@Booner72 wrote:I think the Walmart Card w/ the Free Fico Score of Unknown Origins has beat Amex in terms of the talk of the town these days. (This is meant to be a joke).
Isn't the Walmart card (with free Tu score of unknown origin) is likely a better deal for someone in rebuilding mode?
Starting Score: 675
@drkaje wrote:
@Booner72 wrote:I think the Walmart Card w/ the Free Fico Score of Unknown Origins has beat Amex in terms of the talk of the town these days. (This is meant to be a joke).
Isn't the Walmart card (with free Tu score of unknown origin) is likely a better deal for someone in rebuilding mode?
Walmart card is good for anyone who wants a free TU, or shops at Walmart a lot
But yes, the rewards/status associated with it aren't anything like a lot of the other cards many of us have in our wallets.
@CS800 wrote:
@dharalex wrote:I just received my Gold Premier Rewards and Blue cards...I've always wanted Amex, and couldn't be happier now that I have it. I do want to switch out the blue for a blue cash everyday this spring. Their custormer service is second to none, which is really important to me. I don't think I'll ever want the platinum with that AF! I'm happy just knowing I can buy everyone a drink without the use of any credit if I wanted to! If I get less service for not having a prestigious card, then they get less tip!
I'm thinking that the AMEX Platinum is very difficult to get?
You'd be astonished how easy it is to get, especially if you already have another card with them.
They LOVE getting that $450 fee. For those who are already with them, once they get a feel for you, and they know that you actually use their cards plus pay them back, they generally offer it to you. (Don't know what the triggers are if you don't already have an AmEx.) Again, they just don't have that much risk on charge cards, because they don't let you go out and buy a fleet of Maseratis the first month. They ratchet up your internal spending limit as you go, and as they see how much you use it and how promptly you pay it off.
I've had the thing pop up on my screen on and off for several years, including back when my scores were hovering around the 700 mark. I think of it as a tax on vanity. At $1.23/ day ($450/ 365), I figure that I'm vain, but not that vain. 
* hastens to add that yes, I understand that it's great for frequent travelers etc etc *
eta: someone else asked which ones do members have, and I have a Blue Cash Preferred and a Costco True Earnings that I will probably cancel before the annual fee hits again, as the BCP has beat the snot out of the TE. Started with a Gold (charge), switched to a plain Blue, and now these.
@haulingthescoreup wrote:. . . . . . . .
eta: someone else asked which ones do members have, and I have a Blue Cash Preferred and a Costco True Earnings that I will probably cancel before the annual fee hits again, as the BCP has beat the snot out of the TE. Started with a Gold (charge), switched to a plain Blue, and now these.
HTSU, I dissagree.
The AmEx True Earnings card doesn't have an AF. You do have to have a Costco membership and there is a fee for that.
I get enough of our monthly budget at Costco (food, gas) that we got a $188 check from the Costco account (which way more than covers the membership cost) and the AmEx cash back looks like it will be at least $500 by the end of the year.
From AmEx:
True Earnings: 3% cash back on annual gasoline purchases up to $3,000, then 1% after that. Also 2% (this is currently showing a 3% CB for restaurants in my reward details) cash back at restaurants, 2% when you travel, and 1% for everything else.
BCP: 6% cash back at supermarkets, 3% cash back at gas stations and department stores, and 1% everywhere else. But there's a $75 AF.
I just took a look at the Costco AmEx account and I'm up to $336 already which probably puts me at $500+ by end of year.
Doing some back-of-the-envelope calculations and extrapolating for the end of the year I came up with this comparison:
Category $$$ Spent True Earn CB BCP CB
Gas $2788 $83 (3%) $83(3%)
Grocery $8400 $84 (1%) $504(6%)
Travel $1278 $25 (2%) $13(1%)
Restaurants $7283 $218 (3%) $73 (1%)
everything else $16429 $164 (1%) $164(1%)
Total $36178 $574 (1.6%) $837(2.3%)
BCP comes out the clear winner, or does it? I also got that $188 check from my Costco membership.
With that factored in the BCP is only ahead by (gasp!) $75. Which just happens to be the annual fee for the BCP card.
So we're in a tie? No. I forgot about the darn Costco membership. 
So the BCP is back up to $100 in the lead.
Then again, I know that I wouldn't be getting that smokin' 6% back on my Costco or walmart grocery shopping so I'd loose out big there (since Costco & walmart wouldn't show up as a "Grocery" store the 6% wouldn't apply). Being generous, let's say that half my grocery money could be counted as "grocery" for the purposes of BCP, that lowers the grocery CB for BCP down by $210. Which puts my Costco TE card back in the lead by $110. yeah!
Now maybe the BCP edges out the TE by a little and maybe it doesn't (I doubt it the way I shop based on what BCP would classify as groceries). But I'm sure that the BCP doesn't beat the snot out of my True Earnings card! 
Given the fact I really like Costco and I think I probably save some additional money on the things I can buy in bulk there, the True Earnings card is the clear winner for me. If Costco and Walmart would classify as department stores for BCP that might shift the balance back to BCP. But they are still pretty similar cards for my situation.
I've used my brain too much and my head hurts now, I'm going to go lie down. 
Well, I do understand. I suppose I should have said that my BCP beat the snot out of my Costco, which sounds even worse that way. 
Again, it's all in how the individual uses it. I have a PenFed 5% cash back gas card, so Costco gas isn't that great for me. I can almost always do better elsewhere, plus I don't have those mind-numbing lines at the Costco pumps.
Also, I have a knee that needs replacing pretty darn soon, and staggering around the concrete floors of Costco trying to find stuff lost its charm on my first visit. I still drop in occasionally for a special item, but frankly, other than the 12-pound bag o' spinach, I can often beat their prices elsewhere, and that's when the 6% AmEx kicks in. I really have to rev myself up for a Costco trip! Although their fresh-packed crab meat is a heckuva deal.
I most certainly did factor in the $75 AF on the BCP, as I am highly allergic to fee cards, and I still come out miles ahead with the 6% back.
Since I have other cards with 2-3% cash back on travel and restaurants, they're not really in the competition.
So it's very much a YMMV situation. Anyone with a mess of kids and a thirsty SUV loves their TE card, and deservedly so.
At any rate, it was an odd experience for me to finally get the TE card that I had wanted for so long, only to find that (1) I really don't like Costco all that much, plus (2) the BCP came out only a few months later. They're certainly both good cards, but when the time comes, I suspect that I'll let the TE card go before paying up again.
@haulingthescoreup wrote:Well, I do understand. I suppose I should have said that my BCP beat the snot out of my Costco, which sounds even worse that way.
Again, it's all in how the individual uses it. I have a PenFed 5% cash back gas card, so Costco gas isn't that great for me. I can almost always do better elsewhere, plus I don't have those mind-numbing lines at the Costco pumps.
Also, I have a knee that needs replacing pretty darn soon, and staggering around the concrete floors of Costco trying to find stuff lost its charm on my first visit. I still drop in occasionally for a special item, but frankly, other than the 12-pound bag o' spinach, I can often beat their prices elsewhere, and that's when the 6% AmEx kicks in. I really have to rev myself up for a Costco trip! Although their fresh-packed crab meat is a heckuva deal.
I most certainly did factor in the $75 AF on the BCP, as I am highly allergic to fee cards, and I still come out miles ahead with the 6% back.
Since I have other cards with 2-3% cash back on travel and restaurants, they're not really in the competition.
So it's very much a YMMV situation. Anyone with a mess of kids and a thirsty SUV loves their TE card, and deservedly so.
At any rate, it was an odd experience for me to finally get the TE card that I had wanted for so long, only to find that (1) I really don't like Costco all that much, plus (2) the BCP came out only a few months later. They're certainly both good cards, but when the time comes, I suspect that I'll let the TE card go before paying up again.
It's definitely going to vary from person to person. I went through the whole exercise mostly just to see if I would be significantly better off changing CC's. But I don't think that I there would be enough of a difference to switch for me. (which is good to know since what I'm doing seems to be working).
If you're not going to use the Costco card, it is good to get rid of it. If you don't shop much at Costco, then the membership fee more-or-less becomes an AF for the AmEx TE. (and I also suffer from the same AF allergy you have)
Like you said, YMMV. We each have to do what works best for us. Looking at the BCE (without the AF), it looks pretty similar to the TE. They differ on a couple of categories by a % point. The BCP seems like a BCE that you pay an AF to crank up the %CB on a couple of categories.
Well, I'll be off the boards for a couple of days (well 4 - back Mon night). I'm doing my part to re-vitalize the economy by taking a 4-day motorcycle trip through Utah. It'll also add to my cash back as I am booking rooms for the group with my AmEx TE. (they pre-paid me) And the weather is looking great for the trip.
Later,
