@09Lexie wrote:
@Themanwhocan wrote:
@TheFate wrote:
@Themanwhocan wrote:People in Iowa are not allowed to apply for the Sallie Mae credit card. Therefore, the BCE is right for them.
Are you being serious? lol
From SallieMae Mastercard terms & Conditions:
About This Offer: You must be at least 18 years of age. This offer is available only to applicants who are residents of the United States, with the exception of Iowa, Puerto Rico and the US territories, and may not be available if you already have or have had an account with us. If at the time of your application you do not meet the credit or income criteria previously established for this offer, or the income you report is insufficient based on your current obligations, we may be unable to open an account for you, or you may receive a Platinum card. Platinum benefits differ from World benefits. Please review the materials provided with your card for details.
That is interesting
Curious why Iowa of all places seems quite random to me.
@Themanwhocan wrote:
@TheFate wrote:
@Themanwhocan wrote:
@DaveSignal wrote:
@Themanwhocan wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@longtimelurker wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
People are really hating on the BCE here. But i think this is not a legitimate position. The BCP card is only good at >$200 per month grocery spend. The ED card is only good if you use AMEX for travel redemptions. The Sallie Mae is only available to US permanent residents like all Barclay cards. If you fit neither of these categories the BCE seems like a decent choice esp if you just want some Amex card like the OP does.Not hating, analysis. If you can't get the Sallie Mae, then yes, BCE is OK (at best) if spending is small. But many of the people getting it are not in that category, and haven't done the math. Most stop at BCE vs BCP, and that is not the right choice (again for those who can get Sallie Mae).
But that was my point though. Whenever people asked here I recommended the SM card, it is great. But there are SOME people for who the BCE is the right choice.
The problem I see with the ED at very low spend is that it will take you forever to actually accumulate enough points to redeem for any meaningul travel, and there is always the risk of point devaluation.
Another interesting option is this card - http://www.myconsumers.org/loans-credit/visa-cards/visa-signature-cash-rebate-card.html - which gives a rewards structure slightly better than the BCE (convenience store included in 3%) and it allows you to get a 4% APY rewards checking account.
Yep. We call THOSE people Iowans. or is it Iowegians?
Actually, I'm not sure what we call em.
I'm not sure I understand this comment. Are you saying that BCE could be a the better choice for people who live in Iowa?
I think if Amex MR grocery cards were being compared, a better comparison would be ED vs EDP vs PRG. And in this case, the EDP seems to earn the best rewards, even at low spending levels and after the AF is deducted (as long as 30 transactions are made). One reason not to go for EDP would be if it was difficult to hit the 30 transaction monthly minimum, which is my case, currently. Another reason would be if someone just wanted a no-fee card to get in with Amex or to store MR (which has previously required paying annual fees).
If cashback grocery cards are being compared, the comparison would be Sallie Mae vs BCE vs BCP vs BC, as has already been discussed here and shown that there is no spend level where BCE is a good choice when analyzed alongside the other equally attainable cards covering this type of spend.
People in Iowa are not allowed to apply for the Sallie Mae credit card. Therefore, the BCE is right for them.
Are you being serious? lol
From SallieMae Mastercard terms & Conditions:
About This Offer: You must be at least 18 years of age. This offer is available only to applicants who are residents of the United States, with the exception of Iowa, Puerto Rico and the US territories, and may not be available if you already have or have had an account with us. If at the time of your application you do not meet the credit or income criteria previously established for this offer, or the income you report is insufficient based on your current obligations, we may be unable to open an account for you, or you may receive a Platinum card. Platinum benefits differ from World benefits. Please review the materials provided with your card for details.
This has been a most interesting thread. I keep thinking what else is there that can be said about the subject. Come back and learn more. I feel like Cliff from Cheers with all of my useless knowledge, LOL.
Maybe they have some state law? Not sure but this is definitely interesting. Can some one call Barclay and find out?
@longtimelurker wrote:
@wmweeza wrote:
@Open123 wrote:
@wmweeza wrote:Sure there is, every card has a purpose and every user is different
Nice cliche!
However, in the case of the BCE, serves only to rationalize a decision by the uninformed.
BCE does serve a purpose, let's take me for example: I do not drive, cash back on gas is meaningless, I travel once every two years therefore travel benefits are fairly meaningless, I spend about $100-150 a month MAX on my cards (I'm frugal, I will buy a big ticket item maybe twice a year), so most of the perks given by AMEX on other cards are completely useless to me. In MY case, it makes sense, for most normal people I'd say yes, the everyday etc are better cards.
I guess I am a living cliche then, and I am not uninformed, at least not on this card. Would I recommend it to most applying? Nope.
Well, with those figures, the Sallie Mae would be much better on groceries (since you won't get near the cap) so even there it doesn't really serve a purpose.
What I don't get is the assumption that every card has a purpose or sweet spot. Credit is a competitive market, and there are LOTS of the equivalent of Pharma's "Me too" drugs, cards that basically offer the same features as other cards, and which are worse along various objective measures (such as rewards) than other cards.
There is a tiny niche for BCE (basically those spending only at the select department stores and spending less than $7.500 a year there) but I'm not sure that's even a real use case, let alone a common one.
As mentioned by another poster, there is also the case of those that cannot get Barclays because of lack of PR/citizenship, but that sort of applies to every card, there are those that cannot get the BCE because they have an unpaid CO with Amex.
Hello, allow me to introduce myself, I am Niche consumer...lol. I am a real use case of that. Like I said, BCE serves a purpose for only a TINY amount of the popluation, but I guess I am that really weird member of that population. As I said previously, I only spend $50-150 a month on my cards, sometimes I'll buy a big purchase but that's about once maybe twice a year. All of that is pretty much spent online, though about once a month I'll venture out and do some small shopping.
I do not do any grocery shopping, my husband does all of that for me. I use a wheelchair and it's a huge pain to load me in the van and get me to the store. It's really not worth 5% cash back ...trust me. A Sallie Mae card may be great for an average consumer, but for my circumstances I have very little use for it.
I want the card for backdating and warranties, that's it. Therefore for me it is perfect, for everybody? Not likely.
Sorry to dredge up a semi-old thread, I just saw the reply you posted to me
