your favourite credit cards

[iMacDrew]

I couldnt tell you what score exactly they require, but your scores should be good. It is a signature card so you if you have other credit cards with limits 5000 or over and nothing bad within a couple years you should be good.

[Quips]

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@proton022 wrote:

Folks,

I've a 10+ year long credit history, but due to my silly mistake () both credit cards that I had got cancelled by the creditor two years ago. I'm now an authorized user on my spouse's CCs. I want to untie myself from hers, and start holding my own set of CCs. 

FICO scores: EQ: 795, TU: 782, EX: 742 (all one week old, obtained from a lender pull). 

There is an overwhelming amount of information out there, but it would be nice to know your favourite card for each of the following two categories if you were me. I pay in full, so APR doesn't matter. 

1. Rewards card: 

My spouse has Chase Freedom, but I find the revolving categories a pain to track.  I'm thinking of PenFed Platinum Rewards, which gives about 3% rewards on grocery, 5% on gas, and 1% for the rest.  May be also add PenFed Premium Travel Rewards for getting 5% back on flight tickets. PenFed also seems to serve a worthy cause. Are there better ones than these?

2. Travel Card:

I travel about 6-8 times a year about equally on Delta and UA.  Nice to have complimentary companion travel, lounge accesses, and no fee on foreign transactions. Any card  that gives all these for ~100$ fee? I used to have Citi PremierPass Elite, which gets close to this, but I'm not sure if they give Priority Pass club access these days with it.

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Favorite Cards:

Rewards - I use 3-4 cards -  Love the US Bank Cash + card and use the 5% categories  for restaurants and paying utility bills, Use the BCP for Groceries (6%), Gas and Dept Stores (3%). Use Freedom when the 5% categories make sense, use Costco Amex travel (2%) and gas (3%) . I use the US Bank for anything that I am getting 1% back on since they give you a $25 bonus when you redeem $100 cash back.

Travel cards - I really don't travel enough to recommend any.

[CreditScholar]

My favorite card used to be the Chase Sapphire Preferred, but now it's my Chase United MileagePlus WEMC. It's an "all-in-one card", and I really like that.

For a UA flier, it's the closest thing to the Amex platinum given all of the benefits it comes with.

* Universal acceptance

* No forex fees

* Full United lounge membership

* Premier Access (priority check-in, priority airport security lines, priority boarding and baggage handling, 2 free checked bags)

* Hyatt Platinum

* Avis Presidents Club

* Access to Virtuoso since it's a World Elite MasterCard.

* Excellent earning power with 1.5 miles per dollar spent

I'll never achieve Hyatt Diamond given my current travel patterns, so this guarantees me platinum status without having to worry. Priority check-in and late check-out can be a lifesaver, while occasional room upgrades and free Internet are nice. Being able to use the elite check-in desk during a convention can save half an hour or more of waiting in line. Avis President's Club is great for upgrades, and unlike the Amex platinum it actually has good earning power so I am willing to push a lot of money through it.

I miss the CSPs ability to transfer points but since I only fly *A and do so regularly, I can always make use of whatever United miles I earn. The $395 AF doesn't bother me one bit. I can't comment on rewards cards since I don't have any.

[Open123]

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@CreditScholar wrote:

* Excellent earning power with 1.5 miles per dollar spent

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I didn't the 1.5% rewards on ALL spending. 

Excellent all around card. 

[marty56]

Yours (or anyone else's I can steal)

Seriously my RBFCU Master card.  1% cashback, no games, can pay as often as I like.

The only down sidew is that they call me all the time to verify that the charges I made were valid.

[LTomBerry]

Amex Blue Cash Preferred  for groceries & gas - the 6% and 3% are hard to beat.

Chase Sapphire Preferred for travel/restaurants. 2% cashback, no FTF, 7% annual bonus, and the ability to transfer points to multiple programs.

Both of these have annual fees so do the math to see if it makes the rewards worth it.

Also have Discover More & Chase Freedom for the 5% categories. The ability to transfer Freedom UR points to CSP is a nice perk.

[migliogiorni]

Amex BCEP

[jsucool76]

This thread just makes me feel inadequate. I get 1% back on everything (plus the bonuses with PerkCentral - 1%-15%) and then a 50% bonus at the end of the year on my cap1 ...

[UFGuy2006]

For me its my Chase Freedom and/or Discover IT card.

[proton022]

Thanks for all your input.

It sounds like US Bank cash+ and Amex BCP together can work well, getting nearly 5-6% on most categories. 

I'm still not sure about the travel card though. Creditscholar, I couldn't find  Chase United MileagePlus WEMC that you suggested. Do you know what is the best one could for a 100$ AF card?