topic Re: Opinions Needed! What would you REALLY pick? in Credit Cards

Opinions Needed! What would you REALLY pick?

Anonymous — Sat, 03 May 2014 00:05:06 GMT

Okay,

So I used to be an AU on an Amex Blue card. It was neat looking, but functioned like the rest of my cards...paid for stuff. Why is American Express so desired? I don't see why NFCU isn't the new Amex. I mean in the sense of giving people chances, not pulling financial reviews, lowering credit limits,etc like Amex did. So here's the question:

Which would you rather have? (For all purposes...buying power, utilization, flashy-ness, whatever) For sake of argument...this is the last CC you'll ever have and the CL, annual fees, etc is FINAL.

NFCU/PenFed/etc Credit Card with a 25K limit (very common for them to give out to those in 700 club) OR An Amex BCE/etc with a 12.5K limit.

Share your reasoning with me, too. Why did you choose one over the other?

Thanks!!!!!!

Re: Opinions Needed! What would you REALLY pick?

amakol — Sat, 03 May 2014 00:12:49 GMT

NFCU is a VISA so it has acceptance everywhere worldwide where credit can be taken. I just ran into a place today in a major Northeast city that didn't take Amex.

Re: Opinions Needed! What would you REALLY pick?

Anonymous — Sat, 03 May 2014 00:14:50 GMT

That's another valid point.

Re: Opinions Needed! What would you REALLY pick?

Anonymous — Sat, 03 May 2014 00:20:03 GMT

Depends on the card and your spending pattern. A $12.5K Amex Blue Cash would be far more valuable to me as I would use the 5% drug store category a lot!

Re: Opinions Needed! What would you REALLY pick?

mongstradamus — Sat, 03 May 2014 00:23:45 GMT

I can comment on why I like having at least one amex card. I like msd, 1 year warranty extension, travel insurance, and purchase protection. Those features are not really discussed that often.

Re: Opinions Needed! What would you REALLY pick?

Anonymous — Sat, 03 May 2014 00:31:47 GMT

NFCU offers a good bit of stuff like that. Rental car insurance, etc. I just don't get why the top of the ladder is AMEX. I you want 5% for drugstores, that's cool. It seems to me it's an accepted social norm that if you have an Amex you're doing REALLY well in life. I don't buy that. I'd take two of NFCU 25K cards (50K total) along with their 15K LOC and call it a day. If you need more than 50K of revolving credit, you probably need one of those secret no limit credit cards celebs have

Re: Opinions Needed! What would you REALLY pick?

Anonymous — Sat, 03 May 2014 00:39:35 GMT

The general experience is that while many good Visa and MC cards offer similar protections and services, they are often MUCH harder to use, in the hoops you have to jump through to file a claim, and the eventual chance of success.

Now, this may be slowly changing, there have been some recent reports where Amex has made things just as difficult as the other issuers, but in general, people who have filed claims and disputes generally seem to be do better with Amex.

Now for me, that isn't a major reason, I tend not to buy things that need such coverage, but others do.

In general, go for the card whose "total rewards" structure best matches with your goals (e.g. travel vs cash back) and spending. Many issuers have both good and bad cards.

Re: Opinions Needed! What would you REALLY pick?

amakol — Sat, 03 May 2014 00:47:23 GMT

If you look at credit card spending, Amex undeniably has the highest spenders. I don't remember specifically but it's not close. It was doubling up on Chase and any other bank even though it had much fewer cards issued. It's still definitely the bank of choice for the rich and famous. They've changed their UW criteria to become way more mainstream, so it's not really harder to get than anything else nowadays - Chase, NFCU, FNBO etc. Perceptions just linger.

On the flip side, NFCU has very specific criteria on who can join and get their products so it will always be self-limited in size. Amex is a giant to go up against. Only Chase can really go toe-to-toe, but even then it's getting crushed when you account for who makes the most in swipe fees. Amex's legacy will probably continue as long as we're all alive.

Re: Opinions Needed! What would you REALLY pick?

DrZoidberg — Sat, 03 May 2014 01:10:45 GMT

Not everyone can get a NFCU card and not everyone can get Amex. Both have their appeals to their certain clients. You prefer NFCU and I'd take my Amex. Most people like the NFCU for the high credit limits, but see little value otherwise. As the saying goes (and I know from belonging to car forums how true this statement is) "to each their own."

Re: Opinions Needed! What would you REALLY pick?

Anonymous — Sat, 03 May 2014 01:20:39 GMT

I think there's a good point that Amex kind of started it all and has been serving the upper class for quite some time. I'm just thinking that's changed over time. Amex HAD to change their UW criteria or they'd be broke. The things that have happened to this economy wouldn't let half the people that have an AMEX have one 30 years ago.

For example, when the housing crisis hit...that affected MILLIONS. Guess who is getting their business/swipes? Nothing with an AMEX logo on it. That's why they're trying so hard to push their pre-paid credit card thing out. They know there is a HUGE market for the lower-middle class. Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing Amex. I'm just thinking Amex was like a fashion trend and it's the "cool thing" to have in the wallet.

One last example. Role reversal. You have an ugly orchard bank credit card with everything and amex has and the amex has everything the orchard does. What you've reduced it down to now is just an image. When you hand your Amex over at Starbucks, you feel kind of elite. When you hand over an Orchard Bank card...it's kind of like...this is all I've got. I just feel like there are so many banks deserving of Amex like stardom that haven't hit it yet.

The only card I've ever been complimented on in my wallet was my Chase Freedom. At the time, it had a $500.00 limit! Lol...why did I get one? It's much shinier than the others. My BoA looks kinda plain, but it's my highest CL with 0% APR for a year.

Sorry for the long rant. Just wanted some thoughts to see if Amex is just a social trend or if it really is that much better. I was thinking about applying for an Amex as my very last card for a LONG time, but can't really justify it.

Re: Opinions Needed! What would you REALLY pick?

DrZoidberg — Sat, 03 May 2014 01:32:04 GMT

I've used my Centurion card at Starbucks with no second look or anything. They are probably too busy to notice anyway.

Re: Opinions Needed! What would you REALLY pick?

Trivolve — Sat, 03 May 2014 01:34:23 GMT

No experience with CU but if they don't give any type of cashback, I would only get it to pad my utilization.

But since I don't need to, I would get the Amex BCE. Plus, AMEX has a lot of one-time offers listed on their website that are awesome (i've used $25 off amazon, $5 off chevron, $10 off small business day, etc)

Re: Opinions Needed! What would you REALLY pick?

fot1 — Sat, 03 May 2014 02:00:52 GMT

Why are we just picking one card?.. Get 3-4 good/great cards and cover all your bases..lol

Re: Opinions Needed! What would you REALLY pick?

Anonymous — Sat, 03 May 2014 02:06:39 GMT

Well the goal was to compare Amex to all other available credit cards out there and see if it still comes out on top.

Re: Opinions Needed! What would you REALLY pick?

Gunnar419 — Sat, 03 May 2014 02:26:36 GMT

@DrZoiberg wrote:
Not everyone can get a NFCU card and not everyone can get Amex. Both have their appeals to their certain clients. You prefer NFCU and I'd take my Amex. Most people like the NFCU for the high credit limits, but see little value otherwise. As the saying goes (and I know from belonging to car forums how true this statement is) "to each their own."

Anybody can work their way up to an Amex simply by building good credit. Most people wouldn't qualify for NFCU or PenFed no matter what we did because we don't have government connections.

Re: Opinions Needed! What would you REALLY pick?

parakleet — Sat, 03 May 2014 02:30:02 GMT

I don't understand why it's so necessary to have to put down Amex because you like NFCU so much. NFCU is a fine bank that offers good products but people also like Amex for the MR points. One's not necessarily better than the other. One may just fit people's different needs. Also, there really seems to be a lot of fear mongering about FRs - they really are not that common as people seem to make it. On here flip side, other companies will just close your accounts if they see something they don't like without the benefit of giving you a chance to explain. I don't see people knocking citi or chase when they do that so I just don't understand why there's such consternation about why some people want Amex and etc.

and I say this as someone who doesn't have a MR card. I prefer to rack up UR points personally as it meets my current needs. I do have a BCP that I use exclusively for groceries.

Re: Opinions Needed! What would you REALLY pick?

parakleet — Sat, 03 May 2014 02:31:58 GMT

@DrZoiberg wrote:
I've used my Centurion card at Starbucks with no second look or anything. They are probably too busy to notice anyway.

+1 as someone who used to work at Starbucks, trust me, no one is looking at your card during the morning rush.

Re: Opinions Needed! What would you REALLY pick?

Anonymous — Sat, 03 May 2014 02:45:11 GMT

Lol no I get that. But as a previous employee, you get that a lot of "elitist" type people come to Starbucks My brother is one of them lol.

I used my Chase card in Jan-Mar there because of the points and 5% cash back

P.S. I guess it's a different strokes for different folks kind of deal like one poster mentioned. So if everyone else had to say, is Chase the #2 credit card lender in the U.S. with Amex being first? I'd say BoA is at least 3rd or 4th. I do like them.

Re: Opinions Needed! What would you REALLY pick?

Anonymous — Sat, 03 May 2014 03:10:34 GMT

@Gunnar419 wrote:
@DrZoiberg wrote:
Not everyone can get a NFCU card and not everyone can get Amex. Both have their appeals to their certain clients. You prefer NFCU and I'd take my Amex. Most people like the NFCU for the high credit limits, but see little value otherwise. As the saying goes (and I know from belonging to car forums how true this statement is) "to each their own."
Anybody can work their way up to an Amex simply by building good credit. Most people wouldn't qualify for NFCU or PenFed no matter what we did because we don't have government connections.

Unlike NFCU, Penfed is also open to all by a one time membership fee (~$20) to an affiliated org.

Re: Opinions Needed! What would you REALLY pick?

Anonymous — Sat, 03 May 2014 03:19:40 GMT

There are lots of different measures, http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/credit-card-industry-facts-personal-debt-statistics-1276.php has lots of facts. Basically Amex has many fewer cards than Visa or MC, but spending per card is much higher.

Can't quickly find break down of volume by issuer, but the customer satisfaction results are interesting (since as a consumer this is really what matters most). For 2013, the JD Powers survey http://www.jdpower.com/press-releases/2013-us-credit-card-satisfaction-study ranked: