Do you forget about CB% when chasing a new sub?

[Anonymous]

Property taxes, make it very easy to hit minimum spend. Usually time my large minimum spend apps for that time and continue to use my other cards to maximize categories.

[Anonymous]

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@SBR249 wrote:

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@AnonymousFor me, SUB is generally not the factor on which I choose the cards to apply for nor do I judge the value/utility of a card based on its SUB. After all, I usually keep the cards I get and I am careful to only choose ones that fit into my portfolio based on the rewards strategy I'm pursuing. I don't apply for cards that aren't good fits for my usage no matter how lucrative the SUB is. 

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While I agree that "Keeper" cards (i.e. good fits for usage) should be pursued before pure SUB plays, if a card has a great SUB and a downgrade path to a $0 annual fee card, then I would apply just for the SUB.  But this is late-game stuff after you've gotten your "Keepers" in place.

[HeavenOhio]

The critical thing is to not spend money that you wouldn't have spent otherwise.

If you can meet the sign-up bonus by staying within categories, fine. If not, you'll definitely want to divert charges from other cards. Start by diverting charges from the card with the lowest reward for that transaction. For example, I'm not going to give up a 5% Whole Foods reward in order to earn 1% on a new card. But to meet a bonus, I'll give up the 1.5% on my Quicksilver and take 1% on the new card.

[Anonymous]

I personally try to put mostly non category spend on SUB card to meet SUB. This normally includes Bills and other non category expenses. This is spend that I would only get 2% back if I used a 2% card.

Obviously, if I realisticallly can’t make SUB without putting category spend on SUB card then I will do so. However, if it can be avoided, I typically only want to put non category spend on SUB card. This way I can put all category spend on its respective card.

[Anonymous]

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@SBR249 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Kforce wrote:

So "YES" you should be aware of the real value of a card because it is easy to be fooled into believing your gain is what is advertised.
A 20% Sub can easily only be about 16% and a 5% card only get you 3%.

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But I disagree with the above.  My only point was that money spent towards a SUB REALLY will earn 20% (in the made up example) and using a 5% card REALLY will earn 5% (assuming no AF etc), and so the decision of what to spend can be made that way.   You can then compare the gain against alternatives. 

Yes, the decision of what to spend can be made be made either way. But I think  before one applies for a card, one should compute the real value of the sub. The real value of the sub of one card might be higher than the one of another card, even though the advertised sub is lower. Also suppose a $500 sub has a real value of only $200, is it still worth applying for the card?

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I'm not sure I completely agree with this. For me, SUB is generally not the factor on which I choose the cards to apply for nor do I judge the value/utility of a card based on its SUB. After all, I usually keep the cards I get and I am careful to only choose ones that fit into my portfolio based on the rewards strategy I'm pursuing. I don't apply for cards that aren't good fits for my usage no matter how lucrative the SUB is. Of course, if two cards are equivalent except for the SUB, I'd consider that, but I don't ever recall a case where I've apped or chosen a card based on the SUB. 

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I actually agree with you.  My comment was meant  for someone  who  applies  for a  credit card mostly for the  SUB.  Personally, I only apply  for cards  which offer a long term value  and all my cards are keeper cards.

[Anonymous]

I don't forget rewards value with SUBs, though I may tweak my card usage to ensure I make it. If it's an easy one that I can get organically (i.e. without changing my usage at all), then I will use the card like usual. And I will generally try to plan my apps around when I can make the SUB organically, as I did with my JetBlue card I just got.

If I determine that I probably can't meet the SUB with organic use, then I will minimize the sacrifice, so to speak. With the SUB on my CSP, I decided to reallocate a portion of my non-category spending to it (which meant I was giving up half a UR point per dollar). With my JetBlue card, I'm going to put all of my grocery spending on it until I make the SUB (even though I'm sure I'll make it regardless- 2x TB vs. 2x MR is a similar value to me anyhow).