Looking for rewards credit cards...any thoughts?

[hpfan100]

I'm searching for a new credit card that gives rewards. I fly 5-10 times a year on SW mostly for holidays to see my parents. I like to travel and see new things. I'm looking for a card that helps with travel expenses either flights/hotels or both.

I am hoping to charge everything and rack up some points to redeem. Anyone have a card they really like??

 

[Jeff_G]

No credit cards are evil! Ok well the card is not evil but the companies behind them are! How much money did you pay in interest last year? Was it more they whatever reward you might be able to get after you rack up point over several years?

Sorry I had to jump on my soap box...

 

[Halle]

Amex

 

[hpfan100]

No credit cards are evil! Ok well the card is not evil but the companies behind them are! How much money did you pay in interest last year? Was it more they whatever reward you might be able to get after you rack up point over several years?

Sorry I had to jump on my soap box...

I didn't pay any interest last year. I pay off my cards as a spend. My current cards are not rewards ones. I thought I might be able to charge my monthly bills and then pay off credit card each month. Then I could earn points from my regular bills.

 

[jgreco]

+1 for Amex.

Also some AMEX cards will:
-Extend the warranty of your purchases for an additional year past the manufacturer warranty.

-Replace items purchased with your card that are lost,stolen or damaged within 90 days of purchase (DS went in the ocean with his Iphone, and they gave me a statement credit to buy a new one within 24 hours).

-Will honor a merchant's return policy even if the merchant will not.

-Great travel benefits such as hotel room upgrades and free perks at the hotel.

-Airport lounge access

 

[taaren]

We have several cards we like:

• Discover usually gives you about 1% cash back, but runs a different special every 3 months for 5% cash back on special items. This last quarter it was travel (up to $800 - so $40 back) - airlines and hotels, so we bought our airplane tickets for our fall trip on it and are getting the cash back (which I usually turn into double-your-money-coupons like turn in $20 get a $40 off an Enterprise rental reservation). I got the Discover back when I was in college I think because they gave me a free t-shirt in the lobby of the dorm, but honestly I've never paid interest and they've treated me very well over the last decade.

Chase has several cards, some of which have no fees, some which have some.

• I've eyed the Southwest miles one, but since I can usually plan the mainland segments of our trips far enough in advance to catch some decent fares I haven't pulled the trigger on that one yet, perhaps when we move back to the mainland I will.
• We have the Disney Visa. No fee, 1% back in Disney Dollars, so we use this to pay for meals when we go to the DLR each year. One of these years we'll have enough leftover to pay some of our maintenance fees for our DVC but in the meantime its a good way for me to justify trying restaurants that I wouldn't otherwise be able to bring myself to pay cash for - like Napa Rose, because we do share meals most of the time and do counter service when not eating in the villa, but its nice to treat ourselves once in awhile. Also sometimes they do extra rewards, sometimes its an extra 3% on everything over $300 that month, sometimes over $3000, kinda depends on how often you use it. If they send me a $200 to sign up offer I'll sign up for an additional one in my own name as I originally put the one we have in DH's name when we were trying to build him a credit history several years ago and I had the better credit score.
• Marriott Rewards Visa - They send me offers every couple of months, and this last one was too tempting so I'll probably sign up next month. It gives one 2 e-certificates for a category 1-4, plus 22500 points, which would give me enough for 2 nights on the certificate and 2 on the points at a category 2 (think Courtyard in a not-hot-location). The fee is $30/year which I've been resisting but they'll waive it for the first year and give me 10 nights credit towards Elite status and I might be able to make Gold with those extra 10 every year. But after I use those rewards in a year I might either cancel it or upgrade to the ?Platinum which is $65/year but comes with an annual e-certificate for a 1-4 category 1 night, which could range in value from $80-$150 depending on where you used it, but at least that way the fee would be a wash for me.

• Costco Amex - I got a deal where the Costco membership fee doubled as your card fee, not sure if they offer that anymore, they also give some cash back but we only put Costco stuff on this since its the only card they take and I don't like debit - but we got about $40 back last year and we usually charge $100/month for groceries at Costco, so not bad. Amex is also nice for charging rental cars on since they automatically provide extra insurance.

No idea what the interest rates are on any of these since I don't pay interest, but it sounds like you don't either. I look for no fees and 1% minimum. But if you don't mind looking at multiple bills each month and paying them all off in full, you can just go for max rewards at different places you spend and get a lot of money back in rewards. We kind of default to the Disney Visa if nobody else is running a special since Visa is the most universally accepted.

 

[RNMOM]

We have the Chase Freedom card. I have been with Chase for 15 years and also haven't paid any interest. I put EVERYTHING I can on the card and have the choice to get cash back or merchandise or travel. We have bought 3 digital cameras, one a DSL, 3 computers, 7 flights and several hotel rooms as well as gas gift cards and cash. I just cashed in for $750.

They are beginning to charge a yearly fee for the first time and I don't mind too much. I believe it is $35.00.

 

[hpfan100]

thanks everyone...

AMEX sounds good but doesn't it have limited acceptance? Not sure if I could use it to pay bills.

Chase and Discover sound like options...need to research those.

 

[JennSaint]

Check out www.flyertalk.com
You will get tons of good advice!

 

[scard192]

I used to think Discover was a good deal until someone here pointed out the "small print" details:
you don't get 1% cash back until you reach $3000 charged during your 12 month period; until you get to $3000 you only earn .025%. Charges at warehouse clubs do not count towards the $3000. When Discover runs the quarterly bonus, check out the limit, it's usually only $200-300 in charges.

I use my Chase Freedom for the quarterly bonuses as the limits are usually higher. The 5% bonus on groceries for the past 2 quarters has been $1500 each quarter. Since October I have earned $100 in rewards mostly on groceries. I don't pay a fee on the Chase Freedom at this time.

If I am not getting a bonus on a particular category then I use my Disney Visa.

I pay off all credit cards every month so I am not paying any interest charges.

 

[prncess674]

How much do you typically charge per year? What is your home airport? Where do you typically vacation? Are you strictly looking for coach domestic awards? Are upgrades and trans oceanic travel (especially premium cabins) a priority? What class of hotel do you typicallly stay?

 

[KNJWDW]

I just got an offer in the mail yesterday for the Chase Freedom card. As some others have said it is 1% cash back with up to 5% cash back for certain purchases per quarter. Also, there is no annual fee and my offer came with a $200 cash back bonus after first purchase! It sounds like a pretty good deal. Overall, I would probably earn more back with this than with my Disney Visa.

Amy

 

[hpfan100]

Check out www.flyertalk.com
You will get tons of good advice!

thanks for the link

How much do you typically charge per year? I typically do not charge anything currently. Maybe only 100 dollars or so since there are no rewards on my current cards. If I was using a rewards card I would charge all monthly bills (cell, directtv, student loans etc) to get rewards. I reckon that's about 1000-1500 a month give or take.
What is your home airport?
Phoenix Sky Harbor...Parents live in Boise Idaho area
Where do you typically vacation?
typical locales- California, Las Vegas, now Orlando, visit family in Boise area and Kansas City area
Are you strictly looking for coach domestic awards?
not strictly but probably mostly
Are upgrades and trans oceanic travel (especially premium cabins) a priority?
not a priority
What class of hotel do you typicallly stay?

usually a hilton brand..Hampton Inn and Embassy Suites usually rarely Holiday inn


thanks for all the good questions...now if only the answers helped me

I'm leaning towards the AMEX and the SW Visa since that is my primary airline.

thanks for all the thoughts everyone Very helpful!

 

[disney11fan]

i'm searching for a new credit card that gives rewards. I fly 5-10 times a year on sw mostly for holidays to see my parents. I like to travel and see new things. I'm looking for a card that helps with travel expenses either flights/hotels or both.

I am hoping to charge everything and rack up some points to redeem. Anyone have a card they really like??

for what your doing you will rack up enough points for free travel o southwest.

Just taking the card gets you 20,000 points wnough right now for a free roundtrip ticket.

Check out there website.


Hapy travels. And remember bags fly free.

 

[tjs198]

I'm searching for a new credit card that gives rewards. I fly 5-10 times a year on SW mostly for holidays to see my parents. I like to travel and see new things. I'm looking for a card that helps with travel expenses either flights/hotels or both.

I am hoping to charge everything and rack up some points to redeem. Anyone have a card they really like??

Fidelity Amex - 2% cash back on everything, no limits. i also got the Fidelity Visa which has 1.5% cash back for the few places that don't take Amex.

I like the cold hard cash better than miles and points, etc - just drop all the cashback in a savings account and use when you want.

 

[alyssa810]

If you fly primarily on SW, I'd definitely suggest the SW Chase card. I don't have any cards that done include some sort of reward - my DH just got the chase card, but we also have the Disney card (although folks on the boards have been spreading rumors about Chase getting rid of it) for our Disney trips, I have the Delta and Starwood Amex cards that we use for non-Disney flights, and for free Starwood rooms like when we stay at the Sheraton Safari to save weekend DVC points, and the Citi dividends card and Discover which both give cash back. I'll also attest to the Discover cash back not being that great, but they will have bonus rewards where you get 5% back in certain categories, and that is where I tend to rake up the most points. Any cash back I earn goes into our vacation (Disney) fund.

Again though, the Starwood card is great for our non-Disney trips. We went to Maui back in 2005 and had 5 free nights at the Westin from the points I racked up, which was awesome! With the Delta Amex, your first bag flies free too!

 

[Massillon Dad]

they are probably accepted @ 25% less places than VISA. Check out Starwood Amex. Also consider having a second card working for you as well, but ALWAYS PAY IT OFF IN FULL EACH MONTH. You'd be surprised how many of the things you traditionally pay for with cash/check accept Visa. ( Make sure they do not charge a "convenience fee" like the IRS, State income tax, some phone companies). Pay with Visa: a Car purchase, business expenses, cell phone bill, cable bill, advertising, gas, groceries, Dr. bills, persriptions, gift cards....

 

[Chrisvee]

I like Amex or Amex Blue Cash. I pay my mobile phone, cable bill, and many other routine bills with Amex each month so that I can rack up points.

 

[hpfan100]

WOW DISers thanks for all teh tips

So here's my list to research so far:

SW visa
Amex
Disney visa
maybe discover, marriott and starwood cc's


awesome stuff people....now the hard part making a decision