Long story short, I am getting extremely tired of Samsclub as my warehouse store of choice. They just recently finished buliding and opening a brand new costco in town, so I am considering starting to shop there.
They only accept Amex in store though, with exception of debit cards and cash.
I do not wish to get another HP, since the last 3 months have been a whirlwind of activity on my CR and I am in need of gardening AT LEAST until April 1, 2014.
I will be losing 4900 worth of CL when i leave Sams, which ends in March, 2014. I do not wish to pay the 40 bucks minimum membership fee just to keep the card for UTI, since I plan on having my UTI down pretty good by then, and having all my GE cards zero balanced.
Since I plan on waiting for the Amex App, Should I get a "reloadable" cash card from Amex? or should I just plan on using debit card? I am trying to still maximize points from Chase, or from NFCU Cashrewards, both of which are Visa cards.
I do not know if this is unethical, or frowned upon, or if i would even get reward points for spending this way, but I could easily get a $500.00 cash card to use at Costco, and that would cover my monthly warehouse club expenditures, until such time as I can app for a BCE with a decent approval chance.
Is this a viable workaround? Any advice/Constructive Criticism is welcomed.
Thanks in advance
Pup
OFFICIAL GARDEN START DATE: 10-05-2014... TARGET GARDEN END DATE: 06-01-2016 Lets Git 'r' dun
When I saw the subject and your name I was about to issue an ERT red alert.
As long as you promise to continue gardening until April, O won't sound the alarm.
Why not just use debit card until you app for AMEX? Pre-paid cards charge a fee and don't earn reward points.
If your scores are current, they don't really seem in the range where Amex is traditionally inclined to show love. A reloadable Amex will get the job done without taking another HP.
A lot of people would disagree with this opinion but, $40 might be worth paying to keep the CL open while your score rebounds.
Starting Score: 675
@FocusedAndDetermined wrote:When I saw the subject and your name I was about to issue an ERT red alert.
Why not just use debit card until you app for AMEX? Pre-paid cards charge a fee and don't earn reward points.
I wasn't sure if i could get reward points from chase freedom or from NFCU by using them as my "load from" account.. unless thats considered a no no... Its sort of like the gift card stuff i read about others doing at drugstores to maximize their rewards
@drkaje wrote:If your scores are current, they don't really seem in the range where Amex is traditionally inclined to show love. A reloadable Amex will get the job done without taking another HP.
A lot of people would disagree with this opinion but, $40 might be worth paying to keep the CL open while your score rebounds.
I don't technically "need" the CL, since i added 26.4k worth of CL in 2013, i can stand to lose 5k, BUT.. I don't WANT to lose the 5k 
.. LOL.. I guess i could call it an "annual fee" to maintain the CL, even If i don't use the store. Options are still there that way, if i do want to "swing by Samsclub".
I WANT the BCE, but i also need to get much closer to the 700 score mark to be ready for apping for it.
I know good and well if i apped right now they would laugh me back to the house. SO, I am just trying to figure a workaround so i don't have to carry cash. The Debit card is always an option though, I did that for many a year before picking up reward cards. Also, once I establish a relationship with costco, I am sure i would get a preapp for an amex as i did with GE when I go through the line one day.
@FocusedAndDetermined wrote:When I saw the subject and your name I was about to issue an ERT red alert.
Why not just use debit card until you app for AMEX? Pre-paid cards charge a fee and don't earn reward points.
I was gunna do the same! 
Serve doesn't charge if you have Direct deposit or push $500/mo through it, and IIRC, they don't charge to reload with a credit card - though it's very possible that can count as a cash advance
@Pupeitmeister wrote:Long story short, I am getting extremely tired of Samsclub as my warehouse store of choice. They just recently finished buliding and opening a brand new costco in town, so I am considering starting to shop there.
They only accept Amex in store though, with exception of debit cards and cash.
I do not wish to get another HP, since the last 3 months have been a whirlwind of activity on my CR and I am in need of gardening AT LEAST until April 1, 2014.
I will be losing 4900 worth of CL when i leave Sams, which ends in March, 2014. I do not wish to pay the 40 bucks minimum membership fee just to keep the card for UTI, since I plan on having my UTI down pretty good by then, and having all my GE cards zero balanced.
Since I plan on waiting for the Amex App, Should I get a "reloadable" cash card from Amex? or should I just plan on using debit card? I am trying to still maximize points from Chase, or from NFCU Cashrewards, both of which are Visa cards.
I do not know if this is unethical, or frowned upon, or if i would even get reward points for spending this way, but I could easily get a $500.00 cash card to use at Costco, and that would cover my monthly warehouse club expenditures, until such time as I can app for a BCE with a decent approval chance.
Is this a viable workaround? Any advice/Constructive Criticism is welcomed.
Thanks in advance
Pup
Getting an AMEX is, unfortunately, going to cost you a HP even if you're a current AMEX member. It is a SP if you're denied.
If you're meeting a spend requirement with one of your other cards or just for rewards sake, I don't think a AMEX gift card is beyond the realm of possibilties. I'm skeptical of using debit cards due to the lack of protection it provides versus using credit cards.
I wish I had a local Costco (closest 60 mi. away) but I, personally, wouldn't give up my Sam's membership because I like having options. You do what's best for you.
@Pupeitmeister wrote:
@FocusedAndDetermined wrote:When I saw the subject and your name I was about to issue an ERT red alert.
Why not just use debit card until you app for AMEX? Pre-paid cards charge a fee and don't earn reward points.
I wasn't sure if i could get reward points from chase freedom or from NFCU by using them as my "load from" account.. unless thats considered a no no... Its sort of like the gift card stuff i read about others doing at drugstores to maximize their rewards
Yes, you can and apart from the reduced protection from not using a credit card, it's fine. Get a Bluebird from Amex (free, no credit check). If rewards aren't important,
you can then load some money from your bank account and use it at Cosco. Otherwise, you can see if you can buy Vanilla Reloads with your credit card, a $500 load costs $3.95, so with a 1% Freedom you would make a slight profit. If you have a card that gives more than 1% at places that sell them, so much the better.
@longtimelurker wrote:
@Pupeitmeister wrote:
@FocusedAndDetermined wrote:When I saw the subject and your name I was about to issue an ERT red alert.
Why not just use debit card until you app for AMEX? Pre-paid cards charge a fee and don't earn reward points.
I wasn't sure if i could get reward points from chase freedom or from NFCU by using them as my "load from" account.. unless thats considered a no no... Its sort of like the gift card stuff i read about others doing at drugstores to maximize their rewards
Yes, you can and apart from the reduced protection from not using a credit card, it's fine. Get a Bluebird from Amex (free, no credit check). If rewards aren't important,
you can then load some money from your bank account and use it at Cosco. Otherwise, you can see if you can buy Vanilla Reloads with your credit card, a $500 load costs $3.95, so with a 1% Freedom you would make a slight profit. If you have a card that gives more than 1% at places that sell them, so much the better.
I bet the 40 million, who knows how many of those used the debit card version of redcard, were affected by the Target debacle would disagree...no offense.