topic Re: Which Card? in Credit Cards

Which Card?

Harvey26 — Sat, 01 Apr 2023 20:05:55 GMT

DM is looking to replace her Flagship Card from NFCU to get something with no AF. We are considering the PNC Cash Rewards as gas and groceries are her biggest spends. All scores over 800 well under 5/24 and only inqs are from CU and Honda. She just leased a '23 CRV. Any other recommendations would be great.

Re: Which Card?

GZG — Sat, 01 Apr 2023 17:51:45 GMT

@Harvey26 wrote:
DM is looking to replace her Flagship Card from NFCU to get something with no AF. We are considering the PNC Cash Rewards as gas and groceries are her biggest spends. All scores over 800 well under 5/24 and only inqs are from CU and Honda. She just least a '23 CRV. Any other recommendations would be great.

PC down to amex more rewards?

amex BCP seems ideal at their level of spend, for a new card.

Re: Which Card?

M_Smart007 — Sat, 01 Apr 2023 17:51:28 GMT

@GZG wrote:
@Harvey26 wrote:
DM is looking to replace her Flagship Card from NFCU to get something with no AF.
PC down to amex more rewards?

I strongly agree with this^^^

Re: Which Card?

SouthJamaica — Sat, 01 Apr 2023 18:08:16 GMT

@Harvey26 wrote:
DM is looking to replace her Flagship Card from NFCU to get something with no AF. We are considering the PNC Cash Rewards as gas and groceries are her biggest spends. All scores over 800 well under 5/24 and only inqs are from CU and Honda. She just least a '23 CRV. Any other recommendations would be great.

Good no-annual-fee cards for gas and groceries are the Comenity AAA Travel Advantage and Daily Advantage cards.

Re: Which Card?

GZG — Sat, 01 Apr 2023 18:27:26 GMT

@SouthJamaica wrote:
@Harvey26 wrote:
DM is looking to replace her Flagship Card from NFCU to get something with no AF. We are considering the PNC Cash Rewards as gas and groceries are her biggest spends. All scores over 800 well under 5/24 and only inqs are from CU and Honda. She just least a '23 CRV. Any other recommendations would be great.
Good no-annual-fee cards for gas and groceries are the Comenity AAA Travel Advantage and Daily Advantage cards.

I definitely need to do the math for BCP 6% vs. AAA 5% for how much spend is needed to make the Amex better, I've been curious about this for awhile now, adam jusko keeps talking about those cards haha

Re: Which Card?

Aim_High — Sat, 01 Apr 2023 20:53:25 GMT

@M_Smart007 wrote:
@GZG wrote:
@Harvey26 wrote:
DM is looking to replace her Flagship Card from NFCU to get something with no AF.
PC down to amex more rewards?
I strongly agree with this^^^

+1 Bump ... seems a most logical choice except for AMEX acceptance being a little less than MC/VS

3X on Gas, Transit, and Groceries ... plus dining out.

Pretty good combo for everyday spend ... and no AF or spending caps.

Re: Which Card?

Aim_High — Sat, 01 Apr 2023 21:06:00 GMT

@SouthJamaica wrote:
@Harvey26 wrote:
DM is looking to replace her Flagship Card from NFCU to get something with no AF.
Good no-annual-fee cards for gas and groceries are the Comenity AAA Travel Advantage and Daily Advantage cards.

True, except that he's talking about his mom (DM)! LOL

I wouldn't do that to my mom ... put her in a Comenity card for her daily driver.

Seriously, though, I suppose they could be a good solution since they have higher 3% or 5% earnings on gas and groceries. The spending caps for the higher rates would have to be taken into consideration, though, since the NFCU More Rewards is uncapped. The AAA cards are capped at $350 or $500 per year in rewards on the higher categories. While that spending (up to about $10K combined gas/grocery or $7K in gas) is sufficient for many people, it might not be for others.

Re: Which Card?

Aim_High — Sat, 01 Apr 2023 21:25:54 GMT

@GZG wrote:
I definitely need to do the math for BCP 6% vs. AAA 5% for how much spend is needed to make the Amex better

I can't recommend BCP for DM in this situation, @GZG. (1) She wanted a no-AF card and BCP has $95 AF starting in year two. (2) The earning rate on BCP is complicated due the AF and combined with the $6K spending cap on groceries. (3) To make it more worthwhile (or even as worthwhile) as the other suggestions, she would need to have a large amount of streaming services at 6% earnings. Now, the Blue Cash Everyday might be a contender for 3% gas and grocery. However, depending on spend, it could be inferior to the More Rewards since it has 3% on Online Purchases but More Rewards has 3% on Transit and Restaurants. And BCE has the $6K cap on grocery while MR is uncapped. Also, BCE has a separate cap on gas at $6K spend to get the 3%.

Disregarding the 6% streaming and focusing on just the grocery spend, the BCP earning rate is burdened on one end by overcoming the AF and on the other end by maximizing the 6% earnings on the cap by using all of it without going over a penny. At $3,200 annual grocery spend or less, the BCE has a better grocery return at 3% with no Af. And at the high end, the BCP only earns the maximium 4.4% on grocery (not the adverstised 6%) when the full $6K spending cap is met. It would take most cardholders a LOT of streaming to exceed 5% on grocery-streaming overall, after the AF.

So the 5% on grocery or gas on the AAA cards would easily outearn the BCE or BCP. But again, we're dealing with Comenity so there's that. It's a mixed bag.

So under the circumstances, if the main objection is not the lender but the AF, PC-ing the FSR to MR seems the better solution unless DM wants to apply for a new card and try to earn a SUB also.

Re: Which Card?

GZG — Sat, 01 Apr 2023 21:35:49 GMT

@Aim_High wrote:
@GZG wrote:
I definitely need to do the math for BCP 6% vs. AAA 5% for how much spend is needed to make the Amex better
So the 5% on grocery or gas on the AAA cards would easily outearn the BCE or BCP. But again, we're dealing with Comenity so there's that. It's a mixed bag.

So under the circumstances, if the main objection is not the lender but the AF, PC-ing the FSR to MR seems the better solution unless DM wants to apply for a new card and try to earn a SUB also.

I completely blanked on the 6k maximum rendering the math moot anyway, great write up, thank you

Definitely personally feel issuer > maximum possible earnings in this situation, but that's definitely an important thing to consider

Re: Which Card?

Harvey26 — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 00:52:14 GMT

@Aim_High and thats is DMs concern about switching to AMEX. she wants it to be visa or mc.

Re: Which Card?

Aim_High — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 19:47:30 GMT

@Harvey26 wrote:
@Aim_High and thats is DMs concern about switching to AMEX. she wants it to be visa or mc.

If that is the major concern, @Harvey26, it may be inconsequential depending on circumstances.

Within the USA, AMEX acceptance used to be a much larger concern but they've made improvements over the years. Currently, AMEX acceptance within the US is very high. Unless she travels internationally very often, and also depending on where she travels, she may rarely-if-ever run into acceptance issues. Domestically, AMEX is accepted at 99% of merchants, which is within 1% of Mastercard, Visa, and Discover. (Nilson survey data: Feb 2020.) Internationally, Visa or Mastercard are the preferred pay option in more locations although acceptance varies widely by country. (It's always a good idea to check card acceptance before traveling to international destination.)
WHERE she shops may matter within the US. My experience is that acceptance has been more of a question at smaller shops or restaurants, likely because the vendor didn't want to pay AMEX's higher surcharges. If she shops mostly at large chain locations, acceptance would probably be unquestioned, as long as they accept credit cards at all. The most notably exception that comes to mind is that Costco will only accept Visa cards in-store.
If most of her shopping is locally and at some of the same locations, she could note at checkout for the next few weeks whether they accept AMEX. AMEX also has a locator map where she could check in-advance for locations that accept it. That might assuage her concerns. See >this link<.
Does DM have another credit card or debit card? I think it's always a good idea to spare an alternate way-to-pay, but I do especially advise that for AMEX/Discover cardholders since their networks are a little less complete than Visa/Mastercard. That's really all she needs if acceptance is her major concern, either a backup MC/VS or a debit card.

Re: Which Card?

Harvey26 — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 19:50:18 GMT

@Aim_High She does bank with NFCU so she has a debit card but she never uses it as she uses her credit card for everything. She has another card with the local credit union but she only carrys and uses her NFCU credit card. I also looked at Citi DC as well might be a better alternative. She does receive quite alot of mailers from them.

Re: Which Card?

Aim_High — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 20:33:25 GMT

@Harvey26 wrote:
@Aim_High She does bank with NFCU so she has a debit card but she never uses it as she uses her credit card for everything. She has another card with the local credit union but she only carrys and uses her NFCU credit card. I also looked at Citi DC as well might be a better alternative. She does receive quite alot of mailers from them.

Gotcha. Still, I would share with her about the AMEX acceptance changes I showed you. She might be pleasantly surprised.

A flat-rate 2% card could be a good solution and there are lots of them now. Double Cash is okay, although it's never been one of my favorites.

If she banks with NFCU, dislikes the FSR $49 AF, doesn't want an AMEX, but wants to keep things simple, I have another suggestion: She could downgrade the FSR to the cashRewards Visa (no AF) and as long as she has a Direct Deposit, she'll earn an upcapped 1.75% on all purchases. Sure, not as much as a 2% or 3%/3%/1% or 5%/3%/1% format, but it's easy and might appeal to her if she likes simplicity. One login will manage her charges and finances without changing banks or a new card application. And no AMEX.

If she continues to want VS/MC and doesn't mind Comenity as a lender, perhaps the AAA cards would be attractive to her, depending on her spending patterns.

I have a few other suggestions that haven't been mentioned.

Does she have cellphone with Verizon? Verizon Visa earns 4% on groceries and gas plus 3% on dining and 2% on Verizon with no AF. <sigh> but yes, like the AAA card, it's Synchrony so that might be a question. And rewards have to be redeemed in Verizon Dollars. However, no caps, it's a VISA, and it fits her spending categories.

Bank of America's Customized Cash Rewards might be a better choice than a 2% card if her spending is more groceries + gas. Select gas at the 3% category, earn 2% on grocery and wholesale, and 1% elsewhere. No AF and the cap is $2500 per quarter ($10K annually) on the 3% + 2% category rewards before it reverts to 1%.

I haven't mentioned it yet for a couple of reasons, but there is also the UMB Simply Rewards card. UMB (United Missouri Bank) is geofenced. They service my AFBA/UMB card which is under the Simply Rewards program now. The card earns 3x points (3% equivalent) on gas, dining, groceries, and discount stores - all uncapped with no AF. (Earns 1x points elsewhere.) Beyond the geofence, I can't say I've been overly impressed with UMB, but they are fine. Their technology (website/app) remained very dated until a couple of years ago and is still not as current as some other lenders. New charges may not show up for days. And they've never preemptively caught fraud on my cards, which has happened a few times in my 25 years with them. But the card has very good rewards in the major spending categories, is issued as a Visa, has no AF, and has no spending caps so it checks a lot of boxes for her.

Re: Which Card?

Aim_High — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 20:44:22 GMT

If DM has an iPhone and is willing to or does use mobile wallet, may I also suggest the Goldman Sachs Apple Mastercard.

3% rewards at Walgreen's and Exxon-Mobile, besides others.
2% rewards anywhere Apple Pay is accepted, which probably includes her grocery stores and gas stations.
1% everywhere else.

With the 2%/3% categories, she might end up better than a 1.75% NFCU cashRewards or even a flat 2% card.

Physical titanium Mastercard to swipe anywhere Apple Pay not accepted.

Security features with no card number on the card and option to regularly change the CVV code for additional safety.

She can apply within Apple Wallet with a SP pre-approval to include APR and SL. (HP after acceptance.)

Easy card management from within the Apple Wallet, so no additional websites to manage. This is a big benefit compared to a 2% card from another lender besides NFCU if she carries an iPhone.

Re: Which Card?

Bmom — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 20:44:59 GMT

Doesn't the AAA card issuer vary by region? Mine looks like it would ve Comenity if I applied, but isn't there another option if you're not in the NE?

Re: Which Card?

AndySoCal — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 20:53:02 GMT

@Harvey26 Here is link I searched the internet for some help. The search was cash back on gas and groceries. The link will show I few cards but Citi Premier seems to be a good option

https://www.cardrates.com/advice/best-credit-cards-for-gas-and-groceries/

Re: Which Card?

Aim_High — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 20:55:31 GMT

@Bmom wrote:
Doesn't the AAA card issuer vary by region? Mine looks like it would ve Comenity if I applied, but isn't there another option if you're not in the NE?

No, all AAA regions are transitioning to Comenity from Bank of America, @Bmom. It might be confusing because it is a recent change (Nov 2022) and also, if someone goes to apply they always refer you back through your local AAA region website.

Re: Which Card?

Aim_High — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 21:41:02 GMT

@AndySoCal wrote:
@Harvey26 Here is link I searched the internet for some help. The search was cash back on gas and groceries. The link will show I few cards but Citi Premier seems to be a good option

https://www.cardrates.com/advice/best-credit-cards-for-gas-and-groceries/

I would agree that Citi Premier can be a great card for gas or groceries, @AndySoCal. However, in this case, DM wants to stop paying her $49 AF on NFCU FSR and the Premier would just replace that with a higher AF of $95. Now, there is an option to credit the AF if she uses the annual $100 hotel credit (on a stay of $500 or more) but it adds a complication that might not be useful.

Also, if DM wants cash back or statement credit, the Premier is not the best option. This is more of a travel card that works best when the TY points earned are redeemed by transfer to travel partners. The value of TY points for cash, gift cards, or statement credit can be as-high as 1 cpp ~~... but is often less, sometimes as little as 0.5 cpp. YMMV.~~ (*Edit: For Premier card, TY points are worth 1 cpp per discussion with @SouthJamaica.) And TY point value would be further weighed down by the AF if the hotel credit was not useful. (*See >this link< for discussion of TY point value.)

Re: Which Card?

SouthJamaica — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 21:11:35 GMT

@Aim_High wrote:
@Bmom wrote:
Doesn't the AAA card issuer vary by region? Mine looks like it would ve Comenity if I applied, but isn't there another option if you're not in the NE?
No, all AAA regions are transitioning to Comenity from Bank of America, @Bmom. It might be confusing because it is a recent change (Nov 2022) and also, if someone goes to apply they always refer you back through your local AAA region website.

Re: Which Card?

SouthJamaica — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 21:12:56 GMT

@Aim_High wrote:
@AndySoCal wrote:
@Harvey26 Here is link I searched the internet for some help. The search was cash back on gas and groceries. The link will show I few cards but Citi Premier seems to be a good option

https://www.cardrates.com/advice/best-credit-cards-for-gas-and-groceries/
I would agree that Citi Premier can be a great card for gas or groceries, @AndySoCal. However, in this case, DM wants to stop paying her $49 AF on NFCU FSR and the Premier would just replace that with a higher AF of $95. Now, there is an option to credit the AF if she uses the annual $100 hotel credit (on a stay of $500 or more) but it adds a complication that might not be useful.

Also, if DM wants cash back or statement credit, the Premier is not the best option. This is more of a travel card that works best when the TY points earned are redeemed by transfer to travel partners. The value of TY points for cash, gift cards, or statement credit can be as-high as 1 cpp but is often less, sometimes as little as 0.5 cpp. YMMV. And TY point value would be further weighed down by the AF if the hotel credit was not useful.

The cash value of TY points is exactly 1 cent.