OT - Looking to get another Credit Card, what would you recommend?

[intlzncster]

For everyone else, this is a great app to deal with your rewards program:

Deciding which credit card to use at retailers is often difficult especially when some cards like the Chase Freedom Visa, have rotating quarterly categories. Our mobile app, TPG To Go, will tell you which card in your wallet will earn the most rewards. The app also pulls in recent posts from the blog, shows the current hot credit card deals and for $3.99 will track your bonus spending so you will know when you have hit your spend requirements. The app is available on both iPhone and Adroid, visit mobile.thepointsguy.com for more information.

 

[DaddyChoc]

money.com has an interesting story on how to make money off your credit cards (its only $500.00 but 500 is 500)

LINK

 

[DogMania]

Definitely no exact science. That said, in my unprofessional opinion, there's no reason for you to get a miles rewards card, as you don't fly often enough to warrant it. Might as well collect cashback rewards, instead of accruing miles for some hoped for overseas trip in the future; you would effectively be giving them a no interest loan (via delayed benefits) otherwise. And you have all your domestic miles taken care of with the South West card.

The only other reason to get a foreign travel card would be to get zero foreign transaction fees on your card, but both the SouthWest and Chase cards already has this benefit. I think the SW card has auto travel insurance as well? Check you have both of these benefits to be sure.

Status quo for you imo.

I just opened a Chase Freedom card which is one of those 5% rotating cashback type cards. I was thinking of also opening a Discover it card which is also a rotating rewards card so I would have options when to use them, but I'm not sure if that's a good idea for a few reasons.

First off, it seems the 5% reward the first quarter is the same for both cards (Cash and Ground Transportation). The Chase shows me what the cats are fore each quarter. Discovery it only shows the first quarter.

Is it likely that both will have the same quarterly rotations?
Will opening two cards kill my credit score, and if so for how long? I don't remember what my score is, but it has been excellent. I always pay off my cards on time.

I appreciate your feedback. Seems both cards are very similar and it was a toss up as to which one to open.

 

[Leebo]

Did you ever stop to think why those programs are in place? Perhaps it is because the cash flow the credit card companies make on interest will be greater then the 'rewards' they delve out?

Who knows maybe it's just a big conspiracy to turn a profit by giving their card holders free stuff - no strings attached.

I know this post was a few weeks ago, but it's really not hard to understand what he was saying. If you pay off your balance you never pay the interest. So if you spend the same small amount regularly with a rewards card and a debit card, the reward card will be the better deal.

 

[Jerry1714]

I would only consider Amex given the customer service and benefits (rental car insurance, deals everywhere, no foreign fees, ect) they offer and the Starwood Preferred Guest card is a real good one travel related points.

 

[Hoophound]

I would only consider Amex given the customer service and benefits (rental car insurance, deals everywhere, no foreign fees, ect) they offer and the Starwood Preferred Guest card is a real good one travel related points.

The old Amex is gone. 75% of customer service people are in India and Mexico. I have had fraud on my Amex account repeatedly in the last year and they didn't detect it one time. They used to catch everything. Total garbage. Far more impressed with Citi and Chase these days.

 

[intlzncster]

I just opened a Chase Freedom card which is one of those 5% rotating cashback type cards. I was thinking of also opening a Discover it card which is also a rotating rewards card so I would have options when to use them, but I'm not sure if that's a good idea for a few reasons.

First off, it seems the 5% reward the first quarter is the same for both cards (Cash and Ground Transportation). The Chase shows me what the cats are fore each quarter. Discovery it only shows the first quarter.

Is it likely that both will have the same quarterly rotations?
Will opening two cards kill my credit score, and if so for how long? I don't remember what my score is, but it has been excellent. I always pay off my cards on time.

I appreciate your feedback. Seems both cards are very similar and it was a toss up as to which one to open.

It won't hurt your score I don't think. It just means you have more credit/potential-debt out there, which can sometimes even improve your score (up to a point), if you manage it well.

I'd guess that you could call up Discover and they'd probably tell you the categories? That's what I'd do. Then decide if it's worth it.

 

[Leebo]

Well, IIRC, part of your score is the average age of your accounts or something like that, so you will take a small hit in the short term, but in the long term the added ceiling should help more than the immediate hurt.