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Out of curiosity, how many here use 4 - 6 cards that are actively used on a monthly basis to maximize rewards? I do, and it's getting annoying - lol. All is PIF before the statement cycles, which means you can't setup auto pay. I have PenFed for gas @ 5%, Navy FCU for dining @ 3%, Marvel for entertainment @ 3%, AMEX gold for travel @ 3%, Navy FCU - Flagship for everything else at 2%, Discover for the rotating categories @ 5%, and not to mention Amazon- Chase and Synchrony for 5%. Just curious if there are others that are as annoyingly cheap as I am I'm seriously the only one I know from my crowd... some type of validation that it's perfectly normal is greatly appreciated.
After juggling 4 cards for 3 months to max rewards, I have come to the conclusion that I just dont spend enough each month to make it worth my while - the few dollars difference isnt worth my time to have to watch cards that closely. We will use the Amex EDP for groceries and NFCU cash rewards for the rest.
I am the Emperor of Cheapitude. I think a number of people in the FICO scoring and General Credit forums have considered crowning me thus for my notorious frugality and bargain hunting. (including my resistance to paying anything for my credit reports and credit scores.) So you are not entirely alone.
You write:
"All is PIF before the statement cycles, which means you can't setup auto pay."
Any particular reason you are so set on paying cards to zero before the statement cuts? It's a bear for some (including you it sounds like). I just set up autopay on everything and then don't worry about how many cards report balances.
I think a helpful way to assess the value of cash back cards is to calculate your total monthly spending, and then estimate that you are saving an average of 2% on all of that by fitting each expense to the proper card (vs. using a Citi Doublecash for all expenses, say). If you spend an average of 3k per month then you are saving $720 a year (tax free). Decide if that's worth it.
If you open 2-3 credit cards per year with amazing promotions, they can usually make you much more than that, so that's another way to go.
Also worth examining is the cost of any cards with an annual fee. I have found that for myself they are never worth it, though I still open them if there a huge signup bonus.
It is annoying to monitor the accounts making sure they're PIF before the statement cycles. I keep utilization at around ~2%. The only card that has a balance is the one with Synchrony- Care Credit, which is @ 0% for 2 years. I know people say that your score doesn't get affected just as long as utilization is < 10%, but that doesn't seem to be the case for me. I lose anywhere from 5 - 10 points when utilization is @ 5%, with an aggregate available limit of ~180k. Hence, which is why I try to PIF before the statement cycles... I'll give your way another shot and set up auto pay for the balance... maybe I need to do carry a reported balance for a few months so the FICO algorithm picks up on my behavior?
Well, FICO cares about more than just CC utilization. It cares also about the number of cards reporting a balance. It a person has 10 cards and all ten report small balances (at a total utilization of 3%) that would likely scores worse than if 9 reported $0 and the remaining card had a much larger balance (total util of 6% say).
But I can always bring All my cards to Zero Except One (AZEO) any time I need the extra points, which is why I don't worry about doing it every month.
Thank you for this information. I've read what you're telling me somewhere, but it finally clicked. You're right, there were some cards that reported balances of < $5. Big thanks!
@Anonymous wrote:Well, FICO cares about more than just CC utilization. It cares also about the number of cards reporting a balance. It a person has 10 cards and all ten report small balances (at a total utilization of 3%) that would likely scores worse than if 9 reported $0 and the remaining card had a much larger balance (total util of 6% say).
But I can always bring All my cards to Zero Except One (AZEO) any time I need the extra points, which is why I don't worry about doing it every month.
@sto0pyd wrote:Thank you for this information. I've read what you're telling me somewhere, but it finally clicked. You're right, there were some cards that reported balances of < $5. Big thanks!
@Anonymous wrote:Well, FICO cares about more than just CC utilization. It cares also about the number of cards reporting a balance. It a person has 10 cards and all ten report small balances (at a total utilization of 3%) that would likely scores worse than if 9 reported $0 and the remaining card had a much larger balance (total util of 6% say).
But I can always bring All my cards to Zero Except One (AZEO) any time I need the extra points, which is why I don't worry about doing it every month.
Dude... you made my night! Thank you! I was really wondering why my FICO dropped by 15 points....
@sto0pyd wrote:@Out of curiosity, how many here use 4 - 6 cards that are actively used on a monthly basis to maximize rewards? I do, and it's getting annoying - lol. All is PIF before the statement cycles, which means you can't setup auto pay. I have PenFed for gas @ 5%, Navy FCU for dining @ 3%, Marvel for entertainment @ 3%, AMEX gold for travel @ 3%, Navy FCU - Flagship for everything else at 2%, Discover for the rotating categories @ 5%, and not to mention Amazon- Chase and Synchrony for 5%. Just curious if there are others that are as annoyingly cheap as I am I'm seriously the only one I know from my crowd... some type of validation that it's perfectly normal is greatly appreciated.
I certainly do.
Citi DC-flat rate card (mostly for bills)
BOA-gasoline (when not using Chase Freedom), groceries (when not using Chase Freedom)
Chase Freedom-gas, groceries during 5% quarters
Amazon store card
Chase Freedom Unlimited-15 months 0%APR- big purchases, also 1.5% cash back, pretty sweet
Discover-gasoline during 5% quarter, holiday shopping
CapOne QS-oldest card, use to keep activity
Yep, I'm in the same boat.
I juggle these cards and PIF each month
AmEX - depending on what offers they're running
Discover - based on the 5% cash back Quarterly category
PendFed Defender and CapOne Quicksilver get used the most, I have the due dates setup on the 1st and 15th so it's easier for me to manage them
We use Amex BCP for grocery and usually gas well as soom big ticket items because of thes limit. Disco depends on the quarter or Disco Deals, Also have Citi DC sometimes just to get 2%. We also have a Cap1 QS. We have a Cap 1 Spark for the biz but will be changing in June/July to either Chase Ink or Amex Simply Cash both do better than C1.