topic Re: Am I missing something? Help please! in Credit Cards

Am I missing something? Help please!

Anonymous — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 03:51:03 GMT

I am going to start out this thread by saying I don't intend for this to be inflammatory by soundling like I'm bashing American Express...

For the last couple months, I've strategically been applying for credit cards that align with my spending to maximize rewards, and I have made a wish list of cards that I want (the ones that remain are included in my signature). That said, I'm having trouble finding an American Express that fits in my list. Despite really wanting an American Express credit card just to say that I have one, I'm having trouble finding one that covers my spending categories better than the ones I have now or are on my list. I find the Sallie Mae MasterCard to be more useful to me than BCE due to my low monthly spending. I find Chase's and Discover's rotating categories also cover a lot of my spending (restaurants, online shopping, etc). I'm literally having trouble finding an Amex that I feel would help me collect rewards better than what's on my list. I don't do a lot of travelling, but even if I did, it seems like the CSP would still be a superior card to what I'm seeing on Amex's website unless there is something I'm missing.

Does anyone know of any Amex cards other than the ones listed on Amex's website that offer truly exceptional rewards, preferably with no annual fee unless the rewards are stellar? I really want an Amex in my portfolio! They're flashy. But I want one that I would use -- not just one that I would show off.

P.S. I do see the value in the Fidelity Amex, (although even that card is rivaled by Citi's Double Cash), but the problem is I don't bank with Fidelity.

Re: Am I missing something? Help please!

Berk — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 04:27:16 GMT

If you can't find a card that fits then don't get one. AMEX has so broadened its product offering lately that having one isn't all that big a deal any more. if it wasn't for the travel I do with Delta I doubt I would have any AMEX products due to AFs.

Very smart not to get one just to have one.

Re: Am I missing something? Help please!

Anonymous — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 04:41:57 GMT

@Berk wrote:
If you can't find a card that fits then don't get one. AMEX has so broadened its product offering lately that having one isn't all that big a deal any more. if it wasn't for the travel I do with Delta I doubt I would have any AMEX products due to AFs.

Very smart not to get one just to have one.

It's probably worth having an Amex just for future backdating (ignore the 3x CLI madness here!), so get a 0AF as early as seems reasonable, just to keep for the future.

But go for other more useful cards first if either you feel inquiry limited or just don't want to deal with a bunch of cards.

The Sallie Mae does make the BCE largely pointless, these days (and I just got one) I would recommend the Amex Everyday as the sockdraw Amex card, one day it might be useful.

It's very likely that none of the Amex cards feel compelling, it all depends on your spending and goals.

There are a lot of issuers out there, as Berk says Amex is far from "special" these days, although a lot of people who don't know better still have the reaction. Amex has expanded downmarket, many other issuers have great products, so apart from the potential gain of backdating, it's not so important to get one if you don't feel the need.

Re: Am I missing something? Help please!

gh17 — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 13:41:44 GMT

I feel the same way. Nothing from American Express looks appealing to me, and I feel like it's just a lot of hype.

As was mentioned above, it could be useful for "backdating" since they use your member since date to determine the account opened date on your credit reports. I've never bothered though and probably won't.

Re: Am I missing something? Help please!

Anonymous — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 13:53:31 GMT

Amex cards are generally boring but the main thing I like are the credit lines they tend to give. For me Amex lines are usually the highest and if not they are very close. I have the everyday card and its been good so far. Nothing extraordinary but decent reward points and generous credit increases.

Re: Am I missing something? Help please!

Anonymous — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 14:23:13 GMT

Actually, looking at my credit lines Amex turns out to be double my next issuer so Amex doesn't mind giving out high limits. That's what I like best. Even if I don't use it all its nice having that available limit for the utilization on the reports.

Re: Am I missing something? Help please!

Anonymous — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 14:40:17 GMT

I like the BCP because it gives 6% back on groceries. If you max out the grocery bonus every year, it comes out to something like 4.8% after taking the annual fee into account, which makes it slightly worse than Sallie Mae. However, I only have one SM, which is insufficient to cover my monthly grocery bill. Additionally, you can purchase giftcards from the grocery store. Purchasing a $500 gift card with $5 activation fee provides a net 5% return on that card, which can then be used on anything that you aren't already getting boosted returns on.

That said, there are so many cards that provide 5% for various things that, assuming SM covers your entire grocery bill, it might make sense to just omit the BCP card.

Re: Am I missing something? Help please!

newhis — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 14:47:28 GMT

No, you are not missing anything. If the only purpose you have for a card are the rewards, then you can get other cards that will give you more back.

Only get an Amex if you want:

Backdating
Limit
Utilization

In any case, go with no AF card, so you can do a small purchase every now and then.

Re: Am I missing something? Help please!

Anonymous — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 15:09:09 GMT

If you're strictly looking at category rewards, then I agree that AmEx doesn't offer anything really enticing. But there are some other advantages to AmEx:

1. Acceptance at CostCo (at least for now). AmEx is the only credit card that CostCo accepts. For use at the register, I like using my Fidelity AmEx for 2%. And of course, it's also useful for 2% everywhere else AmEx is accepted, though if you have the Citi 2% card, there's no advantage. I'm not sure what you mean about "not banking at Fidelity." So? Get a Fidelity AmEx and, bang, you're banking at Fidelity. The CostCo TrueEarnings Business AmEx card is also nice to have, partly because it doubles as my CostCo membership card, and also I can use it at the CostCo gas pumps for 4% cashback on gas. Yeah, it's less than the 5% I'd get elsewhere on the SallieMae, so it's only useful when the price at CostCo is more than 1% lower than elsewhere (which was just last week for me).

2. AmEx Offers. AmEx gives some pretty nice $-off deals for places I'd likely shop anyway, like $10 off a $50 purchase at Seasons 52, $5 off a WalMart.com order, $20 off Maggianos, etc.. I've made about $300 in the last year on these offers (on three different AmEx cards).

3. Small Business Saturday. Coming up on the 29th, get up to 3x $10 off a $10 or more purchase at small businesses, using your registered AmEx.

One other AmEx card of note, though it's smelling like socks for me right now: the PenFed Premium Travel Rewards AmEx. 5x points on air travel. Only reason I'm not using it lately is that all my flights recently have been made using miles or points on other cards, so essentially free.

Chris.

Re: Am I missing something? Help please!

Anonymous — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 15:22:15 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
If you're strictly looking at category rewards, then I agree that AmEx doesn't offer anything really enticing. But there are some other advantages to AmEx:

1. Acceptance at CostCo (at least for now). AmEx is the only credit card that CostCo accepts. For use at the register, I like using my Fidelity AmEx for 2%. And of course, it's also useful for 2% everywhere else AmEx is accepted, though if you have the Citi 2% card, there's no advantage. I'm not sure what you mean about "not banking at Fidelity." So? Get a Fidelity AmEx and, bang, you're banking at Fidelity. The CostCo TrueEarnings Business AmEx card is also nice to have, partly because it doubles as my CostCo membership card, and also I can use it at the CostCo gas pumps for 4% cashback on gas. Yeah, it's less than the 5% I'd get elsewhere on the SallieMae, so it's only useful when the price at CostCo is more than 1% lower than elsewhere (which was just last week for me).

2. AmEx Offers. AmEx gives some pretty nice $-off deals for places I'd likely shop anyway, like $10 off a $50 purchase at Seasons 52, $5 off a WalMart.com order, $20 off Maggianos, etc.. I've made about $300 in the last year on these offers (on three different AmEx cards).

3. Small Business Saturday. Coming up on the 29th, get up to 3x $10 off a $10 or more purchase at small businesses, using your registered AmEx.

One other AmEx card of note, though it's smelling like socks for me right now: the PenFed Premium Travel Rewards AmEx. 5x points on air travel. Only reason I'm not using it lately is that all my flights recently have been made using miles or points on other cards, so essentially free.

Chris.

The Penfed and Fidelity cards are Amex network, not an Amex card in the usual meaning. (so no backdating, 3x CLI, enhanced protections)

Re: Am I missing something? Help please!

Anonymous — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 16:15:24 GMT

longtimelurker wrote:The Penfed and Fidelity cards are Amex network, not an Amex card in the usual meaning. (so no backdating, 3x CLI, enhanced protections)

True, if those things mean anything to you. They are of little or no import to me. As for the OP, he seemed more interested in rewards, and the fact that he mentioned the Fidelity specifically indicated to me that he was open to AmEx-network cards.

Chris.

Re: Am I missing something? Help please!

Anonymous — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 18:28:39 GMT

Legitimate question, but there was a long thread on this topic not too long ago where the consensus was that Amex is way behind the times in rewards cards. Can't argue with this, but it seems like they're just trying to feel their way around on how to best cater to the lower-income demo right now. It seems like their current thinking is, yes our rewards aren't as good as other issuers, but we're Amex so you'll want to be part of our family anyway. Like has been said many times, carrying an Amex, much like owning a BMW, is still a status symbol to many. And just like there's a strong market for $30K stripped-down, underperforming BMWs and Mercedes cars today, apparently there's also a strong market for anything Amex among the less well-to-do.

At the end of the day though, I think the well-to-do will continue to patronize Amex (just like rich people continue to buy high-end BMWs and Mercedes), so Amex really loses nothing in trying to broaden its market share. Put another way, if you're rich and swear by BMWs, you'd probably balk at someone even suggesting you buy an Acura even if they're more reliable and may offer better bang-for-the-buck. These same people who wouldn't drive an Acura are probably the same ones who would laugh at adding a Sallie Mae card to their arsenal no matter how great the rewards are. Amex is still primarily for those who couldn't care less about trying to squeeze out every last half-point of rewards from their credit cards. It has nothing to do with ignorance of other products, but these people just don't care because they have high incomes and legitimately have a dozen other things to worry about than bringing home an extra $30 in rewards a month or whatever it may be. These people keep an Amex in their wallets because it's a dependable card backed by fantastic customer service, and at the end of the day, for busy, rich professionals, that's really what matters. And if you think about it, if your time was worth $100+ an hour, and you had lots of disposable income, would your priorities be any different? Probably not, as trying to keep track of 3-4 different rewards cards would probably be the most inefficient use of your bandwidth.

Re: Am I missing something? Help please!

Anonymous — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 20:21:51 GMT

I think it still depends on what niche you look in. I think the Everyday Preferred may be "best in class" providing you are able to effectively use MR points. 1.5MR on uncategorized spend beats most/all other things out there, depending on your valuation.

OBC is/was another best in class card.

But yes, some are lack-lustre, just like some of the cards of every other issuer.

Re: Am I missing something? Help please!

NRB525 — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 20:36:15 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I am going to start out this thread by saying I don't intend for this to be inflammatory by soundling like I'm bashing American Express...

For the last couple months, I've strategically been applying for credit cards that align with my spending to maximize rewards, and I have made a wish list of cards that I want (the ones that remain are included in my signature). That said, I'm having trouble finding an American Express that fits in my list. Despite really wanting an American Express credit card just to say that I have one, I'm having trouble finding one that covers my spending categories better than the ones I have now or are on my list. I find the Sallie Mae MasterCard to be more useful to me than BCE due to my low monthly spending. I find Chase's and Discover's rotating categories also cover a lot of my spending (restaurants, online shopping, etc). I'm literally having trouble finding an Amex that I feel would help me collect rewards better than what's on my list. I don't do a lot of travelling, but even if I did, it seems like the CSP would still be a superior card to what I'm seeing on Amex's website unless there is something I'm missing.

Does anyone know of any Amex cards other than the ones listed on Amex's website that offer truly exceptional rewards, preferably with no annual fee unless the rewards are stellar? I really want an Amex in my portfolio! They're flashy. But I want one that I would use -- not just one that I would show off.

P.S. I do see the value in the Fidelity Amex, (although even that card is rivaled by Citi's Double Cash), but the problem is I don't bank with Fidelity.

If you want "truly exceptional rewards" my limited experience has been that there is an AF linked to those.

AMEX for free would be the BCE with cash back (not inscrutable points). Cash back on groceries, everyone likes groceries, don't they?

Many here have noted the excellent customer service. I like my Delta SkyMiles card for the particular benefits when flying Delta. Other benefits cards are aligned with those lifestyles.

By trying for the BCE, you at least get the AMEX Member Since date locked in, and it's a simple way to have an AMEX available.