topic Re: Sam's Club MC Vs. Chase AARP in Credit Cards

Sam's Club MC Vs. Chase AARP

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 17:36:47 GMT

Hi Guys!

I'm looking to narrow down my cards / close some to make it less complicated. Which cards do you prefer between these two cards: Chase AARP & Sam's Club MC

I feel like the Sams card trumps AARP in that it offers 5% on Gas and 3% on Travel and soon I heard that Sams will have no FTF.

What do you guys think, close Chase AARP and get Sams Mc?

Thanks!

Re: Sam's Club MC Vs. Chase AARP

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 17:49:05 GMT

sams MC is far superior in my opinion. it'll grow more and it's a great everyday card

Re: Sam's Club MC Vs. Chase AARP

UncleB — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 18:25:51 GMT

This is a bit subjective, but I feel the Sam's Club MasterCard is superior myself.

You could get most of the same cash-back rewards if you combined the AARP card and the BoA AAA Visa, but with the Sam's Club MasterCard you get the benefits of both in a single card.

There is an annual fee for the Sam's Club membership, but I easily offset that with occasional purchases at Sam's that I would be making anyway, with those items being cheaper at Sam's.

As others have mentioned, I find Synchrony easy to deal with as well, especially with CLIs.

Edited: Changed to specify you'd still be missing the 5% off gas offered by the Sam's Club MasterCard. The AAA only gives 2%, and the AARP only gives 3% cash back on gas purchases.

Re: Sam's Club MC Vs. Chase AARP

baller4life — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 18:10:26 GMT

Sams MC hands down! Best cash back card on market IMO! Gas,dining and travel all on one card!

Re: Sam's Club MC Vs. Chase AARP

msbia — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 18:11:06 GMT

I have closed my AARP card, but imo if you are the instant gratification type then AARP trumps Sam's because you don't get your rewards (cash back) once a year. Both are great cards, but I chose Sam's to keep for a myriad of different reasons.

Re: Sam's Club MC Vs. Chase AARP

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 18:14:46 GMT

@msbia wrote:
I have closed my AARP card, but imo if you are the instant gratification type then AARP trumps Sam's because you don't get your rewards (cash back) once a year. Both are great cards, but I chose Sam's to keep for a myriad of different reasons.

This might be a stupid question to ask, but do you need a Sam's Club membership account in order to have this card?

Re: Sam's Club MC Vs. Chase AARP

baller4life — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 18:17:04 GMT

Yes you need a membership. I believe it's $49 annually

Re: Sam's Club MC Vs. Chase AARP

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 18:26:27 GMT

@baller4life wrote:
Yes you need a membership. I believe it's $49 annually

I think you need a membership to get the card but if your membership lapses you can still cash your rewards check in club and shop you'd just pay a surcharge.

So no, a membership is not required.

Re: Sam's Club MC Vs. Chase AARP

baller4life — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 18:28:43 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@baller4life wrote:
Yes you need a membership. I believe it's $49 annually
I think you need a membership to get the card but if your membership lapses you can still cash your rewards check in club and shop you'd just pay a surcharge.

So no, a membership is not required.

Really? I never heard of this before?

Re: Sam's Club MC Vs. Chase AARP

UncleB — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 18:30:48 GMT

+1 to all of the above! ^^^

I edited my post above to indicate that you also get 5% cash back off gas purchases with the Sam's Club MasterCard, compared to 2% cash back with the AAA Visa and 3% cash back with the AARP Visa.

I can't believe I almost overlooked one of the coolest perks of the card!

The only possible draw-back (if you can call it that) is that you can only redeem your rewards once a year (in February), and you have to physically go to a club location to cash the check. Neither of these is a problem for me, though.

Re: Sam's Club MC Vs. Chase AARP

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 18:32:19 GMT

oops maybe not " Cash back rewards are forfeited if the Sam’s Club MasterCard account is not in good standing, if the Sam’s Club Membership terminates or lapses, or if the Cash Back earned in a calendar year is less than $5.00."

This has been discussed before, maybe its the PLCC that stays open without membership.

Re: Sam's Club MC Vs. Chase AARP

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 18:45:35 GMT

@baller4life wrote:
Sams MC hands down! Best cash back card on market IMO! Gas,dining and travel all on one card!

+1 to both baller4 and UncleB. Sam's easily nails it and wins!

Re: Sam's Club MC Vs. Chase AARP

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 18:48:07 GMT

@UncleB wrote:
This is a bit subjective, but I feel the Sam's Club MasterCard is superior myself.

You could get most of the same cash-back rewards if you combined the AARP card and the BoA AAA Visa, but with the Sam's Club MasterCard you get the benefits of both in a single card.

There is an annual fee for the Sam's Club membership, but I easily offset that with occasional purchases at Sam's that I would be making anyway, with those items being cheaper at Sam's.

As others have mentioned, I find Synchrony easy to deal with as well, especially with CLIs.

Edited: Changed to specify you'd still be missing the 5% off gas offered by the Sam's Club MasterCard. The AAA only gives 2%, and the AARP only gives 3% cash back on gas purchases.

So say you open a Sam's Club account and then open a Mastercard, but then close your Sam's Club membership would you still be able to use the credit card and redeem the rewards?

Re: Sam's Club MC Vs. Chase AARP

kdm31091 — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 18:54:23 GMT

Make sure you run the numbers. If you're trying to weed out cards, do you really need to add another with an extra 1 percent gain over your double cash on a few things?

Not trying to talk you out of it per se, but if you want to simplify, you may not want to add another card with potentially small gain. An extra 1 percent may only be 50 bucks a year for example which may not be worth opening another account.

Re: Sam's Club MC Vs. Chase AARP

UncleB — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 19:00:25 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@UncleB wrote:
This is a bit subjective, but I feel the Sam's Club MasterCard is superior myself.

You could get most of the same cash-back rewards if you combined the AARP card and the BoA AAA Visa, but with the Sam's Club MasterCard you get the benefits of both in a single card.

There is an annual fee for the Sam's Club membership, but I easily offset that with occasional purchases at Sam's that I would be making anyway, with those items being cheaper at Sam's.

As others have mentioned, I find Synchrony easy to deal with as well, especially with CLIs.

Edited: Changed to specify you'd still be missing the 5% off gas offered by the Sam's Club MasterCard. The AAA only gives 2%, and the AARP only gives 3% cash back on gas purchases.
So say you open a Sam's Club account and then open a Mastercard, but then close your Sam's Club membership would you still be able to use the credit card and redeem the rewards?

There's actually some ambiguity there... the Sam's Credit web site actually supports both statements...

Exclusions to Issuance of Cash Back Checks

No Cash Back Checks will be issued, and you will forfeit any Cash Back rewards otherwise earned for a Reward Period if any of the following occurs:

Your Card Account is not in good standing (i.e., is delinquent with more than two payments past due) when Cash Back Checks are issued;
The Cash Back amount earned is less than $5.00;
You are no longer a Sam's Club Member (either by you or by Sam's Club) as of the applicable issuance date for Cash Back Checks; or
Your Card Account is cancelled or closed on or before the issuance of the Cash Back Check.

But then it goes on to add:

Redeeming Cash Back Checks

You may only redeem your Cash Back Check at any U.S. or Puerto Rico Sam's Club. Cardholders who are no longer Members of Sam's Club after they receive their check may redeem their Cash Back Check by obtaining a one‐day pass at Sam's Club. You must present the Cash Back Check prior to its expiration in person at a Sam's Club with proper government issued photo identification.

These statements are within a few sentences of each other, so it's not exactly clear. It doesn't make sense that they would tell you how to redeem your check without a membership, but then also state that you don't get a check unless you're a member.

I suspect it would likely be OK, but that they add the language to "CYA" if they decide to start enforcing it (thus the 'mixed signals').

My own membership comes due in August, and I will likely not immediately renew with the hopes that either Amex or Discover will have a promotion (like they did last fall).

If I have any issues earning rewards during that time I'll be sure to let everybody know (I'll be the 'guinea pig'... LOL)

Re: Sam's Club MC Vs. Chase AARP

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 19:17:09 GMT

@UncleB wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@UncleB wrote:
This is a bit subjective, but I feel the Sam's Club MasterCard is superior myself.

You could get most of the same cash-back rewards if you combined the AARP card and the BoA AAA Visa, but with the Sam's Club MasterCard you get the benefits of both in a single card.

There is an annual fee for the Sam's Club membership, but I easily offset that with occasional purchases at Sam's that I would be making anyway, with those items being cheaper at Sam's.

As others have mentioned, I find Synchrony easy to deal with as well, especially with CLIs.

Edited: Changed to specify you'd still be missing the 5% off gas offered by the Sam's Club MasterCard. The AAA only gives 2%, and the AARP only gives 3% cash back on gas purchases.
So say you open a Sam's Club account and then open a Mastercard, but then close your Sam's Club membership would you still be able to use the credit card and redeem the rewards?

There's actually some ambiguity there... the Sam's Credit web site actually supports both statements...

Exclusions to Issuance of Cash Back Checks
No Cash Back Checks will be issued, and you will forfeit any Cash Back rewards otherwise earned for a Reward Period if any of the following occurs:
Your Card Account is not in good standing (i.e., is delinquent with more than two payments past due) when Cash Back Checks are issued;
The Cash Back amount earned is less than $5.00;
You are no longer a Sam's Club Member (either by you or by Sam's Club) as of the applicable issuance date for Cash Back Checks; or
Your Card Account is cancelled or closed on or before the issuance of the Cash Back Check.

But then it goes on to add:

Redeeming Cash Back Checks
You may only redeem your Cash Back Check at any U.S. or Puerto Rico Sam's Club. Cardholders who are no longer Members of Sam's Club after they receive their check may redeem their Cash Back Check by obtaining a one‐day pass at Sam's Club. You must present the Cash Back Check prior to its expiration in person at a Sam's Club with proper government issued photo identification.

These statements are within a few sentences of each other, so it's not exactly clear. It doesn't make sense that they would tell you how to redeem your check without a membership, but then also state that you don't get a check unless you're a member.

I suspect it would likely be OK, but that they add the language to "CYA" if they decide to start enforcing it (thus the 'mixed signals').

My own membership comes due in August, and I will likely not immediately renew with the hopes that either Amex or Discover will have a promotion (like they did last fall).

If I have any issues earning rewards during that time I'll be sure to let everybody know (I'll be the 'guinea pig'... LOL)

Hmmmm. I would be interested to see what happens when you cancel the membership! Anyone that already knows this feel free to let us all know

Re: Sam's Club MC Vs. Chase AARP

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 19:23:41 GMT

@UncleB wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@UncleB wrote:
This is a bit subjective, but I feel the Sam's Club MasterCard is superior myself.

You could get most of the same cash-back rewards if you combined the AARP card and the BoA AAA Visa, but with the Sam's Club MasterCard you get the benefits of both in a single card.

There is an annual fee for the Sam's Club membership, but I easily offset that with occasional purchases at Sam's that I would be making anyway, with those items being cheaper at Sam's.

As others have mentioned, I find Synchrony easy to deal with as well, especially with CLIs.

Edited: Changed to specify you'd still be missing the 5% off gas offered by the Sam's Club MasterCard. The AAA only gives 2%, and the AARP only gives 3% cash back on gas purchases.
So say you open a Sam's Club account and then open a Mastercard, but then close your Sam's Club membership would you still be able to use the credit card and redeem the rewards?

There's actually some ambiguity there... the Sam's Credit web site actually supports both statements...

Exclusions to Issuance of Cash Back Checks
No Cash Back Checks will be issued, and you will forfeit any Cash Back rewards otherwise earned for a Reward Period if any of the following occurs:
Your Card Account is not in good standing (i.e., is delinquent with more than two payments past due) when Cash Back Checks are issued;
The Cash Back amount earned is less than $5.00;
You are no longer a Sam's Club Member (either by you or by Sam's Club) as of the applicable issuance date for Cash Back Checks; or
Your Card Account is cancelled or closed on or before the issuance of the Cash Back Check.

But then it goes on to add:

Redeeming Cash Back Checks
You may only redeem your Cash Back Check at any U.S. or Puerto Rico Sam's Club. Cardholders who are no longer Members of Sam's Club after they receive their check may redeem their Cash Back Check by obtaining a one‐day pass at Sam's Club. You must present the Cash Back Check prior to its expiration in person at a Sam's Club with proper government issued photo identification.

These statements are within a few sentences of each other, so it's not exactly clear. It doesn't make sense that they would tell you how to redeem your check without a membership, but then also state that you don't get a check unless you're a member.

I suspect it would likely be OK, but that they add the language to "CYA" if they decide to start enforcing it (thus the 'mixed signals').

My own membership comes due in August, and I will likely not immediately renew with the hopes that either Amex or Discover will have a promotion (like they did last fall).

If I have any issues earning rewards during that time I'll be sure to let everybody know (I'll be the 'guinea pig'... LOL)

I think u and I can both make some calls and just compare answers. I would hate for you to lose your Sams MC uncleB! For the best deals on sams memberships its best to get one with a friend and alternate each year. This way I've been able to always be a plus member and get a ton of freebies and pay next to nothing. I think we paid $37 for the plus membership with a gift card and free food and extra coupons.

I think the language is a little strange. But all it takes is one phone call to attach a PLCC or a MC from a membership in your name, to a complimentary membership from someone else. Just something to keep in mind! You also earn an extra $10 per 500 spent. I hate to call this an extra 2% bonus, only because you have to stay on top of how much you have spent, and it may or may not make sense at the end of the year to make an extra purchase to hit the next $10.

Anyway back to sams vs AARP, UMB Simply Rewards is nice as it offers 3% back or also Security Service for 3.3%

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Cash-Back-credit-card-charts/td-p/4004725

Re: Sam's Club MC Vs. Chase AARP

UncleB — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 19:28:41 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@UncleB wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@UncleB wrote:
This is a bit subjective, but I feel the Sam's Club MasterCard is superior myself.

You could get most of the same cash-back rewards if you combined the AARP card and the BoA AAA Visa, but with the Sam's Club MasterCard you get the benefits of both in a single card.

There is an annual fee for the Sam's Club membership, but I easily offset that with occasional purchases at Sam's that I would be making anyway, with those items being cheaper at Sam's.

As others have mentioned, I find Synchrony easy to deal with as well, especially with CLIs.

Edited: Changed to specify you'd still be missing the 5% off gas offered by the Sam's Club MasterCard. The AAA only gives 2%, and the AARP only gives 3% cash back on gas purchases.
So say you open a Sam's Club account and then open a Mastercard, but then close your Sam's Club membership would you still be able to use the credit card and redeem the rewards?

There's actually some ambiguity there... the Sam's Credit web site actually supports both statements...

Exclusions to Issuance of Cash Back Checks
No Cash Back Checks will be issued, and you will forfeit any Cash Back rewards otherwise earned for a Reward Period if any of the following occurs:
Your Card Account is not in good standing (i.e., is delinquent with more than two payments past due) when Cash Back Checks are issued;
The Cash Back amount earned is less than $5.00;
You are no longer a Sam's Club Member (either by you or by Sam's Club) as of the applicable issuance date for Cash Back Checks; or
Your Card Account is cancelled or closed on or before the issuance of the Cash Back Check.

But then it goes on to add:

Redeeming Cash Back Checks
You may only redeem your Cash Back Check at any U.S. or Puerto Rico Sam's Club. Cardholders who are no longer Members of Sam's Club after they receive their check may redeem their Cash Back Check by obtaining a one‐day pass at Sam's Club. You must present the Cash Back Check prior to its expiration in person at a Sam's Club with proper government issued photo identification.

These statements are within a few sentences of each other, so it's not exactly clear. It doesn't make sense that they would tell you how to redeem your check without a membership, but then also state that you don't get a check unless you're a member.

I suspect it would likely be OK, but that they add the language to "CYA" if they decide to start enforcing it (thus the 'mixed signals').

My own membership comes due in August, and I will likely not immediately renew with the hopes that either Amex or Discover will have a promotion (like they did last fall).

If I have any issues earning rewards during that time I'll be sure to let everybody know (I'll be the 'guinea pig'... LOL)
Hmmmm. I would be interested to see what happens when you cancel the membership! Anyone that already knows this feel free to let us all know

Upon reading the info again, I supposed they could be talking about the unlikely situation where someone is a member when the actual check is issued, then in the days after it is mailed their membership ends... but that seems like an exceptionally unique occurance to spend this much 'real estate' detailing out how it would be handled.

That being said, I suspect they are lenient since they tend to be with other things, such as the gas cash back. They explicitly exclude Kroger from receiving the 5% cash back, but I've been earning it reliably at my own Kroger gas station. (This is just my speculation, though)

I'll be providing my own data points later in the year... I look forward to reading data points from others as well!

Re: Sam's Club MC Vs. Chase AARP

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 19:40:04 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@UncleB wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@UncleB wrote:
This is a bit subjective, but I feel the Sam's Club MasterCard is superior myself.

You could get most of the same cash-back rewards if you combined the AARP card and the BoA AAA Visa, but with the Sam's Club MasterCard you get the benefits of both in a single card.

There is an annual fee for the Sam's Club membership, but I easily offset that with occasional purchases at Sam's that I would be making anyway, with those items being cheaper at Sam's.

As others have mentioned, I find Synchrony easy to deal with as well, especially with CLIs.

Edited: Changed to specify you'd still be missing the 5% off gas offered by the Sam's Club MasterCard. The AAA only gives 2%, and the AARP only gives 3% cash back on gas purchases.
So say you open a Sam's Club account and then open a Mastercard, but then close your Sam's Club membership would you still be able to use the credit card and redeem the rewards?

There's actually some ambiguity there... the Sam's Credit web site actually supports both statements...

Exclusions to Issuance of Cash Back Checks
No Cash Back Checks will be issued, and you will forfeit any Cash Back rewards otherwise earned for a Reward Period if any of the following occurs:
Your Card Account is not in good standing (i.e., is delinquent with more than two payments past due) when Cash Back Checks are issued;
The Cash Back amount earned is less than $5.00;
You are no longer a Sam's Club Member (either by you or by Sam's Club) as of the applicable issuance date for Cash Back Checks; or
Your Card Account is cancelled or closed on or before the issuance of the Cash Back Check.

But then it goes on to add:

Redeeming Cash Back Checks
You may only redeem your Cash Back Check at any U.S. or Puerto Rico Sam's Club. Cardholders who are no longer Members of Sam's Club after they receive their check may redeem their Cash Back Check by obtaining a one‐day pass at Sam's Club. You must present the Cash Back Check prior to its expiration in person at a Sam's Club with proper government issued photo identification.

These statements are within a few sentences of each other, so it's not exactly clear. It doesn't make sense that they would tell you how to redeem your check without a membership, but then also state that you don't get a check unless you're a member.

I suspect it would likely be OK, but that they add the language to "CYA" if they decide to start enforcing it (thus the 'mixed signals').

My own membership comes due in August, and I will likely not immediately renew with the hopes that either Amex or Discover will have a promotion (like they did last fall).

If I have any issues earning rewards during that time I'll be sure to let everybody know (I'll be the 'guinea pig'... LOL)
Hmmmm. I would be interested to see what happens when you cancel the membership! Anyone that already knows this feel free to let us all know

There is language within the terms and conditions of the actual credit card agreement that says you agree to maintain the Sam's membership for as long as you have the Mastercard.

Re: Sam's Club MC Vs. Chase AARP

UncleB — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 19:42:28 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I think u and I can both make some calls and just compare answers. I would hate for you to lose your Sams MC uncleB! For the best deals on sams memberships its best to get one with a friend and alternate each year. This way I've been able to always be a plus member and get a ton of freebies and pay next to nothing. I think we paid $37 for the plus membership with a gift card and free food and extra coupons.

I think the language is a little strange. But all it takes is one phone call to attach a PLCC or a MC from a membership in your name, to a complimentary membership from someone else. Just something to keep in mind! You also earn an extra $10 per 500 spent. I hate to call this an extra 2% bonus, only because you have to stay on top of how much you have spent, and it may or may not make sense at the end of the year to make an extra purchase to hit the next $10.
Anyway back to sams vs AARP, UMB Simply Rewards is nice as it offers 3% back or also Security Service for 3.3%
http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Cash-Back-credit-card-charts/td-p/4004725

You're exactly right on all counts! (Especially about it being a shame for me to lose my rewards!)

My own local club has folks working the customer desk who are less than reliable, I'm afraid. I had my brother added to my account, and I gave his name three times (it's a really simple name) and after the third time the woman looked at me like I was slightly 'off' and said, "yes, that's what I put". I get home and not only find out I could have done it myself online, but after asking three times if his very simple (common) name was correct, she got it wrong (like, way wrong). If I didn't know better, I would almost think it was intentional, but it's healthier for me to assume negligent action over sinister action.

I'm comfortable letting it go for a month or so; if I see the rewards stop I can just quickly renew and no (major) harm will be done, and I'll have data points. What I'm a bit more "iffy" about is a lapse during January/February... I'm not quite that brave. My rewards for Aug 2015-Dec 2015 was $127; for the whole year it will easily be $300+, and as much as I like data points I'm not willing to risk that much money, even if I did end up with good info... I'd rather have good money!