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@sillykitty1 wrote:
@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?
And some people have jobs that require them to use their own vehicle extensively and some people travel the country for pleasure, etc.
Myself, I don't exceed the cap, but I spend more than I would like on fuel because I have a gas guzzler. However it's a PAID FOR gas guzzler and a RELIABLE gas guzzler that's required only $100 in maintenance in the last two years, so I'm not likely to get rid of it any time soon. That SM 5% helps a lot for somebody in my shoes.
@Anonymous wrote: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 But its still a great card with good benefits and no AF. Cant find much cause to complain
That fits me too -- I was really excited about it, now that I have it the reality of my spend has set in and it hasn't been as exciting as I had hoped. It's still nice, but as I said, don't see myself keeping it forever
@sillykitty1 wrote:
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?
I considered getting a license plate that said "LOW MPG" but I decided I'd rather think of speed so I went with "NVR L8T"... I ordered it the other day and it should be here in a month or so.
As far as gas... 89 is recommended... I run 92.
Best so far? About 17 MPG. Good thing I didn't buy this car for the gas mileage...
@Anonymous wrote:
@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.
I have worked at a local grocery store for 8 years now (my first job, has done pretty well putting me through college) and yes, people spend that much on groceries, we have regular weekly customers that spend $200-300 every time. Granted this store is well known in the area for best prices.
@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
Yeah it is just me no dog. The Barclay Sallie Mae WMC coupled with the Citi Forward VS (5X) and a Chase Ink Business Cash VS (5-2-1) cards covers me well. People seem to forget that this card was originated for college oriented students and it was set up to fit their life style along with the Citi Forward Visa (originally was issued by Bank of America as a Visa). Not to long ago I wrapped the Sallie Mae with the US Bank Cash+ VS but the categories today do not serve my needs so I closed it and p/c'd to a travel card (didn't have any at the time).
@Anonymous wrote: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 But its still a great card with good benefits and no AF. Cant find much cause to complain
"best is very subjective" is true of EVERY card. For instance when I hear people going on with excitement about their travel and hotel benefits cards, I shrug because rarely travel and when I do I'm more likely to stay in a B&B or a Motel 6 than some nice hotel. To them, it's great though. It's ALL subjective. Even some card that gives multiple % on everything might not be the best if the company has terrible customer service.
As to not needing high CLs on the SM, that is also subjective. For me, in addition to the 5% cashback, SM is reliably one of my best BT cards, so having a good CL is a plus.
"best is very subjective" is true of EVERY card. For instance when I hear people going on with excitement about their travel and hotel benefits cards, I shrug because rarely travel and when I do I'm more likely to stay in a B&B or a Motel 6 than some nice hotel. To them, it's great though. It's ALL subjective. Even some card that gives multiple % on everything might not be the best if the company has terrible customer service.
As to not needing high CLs on the SM, that is also subjective. For me, in addition to the 5% cashback, SM is reliably one of my best BT cards, so having a good CL is a plus.
I have a $5k limit on SM...if I did need a BT it would come in handy because they send me plenty of offers. I haven't had to use it but if so it would be nice for that.
I would agree that as excited as people get about the travel/hotel cards, 1000 page threads about Ritz bonus points etc etc, it just doesn't appeal to me. I travel once or twice a year to the beach, that's about it, and Wildwood NJ does not exactly have "chain" hotels anyway so those cards' points would not be helpful to me. If I got any kind of travel card it would be one of the general travel redemption ones like Arrival but I don't really need it. I do plan to go to Disney World this fall, but I'm not opening a hotel card for that one trip. I'm saving up my Quicksilver cash back all year and I will deduct it from that. It should be at least $200 or $300 by then.
@Gunnar419 wrote:
As to not needing high CLs on the SM, that is also subjective. For me, in addition to the 5% cashback, SM is reliably one of my best BT cards, so having a good CL is a plus.
Absolutely... I have a current BT offer for 0% 16 months. Not too shabby even with a 3% fee.
@kdm31091 wrote:
I have a $5k limit on SM...if I did need a BT it would come in handy because they send me plenty of offers. I haven't had to use it but if so it would be nice for that.
I would agree that as excited as people get about the travel/hotel cards, 1000 page threads about Ritz bonus points etc etc, it just doesn't appeal to me.
Me neither.
The only places I travel are backwoods GA and backwoods NY to visit family...
I'd love to visit Seattle and see all that the PNW has to offer for entertainment and sightseeing...
Oh wait... I already live here.
@Gunnar419 wrote:
"best is very subjective" is true of EVERY card. For instance when I hear people going on with excitement about their travel and hotel benefits cards, I shrug because rarely travel and when I do I'm more likely to stay in a B&B or a Motel 6 than some nice hotel. To them, it's great though. It's ALL subjective. Even some card that gives multiple % on everything might not be the best if the company has terrible customer service.
As to not needing high CLs on the SM, that is also subjective. For me, in addition to the 5% cashback, SM is reliably one of my best BT cards, so having a good CL is a plus.
It IS true of every card as there are many that I see people itching for around here that dont excite me whatsoever.
As far as the CL on this card goes I did specify that for ME its not at all necessary. I can see how it would be useful for BT purposes but thats not something I would ever want to do so again subjective
I stopped using it myself.. I just made my mom an AU and she uses it.. I think I'd rather use my PRG for I personally value MR points higher than cash back. To each their own.