Credit Cards

[Ben Franklin]

It's time to dump my current credit card.

Anyone have any suggestions for a new card?

I have pretty good credit and I'm looking for one of those low APR cards. Maybe a "0" % intro rate or something like that.

No annual fee, points that I can redeem for pimp hotels later on.

Any useful information that you have would be appreciated!


Sincerely,

B. Franklin

 

[8HourPilot]

Capital One seems to be doing good stuff right now.

 

[LR60BOY]

I like Bank One. I have the Marriott Visa which allows me to acrue points for future stays.

 

[flx757]

We're always getting 0% introductory offers in the mail, but for everyday use, we have found the AMEX "Cash Rebate" card to be the best. No fees involved, and a certain percent cash back (from 1-5%) depending upon the amount you spend each month. For the few occasions we run into where the merchant doesn't take AMEX, we have a Priority Club Visa, which accrues points towards Holiday Inns' Priority Club...although with my wife's job at a fractional, we already have so many hotel points that we will probably never be able to use them up.

We really don't look at APRs, since we never carry any balance. We just look for who offers the best rewards, and for cards with no annual fees.

Good luck. Do a search of the web. There are some good credit card deals out there if you sniff them out. However, we've been using this AMEX Cash Rebate card for a while, and have been happy with it. Discover and Chase also offer cash rebate cards with varying details. I guess it all depends on what criteria you are looking for in a credit card, and what "rewards" program would be more important. Of course, the cost of the card (annual fees, APRs if you carry a balance, etc.) would all weigh into the decision.

 

[FL000]

Check to see if the card associated with your carrier's frequent flier program offers free cards to employees. I have the Delta Skymiles card. No fee, competetive rate. My other card is a Citibank Mastercard. I've been with them for years and get great service and protection.

If you carry a balance, keep your current account open so you can bounce the balance back and forth between the companies, let them fight via lower interests rates for your business. When I was carrying a large balance, I rotated it among all my cards as lower and lower rates were offered. I finally ended up putting all of it with Citi at 2.9% until the full balance was paid off, and then closed unneeded accounts. No one has beat that.

I now keep two cards, MC and Amex, and also a Visa debit card. 99% of my dollars spent goes on debit.

 

[flx757]

99% of my dollars spent goes on debit.

100% of my dollars get spent on a credit card that costs me nothing to use, but pays me cash back on money I would have spent anyway. Plus, the money stays in my account earning interest until the bill comes due at the end of the month, instead of being deducted immediately via debit. Of course, if you carry a balance...this defeats this plan altogether. So, everyone's situation, goals and priorities are different. You have to research and find what best suits your own needs.

 

[FL000]

100% of my dollars get spent on a credit card that costs me nothing to use, but pays me cash back on money I would have spent anyway. Plus, the money stays in my account earning interest until the bill comes due at the end of the month, instead of being deducted immediately via debit. Of course, if you carry a balance...this defeats this plan altogether. So, everyone's situation, goals and priorities are different. You have to research and find what best suits your own needs.

Agreed. I don't have the discipline to do what you do. Wish I did.

 

[flx757]

Agreed. I don't have the discipline to do what you do. Wish I did.

I don't have (or at least didn't for the first 43 or so years of my life) this discipline, either. This "discipline" has been instilled (read: "forced" ) upon me by my current wife. No, really...she deserves all the credit for instilling this discipline and getting me to stick to this plan. Until she came along, my finances were a shambles, at best.

I guess I should consider myself very fortunate. I know a lot of guys who are in the complete opposite situation, trying to instill this "discipline" the other way.

 

[NRHPilot]

Pulaski Bank.

5.5% fixed
$35 annual fee.

 

[AFELLOWAVIATOR]

USBANK now gives you cash back yearly for using their VISA check card. It is up to 5%, I think. We use it for every thing we can. The money is put into your account in either Sept. or Oct. Plus it is free checking.

 

[USC***]

Delta Skymiles???

FL000,

I just went to the website to apply for Delta Skymiles and it said the annual fee is from $30-$85. How did you get it with no annual fee? Thanks for any info.

 

[FL000]

Re: Delta Skymiles???

FL000,

I just went to the website to apply for Delta Skymiles and it said the annual fee is from $30-$85. How did you get it with no annual fee? Thanks for any info.

I had signed up for the gold card with an annual fee and 10,000 bonus miles to start up. Shortly thereafter, another employee told me that we get free cards with them, so I called customer service. I told them I was an employee, and they changed my account to a basic card, no annual fee, and reduced the bonus miles to 5,000, but kept the credit limit the same.

There were one or two benefits lost by downgrading the card. I don't remember what they were, but I do remember thinking that I didn't need them anyway. Something like a free year-end statement and one other thing I wouldn't use anyway.

The basic answer to your question: sign up over the phone and tell them you are a Delta employee.