is score on Credit Karma reliable?

[ztnjpv]

I forgot to mention the Amex Blue Cash Preferred. My dream card. 6% back in grocery stores = $60 a month minimum in savings, not counting other categories (remember that they sell cigarettes, liquor, prescriptions, and everything else in some grocery stores, so at some, all of those purchases get 5% cash back too). However, a friend claims he gets a flat 3% cash back on everything, with no caps, with a credit card issued, I believe, by Mutual of Omaha (the insurance company - he showed me the card, and that was the branding) and no annual fee. I've never heard of anything that good, so I was tempted to call bull**bleep** (and, since then, I've been unable to learn anything more about it).

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Ever buy Gift Cards in Grocery Stores? Do they honor the same 6% on that too?

[Anonymous]

...And after CK detected me paying off the $147 balance on my Amazon Store Credit, my score jumped back up thirty points. Talk about heavily weighting utilization (1.5% decrease = 30 point jump). Before I came on this forum, the scores were always very close. Speak of the devil.

[Anonymous]

Yes, they do honor the gift cards, if they're purchased in the grocery store. The CC system can't see that it's any different from any other purchase as long as a cashier rings it up. However, they may flag it  based on some other criteria, such as the roundness of the numbers - I never put anything past the CCCs - because it may be considered "gaming the system"; whenever my 5% categories come up, if I think I'm going to use them, I immediately buy $1500 in gift cards. Many stores (especially grocery stores) will sell you $1500 in gift cards from $1400-1425, plus the cap of $75 in quarterly rewards (which I go over in several categories, which is why the Amex BCP would be nice - no caps) for a total of about 10.5-11.5% cash back (11.5-12.5% with the Amex Blue Cash Preferred), or $1500 in groceries for $1325-1350.

This is more Fat Wallet-esque instead of Ficonian, but life is full of little secrets like that, although food remains one of the only areas where one is lucky to work the system well enough to get only 10% off - in many other areas, one can live well for literally 50% off. I've received so many smartphones and computers and other various electronics for the proverbial "nominal fee" it's not even funny (well, it actually is) - if appearances are important, one can essentially appear to be twice as wealthy as one is, or more, although I recommend living below one's means and additionally saving money, and investing all of the savings/cash back money and the means-money left over.

I know a few people who went "cash only" (some relatively wealthy - low millionnaires - and in their 50s) and lose out big time because they let credit be their master, and are now gunshy. Use credit wisely, and you make money, and the CCC makes money or breaks even (based on swipe fees) - a win-win situation. Carry a balance even one month and see six months of rewards disappear (especially that a "low interest" rewards card is an oxymoron - most are in the 20% range) - not to mention in my experience once someone steps down the dark road of not paying in full, it always gets worse. If you need a loan, get a loan, and pay 2-4% APR - don't use a credit card as a loan. I've never paid one red cent of interest in my life. I earn a couple of thousand a year in rewards.

As far as CreditKarma, when my CK TransRisk score was 678 for a while, TU 08 was 721 (lender pull) - then my TransRisk went up to 699, and FICO stayed at 721. I imagine now that it's jumped back up to 680 something after paying off that measly $147 bill, that my actual TU FICO is up in that range again (my Equifax lags TU some 50-70 points, even though they have exactly the same information on file, except for hard inquiries - they have five more - which EQ hasn't rolled up yet). Ironic thing is, I just moved, and received a credit score from TU, on a 1-999 scoring system - a specific scoring system for utilities, just like they have one for automobile loans - in the low 300s. What? I've never paid a bill late in my life. Just another way to charge "installation fees" for services that require no installation.

[ztnjpv]

"Yes, they do honor the gift cards, if they're purchased in the grocery store. The CC system can't see that it's any different from any other purchase as long as a cashier rings it up. However, they may flag it  based on some other criteria, such as the roundness of the numbers -"

Yeah. I never thought of that thing about round numbers. I guess buying cards for 49.99 would be smart. ;-) 

The reason I ask is because, like many people, I do my grocery shopping at Walmart where that 6% on groceries doesn't count. And I doubt that overall we'd be better off just shopping at a more expensive grocery store with 6% cash back....maybe once in a while but overall I think the cash back will just get mainly cancelled out by the higher prices. HOWEVER, if I can go buy Visa or Walmart gift cards at the grocery store and then go use them for my Walmart shopping, we get that tasty 6% amd the lower prices on top of it...provided Amex doesn't do something to take away the cash back discount. Have you ever seen them NOT give you the 6% on gift card purchases at a Grocery store?

Part of me would think that Amex has a special dept to monitor that heavy 6% cash back and make sure they aren't giving it away for non-grocery purchases like gift cards. 

**I know that my 2% cash back on gas with Chase Ink Card works on everything I buy at gas stations. It's not just gas. BUT, that's 2%...not 6%. So, Chase may not care to patrol it.

But I was just thinking: When you say "as long as a cashier rings it up", do you mean manually typing in the numbers? Doesn't everything go over the scanner these days? It would have to be a pretty small-time mom-pop store to ring up stuff by hand with an old-fashioned cash register.

[Anonymous]

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@ztnjpv wrote:

I forgot to mention the Amex Blue Cash Preferred. My dream card. 6% back in grocery stores = $60 a month minimum in savings, not counting other categories (remember that they sell cigarettes, liquor, prescriptions, and everything else in some grocery stores, so at some, all of those purchases get 5% cash back too). However, a friend claims he gets a flat 3% cash back on everything, with no caps, with a credit card issued, I believe, by Mutual of Omaha (the insurance company - he showed me the card, and that was the branding) and no annual fee. I've never heard of anything that good, so I was tempted to call bull**bleep** (and, since then, I've been unable to learn anything more about it).

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Ever buy Gift Cards in Grocery Stores? Do they honor the same 6% on that too?

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Maybe he is wrong. Maybe no longer issued card. But doesn't seem to exist now. There is 2x reward point card which could translate into 2% on some gift card (don't know since no access to their reward program). However there is a 3% cash back card with small af and 3% after 3500 in one year from jcb called jcb marukai premium card. Jcb accepted whereever jcb or discover accepted. Best cash back card that I know of.

[Anonymous]

I was wondering about this myself. I recently joined CK because many people kept mentioning it.

When I signed up my TU score was low, which I was kind of expecting but not THAT low.

Now, I'm working towards rebuilding my credit with help and the company I used pulled all my credit scores and my TU was a lot higher than what CK said.

Anyone else have this problem?

Thanks in advance!

[llecs]

Ignore the scores. Mine have been within a few points of FICO when pulled the same day and as much as 100 off when compared to FICO the same day.

[Anonymous]

Oh ok.

So what good is CK then?

[llecs]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Oh ok.

So what good is CK then?

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Report info. You get a general idea of what's on your TU report, for free.

[Anonymous]

Ahh. Ok. Thank you do much for clarifying it.