Everyday Rewards Card Recommendations

[voxombmx]

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@HeavenOhio wrote:

Your cup of coffee will likely count as a gas station purchase. According to the AMEX page linked to earlier:

A gas station is defined as a merchant that is in the primary business of selling gasoline to consumers. Gas stations may sell other convenience items, but its primary business must be selling gasoline to consumers.

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If all purchases from there would count as a "gas station purchase" then the BCP card is a no brainer as they sell cases of water, soda and beer cheaper than Meijer

[Anonymous]

My recommendation would be the Citi Double Cash card if you’re using it for everyday expenses and plan to pay it in full every month, since it’s all things you would be paying for anyway.

A few years back I got the BofA Cash Reward card, I figured the tier structure would work well since I do spend a lot on groceries, and they also give an additional bonus for a banking/checking relationship. I found my monthly statement confusing, trying to keep up on what I spent in what tier. I believe my best year was around $500 in rewards, and I found that I spent a lot more than I thought in the 1% tier.

18 months ago I apped for the Citi DC, and I’ve been using it daily ever since. I spend about 3k a month on average. I put everything on this card. Groceries, dining out, phone bill, cell phone, gas/electric, water/sewer, trash, car insurance, cable bill, all subscriptions like netflix, etc. I even put my small (couple hundred) IRS bill on the card, since the reward is slightly higher than the processing fee. I’m almost at $1,100 in cash back on this card (granted 18 months instead of 12 with bofa)

Here’s my experience with Citi, since I know some people haven’t had the best experience with SL on it.

This was my first card ever with Citi. 

Apped 18 months ago, no pre approval, just went on the website. Instant approval, SL $6,500. (Fico at the time was 800-815, 98k income, zero revolving debt, small mortgage payment.)

Charge an average of 3k per month, let the statement cut with the full balance, and pay in full every month.

6 months later I did a HP and increased to $12,500

6 months later SP increase to $14,400

My APR as of today is 13.74% and no annual fee.

[Anonymous]

There are three annoying things about the BCP:  one has been covered here, that it doesn't count groceries as nicely as V/MC, making Target/Walmart etc more of a gamble.

The other two things:

1) Rewards delayed an EXTRA month, so rewards earned on the April statement aren't credited till the May statement, and may not be available for a few days after that.

This makes it harder to check if that purchase at store X earned 6% or 1% until a long time later (and even then it's not nearly as obvious as it is on things like Chase)

2) $25 increment.   You can only redeem in multiples of $25, so if you have $49 reward dollars, you can only redeem $25.   This isn't a killer if you are constantly using the card, but almost all other issuers have moved away from this (with them, you can redeem any amount above the min threshold)

Both of these things make extra money from Amex, by delaying the payment of all or part of the reward, and is just consumer-unfriendly.

But for some the 6% will be enough to overcome this!

[Anonymous]

Two cards to consider are the UMB Simply Rewards with 3% on discount stores, gas, groceries, and dining. Check http://www.doctorofcredit.com/umb-simply-rewards-visa-credit-card-review-3x-gas-grocery-discount-res... as it has the areas UMB services as well as a link to a comment that talks about banks that issue the card under a different name, but under license from UMB.

And the Bank of the West Cashback, with 3% on groceries, gas, and dining credited quarterly. You need to be in AZ, CA, CO, ID, IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, NV, NM, ND, OK, OR, SD, UT, WA, WI, WY.

[Kforce]

The Amex card is not 6% back, at most 4.4% after AF.

The percentage back is dependant on your spend, which can go up or down with time.

You only receive excellent benefits with a small spend category window.

To low or high, you lose. However the AF will always be there.

Amex is not accepted at all places.

Sometimes other cards with no AF and fixed percentages on numerous category's will bring in more,

or at least give the same percentage of benefit no mater how small or large you spend is.

Spend changes over the years and flexibility can be important.

The card that I picked over the Amex

Bank of the West (Cash Back MasterCard)
3% cash-back for (Gas, Grocery, Restaurant, and Fast-Food)

For the following states:

Arizona     California     Colorado     Idaho     Iowa     Kansas     Minnesota     Missouri     Nebraska     New Mexico

Nevada North Dakota Oklahoma Oregon South Dakota Utah Washington Wisconsin Wyoming

[voxombmx]

Bank of the West won't work for me, located in MI, I do appreciate the suggestion.

We spend $100 weekly at Meijer or Spartan store, often times more, but never less. At that rate the BCP card would yield $312yr-$95AF= $217 cash back, the Citi DC card for that same grocery bill would be $104 cash back for the year. If for nothing more than groceries the BCP card seems to be worthwhile and 3% at the gas station. We could then use the Citi DC card for anything that would fall in to the AMEX 1% category and if we were to exceed the $6,000@6%. Does it make sense to apply for two cards? Also have the Cap1 QS at 1.5% that can be used and could use a CLI.

We aslo spend $100 monthly on pet food at Meijer which we don't factor in to our household grocery bill, 1 dog and 2 cats in house, 2 outdoor barn cats. The CB on that alone at 6% almost negates the AF of the BCP card.

[Anonymous]

Keep in mind that the 6% CB on groceries is only on the first $6000 spent. Your weekly grocery spend is very close to that already, so with groceries and pet food, you may hit that cap about 6 months in on the BCP.

Getting a second card to cover that gap wouldn't be a bad idea. Chase Freedom will usually have at least one quarter (3 months) where you get 5% back on groceries. Counting pets and groceries, that could be around $75 for those three months since it is capped at $1500 spend. It looks like the Chase started that category on April 1st this year.

[SecretAzure]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Keep in mind that the 6% CB on groceries is only on the first $6000 spent. Your weekly grocery spend is very close to that already, so with groceries and pet food, you may hit that cap about 6 months in on the BCP.

Getting a second card to cover that gap wouldn't be a bad idea. Chase Freedom will usually have at least one quarter (3 months) where you get 5% back on groceries. Counting pets and groceries, that could be around $75 for those three months since it is capped at $1500 spend. It looks like the Chase started that category on April 1st this year.

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This is a very good point. The OP could do Chase Freedom for 1 quarter for most CB, then BCP for the 6 months (or however long until OP hits the $6000, and at that point any other CB card...however I would recommend Freedom Unlimited as the points there can be combined with Freedom/CSP/CSR and can be cashed out in any denomination for credit or Amazon purchases but to a greater affect for travel if you have CSR or CSP.

[Kforce]

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@voxombmx wrote:

Bank of the West won't work for me, located in MI, I do appreciate the suggestion.

We spend $100 weekly at Meijer or Spartan store, often times more, but never less. At that rate the BCP card would yield $312yr-$95AF= $217 cash back, the Citi DC card for that same grocery bill would be $104 cash back for the year. If for nothing more than groceries the BCP card seems to be worthwhile and 3% at the gas station. We could then use the Citi DC card for anything that would fall in to the AMEX 1% category and if we were to exceed the $6,000@6%. Does it make sense to apply for two cards? Also have the Cap1 QS at 1.5% that can be used and could use a CLI.

We aslo spend $100 monthly on pet food at Meijer which we don't factor in to our household grocery bill, 1 dog and 2 cats in house, 2 outdoor barn cats. The CB on that alone at 6% almost negates the AF of the BCP card.

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I have and like the Citi-DC, and believe it is a great card.

It will give you long term value. You should know Citi usually gives small CL at first, but it will grow over time with soft pulls.

Get the Citi DC,  then apply for the Amex after approved for the Citi.

[Anonymous]

Maximize Amex BCP to $6,000 (nets $265 after paying for AF), then put all other spending on either rotating cateogry cards (Freedom or It) or go tride and true with Citi DC.