Credit Cards

[ramblin_wreck08]

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roxy382 wrote:

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ramblin_wreck08 wrote:

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scientifics wrote:

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Walt_K wrote:

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ramblin_wreck08 wrote:
I've found that they're generally equal to 0.8% to 0.9% cash back when redeemed for gift cards. They become more valuable when you redeem for higher rewards, so a $100 gift card will give you more bang for the point than a $25 gift card. I agree that they are the worst bank point currency, but I don't mind since I'm getting 5x points at restaurants and Amazon with my Forward.

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I wasn't aware that Amazon purchases counted for 5x.  Is that for all purchases?  Because they consider it a bookstore?

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Yep! But I use my BCP to get 6% back on Amazon gift cards at my grocery store.

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What's your sales tax though? I'd be paying 7% here, so I I had the BCP I'd actually be paying an additional 1%.

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Sales tax is 7% here too but I have never been charge sales tax on a gift card purchase. (I think this is because you normally pay sales tax when you use the gift card obviously that doesn't apply to amazon) just thought I'd throw that out there.

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Ahhhh.  Didn't realize that.  Learn something new every day. 

[LilNYC]

The reason I get 1:1 value on gift cards beginning at $25 might be bc the thank you card is a higher tier than the forward, but I'm not sure. Either way, if u use the forward only for the bonus categories & redeem for gift cards at a watered down value you still get somewhere bw 4-4.5 back (if my math is
correct. I really only use the forward for the bonus categories-amazon (marketplace counts as a book store, video on demand as a record store, restaurants, movie tickets, book stores, & music downloads. There's a judge selection of gift cards to choose from so it works for me. So far I've redeemed my points for bloomingdales & amazon e-credit. I've heard that you get the full value if u choose student loan or mortgage credit. While I agree that cash is pref. to gift cards, the forward makes sense to me bc of the 5 pt categories (5% back as a gift card is better than 1-2% cash back I would get using a different cc.)
Btw- if you use your BCP to buy amazon gift cards at supermarkets, make sure you don't use the gift cards for products that would benefit from extended warranty. In that case, using the citi forward would make more sense.

[mistabgeez]

I have had an interest in getting a Citi card for some time now. When you mention a mortgage credit, is this for a mortgage with any lender or only Citi?

[LilNYC]

Any lender. You give Citi your mortgage info & they send a check to your lender.