BCE - not super useful?

[SunriseEarth]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

It's useless for me also. Walmart and Wegmans and other local stores aren't included in grocery category and for gas I use bofa 123 or discover. I got a targeted offer of $250 so I applied and the limit is 20k so never thought of closing it. I use it when there's good amex deal or for domino's.

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I've seen Wegman's as being included as a grocery store as recent as March of this year. What changed and when?

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It's YMMV, since it's up to the individual stores.   IME, some Walmarts coded as grocery and some didn't.  

[Anonymous]

even if you don't shop at regular grocery stores often, i think it's good to have it as back up. I don't shop at grocery store much (usually just order to go or fast food), but when I do shop at grocery stores for beverages or sudden salsa cravings, my bce is the go-to card for it.

[Anonymous]

Not sure about how much you spend but I use mine every month.  And if I ever spent 25.00 a month on groceries, the sky would fall in! lol  I use it for major items I want to buy.  All works out well.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I've seen Wegman's as being included as a grocery store as recent as March of this year. What changed and when?

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Wegman's is considered as a qualifying supermarket in my area.  I can also get the % back at Walmart, but it has to be considered a "Super Walmart" in order to receive it.  A "regular" Walmart doesn't count.

[Anonymous]

Good to know. 

[redpat]

That's great for you because you shop and gas up exclusively at BJ's.  Your card is limited for cash back for BJ's future purchase. One would never think of getting this card if the don't shop there.  Sorta like your view on Venture and CSP, lol.

[Anonymous]

I don't see what the problem would be in trying a different product. You have built a relationship with Amex. And maybe one day you might want to use that to your benefit.

Have you thought about their EDP? If you did the EDP and used that solely for groceries, you would be looking at up to a 4.5 per dollar which is really with up to 9 in MR points. You can get some pretty slick deals that way.

If I were in your shoes, I would keep investigating their ED/EDP cards. Maybe see if that triggers some mail offers (they are as high as 25k for either ED or EDP.  Even the ED is solid with 2.4 at grocery stores with MR value of 4.8. 

Get on their site and read about both. I hope a offer you cant resist comes in. Apply for it and also a PRG at the same time which has a 50k bonus. 75k points is easily enough for two plane tickets!  Then once you have evaluated the need for the BC/ED move the limits and PC to the preferred if your spending supports it. DONE! And any charges on your flights for WIFI or food, etc put on the PRG and get up to $100 in credit!

[Man-Of-Steel]

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@SunriseEarth wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@yfan wrote:

But here is what makes the BCE really worth it for me: Amex offers. I get a lot more, and a lot more useful, offers on the BCE than my TE. I have found that keeping an eye on the offers saves me a lot of money, and I'm pretty happy with that.

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Yep, they're worth checking every now and then.

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I would definitely agree with Amex Offers being the best thing about BCE.   My offers are consistenly better on BCE than on TE or on Twitter (Sync w/Macy's Amex).

I don't have another grocery card, so I use my BCE at groceries.   I don't typically buy many groceries, so it's not worth getting a better card at the moment.   I also use mine at Costco in-store (rewards are the same at TE and easier to redeem, IMHO) and at department stores for 2% (but not this quarter, thanks to Discover).   With the 1998 backdate and having my largest CL, I have no intentions of getting rid of my BCE, even if its use is somewhat limited.  

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I would like to chime in and agree with this as well.  I can relate to a lot of what has been discussed in this thread.  My BCE was my main card when I got it in May of 2013, but after getting the Sallie Mae MC, it hasn't been too useful for regular cash back.  However, the Amex offers are nice.  I also have a nice backdate with this card and it's also my highest limit.  Like SunriseEarth, I have no intentions of getting rid of it.  Kdm, I would encourage you to keep it, but it sounds like you've already come to that decision anyway. 

[Anonymous]

2000 backdate definitely gave my scores some pretty nice boosts when it reported. Now I remember why I decided never to close it. Is it possible to PC this card to anything other than BCP?

[Imperfectfuture]

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@Anonymous wrote:
2000 backdate definitely gave my scores some pretty nice boosts when it reported. Now I remember why I decided never to close it. Is it possible to PC this card to anything other than BCP?

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Maybe blue sky.  You'd have to talk with customer service.