What are the best restaurant Cards?

[BigBS]

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@Christina_xyt wrote:

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@mongstradamus wrote:

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@Christina_xyt wrote:

How difficult to get approved for USbank cash + ? 

what's the average score/lowest score to get approved and which credit report do they pull?

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They are an TU puller , and most people have low to mid 700s i think that have been approved

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mid 700s as in 750?! O.O

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Think it depends on where you are.  They pulled EQ for me (on the east coast), but the score was actually 50 points less than  actual score.  myFICO and EQ had my score at 793 and 800, but the pulled score was only 751.

[takeshi74]

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@degs138 wrote:

I am planning on getting a Amex Blue cash every day card for the 3% back in groceries.

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Someone has a chart comparing the Blues and the Sallie Mae that you may want to refer to in order to see which would reward your grocery spend the best.  The BCE rarely ends up being the best fit from what I recall.

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@Anonymous wrote:

As discussed on multiple threads here, the Sallie Mae will give superior returns to the BCE, and, depending on your grocery/gas spend, possibly to the BCP (due to 5% on gas rather than 3%).

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Did they bump the rate up on the BCP or are you referring to the old Blue Cash?

[Anonymous]

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@takeshi74 wrote:

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@degs138 wrote:

I am planning on getting a Amex Blue cash every day card for the 3% back in groceries.

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Someone has a chart comparing the Blues and the Sallie Mae that you may want to refer to in order to see which would reward your grocery spend the best.  The BCE rarely ends up being the best fit from what I recall.

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@Anonymous wrote:

As discussed on multiple threads here, the Sallie Mae will give superior returns to the BCE, and, depending on your grocery/gas spend, possibly to the BCP (due to 5% on gas rather than 3%).

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Did they bump the rate up on the BCP or are you referring to the old Blue Cash?

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No, just bad writing!  I mean that because of the 5% on gas on SM, even with a low cap, it can still do better than the uncapped 3%  and capped 6% groceries on BCP, depending on your spending level and mix.

[Anonymous]

The Citi Premier card is 3X points on restaurants so a bit better than CSP

[takeshi74]

It's not just earn rate that matters but redemption as well.

[TheConductor]

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@takeshi74 wrote:

It's not just earn rate that matters but redemption as well.

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Precisely.  UR points can be redeemed at a higher value than TY points.

The 5% cards are the clear winners in this category, but CSP holds up pretty well if you redeem the points wisely. 

[Anonymous]

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@TheConductor wrote:

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@takeshi74 wrote:

It's not just earn rate that matters but redemption as well.

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Precisely.  UR points can be redeemed at a higher value than TY points.

The 5% cards are the clear winners in this category, but CSP holds up pretty well if you redeem the points wisely. 

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Though I really dislike what they did to the Premier, there is still some truth to the argument.   Both the UR and the TYP can be used at 1.25 cents per point when booking travel  through the respoective sites, so the Premier wins there.   And of course the big win is the transferability of UR,  To beat the 3.75c per $ on the Premier, you will need to redeem UR points at 1.9cents.   While this is easily possible in general, for particular trips it may not be, and award travel may not be available if you are constrained by dates.   So for such things, the Premier would beat the CSP.    Depends on the individual how often that situation would arise!

[SunriseEarth]

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@takeshi74 wrote:

It's not just earn rate that matters but redemption as well.

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+1

Good example...my Sony Card has 3X points for dining.  But as these are Sony Rewards points, the redemption options are too limited for most people.  

[ztnjpv]

christinaxyt said:

How difficult to get approved for USbank cash + ? 

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If you have good great (like others have stated---low to mid 700s), you're fine. 

The problem I personally had when applying was that I had insufficient history with personal prime cards $5k+ limit.. It was July 2012. I had a 750+/- score but had a thin file in terms of prime cards with a $5k+ limit. I went to manual review. They discarded the value of the AU account I had right away.  My Spark had only one month history on my CR at the time. My other biz cards I had at the time don't report to personal so they USBank didn't care about them. That's it. No other higher limit prime cards there at the time. I got the automated approval but I was concerned they wanted to down-approve me for Flex Perks...not the Cash+. I was wise to this ploy by USBank from reading the threads here at the time. People would be approved and assume they were getting the Cash+....only to be shocked and disappointed to find out later that they were approved but for the Flex Perks. What US Bank didn't tell applicants was that the approval wasn't necessarily for Cash+ if USBank didn;'t feel the applicant was strong enough. So I called and sure enough they were ready to approve me for the lower card but I argued my case and got the card. They were really hung up on the idea that I had limited prime card  history even though my score was high. 

OTOH, PenFed instantly approved me the same day for $14,000. I actually told the analyst that during recon but we wasn't moved by it. Sticklers. 

[TheConductor]

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@Anonymous wrote:

To beat the 3.75c per $ on the Premier, you will need to redeem UR points at 1.9cents.   While this is easily possible in general, for particular trips it may not be, and award travel may not be available if you are constrained by dates.   So for such things, the Premier would beat the CSP.    Depends on the individual how often that situation would arise!

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This is a good and valid point.  I always make sure to maximize the value of my UR points. e.g. I have transferred points to United and redeemed them for a flight to Europe at ~2.2c per point. However, this requires being someone who actually wants to travel to the places where redemption gives that kind of return. If you prefer travelling domestically to Colorado or Florida or even off the mainland to Hawaii, those redemption rates are essentially impossible.

So, as in many "What are the best X cards?" it always comes down to what is best for you. Your personal habits and preferences are what will define the true value of any card to you.