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What's the big deal with the Sallie Mae

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barbaralee
Established Contributor

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

I am confused as to why people dislike statement credits. I don't understand the logic behind it. 

 

I have $200 in my checking account that is set to pay the credit card. I redeem my cash back for 200. Now I have $200 in my checking account that could be used elsewhere. What's the fuss? 

 

Message 21 of 162
kdm31091
Super Contributor

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

I don't really "dislike" statement credits - I redeem them with my Quicksilver, BCE, and Discover fairly often. The point is it's just nice to have other options if you so choose. One month, I may be wanting a gift card, and at least with Discover/Amex/Cap One I can redeem for one. I get that it comes out to the same thing because I could just spend money at whatever merchant I would've gotten a gift card for and then take the statement credit, but it's still nice to have options.

Message 22 of 162
TRC_WA
Senior Contributor

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

I spent 16 months with Barclays craptastic Apple Financing card just so I could get an instant Sallie Mae approval... and $6700 is a nice limit.

 

I'm single... it's just me, my dog and my car.

 

The 5% gas/groceries is nice... and while I don't spend $750 per month at Amazon.. I do spend $200 or so on average... more if I'm buying a new gadget.  The card is very useful... I've had it 2 months and already claimed $100 in cash back which includes the signup bonus.

 

I also made my Dad an AU.  He can cap the gas/grocery spending by himself... which is the reason I've been putting gas on Discover for the 5% back which runs thru the end of March.

 

SM may not be the best card out there, but it's the best one I have... LOL

FICO8 current as of : ----- EQ: --- TU: --- EX: ---
Hard INQs last 12 months: EQ: 5 | TU: 7 | EX: 9
Verizon Visa $6500 Amex Delta Platinum $10,000 Care Credit $12,000
NFCU CashRewards $6000 Apple Card $2000 Best Buy $3500 Amazon $5000
NFCU auto loan (2022 Ford Bronco Sport Badlands - Cactus Gray) $44k new - balance $31k/6.94%
Total CL: $45,000 --- Total CC UTI: --% --- AAoA: 5.5 years --- Income: $200k
Last app: 11-30-23
Message 23 of 162
barthooper
Frequent Contributor

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


@TRC_WA wrote:

I spent 16 months with Barclays craptastic Apple Financing card just so I could get an instant Sallie Mae approval... and $6700 is a nice limit.

 

I'm single... it's just me, my dog and my car.

 

The 5% gas/groceries is nice... and while I don't spend $750 per month at Amazon.. I do spend $200 or so on average... more if I'm buying a new gadget.  The card is very useful... I've had it 2 months and already claimed $100 in cash back which includes the signup bonus.

 

I also made my Dad an AU.  He can cap the gas/grocery spending by himself... which is the reason I've been putting gas on Discover for the 5% back which runs thru the end of March.

 

SM may not be the best card out there, but it's the best one I have... LOL


Agreed. It's also the best given my spending needs. My SO started out as an AU on my Sallie Mae so we could get the 5% when she did the shopping and then a few months later got her own so we have double the caps now which is very useful, primarily for the gas category. I love Sallie Mae and I've gotten a couple of friends into it as well.

Quicksilver - 16k | Discover It - 34k | Citi DC - $21k | Chase Amazon - 8k | Chase Reserve - 19.5k | Chase Preferred - 5k | EX FICO (Discover CSC) 788
Message 24 of 162
kdm31091
Super Contributor

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

Here's a question maybe other Sallie cardholders would know: Can you PC the card whatsoever? Since it's "cobranded" I would assume you can't PC it, but I am just curious. If I PC'd to the Arrival (no AF version) at least I'd have a card for my occasional travel expenses instead of something that overlaps with my other cards.

 

Then again I plan to get a Discover Miles eventually so meh lol

Message 25 of 162
TRC_WA
Senior Contributor

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


@kdm31091 wrote:

Here's a question maybe other Sallie cardholders would know: Can you PC the card whatsoever? Since it's "cobranded" I would assume you can't PC it, but I am just curious. If I PC'd to the Arrival (no AF version) at least I'd have a card for my occasional travel expenses instead of something that overlaps with my other cards.

 

Then again I plan to get a Discover Miles eventually so meh lol


The thought has never crossed my mind... I got my AmEX for my occasional Delta flight... and Costco purchases for the next 13 months till that deal expires...

FICO8 current as of : ----- EQ: --- TU: --- EX: ---
Hard INQs last 12 months: EQ: 5 | TU: 7 | EX: 9
Verizon Visa $6500 Amex Delta Platinum $10,000 Care Credit $12,000
NFCU CashRewards $6000 Apple Card $2000 Best Buy $3500 Amazon $5000
NFCU auto loan (2022 Ford Bronco Sport Badlands - Cactus Gray) $44k new - balance $31k/6.94%
Total CL: $45,000 --- Total CC UTI: --% --- AAoA: 5.5 years --- Income: $200k
Last app: 11-30-23
Message 26 of 162
Anonymous
Not applicable

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


@Anonymous wrote:

@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.


Im in Cali and I spend about 100 a week in groceries at stater bros (the most economical store in the area). Having kids changes your life lol. 

Message 27 of 162
sillykitty1
Established Contributor

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


@kdm31091 wrote:

If you are spending more than $250 a month on gas at current prices, methinks you need a shorter commute, because that would mean even if it's 30 bucks to fill up right now, you are filling up 8 times a month or every 4 days. I suppose with a long commute that is possible, but it's on the higher end so I wouldn't say most people go up to the gas cap. Either way, if your gas spend is that much, it's a good card to have.

 

I understand about eeking out every possible reward, and yes they add up, I just try not to go super crazy over it. I prefer my rewards concentrated on less cards vs. having $13 in cash back accumulated on 6 cards every month. This is why I want to pare down to 4 cards sooner or later. Having a tiny bit accumulated on each card doesn't appeal to me. The wanting to eek out every possible reward can go a bit overboard sometimes and you end up with little usable gain especially since Sallie requires $25  to redeem.

 

But, yes, if your spend is high on gas it's a worthwhile card.


kdm ... you cannot relate everyone's spend to your own.  There are a variety of circumstances that can lead to spending $250/mo on gas.  You do realize that gas prices vary by location?  You do realize that some cars require premium gas?  You do realize that different cars get different MPG?  

Message 28 of 162
kdm31091
Super Contributor

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

Yes, I realize all that and I wasn't trying to apply everything to myself. It just seems like an awful lot to spend on gas. Even when I had a 45 minute commute I was not spending $250 a month -- probably close to $200 but definitely wouldn't be exceeding the cap. If your car is older, has bad MPG, premium gas, etc that would be a reason you'd spend $250 or more on gas, yes.

 

As I said at the end of the post, it doesn't matter. Whatever fits your spend is what you should go with, and I did say that "if your gas spend is high, it is worthwhile". So if the circumstances apply to you that you spend more than I do on gas, it's worth it. For me personally, the reward is not much, but it depends. I think I made it clear that I was not applying it to just myself. The post says about five times "doesn't appeal to me...I prefer" etc which is explaining what works for me, not neccesarily for everybody. It's an opinion.

 

Bottom line is if your gas spend is high it's a good card. If it's lower, the benefits are lesser, of course

Message 29 of 162
Anonymous
Not applicable

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

I would have to agree with the majority and say best is very subjective and how useful SM is depends on your spending habits. Since the caps are so low $1300 limit was fine, then $2800 was fine, $3500 is more than sufficient but I'd never ask for an increase on the card bc I dont see putting more than a few hundred dollars through it a month. Taking a HP for a higher limit with these low caps is unnecessary. If they want to keep showing me SP love thats cool. Guess I'm one of the lucky people where it works at both Wal-Mart and Target in my area. This is where majority of my spend goes since both have a grocery section and I'll pick up whatever else I need like luggage, pj's, cleaning products, gifts for my niece and nephew etc., I read fairly often so it comes in handy for my Nook purchases but Im not an Amazon fan bc the prices from past searching werent at all comparable to what I found elsewhere so thats not a benefit to me. Dont plan to get a car until next year so gas isnt a current benefit either.

 

Was super excited about this card when approved but in reality I never put more than $300 a month through it so its not my #1 card Smiley Happy But its still a great card with good benefits and no AF. Cant find much cause to complain

Message 30 of 162
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