Want to move to Rewards card, but where to start ?

[Anonymous]

I have worked hard to get my credit in good shape and want to take full advantage of it.   I only currently have a single credit card which is a Capital One Platinum card with a 7000 credit line.  I purposely use that card and pay the entire balance except for say $20 as that seems to help keep my FICO Score higher.   This Capital One card is not a rewards/cash back card and i read others with using these rewards cards to take advantage - and so do I.   So two questions - 

(1) My credit scores are Equifax 783, TU 787, and EX 791 - are these scores going to qualify me for the better Rewards cards ?

(2) Is there a simple summary of the best cash reward cards out there for me to pick from ?  the choices discussed in this forum seem overwhelming.

thanks everyone !!

[dragontears]

1) yes your scores are good enough to get reward cards
2) there is NO best card, there are cards that are best for your spend but without knowing what you spend the most on people can only take shots in the dark with suggestions

I would suggest you try to get your cap1 card upgraded to a QS so you can start getting rewards right away

[Anonymous]

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@dragontears wrote:
1) yes your scores are good enough to get reward cards
2) there is NO best card, there are cards that are best for your spend but without knowing what you spend the most on people can only take shots in the dark with suggestions

I would suggest you try to get your cap1 card upgraded to a QS so you can start getting rewards right away

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+1

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies so far:

- To answer a previous question - i'm using my current card mostly for restaurants, online and brick and mortar store purchases, and gas mostly.   occasional travel (air/hotel) as well.   

- i did quickly check (using another post i saw on CapitalOne upgrade link) and am being offered QuickSilver at 1.5% cash back keeping my card number, APR, and Credit limit all the same.  But can i do better?

-if it helps i have two differenet checking accounts with Chase as well - one with a decent balance.  Would that make me more appealing to Chase to get a rewards card with better rate (say 2 percent?  is 2 percent the best out there now ?)

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for the replies so far:

- To answer a previous question - i'm using my current card mostly for restaurants, online and brick and mortar store purchases, and gas mostly.   occasional travel (air/hotel) as well.   

- i did quickly check (using another post i saw on CapitalOne upgrade link) and am being offered QuickSilver at 1.5% cash back keeping my card number, APR, and Credit limit all the same.  But can i do better?

-if it helps i have two differenet checking accounts with Chase as well - one with a decent balance.  Would that make me more appealing to Chase to get a rewards card with better rate (say 2 percent?  is 2 percent the best out there now ?)

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Actually, with your scores, and if you've had your Platinum for over 6 months, you could app for QS and get a better APR. The new QS now are Visa. When I got mine, I was approved for a $10000 SL with much lower scores than you. Of course you would take the triple HP.

I would look for cards that will offer the most rewards for what you buy. Some cards have higher cash back percentage in different categories. Discover might be a good one because they offer a flat 1%, but have 5% categories each quarter, and other higher cashback deals through "Discover Deals" which is their online shopping mall. Then, on top of all that, they match your first year's earned cash back amount.

[Anonymous]

Consider NFCU or Penfed. They will love your credit. Most likely big SLs.

[Anonymous]

I'll second PenFed. Can't speak for NFCU (wish I could)
Citi double cash is also a great card if your spending is pretty evenly spread out or doesn't fall into common categories.
With a handful of cards it's not too difficult to get 6% occasionally, 5% on a lot, 3% on most and 2% on everything else

[HeavenOhio]

Definitely upgrade the Capital One card today. Terms, such as APR, always stay the same after a product change. If you haven't had a limit increase in the past six months, try for that too.

I think you're in a great spot to apply for two new cards. Are you more interested in cash or points toward travel?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for the replies so far:

- To answer a previous question - i'm using my current card mostly for restaurants, online and brick and mortar store purchases, and gas mostly.   occasional travel (air/hotel) as well.  The BCE would be a good fit for your gas spend or a categorie card such as Discover it or Chase Freedom for your restaurants/gas.

- i did quickly check (using another post i saw on CapitalOne upgrade link) and am being offered QuickSilver at 1.5% cash back keeping my card number, APR, and Credit limit all the same.  But can i do better? You can do better, but again, depends on what you want/need. Do you know about the SP CLI?

-if it helps i have two differenet checking accounts with Chase as well - one with a decent balance.  Would that make me more appealing to Chase to get a rewards card with better rate (say 2 percent?  is 2 percent the best out there now ?)  Again, the best card out there is going to be the card that fits your spending.  We could narrow down if  you can post how much  you spend a month on gas, groceries, travel, restaurants.

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See above in blue.  You also need to take into consideration if you want pure cash or miles, MRs or URs etc.

[HeavenOhio]

c00mtg, the OP doesn't have two cards to merge.

I agree that the OP doesn't need a second Capital One card unless one of their other products interests him. The Dining card may be a fit, for instance. But at this point, I think you're right about the three hard pulls. I'd look at cards from other banks this time around. If there's a desire for another Capital One card, it can be gotten down the road.

By the way, the Chase Amazon Prime card is a good card for anyone who's a Prime member.