offer of 70,000 points was pretty decent. I also like the ones that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards. The Chase Sapphire Preferred is pretty decent - usually 40,000 bonus points.

Admittedly, I choose cards based mostly on their bonus points.

A simple one with very decent rewards has been my most recent - the Barclaycard Arrival Mastercard. Surprisingly easy to use and redeem. Very good when you're new at the whole thing. 40,000 bonus points plus you earn 2 miles for each $1 spent.

 

[mymankeith]

I agree with what the others have said re the rewards cards are only valuable if you pay in full each month but... if you're going to be taking out a loan to pay off the expenses, definitely run them through a rewards card first then use the loan to pay when you get the statement. You'll need to decide what is more valuable - cash back? airline miles? hotel points? Keep in mind that value diminishes for miles and points if the programs get changed so choose something with a immediate redemption in mind. I like the Chase UR points since you can transfer them to hotels or airlines as needed (transfers to Hyatt is a good bang for your buck if you're going to one of their premier properties) or get cash back if you prefer. Freedom card doesn't allow transfers - you'd need Sapphire... Make sure you get a good "sign on" bonus, don't take the offer on the website, do some googling to find the best offers.

After reading all the responses, I was actually thinking of doing this. In fact , this is what I'm going to do. Now to choose which card/cards with rewards. Lots of great suggestions. I'm so glad I asked. Thanks everyone!!! you all rock!!!

 

[MillauFr]

The rewards are not worth it if you run a balance on the card. I would just get a card that gives you 2% cash back on everything. I had an Alaska Visa to get the airline miles but found I was only getting 1 - 1.5% back. I believe straight cash back is better in most cases than any of the rewards cards. I have the Fidelity Visa but there are others out there.

 

[Madteaparty001]

American express gives you cash back 0% for at least a year and special 'offers' such as $20 off a $20 purchase on Amazon and the recent spend $100 or more at Walmart or Target and get $30 back up to 5x. So for everyday that would be my pick. For more cash back I would go with the chase freedom. If you want to help with honeymoon expenses get a Barclay Plus World Elite card, you'll get $500 in points to spend on travel if you spend $3000 in 3 months and they often send me 'checks' to use as cash with 0% financing for a year (after a 1% fee).