Looking For Some Guidance

[Anonymous]

I'm considering requesting that Citi PC my Dividend Platinum Select to Foward, but I don't know if there is a better card to supplement my wallet.

My purchases are mostly gas, groceries, restaurants, and sometimes stuff from Amazon.

In addition to the Citi Dividend I currently have Chase Freedom, AMEX BCE, AMEX Clear, and US Bank Visa Platinum.  Going to be using BCE for gas/groceries/costco and Freedom for whatever the 5% categories are.  Based on my spending categories, is Citi Forward still the best card to add?  I've been out of the CC game for a while, so I don't know of any new cards or offers (since ~November 2011).

Thank you

[Anonymous]

Forward is still the best card out there for restaurants and Amazon purchases, 5 TY points/dollar capped at 75K points per year. Depending on what you cash in for this means every dollar spent in the bonus categories is effectively 3.3% (statement credit) up to 5.5% (Amazon gift card) cash back. It would depend on your spending habits but I only this card for restaurants and Amazon and don't anticipate reaching 75K points = $15K in spending. You also get 100 bonus points each month and 0.25% APR reduction every 3 months up to 8x for paying your bill on time, pretty cool IMO 

By comparison the next best cards out there in these categories are:

Chase Amazon - 3% Amazon, 2% restaurants but points only good on more Amazon purchases

Amex Costco ($55/year membership fee), Chase Sapphire (no AF), Sapphire Preferred ($95 AF) - 1% Amazon, 2% restaurants

[Anonymous]

Oh forgot to mention, they may not allow you to PC Dividend to Foward.

My friend tried to do this 2 weeks ago with his longstanding Dividend World MC and they wouldn't budge, told him to apply for the Forward instead.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Forward is still the best card out there for restaurants and Amazon purchases, 5 TY points/dollar capped at 75K points per year. Depending on what you cash in for this means every dollar spent in the bonus categories is effectively 3.3% (statement credit) up to 5.5% (Amazon gift card) cash back. It would depend on your spending habits but I only this card for restaurants and Amazon and don't anticipate reaching 75K points = $15K in spending. You also get 100 bonus points each month and 0.25% APR reduction every 3 months up to 8x for paying your bill on time, pretty cool IMO 

By comparison the next best cards out there in these categories are:

Chase Amazon - 3% Amazon, 2% restaurants but points only good on more Amazon purchases

Amex Costco ($55/year membership fee), Chase Sapphire (no AF), Sapphire Preferred ($95 AF) - 1% Amazon, 2% restaurants

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Thanks for the info and comparison with the next best cards.  I definitely won't spend anywhere near $15k, so the cap is irrelevent as far as I'm concerned.  I probably would use it for statement credit or, since the conversion is better, Amazon gift cards.  I'll call tomorrow and see if they will let me PC.  I think the Platinum Select might be different because it's a card for college students.. We'll see though.

Thanks for the heads up about that.

[Anonymous]

Oh another thing haha, Amazon is classified as a department store by BCE so you can get 2% back that way.

So if you spend a lot in these 2 categories, the way to maximize your cash back is this:

First $15K spending - Citi Forward (3-5% restaurants and Amazon)

After $15K - Amex Costco TrueEarnings (2% restaurants) and Amex BCE (2% Amazon)

And obviously Chase Freedom anytime 5% bonus is for restaurants or Amazon

[clocktick]

Can you get cash back with the Citi Forward?

[Anonymous]

Yes you can, the redemption is 3.125% for cash back in the form of a check, in $50 increments. Also you get 1 cent/point (effectively 5% cash back) if you redeem for airfare. I was taking a look at their travel rewards site and they just pull the ticket price directly off the airlines' own websites. Like a roundtrip Delta flight from MIA to JFK costs $260 so you can pay either 26000 TY points or a combination of $ and points.

[Anonymous]

Citi Forward seems really great for restaurants/Amazon.  Going to call in sometime today if I get a chance.