Rewards cards?

[kc12286]

So I'm looking for a good rewards card. Previously, I had a nice rewards card with Commerce Bank, I received 3 points for every dollar spent, no restrictions. Once Commerce was bought out by TD that switched over to one of their Easy Rewards cards, so now I only get a 1 point for ever dollar spent, which since my limit is so low, I have very little points and the minimum needed to start redeeming is so high I'm unlikely to get their anytime soon.

Does anyone know any good rewards cards? I've looked at Discover but again the limitations are somewhat confusing, I get 1 point for certain purchases, 5 points for others.

[wmarat]

Pentagon Federal Visa Platinum - 5% back on gasoline, 2% on groceries and 1% everything else plus promotions, now 3% back on electronics.

Fort Knox Federal CU Visa Platinum - 5% on gasoline ans 1.25% on rest of charges.

Lake Michigan Visa Platinum - 3% on gasoline, 2% groceries and 1% on the rest

Fidelity Amex (FIA = BOA) 2% back

Ameriprise World Elite MC (Barclay) 1.5% back (has annual fee)

[kc12286]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm debating applying for an Amex.  None of those are as good as the perks I had with my Commerce Visa, unfortunately. I wish someone would make a similar rewards program.

[Anonymous]

What kind of rewards/perks are you interested in?

[kc12286]

Truthfully I don't really know. The rewards from the former card were through Visa Extras, which seemed pretty decent in my opinion. Granted, the Commerce card was my first rewards card. And the terms were excellent, nothing I've seen since that time has compared really. To get 3 points for every dollar spent, no matter where, great points system.

I know Amex has good rewards but each card is a little different. I see that a lot of members on here are talking about the new Zync card and that card seems to have taken the place of Amex's Student Blue card.

I guess I'm looking for a mix of travel, entertainment rewards. With the Visa extras site, when I cashed in my points I was able to get an Amc gift card, a starbucks gift card and an Amc gold gift certificate.  So if Amex or another Visa or Mastercard offers simlar rewards progrrams that's where I'd want to look. I'm planning on doing some traveling but don't travel enough to try for a Jet Blue or Delta Amex.

[Anonymous]

I have two young kids and I use the UPromise MC from BOA.  You get 1% of all purchases back as an investment into a 529 college account.  There's also an extra 10% at certain resaurants and grocery items and an extra 2% if you shop online through their site.  I got my mom and dad to get cards too and their spending goes into the kids accounts.  Obviously it's only good if you have kids but as far a potential for your rewards to grow overtime this far outweighs airline miles or other rewards.  In two years we've earned a little over $1,500 not including whatever the mutual funds that money is invested in has gained in the stock market.

[kc12286]

As I don't have kids and I'm only 24 and a college grad already, not sure how the rewards would benefit me. But thank you for the suggestion. I'll take a look that one.

I WAS looking the Visa website and they suggested (through their card finder) that I app for a Visa Signature or the Traditional Visa Rewards card. I was trying to find the diffrence between the two. I'm not in a rush, I'm still excited about my CLI with Cap1, which means I'm doing something right. Considering how "conservative" Cap1 is with their CLIs and that I haven't received one in several years, this is a positive step.

[Walt_K]

"To get 3 points for every dollar spent, no matter where, great points system."

Make sure you're doing an apples to apples comparison.  I don't know if Visa Extras is the same with every card, but I had a Visa Extras through my Chevy Chase Visa Debit Card.  I think I only earned 2 points per dollar rather than 3, but the points are only worth about a fifth to a fourth of what points on other rewards cards are worth.  Check what it would take for you to redeem $100 cash or $100 gift card.  On my program, it was 50,000 for $100 cash, or ~40,000 for $100 gift card depending on the merchant.  That's horrible.  Getting 1 point or just 1% cash back through most other rewards programs is going to be better than 3 points through Visa Extras.  And there are many programs, such as those discussed above, that offer better than 1%.

I have an Amex Premier Rewards Gold that I put just about everything on.  There is a decent sized annual fee, $175, but you get 3x points on airfare, 2x on gas and groceries, and 1x for all other purchases.  Because I do a decent amount of business travel, the 3x on airfare pays off for me and justifies the annual fee.

Good luck.

[wmarat]

Visa Signature offers higher APR, does not report (mostly) credit limit to credit file, has useless concierge service, but allows you spend more than your credit limit is.

[kc12286]

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@Walt_K wrote:

"To get 3 points for every dollar spent, no matter where, great points system."

Make sure you're doing an apples to apples comparison.  I don't know if Visa Extras is the same with every card, but I had a Visa Extras through my Chevy Chase Visa Debit Card.  I think I only earned 2 points per dollar rather than 3, but the points are only worth about a fifth to a fourth of what points on other rewards cards are worth.  Check what it would take for you to redeem $100 cash or $100 gift card.  On my program, it was 50,000 for $100 cash, or ~40,000 for $100 gift card depending on the merchant.  That's horrible.  Getting 1 point or just 1% cash back through most other rewards programs is going to be better than 3 points through Visa Extras.  And there are many programs, such as those discussed above, that offer better than 1%.

I have an Amex Premier Rewards Gold that I put just about everything on.  There is a decent sized annual fee, $175, but you get 3x points on airfare, 2x on gas and groceries, and 1x for all other purchases.  Because I do a decent amount of business travel, the 3x on airfare pays off for me and justifies the annual fee.

Good luck.

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You're right. By the time I cashed in my points, considering my low limit, I hadn't earned all that much. I guess 1 point or 1% cash back is better. I was really focusing on the point(s) piece and not what  I actually got in rewards. The visa extra website is pretty crappy (my td debit card is still on their points program).

I'm weary of a CU credit card because I've read that you have to join the CU in order to app for the card? Anyone know if this is true? I'm not looking to join a CU.