CC Differences

[IncrsCreditScore1]

I am wondering if in the end, there is truly much difference between the following rewards cards when it comes to cash rewards.  My brain just doesn't have the capability of figuring this out for myself, so any remarks/comments/recommendations from any of you will be much appreciated.

• Earn 1.5% cash back on purchases

• 3 points on restaurants, 2 points on gas and 1 point on everything else Redeem points for cash, travel, gift cards and merchandise

• Earn two points per $1 of net purchases Redeem points for cash, travel, gift cards and merchandise

[Anonymous]

The second two don't say what the redemption value of points is, so there is no way to know. Points could be worth a penny a dime or a dollar, or a tenth of a penny. Many times there is also different redemption value based on what you redeem them for: i.e. Cash, gift cards or travel.

[Anonymous]

The middle one also requires one to know what $ of spend will happen in each category even if one did know the value of points.

[IncrsCreditScore1]

Thanks, Tortoise.  I never even thought of that.  Will see if I can find out that info.

[Anonymous]

Are these NFCU cards?

https://www.navyfederal.org/products-services/cards/creditcards/redeem-rewards.php

If so, the redemption starts at 1,000 points for the last two, and the 1.5% starts at any amount.

EDIT:

However, always read the details and the fine print.

Sometimes the redemption is not 1:1.

For example, the new PayPal Extras MasterCard isn't 1:1

"6,000 points: $50 cash back, credited immediately to your PayPal Account"

[longtimelurker]

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@IncrsCreditScore wrote:

Thanks, Tortoise.  I never even thought of that.  Will see if I can find out that info.

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When evaluating any credit card for reward, the question is: given my spend, how much will this card give me, net of any annual fee or other charges (and choose the one that maximizes this amongst the cards you can expect to get).

This then breaks down to:

1) For each reward category on a card:

   a) How much do I spend in this category (so $X per year)

   b) How much reward does the card give me (e.g. 2 points per $, so 2X points per year)

   c) How much is that reward worth if I redeem the way I plan (so if a point is worth 0.5c if you redeem it as statement credit, you get X cents back per year)

For flat rate cards, there is only one category.  For others, the categories may differ.   And you also need to be careful in some cases: e.g. what Visa considers a grocery store might not be considered a grocery store by Amex.

But as to the meta point: if your overall spend is fairly small, there may not be any worthwhile difference between the cards, you get a small reward back, and a difference of say $10 per year isn't worth your time worrying about it!

[IncrsCreditScore1]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Are these NFCU cards?

https://www.navyfederal.org/products-services/cards/creditcards/redeem-rewards.php

If so, the redemption starts at 1,000 points for the last two, and the 1.5% starts at any amount.

EDIT:

However, always read the details and the fine print.

Sometimes the redemption is not 1:1.

For example, the new PayPal Extras MasterCard isn't 1:1

"6,000 points: $50 cash back, credited immediately to your PayPal Account"

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Yes, they are NFCU cards.  Thanks a million.

[RonM21]

I wondered about it being NFCU too because I was just looking at all of those also a few weeks back then chose the goRewards.