Your Starting Line Up of Charge/Credit Cards

[tmbr10]

My starting lineup....

1. AMEX Delta Platinum. (I love building up miles)

2. Citi Diamond Preferred. (No interest. "Black card", heard that was cool)

3. Bank Card Visa. (No real advantage other then it expands my relationship with my bank)

I have a Chase Freedom tucked away but I'm turned off by Chase for failing to increase my CL. Maybe they won't increase because I won't use it. Chicken? Egg?

Bench Players....

1. Cap One Venture (stricktly for AAofA use. They can have it back whenever they want it)

2. Home Depot

[hyprble]

1. Discover More (for the 5% rotating categories and Rewards Mall)

2. Chase Freedom (5% at restaurants! If the 5% categories aren't useful I switch to CapitalOne)

3. CapitalOne (for easy cashback, no foreign transaction fees, and rewards mall - also used when gas isn't 5% with More or Freedom)

4. Credit Union Card (only if I anticipate carrying a balance)

[LilNYC]

When deciding which cc to use for a specific type of purchase you need to take into acct things like extended warranty policies & extended returns in addition to how many points you'll earn on the purchase. For instance I recently purchased something with a 90 day manufacturer's warranty- I put it on a Chase card since they extend the orig. by 1 yr. Citi & Amex would've only doubled the orig. Warranty giving me a total of 180 days of coverage.

Any purchase from a store with a bad return policy gets charged on either an Amex or Chase Freedom as those 2 cards allow 60 & 90 day returns. The ability to change my mind about a product and return it for a full refund is more valuable to me than how many points/miles/cash back I'll receive.

With all that being said here's my current wallet/spending habits:

Citi ThankYou- primarily for free conceirge service, the ability to redeem the pts earned from Citi Forward at full 1:1 value, & travel charges/benefits like lost luggage insurance, trip cancellation coverage etc. until I get a CSP

Citi Forward- for bonus categories only- Amazon &  restaurants (when they aren't part of Chase Freedom rotating categories as I prefer UR points to ThankYou pts ), movies, bookstores (with good return policies or books I am sure I want, otherwise books get charged on Chase freedom bc of the 60 day return benefit)

Chase Freedom- rotating bonus categories & purchases under $10 for the 10 bonus pts. per transaction, & purchases from stores w/ return policies less than 60 days

Amex BCP- groceries, dept stores, & gift cards from supermarket for stores where extended warranty isn't an issue &/or have generous return policies ( i.e. Starbucks, Sephora, Bed, Bath & Beyond, iTunes) 

Amex Zync- w/ Eco & Homes pack- for purchases that earn double & triple pts only  (i.e. Ikea) & aren't part of the bonus categories on any of the other cards

Want List:

CSP- restaurants, travel, transportation (will stop using Citi Fwd for rest once I get CSP as I prefer UR points even if it's 2.14 vs. 5 pts), all non- bonus charges over $10

Chase United Explorer- for the sign up bonus miles & “luxury hotel & resorts" program/hotel upgrades (worth $95/yr IMO) 1-2 recurring charges to keep the card active

Amex Hilton- free hilton silver/upgrade status & so that I don't lose my unused HHonors pts, only for Hilton spend & 1 recurring charge

Amex PRG- if they offer a 50,000 MR bonus & to convert my MRE pts from Zync to full MR points, use for flight charges, eventually downgrade to Amex Green

US Bank Cash + (w/ Silver Banking package for .25% bonus(thanks to @Crasham for bringing this promo to my att)- drugstore purchases, bill pay & either dept stores, furniture, or home improv depending on my needs at any given quarter (need to find out if paying rent thru williampaid.com will count as bill pay, if so, this card is on the top of my want list)

PenFed Platinum Rewards -or- Barclay Ring- emergencys only/ low apr card once promo rate on my cards ends

Chase Priority Club- great sign up bonus & free night every year + platinum status is well worth the $49 annual fee, for priority club purchases primarily

(maybe) Chase Ink Cash-(to combine w/ UR points from CSP) 6% back on internet/telcom & office store purchase (it's 5% on those categories but Chase gives u an extra 20% if u bank w/ them) & 2.40% on rest (a little better than 2.14% u get w/ the CSP)

[laboi_22]

@creditscholar yes really. You don't know my friends. There exists in today's society people who have limited knowledge regarding credit cards. In other words they are no credit scholars. When they hear AMEX they think wow he's got good credit. They are still using debit cards or they carry 1 credit card a Visa front whir own bank and that's all they care about or need.

And to answer the other question the Platnium is sexy but not enough to pay $450 lol

[Anonymous]

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@laboi_22 wrote:
@CreditScholar yes really. You don't know my friends. There exists in today's society people who have limited knowledge regarding credit cards. In other words they are no credit scholars. When they hear AMEX they think wow he's got good credit. They are still using debit cards or they carry 1 credit card a Visa front whir own bank and that's all they care about or need.

And to answer the other question the Platnium is sexy but not enough to pay $450 lol

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Yeah, when I got my Amex Gold card a couple years ago, it really impressed a couple of my friends.  Of course, there was also one who thought I was an idiot for getting a card with an annual fee.  For some of the credit illiterate, Amex charge cards still carry a lot of prestige.  Even my now Green card gets a little respect every now and then.  Amex has managed to maintain that image of prestige for the charge cards exceptionally well.

[LilNYC]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@laboi_22 wrote:
@CreditScholar yes really. You don't know my friends. There exists in today's society people who have limited knowledge regarding credit cards. In other words they are no credit scholars. When they hear AMEX they think wow he's got good credit. They are still using debit cards or they carry 1 credit card a Visa front whir own bank and that's all they care about or need.

And to answer the other question the Platnium is sexy but not enough to pay $450 lol

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Yeah, when I got my Amex Gold card a couple years ago, it really impressed a couple of my friends.  Of course, there was also one who thought I was an idiot for getting a card with an annual fee.  For some of the credit illiterate, Amex charge cards still carry a lot of prestige.  Even my now Green card gets a little respect every now and then.  Amex has managed to maintain that image of prestige for the charge cards exceptionally well.

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wow, really. I had a Green card at 20 & don't remember anyone being impressed by it. I don't think I had a single friend with an Amex until they introduced the Blue series. Turned out to be one of my smartest moves as I now have 10+ yrs of backdating on my BCP & Zync.

[ACsteel]

It depends how you grew up, if you grew up with a silver spoon in your mouth most likely you had an AMEX or credit/charge card in general at a young age, and sure enough you were around company that had the same upbringing.  But some people literally could not afford to have a credit/charge card because of a rough upbringing, chances are their company were in the same social economic standing and so these things are a luxury that some people are curious and in awe about when they see them or their peers with one.

It is no different when I see someone with a rolex, I have reached the level of knowledge and experience with watches to not really respect a rolex as much as someone who knows nothing about watches, however I won't scoff about it because my upbringing has made me humble enough to just nod at one when I see it, even though I know my Panerai is on a way different level than a Rolex.

Everyone takes a different perspective depending where they came from and where they're at now, the important part is to always be positive and humble by not trying to judge or one up the other, but share in the enjoyment of what each has to offer and share.

[scottwagnon]

i don't have a favorite. i like to rotate the usage of all of my cards. my signature provides a link to my current lineup.

[jefftca925]

I frequently use the following cards...

AmEx BCP - Groceries, Gas (at Costco)

Chase Sapphire Pref - Travel expenses (tolls, lodging, etc)

Penfed Plat Visa - Gas mostly

US Bank Cash + - Monthly autopays. drugstores

Chase Freedom - Everything else and 5% categories (have 10+10 account)

Delta Amex or United MP Visa - rotate for different things

AmEx Zync - Home Improvement stores

[Anonymous]

1. Discover more plat 5% categories, shop discover malls, current 0% apr, extended warranty.

2. Chase freedom visa 5% categories, 1% walmart/ box stores, limit higher than discover, 0% apr, extended warranty.

3. Amazon gemb for emergency backup and online shopping

4. Bill me later for open flex credit lines

5. Gap store for specific store deal and 5x certs

6. Credit union visa for low apr when other promo apr expires and emergency.

7. Walmart store card for free fico.

next on the list: will see how it goes.