What the Best Cash Back Credit Card?

[SouthJamaica]

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@UpperNwGuywrote:

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@SouthJamaicawrote:But PenFed limits the number of pulled online payments too.  (Like I say, I don't really see that being such a big problem; you can just send 'pushed' payments from your checking account(s))

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They do?  PenFed has been my primary checking for 25 years, and I've been doing all my online payments as pulls from my PenFed checking.  I have never run up against any limit.

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Have you tried to do 2 in 1 day? They won't let you. They give you an error message that you already made a transfer to that account today.

[Anonymous]

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@longtimelurkerwrote:

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@Anonymouswrote:

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@Anonymouswrote:

Why did you get a credit card if you pay it multiple times IN A DAY? You do realize don't you that you aren't being charged interest? If you want to pay like that, get a debit card. Kinda bizarre dude.

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This is surprisingly horrible advice from this forum; everyone knows you earn nothing from a debit card. Whether they pay a hundred times a day or once a month before interest is charged is completely irrelevant, both are responsible uses of credit and neither should be frowned upon by someone that would recommend throwing away free money in rewards.

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But in fact paying for each transaction is remarkably similar to throwing away free money (albeit smaller amounts).   One of the desirable features of a credit card for many is the float, where you have over 20 days of an interest free loan.   This allows you to earn interest and you can pay once a month.

Now there are certainly other reasons you may choose to pay often ("checks and balances") but these are addressed by using a debit card too.

So, to me, using a credit card and paying every transaction isn't all that different from throwing away free money and IMO it's OK on these forums to point out the downside of such a strategy.

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That doesn't make any sense at all. Paying multiple times doesn't negate the rewards earned by having used the credit card so it's not remarkably similar to throwing away free money in any way. The amount of interest you're talking about is meaningless unless we're talking purchases of multiple thousands of dollars, and even then it's usually only pennies. Someone floating thousands of dollars over the course of a year due to a 0% APR offer is one thing, but a 20-day temporary loan is not that at all, lol.

Personally speaking, I would rather applaud someone that chooses to guarantee that they're only spending within their means, even if it's by using a method that I might personally not follow, as opposed to trying to demean them with such a simple straw man argument.

[UpperNwGuy]

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@SouthJamaicawrote:

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@UpperNwGuywrote:

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@SouthJamaicawrote:But PenFed limits the number of pulled online payments too.  (Like I say, I don't really see that being such a big problem; you can just send 'pushed' payments from your checking account(s))

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They do?  PenFed has been my primary checking for 25 years, and I've been doing all my online payments as pulls from my PenFed checking.  I have never run up against any limit.

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Have you tried to do 2 in 1 day? They won't let you. They give you an error message that you already made a transfer to that account today.

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I’ve done 5 in one day more than once — but to 5 different accounts.  Why would I ever want to do 2 payments to a single account on the same day?

[BronzeTrader]

Not sure if anyone mentions the Fidelity 2% cash card.  It is solid, but there is a $50 redeem minimum I recall.

I do not like any high-maintenance card to get the extra 1%.

I have stayed away from almost all the cash reward credit cards.  With the Chase 5% and Discover 5%, they get most of my spendings.....

[longtimelurker]

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@Anonymouswrote:

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That doesn't make any sense at all. Paying multiple times doesn't negate the rewards earned by having used the credit card so it's not remarkably similar to throwing away free money in any way. The amount of interest you're talking about is meaningless unless we're talking purchases of multiple thousands of dollars, and even then it's usually only pennies. Someone floating thousands of dollars over the course of a year due to a 0% APR offer is one thing, but a 20-day temporary loan is not that at all, lol.

Personally speaking, I would rather applaud someone that chooses to guarantee that they're only spending within their means, even if it's by using a method that I might personally not follow, as opposed to trying to demean them with such a simple straw man argument.

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Well, except that it IS actually throwing free money away, just a different type (and as I noted, usually much less).   The issuer gives you the option to take an interest free loan (a.k.a grace period) and paying every day throws away that free money.   And yes, it's small, but it's not as if the average user is getting rich on credit card rewards anyway.   So it is just a matter of degree, and as I said, it is just as valid as applauding to point out downsides of any strategy (and readers can decide whether the downside is important to them)

[longtimelurker]

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@longtimelurkerwrote:

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@Anonymouswrote:

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That doesn't make any sense at all. Paying multiple times doesn't negate the rewards earned by having used the credit card so it's not remarkably similar to throwing away free money in any way. The amount of interest you're talking about is meaningless unless we're talking purchases of multiple thousands of dollars, and even then it's usually only pennies. Someone floating thousands of dollars over the course of a year due to a 0% APR offer is one thing, but a 20-day temporary loan is not that at all, lol.

Personally speaking, I would rather applaud someone that chooses to guarantee that they're only spending within their means, even if it's by using a method that I might personally not follow, as opposed to trying to demean them with such a simple straw man argument.

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Well, except that it IS actually throwing free money away, just a different type (and as I noted, usually much less).   The issuer gives you the option to take an interest free loan (a.k.a grace period) and paying every day throws away that free money.   And yes, it's small, but it's not as if the average user is getting rich on credit card rewards anyway.   So it is just a matter of degree, and as I said, it is just as valid as applauding to point out downsides of any strategy (and readers can decide whether the downside is important to them)

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Just to give an example quantification.   Suppose that the monthly spend on all credit cards totals $1000 (no idea what the MyFico average is!).

Assuming a minimum grace period of 20 days (which is low) on average a charge is made 35 days before due date (15 days into the statement period, and then 20 days after the statement closes) so over 12 months of charges, paying for each transaction loses 35*12 = 420 days of interest.  It's now easy to get at least 1.5% on a savings account so on $1000 this is just over $17 a year.    This is certainly fairly small compared to the rewards (a 1.5% card is getting $180 and a 2% card $240 on this spend) but it is over one months rewards on the 1.5% card, and 85% of a months rewards on a 2%, so it is not nothing!

A related, slightly smaller, cost is associated with those using AZEO every month, where the grace period is given up on all but one card.

[Anonymous]

The Citi DoubleCash is great and they now have a sign up bonus. Your MC sounds fine though and you're being overly critical. All my cards in my signature I have for cashback purposes.