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What's the big deal with the Sallie Mae

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Anonymous
Not applicable

What's the big deal with the Sallie Mae

I've been seeing this cards in peoples sigs and have read a lot of folks say they want to app for it, but me myself, can't find a reason to. I mean, I know it's a cash back card but aren't the BCP and ED better cards overall (besides AF). Why is it so desirable?
Message 1 of 162
161 REPLIES 161
kdm31091
Super Contributor

Re: What's the big deal with the Sallie Mae

I think the 5% on gas/groceries/Amazon is what lures people in, because on its own that is great. If your spending is high enough, BCP is gonna be better for groceries (6%), but you have to spend enough to offset the annual fee.

 

I do think Sallie is slightly overrated. Yes it is nice to get 5% on gas/groceries/Amazon. The issue kind of comes in with the caps and redemption for me: even if you spend the max allowed for gas/grocery caps each month, you will get $12.50 in cash back (per category). You're not very likely to max out gas, so really, that cat will probably net you like 5 bucks. Now, $17.50 total for the month in cash back is pretty good, don't get me wrong. It's just not quite as life changing as some people make the card out to be. You can literally only redeem as statement credit unless you have a loan, so the redemption is limited. Statement credit is a fine way to redeem but I wish there were other options...direct deposit, gift cards, etc.

 

For Amazon spending it's fantastic and nothing really beats it, but I do not typically spend enough on Amazon to make it a huge gain over my Amazon Visa.

 

Like always it depends on your spend/needs/wants but I will say the amount of people coveting Sallie does perplex me sometimes. It is a great card, but it's not the be all end all some people make it out to be.

Message 2 of 162
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What's the big deal with the Sallie Mae

@kdm31091 exactly! Like you said its a great card but I can't for the life of my figure why some are prepping and "getting their scores together" to get this card. But as you stated the benefits of any card is based on how the person will use it.
Message 3 of 162
sillykitty1
Established Contributor

Re: What's the big deal with the Sallie Mae


@kdm31091 wrote:

I think the 5% on gas/groceries/Amazon is what lures people in, because on its own that is great. If your spending is high enough, BCP is gonna be better for groceries (6%), but you have to spend enough to offset the annual fee.

 

I do think Sallie is slightly overrated. Yes it is nice to get 5% on gas/groceries/Amazon. The issue kind of comes in with the caps and redemption for me: even if you spend the max allowed for gas/grocery caps each month, you will get $12.50 in cash back (per category). You're not very likely to max out gas, so really, that cat will probably net you like 5 bucks. Now, $17.50 total for the month in cash back is pretty good, don't get me wrong. It's just not quite as life changing as some people make the card out to be. You can literally only redeem as statement credit unless you have a loan, so the redemption is limited. Statement credit is a fine way to redeem but I wish there were other options...direct deposit, gift cards, etc.

 

For Amazon spending it's fantastic and nothing really beats it, but I do not typically spend enough on Amazon to make it a huge gain over my Amazon Visa.

 

Like always it depends on your spend/needs/wants but I will say the amount of people coveting Sallie does perplex me sometimes. It is a great card, but it's not the be all end all some people make it out to be.


The card is desirable because it is 5% back everyday in very useful catagories.  No other card offers anything close without an AF.  

 

The downside is the low caps.  But for a lot of us here, our goal is to eek out as much rewards as is practically possible.  So it maybe only $12.50/month on gas & groceries, but it is $5 more than a 3% card.  So while $5/month isn't life altering, my goal is to have maximum rewards on every purchase, and that adds up.

 

Another benefit of SM is many Wal-Marts are coded as grocery stores (and some Targets).  So there maybe cards with rotating grocery catagories, or 3%-6% on groceries, but Wal-Mart is excluded from them.

 

I also disagree with "You're not very likely to max out gas" ... YOU may not be very likely to max out gas, but many, many people spend > $250/mo on gas.

Message 4 of 162
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What's the big deal with the Sallie Mae

Completely agree here. I see the Sallie Mae card being hyped left and right but it's never been a card even remotely on my radar. If I were even into cash back cards the spend levels are way too low for me. $250 on groceries? I spend closer to $600 a month due to kids. Maybe if I were single and liked cash back...but still probably not lol.
Message 5 of 162
Gunnar419
Valued Contributor

Re: What's the big deal with the Sallie Mae

I'll respectfully differ with kdm, not because k is wrong and I'm right but because my needs better fit the Sallie Mae. Five percent on Amazon with a cap of $750 per month, in combination with 5% on gas and 5% on groceries (each capped at $250) means that, for this single person with simple needs, the bulk of my monthly spending can earn me 5% rewards.

 

What could be cooler than that?

 

Of course if you're a big traveler or have a large family (lots of groceries to buy) other cards can be better. But if you eat, drive, and shop regularly on Amazon, SM is just sweet.

Message 6 of 162
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What's the big deal with the Sallie Mae

Agreed! I would rather have the Citi Double Cash or the Amex everyday. 

Message 7 of 162
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What's the big deal with the Sallie Mae


@kdm31091 wrote:

I think the 5% on gas/groceries/Amazon is what lures people in, because on its own that is great. If your spending is high enough, BCP is gonna be better for groceries (6%), but you have to spend enough to offset the annual fee.

 

I do think Sallie is slightly overrated. Yes it is nice to get 5% on gas/groceries/Amazon. The issue kind of comes in with the caps and redemption for me: even if you spend the max allowed for gas/grocery caps each month, you will get $12.50 in cash back (per category). You're not very likely to max out gas, so really, that cat will probably net you like 5 bucks. Now, $17.50 total for the month in cash back is pretty good, don't get me wrong. It's just not quite as life changing as some people make the card out to be. You can literally only redeem as statement credit unless you have a loan, so the redemption is limited. Statement credit is a fine way to redeem but I wish there were other options...direct deposit, gift cards, etc.

 

For Amazon spending it's fantastic and nothing really beats it, but I do not typically spend enough on Amazon to make it a huge gain over my Amazon Visa.

 

Like always it depends on your spend/needs/wants but I will say the amount of people coveting Sallie does perplex me sometimes. It is a great card, but it's not the be all end all some people make it out to be.



I'm a big Sallie Mae card fan, but yeah, I hear what you're saying. Honestly, if I hadn't been automatically PC'd to this card, I'd have a hard time justifying burning a credit pull to get it, compared to other offers out there. Nevertheless, it's a great card for me. 5% on groceries/gas/bookstores is key. $250/mo is about perfect for me on grocery and I never come close to the max on gas or bookstores. I would never be able to spend enough to justify the annual fee the BCP.  I get that people who have a lot of kids spend more on groceries, but I would think in that case you'd be buying groceries in bulk at CostCo, Sam's Club, Aldi, etc., where you either can't use BCP or SM or they don't count as grocery anyway.  Do people really spend that much at actual grocery stores?

 

In my opinion, the ideal redemption method for the Sallie Mae card is not a statement credit, it's the SM->UPromise->SM Savings route that nets you an additional 10%, so it works out to a 5.5%/1.1% card. Takes a while for redemptions to wind through, but it's worth it for me, and it's (literally) money in the bank.

 

Chris.

Message 8 of 162
takeshi74
Senior Contributor

Re: What's the big deal with the Sallie Mae


@Anonymous wrote:
I've been seeing this cards in peoples sigs and have read a lot of folks say they want to app for it, but me myself, can't find a reason to. I mean, I know it's a cash back card but aren't the BCP and ED better cards overall (besides AF). Why is it so desirable?

Better is always highly subjective regardless of topic.  People have different levels of spend, preferences, goals etc.  For some, the Salie Mae caps are at or above their spend in those categories so it's a good fit.  Others may have more spend and may find other cards better suited.  For Amazon spend the BCP is only 1% and the ED is 1x/1.2x.

 

Why it's so desirable doesn't really matter.  Don't rely on hype.  It's whether or not it suits you that really matters.  Do your own due diligence.  On any card.

Message 9 of 162
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What's the big deal with the Sallie Mae

That's why it's always a good practice not to assert that any credit card is the 'best' out there because what one person needs is completely different than the next.  The Sallie Mae card has no appeal to me whatsoever but I can see why others want the card and how it fits their needs.

 

When a cc company company comes out with a 10% cash back on every category with no limit card and also gives you 100K air miles for $100 spend in 3 months then we will have the 'best' card.

Message 10 of 162
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