What's in your wallet!?: Which cards you use where, and why!

[haulingthescoreup]

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@thrasher865 wrote:

....P.S. there is no bonus category cap on the blue cash, so you can really make it work if you spend more than $10000 yearly.

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For those who choose to carry only 2-3 cards, and are willing to use Blue Cash for nearly every single purchase, it can work. But very roughly speaking (I know these aren't the exact figures, they're really less), spending $13K/ year ($6500 x2) will average you out to a whopping 2.5% cash back on those categories. (Again, really it would be less, unless you were incredibly precise and disciplined.)

You could start some sort of business and get the AmEx SimplyCash card, which I think is the one that Timothy has, and he's a huge fan. 5% office supplies and wireless, 3% on gas, and 1% everything else, without all the minimum purchase qualifying of Blue Cash.

PenFed is 5% gas, 2% grocs, and 1.25% everything else. Chase Freedom and Freedom Plus and Citi Professional have better deals too.

Keep trying, AmEx.

[thrasher865]

as you said, 50% is WAY liberal.

Assuming 20%:

Freedom earns :  (13000)*(0.2)*(0.03) + (13000)*(0.8)*(0.01) = 182.00

For first six months, blue cash earns:  (6500)*(0.2)*(0.01) + (6500)*(0.8)*(0.005) = 39

For second six months, blue cash earns:  (6500)*(0.2)*(0.05) + (6500)*(0.8)*(0.015) = 143

Freedom:  $182.00

Blue Cash:  $182.00

Well, it came out in AMEXs favor when I did it 2 months ago

HTSU:  when I did the rundown, chase freedom fared much better than penfed in my spending.  Gas just isn't such a huge chunk of my paycheck, and I commute to work daily 25 miles.  Anyway, they're all about the same, only yielding better deals to people under varying circumstances.  There is no one best card.

Message Edited by thrasher865 on 07-18-2008 04:39 PM

[haulingthescoreup]

Since I'm happily (and deeply) into my second glass of Pinot Noir, I'm not re-running your figures, but I notice that you didn't divide your AmEx figures by 12. Or 6.

Excuse me, my glass seems to need a refill. I know I worked this out once and was deeply underwhelmed, even if you were incredibly self-disciplined.

I think what broke my heart was that once you hit 12 months, you have to start all over again.


edit to add: I see you're re-running your numbers.

Message Edited by haulingthescoreup on 07-18-2008 04:39 PM

[thrasher865]

No, where I was off was that I divided the 13000 by 2 to get 6500 for each 6 month period of AMEXs rewards, then I did the same for Chase, but since I figured them differently that came out to only reflect half of chase's rewards. 

Don't get me wrong.  I use my freedom card exclusively almost and blue cash only gets the monthly creditsecure bill.  I'm just defending AMEX's honor, since nobody else will   It truly is a great rewards program for those in AMEX's target tax bracket, lol.

P.S. HTSU:  You're a lightweight

[haulingthescoreup]

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@thrasher865 wrote:

P.S. HTSU: You're a lightweight

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On Friday nights, after a long, stinky week, absolutely! (clink)

Get me on one of my grim Monday mornings, around 10 o'clock, when I'm irritated at about 95% of the planet. I'll run some numbers for you!

[thrasher865]

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haulingthescoreup wrote:

On Friday nights, after a long, stinky week, absolutely! (clink)

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I hear ya, I do math all day and when I get home on friday I cant even calculate percentages for credit card rewards programs?  *laugh*

Pass me a glass of pinot

[haulingthescoreup]

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@thrasher865 wrote:

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:

On Friday nights, after a long, stinky week, absolutely! (clink)

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I hear ya, I do math all day and when I get home on friday I cant even calculate percentages for credit card rewards programs? *laugh*

Pass me a glass of pinot

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Sorry, it's all mine. (Well, and DH's.)

Run down Alcoa Hwy to Gus's, and look for the Redwood Creek. Reasonably priced, and leaves the enamel on your teeth, where it belongs.

[thrasher865]

Where is Gus's?  I go to the place across the street from Hardee's in the FC shopping center.  But being not quite as sophisticated (or more so ) I prefer the bourbon

[haulingthescoreup]

That's Gus's --Kampas Liquor Store. Back in the day, he ran the Varsity Inn on the Strip, Cumberland Avenue between 17th and 18th. He kept many a UT student alive on credit back in the day, including DH. He's mostly retired now, but he pops up every now and then. He remembers both DH's first wife and me, which considering that we were married in 1980 is pretty impressive!

Anyway, I'm glad you know your way around.

Ha, we have our own version of cheddar's and UpUpUp's Wrigley Field thread!

[Anonymous]

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thrasher865 wrote:

as you said, 50% is WAY liberal.

Assuming 20%:

Freedom earns :  (13000)*(0.2)*(0.03) + (13000)*(0.8)*(0.01) = 182.00

For first six months, blue cash earns:  (6500)*(0.2)*(0.01) + (6500)*(0.8)*(0.005) = 39

For second six months, blue cash earns:  (6500)*(0.2)*(0.05) + (6500)*(0.8)*(0.015) = 143

Freedom:  $182.00

Blue Cash:  $182.00

Well, it came out in AMEXs favor when I did it 2 months ago

HTSU:  when I did the rundown, chase freedom fared much better than penfed in my spending.  Gas just isn't such a huge chunk of my paycheck, and I commute to work daily 25 miles.  Anyway, they're all about the same, only yielding better deals to people under varying circumstances.  There is no one best card.

Message Edited by thrasher865 on 07-18-2008 04:39 PM

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You missed the fact that Chase Freedom allows you to redeem at a rate of $250 for each $200 in rewards, which was the whole point of my previous post.  That little detail effectively adds 25% to the rewards you get on Chase Freedom under any scenario, and makes it very, very difficult for Blue Cash to catch up.