I have excellent credit, but I have some questions

[Gollum]

Here is my first question:

Is there a better rewards CC for me than the American Express Blue Cash Everyday?

I have exellent credit. I don't want a MasterCard, a Discover card, or another Capital One card or another Simmons First card.

I want a cash rewards card (not points/miles) with no annual fee.

Here is my second question:

Which one-time FICO score should I buy?

The default on myfico.com for a one-time FICO score is for the FICO Score 1B Report from Transunion, but when I search this forum for American Express, it seems the consensus is that American Express uses Experian.

Last weekend, Android Pay stopped letting me use my Simmons First VISA Platinum. I think it's because Simmons First is not listed on the Android Pay Participating Banks list:

https://support.google.com/androidpay/answer/6314169?hl=en

I talked to a Simmons First customer service representative yesterday, and she said Simmons First currently supports Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, and she thinks Android Pay support is in the works. It seems like a good excuse for me to get a new CC.

I'm a member of a CU on the above list, but I don't really want a CC from that CU because although the interest rate would be a little lower than my Simmons First VISA Platinum CC, my Simmons First CC makes me happier because it seems to me as though the Simmons First CC is harder to get than a CC from that CU would be.

I'm not averse to getting another VISA card, but the American Express Blue Cash Everyday seems appealing to me because it seems to have realatively "good" rewards, and it's on the above list of participating banks for Android Pay. I'm not very enthused about getting 75 cents back on a $25 grocery store purchase, or 15 cents back on a $15 gasoline purchase, but I sorta like the idea of getting an American Express card, and I sorta like the way the Blue Cash Everyday card looks.

[Anonymous]

charts by themanwhocan might give you some idea ~

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Cash-Back-credit-card-charts/td-p/4004725

goodluck!

[galahad15]

Have you considered the new Blispay card, with 2% automatic/instant cashback and 6-month 0% deferred interest financing on purchases over $199?

As far as FICO scores, I usually purchase the Score 3B report here on myfico.com, since it gives all the CRA reports plus scores. 

[Creditaddict]

Is it Cash back or your perceived difficulty to get approved for a card and it's looks you are after!?

If you are after simple easy rewards than I would say Fidelity Amex 2% or as someone said the new Blispay card which you don't even have to set up redemption because it's automatic on each statement! or finally Citi Double Cash is straight 2% once you make your payment and you can set up auto redemption I believe.

[Closingracer99]

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@Gollum wrote:

Here is my first question:

Is there a better rewards CC for me than the American Express Blue Cash Everyday?

I have exellent credit. I don't want a MasterCard, a Discover card, or another Capital One card or another Simmons First card.

I want a cash rewards card (not points/miles) with no annual fee.

Here is my second question:

Which one-time FICO score should I buy?

The default on myfico.com for a one-time FICO score is for the FICO Score 1B Report from Transunion, but when I search this forum for American Express, it seems the consensus is that American Express uses Experian.

Last weekend, Android Pay stopped letting me use my Simmons First VISA Platinum. I think it's because Simmons First is not listed on the Android Pay Participating Banks list:

https://support.google.com/androidpay/answer/6314169?hl=en

I talked to a Simmons First customer service representative yesterday, and she said Simmons First currently supports Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, and she thinks Android Pay support is in the works. It seems like a good excuse for me to get a new CC.

I'm a member of a CU on the above list, but I don't really want a CC from that CU because although the interest rate would be a little lower than my Simmons First VISA Platinum CC, my Simmons First CC makes me happier because it seems to me as though the Simmons First CC is harder to get than a CC from that CU would be.

I'm not averse to getting another VISA card, but the American Express Blue Cash Everyday seems appealing to me because it seems to have realatively "good" rewards, and it's on the above list of participating banks for Android Pay. I'm not very enthused about getting 75 cents back on a $25 grocery store purchase, or 15 cents back on a $15 gasoline purchase, but I sorta like the idea of getting an American Express card, and I sorta like the way the Blue Cash Everyday card looks.

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If you want one card just go after the Capital one QS, or Chase Freedom unlimited which offers a flat 1.5% CB ( Chase offers it in UR points which can be valued higher....) and the Citi Double cash or that Bilspay thingy which offer 2% CB. I personally prefer the Citi DC since A) already have it B) have other citi cards already with the same account access and C) Have read somewhere the payments is quite slow on that card which is enough of a reason for me to not even app or look at it.

[takeshi74]

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@Gollum wrote:

Is there a better rewards CC for me than the American Express Blue Cash Everyday? 

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Better is always highly subjective regardless of topic.  It's not just a matter of the card itself but your needs/wants.  Assuming that rewards on spend are a priority you need to start with your spend.  Where is the majority of your money going?  Which cards maximize rewards on that spend?  Do the math and determine the rewards that you would stand to accrue.

If your grocery spend is high enough then the Blue Cash Preferred could be a better fit, for example.  Don't just avoid AF's.  Consider total cost/benefit.  If groceries aren't one of your biggest spend categories then you should focus on categories that are.

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@Gollum wrote:

I don't want a MasterCard, a Discover card, or another Capital One card or another Simmons First card.

Why not?  Why are you selecting a payment network or creditor first?

Sort out your needs/wants.  Use that to select specific products that suit you.  Don't select the payment network or creditor first and then try to justify a card with one of them.

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@Gollum wrote:

Which one-time FICO score should I buy?

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If you want to know where you stand versus a creditor/product that you intend to apply for then find out which model & CRA is used for the credit decision for that product (Google the Credit Pulls Database) and go pull that specific score, if available.

Don't just assume that you can rely on one FICO model for all creditors and products out there.  They don't all use the same model.  The don't all use FICO.  Again, you're approaching things backwards.

However, keep in mind that it's never just about score.  Your entire credit profile matters.

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@Gollum wrote:

I'm not averse to getting another VISA card, but the American Express Blue Cash Everyday seems appealing to me because it seems to have realatively "good" rewards, and it's on the above list of participating banks for Android Pay. I'm not very enthused about getting 75 cents back on a $25 grocery store purchase, or 15 cents back on a $15 gasoline purchase, but I sorta like the idea of getting an American Express card, and I sorta like the way the Blue Cash Everyday card looks. 

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Good is also subjective.  Don't rely on a broad generalization about good when it comes to rewards.  Run the numbers for your spend.  Rewards are by their nature going to be a small percentage of your spend.  That's why you need to select rewards programs that will maximize rewards for your biggest spend categories.  Focus on where you money is going.  5% does sound great but 5% of 0 is 0.  5% is very little spend is an even tinier fraction of that spend.  Depending on the details it's possible to see better return on a card that offers a lower % assuming that you have more spend in the category.   If most of your spend is non-category then look at the 1.5% and 2% cards.

Don't select AmEx or any creditor/card just because of the branding or what the card looks like.  Select products that suit your specific needs/wants.

[Anonymous]

I'm curious why you don't want a Mastercard? I can understand Discover since fewer merchants accept them, (although most people find that is not really an issue).

[Kevin86475391]

I agree that automatically ruling out networks and lenders may not be the way to go...on the other hand that's certainly your prerogative if that's what you want to do. Practically though, if you're concerned about acceptance and maybe feel like you already have a Mastercard and thus want to 'diversify' or that Discover isn't widely enough accepted...I wouldn't really worry about that if I were you. For one thing I think there's a good chance that many merchants who won't take Discover also won't take Amex. However, anecdotally I seldom come across merchants unwilling to accept all 4 major card networks. I know of a few places where I can use my Discover card but wouldn't be able to use an Amex, and likewise I'm sure there are a few places where I could use an Amex but not a Discover...in general though I think they're about comparable in terms of acceptance and that generally that level of acceptance is such that it's not a major concern. If you have a Mastercard you're probably good regardless. I think I've only heard of 1 or 2 merchants ever who won't take a Mastercard but would take a Visa. So I really wouldn't worry about 'branching out' just for the sake of doing it.

I also agree that you may want to crunch the numbers for your spend to determine if the BCP (AF version) would be better for you than the BCE. I too personally avoid AF cards as a general rule because I don't like to concentrate my spend and intentionally like to spread it out over several cards. So generally AF cards aren't worth it to me since I don't want to spend enough with a single creditor/card to make it worthwhile. However, it sounds like you have fewer cards and are more comfortable concentrating spend, so it may be worth it for you.

I agree that you may want to consider the Citi DC...but it is a Mastercard if that's a deal breaker for you. You could also consider the Chase Freedom or Freedom Unlimited. Those would be Visa.

If you like the set category (versus revolving category like the Freedom and Discover It) concept that the Amex BCE does, you may also want to consider the Bank of America Cash Rewards card. It does 3% on gas, 2% on grocery, and 1% on everyday spend and is a Visa card. So really it's quite similar to the BCE just with the gas station and grocery rewards swapped. The BCE also offers 2% "at select US department stores." So I suppose that's another difference, but it may or may not be significant to you.

If you only want to purchase one report, I would recommend first deciding on the card you're going to apply for then pulling the respective report that that lender uses.

[Gollum]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I'm curious why you don't want a Mastercard? I can understand Discover since fewer merchants accept them, (although most people find that is not really an issue).

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Just personal bias left over from years ago when I didn't have good credit, and I ended up with an inferior MasterCard CC that I eventually decided I didn't need anymore because my credit had improved, so I was eligible for better credit offers.

[Gollum]

Thanks for the suggestions. I also don't want a CC from one of the "too big to fail" banks that taxpayers bailed out. Rewards are not a priority to me. I just figured since my Simmons First VISA Platinum no longer works with Android Pay, and I don't want to use my Capital One CC even though it does work with Android Pay, I might as well get the American Express Blue Cash Everyday since it works with Android Pay and I might as well get some relatively insignificant (to me, at least) cash back from a new CC.