Sallie Mae doesn't seem to want to grow with me. Anybody else have this problem?

[Anonymous]

Anyway, OP. I actually respect your decision. Credit decisions are not ones that should be made lightly, as they can sometimes have serious consequences. In an ideal world, every credit decision that's made would be preceded by introspection that evaluates the pros and cons of your options, not just petty emotions. In this case, it seems like you've put a lot of thought into it, and if the hassle of making multiple payments per month isn't worth the extra cashback to you, I think you are making the right decision for you.

[Closingracer99]

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@renclan wrote:

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@NRB525 wrote:

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@renclan wrote:

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@NRB525 wrote:

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@renclan wrote:

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Yes, I have. I am going to wait until the 10th for the last of my reward points to post. Then, I am going to redeem them as a statement credit. Then pay off the remaining $50 balance and SD that thing! 

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Huh? 5% on one grocery visit per month, then park it until next month, with gas fill ups for the interim? That's not viable?

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Sometimes convenience is worth more than the points. I use my AE for almost everything and rack up a lot of points. Sure, it might not give me as much as Sallie Mae, but I always get the 50% extra points with them and I only have to make one payment a month vs. a payment every time I use the SM.

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Ok, but you realize that at your spend, if $250 is one grocery run, you will overrun the $6k annual cap on groceries for the EDP?

Your choice, obviously, but in a competitive CC landscape, these choices can get complicated

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I didn't realize it had a cap too...geez there is too much info to handle lol. So, you think just continue to use both? Or I guess I probably would have to maximize the benefits between several cards until my teenage sons move out in a few years and my grocery bill become more manageable lol. I like my Discover, but never remember the activate the categories.

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I have like 18 accounts and I go on all of them at least once every other day. With Touch iD I tend to check the accounts that support it on my iphone at least once a day. It's not that confusing imo

[Anonymous]

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@renclan wrote:

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@NRB525 wrote:

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@renclan wrote:

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@NRB525 wrote:

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@renclan wrote:

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Yes, I have. I am going to wait until the 10th for the last of my reward points to post. Then, I am going to redeem them as a statement credit. Then pay off the remaining $50 balance and SD that thing! 

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Huh? 5% on one grocery visit per month, then park it until next month, with gas fill ups for the interim? That's not viable?

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Sometimes convenience is worth more than the points. I use my AE for almost everything and rack up a lot of points. Sure, it might not give me as much as Sallie Mae, but I always get the 50% extra points with them and I only have to make one payment a month vs. a payment every time I use the SM.

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Ok, but you realize that at your spend, if $250 is one grocery run, you will overrun the $6k annual cap on groceries for the EDP?

Your choice, obviously, but in a competitive CC landscape, these choices can get complicated

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I didn't realize it had a cap too...geez there is too much info to handle lol. So, you think just continue to use both? Or I guess I probably would have to maximize the benefits between several cards until my teenage sons move out in a few years and my grocery bill become more manageable lol. I like my Discover, but never remember the activate the categories.

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Mathematically, the cap on the BCP works out (on average) to about $500 per month. Obviously some months you might spend more, some you might spend less, but that kind of gives you an idea of what to expect. An extremely strong combination for high spending in groceries is BCP and Sallie Mae together (I wish TMWC had posted that chart, too!)

That said, your decision really has to weigh opportunity cost. Is the savings you get with the combination of both cards worth the hassle of making multiple payments on Sallie Mae? Unfortunately, that's a decision you would have to make for yourself as my value of my time juggling multiple payments is not necessarily going to be the same as the value of your time juggling multiple payments.

[longtimelurker]

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My wife and I each have a SM.   We don't actually use them because we use our Amex OBCs for gas and groceries (because we spend a lot on groceries, ~ $25K a year) and Citi Forward for Amazon (and this is no longer available).   BUT, we can still see that there are decent cards!   It can be more work (but in an earlier reply you said that wasn't an issue) but spending up to the first $500 a month of groceries beats the BCE, and spending the first $500 on gas beats the BCP (even without the AF).

It might not be worth it for you because of the hassle of dealing with Barclays, but for every issuer, there are people who won't (or can't) deal with them, so that's not exactly a general strike against the card.   The *facts* (yes facts) are there for maximizing rewards.  And yes, there are other considerations but that was the original discussion point.   I don't idolize/mascot or even use the card, but it does have value.

[gdale6]

Thread is locked and under moderator review

gdale6

myFico Moderator

Multiple posts have been edited out of this thread, the approprate PMs for TOS/FSR Violations will be sent and since the OP has made up his mind on what to do this thread will remain closed.

gdale6