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Advice for 1 more card (Cash Rewards)

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jrz123
Valued Member

Advice for 1 more card (Cash Rewards)

Hi, I am looking to round out my available CC with one more Rewards card and at face value think annual fees are ridiculous. Having said that, the Amex BCP sure looks like a sweet card to have.  But is it really worth the fee?  I had an old Green Amex back in the 80's sometime, I'm reading there's a good chance of them backdating a new Amex? I will PIF every month, my income is high enough to get a pretty decent CL I would think, score is excellent.  So now its just debating on which card, BCP, BCE or maybe a Chase Feeedom or something like that.  I already have a DiscoverIt.  I buy groceries and gas but don't spend an outrageous amount monthly.  Thoughts on whether the $75bucks AF is worth it will be appreciated. This one counts cause there will be no more CC in my future. Thanks in advance.


Starting Score: EQ:630 TU:682 June 2012
Current: EQ:830
Goal: reached
Message 1 of 8
7 REPLIES 7
thelethargicage
Valued Contributor

Re: Advice for 1 more card (Cash Rewards)

Spend $25/week on groceries and the fee will pay for itself.  Totally worth it.  99% of people on this board will say BCE is better, but don't listen to them.


Message 2 of 8
Themanwhocan
Senior Contributor

Re: Advice for 1 more card (Cash Rewards)


@thelethargicage wrote:

Spend $25/week on groceries and the fee will pay for itself.  Totally worth it.  99% of people on this board will say BCE is better, but don't listen to them.


Actually, if you spend $250 a month or less in Grocery stores, the Sallie Mae Rewards Mastercard is superior to even the BCP.

 

For the BCP, if you ONLY use it for Groceries, and spend exactly $6000 on groceries in a year, you get 4.75% cash back. Most people can't hit that target exactly, and will also end up using the card for other categories, etc, so the actual cash back percentage isn't as high as you might think. Thats the power of that annual fee.

 

And thats not considering the Salli Mae's 5% at Gas Stations, and 5% Book Stores (like Amazon.com). Sallie Mae is really a winner. BUT, you do need some other card to fall back on if you need to buy groceries for a family.

 

In your example, $1300 Grocery a year with a BCP gets you $78 - $75 = $3Sallie Mae gets you $65 plus you can still spend in the other categories.

 

How about $50 a week?  $2600 Grocery a year with a BCP gets you $156 - $75 = $81.  Sallie Mae gets you $130 plus Gas and Bookstore savings.





TU-8: 804 EX-8: 805 EQ-8: 788 EX-98: 767 EQ-04: 752    
TU-9 Bankcard: 837 EQ-9: 823 EX-9 Bankcard: 837
Total $443,800
Message 3 of 8
longtimelurker
Epic Contributor

Re: Advice for 1 more card (Cash Rewards)


@Themanwhocan wrote:

@thelethargicage wrote:

Spend $25/week on groceries and the fee will pay for itself.  Totally worth it.  99% of people on this board will say BCE is better, but don't listen to them.


Actually, if you spend $250 a month or less in Grocery stores, the Sallie Mae Rewards Mastercard is superior to even the BCP.

 

For the BCP, if you ONLY use it for Groceries, and spend exactly $6000 on groceries in a year, you get 4.75% cash back. Most people can't hit that target exactly, and will also end up using the card for other categories, etc, so the actual cash back percentage isn't as high as you might think. Thats the power of that annual fee.

 

And thats not considering the Salli Mae's 5% at Gas Stations, and 5% Book Stores (like Amazon.com). Sallie Mae is really a winner. BUT, you do need some other card to fall back on if you need to buy groceries for a family.

 

In your example, $1300 Grocery a year with a BCP gets you $78 - $75 = $3Sallie Mae gets you $65 plus you can still spend in the other categories.

 

How about $50 a week?  $2600 Grocery a year with a BCP gets you $156 - $75 = $81.  Sallie Mae gets you $130 plus Gas and Bookstore savings.


Right, for smaller spends the SM is better.  (And there are few places where the BCE makes sense!).  TMWC stopped at $50 a week.   If you spend $6K a year,

BCP earns $360-$75= $285, SM earns $150 (on first $3000) + $30 (next $3000) for a total of $180.   But SM still wins on gas, reducing the gap.

 

The advantage of BCP is that the cap is yearly, whereas Sallie Mae is monthly, so you cannot make up for big spend months with smaller months.  But for a lot of couples, 2 SM may make more sense than 1 BCP (unless you spend a lot at the select department stores).  For bigger spends, the no AF old Blue Cash should be the card of choice for those wanting cash back.

Message 4 of 8
Themanwhocan
Senior Contributor

Re: Advice for 1 more card (Cash Rewards)


@longtimelurker wrote:

@Themanwhocan wrote:

@thelethargicage wrote:

Spend $25/week on groceries and the fee will pay for itself.  Totally worth it.  99% of people on this board will say BCE is better, but don't listen to them.


Actually, if you spend $250 a month or less in Grocery stores, the Sallie Mae Rewards Mastercard is superior to even the BCP.

 

For the BCP, if you ONLY use it for Groceries, and spend exactly $6000 on groceries in a year, you get 4.75% cash back. Most people can't hit that target exactly, and will also end up using the card for other categories, etc, so the actual cash back percentage isn't as high as you might think. Thats the power of that annual fee.

 

And thats not considering the Salli Mae's 5% at Gas Stations, and 5% Book Stores (like Amazon.com). Sallie Mae is really a winner. BUT, you do need some other card to fall back on if you need to buy groceries for a family.

 

In your example, $1300 Grocery a year with a BCP gets you $78 - $75 = $3Sallie Mae gets you $65 plus you can still spend in the other categories.

 

How about $50 a week?  $2600 Grocery a year with a BCP gets you $156 - $75 = $81.  Sallie Mae gets you $130 plus Gas and Bookstore savings.


Right, for smaller spends the SM is better.  (And there are few places where the BCE makes sense!).  TMWC stopped at $50 a week.   If you spend $6K a year,

BCP earns $360-$75= $285, SM earns $150 (on first $3000) + $30 (next $3000) for a total of $180.   But SM still wins on gas, reducing the gap.

 

The advantage of BCP is that the cap is yearly, whereas Sallie Mae is monthly, so you cannot make up for big spend months with smaller months.  But for a lot of couples, 2 SM may make more sense than 1 BCP (unless you spend a lot at the select department stores).  For bigger spends, the no AF old Blue Cash should be the card of choice for those wanting cash back.


Hmm, it looks like at $75 a week, both cards earn the same in Grocery. But as always, Gas Stations wins it for the Sallie Mae.





TU-8: 804 EX-8: 805 EQ-8: 788 EX-98: 767 EQ-04: 752    
TU-9 Bankcard: 837 EQ-9: 823 EX-9 Bankcard: 837
Total $443,800
Message 5 of 8
DigitalArk
Valued Contributor

Re: Advice for 1 more card (Cash Rewards)

I wonder whether or not I can convert my arrival to Sallie Mae?

Message 6 of 8
jrz123
Valued Member

Re: Advice for 1 more card (Cash Rewards)

Thank you.. good information to base decision on.  I still hate AF's Smiley Wink


Starting Score: EQ:630 TU:682 June 2012
Current: EQ:830
Goal: reached
Message 7 of 8
yudeology101
Senior Contributor

Re: Advice for 1 more card (Cash Rewards)


@longtimelurker wrote:

@Themanwhocan wrote:

@thelethargicage wrote:

Spend $25/week on groceries and the fee will pay for itself.  Totally worth it.  99% of people on this board will say BCE is better, but don't listen to them.


Actually, if you spend $250 a month or less in Grocery stores, the Sallie Mae Rewards Mastercard is superior to even the BCP.

 

For the BCP, if you ONLY use it for Groceries, and spend exactly $6000 on groceries in a year, you get 4.75% cash back. Most people can't hit that target exactly, and will also end up using the card for other categories, etc, so the actual cash back percentage isn't as high as you might think. Thats the power of that annual fee.

 

And thats not considering the Salli Mae's 5% at Gas Stations, and 5% Book Stores (like Amazon.com). Sallie Mae is really a winner. BUT, you do need some other card to fall back on if you need to buy groceries for a family.

 

In your example, $1300 Grocery a year with a BCP gets you $78 - $75 = $3Sallie Mae gets you $65 plus you can still spend in the other categories.

 

How about $50 a week?  $2600 Grocery a year with a BCP gets you $156 - $75 = $81.  Sallie Mae gets you $130 plus Gas and Bookstore savings.


Right, for smaller spends the SM is better.  (And there are few places where the BCE makes sense!).  TMWC stopped at $50 a week.   If you spend $6K a year,

BCP earns $360-$75= $285, SM earns $150 (on first $3000) + $30 (next $3000) for a total of $180.   But SM still wins on gas, reducing the gap.

 

The advantage of BCP is that the cap is yearly, whereas Sallie Mae is monthly, so you cannot make up for big spend months with smaller months.  But for a lot of couples, 2 SM may make more sense than 1 BCP (unless you spend a lot at the select department stores).  For bigger spends, the no AF old Blue Cash should be the card of choice for those wanting cash back.


Great to know the difference, thanks for the info, WhoCan & Lurker!

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Message 8 of 8
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