whats the Best of the Best

[longtimelurker]

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@C7LT1 wrote:

I am surprised no one has mentioned Penfed. Their platinum rewards card is pretty sweet with 5,3,1 gas, supermarket, everything else. Their Visa Signature is worth taking a look at too.

https://www.penfed.org/Platinum-Rewards/

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Yes, except the sig is going to 3/2/1 in Oct, and we are guessing others will follow.    This is a pity as it is a great card, with no FTF, also the only card I have that gives 3% at foreign supermarkets.

[longtimelurker]

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@Dustink wrote:

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@enharu wrote:

Hey Dustink, can you tell me more about the Flexperks benefits? The website isn't clear on certain parts.

If I am to redeem it miles for statement credit, what is the conversion rate as well?

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I need to save my explanation. Seems like I have typed one out several times....haha

I know I have written it all into one long explanation, but I can't find the thread. I found one that the details got spread between several pages:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Best-All-Around-Free-Card/td-p/1867039/highlight/true

Basically each point is worth up to 2 cents towards travel. IE a $400 ticket costs 20k points $600 30k points. Up to 1.5 cents per point towards hotels ie 10k points for $150 hotel. Or 1 cent per point cash back.

1 pt/$1 spent on most things plus a 50% bonus for a plat checking or 25% for gold checking package

2 pts/$1 spent on gas or groceries and cell phone

3 pts/$1 on charitable spending

$25 incidentals credit with each redemption

Current sign up bonus is 20k points in branch.

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Is the checking bonus going away in Oct, like it is for the Cash Plus?

[C7LT1]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

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@C7LT1 wrote:

I am surprised no one has mentioned Penfed. Their platinum rewards card is pretty sweet with 5,3,1 gas, supermarket, everything else. Their Visa Signature is worth taking a look at too.

https://www.penfed.org/Platinum-Rewards/

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Yes, except the sig is going to 3/2/1 in Oct, and we are guessing others will follow.    This is a pity as it is a great card, with no FTF, also the only card I have that gives 3% at foreign supermarkets.

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I called them yesterday about that and they confirmed the sig is just a promo until Oct but the CSR had no knowledge of any changes to the regular platinum. Since the sig has extra benifits and no AF like most sigs. The CSR suggested that if I wanted the most reward points to sign up for the platinum rewards because I could alway upgrade to a sig if I wanted.

My guess is that the regular platinum rewards will say the same. So you can choose the Sig with extra benifits and lower rewards or choose the regular platinum with less benifits and more rewards. Both with no AF which more other sigs have.

I also picked up the defender card last week. 6.9%APR for 60 months and 1.5% cash back with no limits and absolutely no fees. This is a great choice for those who are eligible.

I think PenFed has the best suite of credit cards from any company.

[longtimelurker]

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@C7LT1 wrote:

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@longtimelurker wrote:

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@C7LT1 wrote:

I am surprised no one has mentioned Penfed. Their platinum rewards card is pretty sweet with 5,3,1 gas, supermarket, everything else. Their Visa Signature is worth taking a look at too.

https://www.penfed.org/Platinum-Rewards/

---

Yes, except the sig is going to 3/2/1 in Oct, and we are guessing others will follow.    This is a pity as it is a great card, with no FTF, also the only card I have that gives 3% at foreign supermarkets.

---

I called them yesterday about that and they confirmed the sig is just a promo until Oct but the CSR had no knowledge of any changes to the regular platinum. Since the sig has extra benifits and no AF like most sigs. The CSR suggested that if I wanted the most reward points to sign up for the platinum rewards because I could alway upgrade to a sig if I wanted.

My guess is that the regular platinum rewards will say the same. So you can choose the Sig with extra benifits and lower rewards or choose the regular platinum with less benifits and more rewards. Both with no AF which more other sigs have.

I also picked up the defender card last week. 6.9%APR for 60 months and 1.5% cash back with no limits and absolutely no fees. This is a great choice for those who are eligible.

I think PenFed has the best suite of credit cards from any company.

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If this CSR is right, that would be good, but other Penfed CSRs have had other views.  Personally I think it unlikely that the Sig card (which is meant to be the flagship) would have worse rewards, not sure who would want it, especially if they have other signatures.   But let's see.

[909901]

My current combination is -

Barclays Priceline VISA - 2% cash back on everything, through statement credits

Citi Forward VISA - 5% back on Amazon, movie theaters, restaurants/fast food, book stores

Penfed Platinum Cash Rewards VISA - 5% back on gas

[longtimelurker]

My combo to maximize my rewards:

Amex BCP: Groceries for first $6K

Citi TY Pref 5x: Groceries for the rest, drug stores

Citi Forward: 5x meals, amazon, entertainment

Citi Premier: 15% off Airfare (base) where I am flying

Chase CSP: Hotels, flights for others, dining abroad

Penfed Plat Rewards:  5% off gas (or use TYP), 3% off groceries abroad.

US Bank Cash Plus: Cell phone

Fidelity Amex: 2% off everything else

Cap One: 1.5% off everything else where Amex is not accepted, and abroad

and any of Citi, Chase, Cap One, FIA malls when purchasing something online

This sort of maximizes each purchase, the other approach is to choose a rewards program (Chase, Citi, Amex) and put everything on it.

[Dustink]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

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@Dustink wrote:

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@enharu wrote:

Hey Dustink, can you tell me more about the Flexperks benefits? The website isn't clear on certain parts.

If I am to redeem it miles for statement credit, what is the conversion rate as well?

---

I need to save my explanation. Seems like I have typed one out several times....haha

I know I have written it all into one long explanation, but I can't find the thread. I found one that the details got spread between several pages:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Best-All-Around-Free-Card/td-p/1867039/highlight/true

Basically each point is worth up to 2 cents towards travel. IE a $400 ticket costs 20k points $600 30k points. Up to 1.5 cents per point towards hotels ie 10k points for $150 hotel. Or 1 cent per point cash back.

1 pt/$1 spent on most things plus a 50% bonus for a plat checking or 25% for gold checking package

2 pts/$1 spent on gas or groceries and cell phone

3 pts/$1 on charitable spending

$25 incidentals credit with each redemption

Current sign up bonus is 20k points in branch.

---

Is the checking bonus going away in Oct, like it is for the Cash Plus?

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I have not heard about that.

[longtimelurker]

Apparently yes, except it ends in August:  Gold and Plat language from https://www.usbank.com/ICWeb/productComparison.html?productCode=PKG

Available until August 10, 2013, earn a 25% monthly bonus on rewards earned for net purchases (purchases minus credits and returns) with a U.S. Bank Cash+TM Visa Signature® or FlexPerks® Visa® Credit Card.4  

Available until August 10, 2013, earn a 50% monthly bonus on rewards earned for net purchases (purchases minus credits and returns) with a U.S. Bank Cash+TM Visa Signature® or FlexPerks® Visa® Credit Card.4

[Dustink]

Bummer, sounds like I am going to have to devote several hours to talking with US Bank about this one.

[ztnjpv]

Well, no more 25% bonus for gold checking? I guess I can drop that. Darn, US Bank is really taking the shine off this card one feature at a time. Oh well.