Best Credit Card with Cash Back Rewards

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Foler

Asshat Foler

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Locnar said:
Question for you Foler on your priority pass usage: Do they make you show your boarding pass when going in? I've been wondering if a card that gives lounge access is worth it to someone who most always flys standby.

I know the centurion lounges are great, but is the food in the PP lounges even worth eating? I've mostly seen just cheap looking finger food in them.
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Man honestly. Now that you mention it. I want to say no but I can't be 100% sure. It may depend on the lounge because I feel like at some point I've been asked for it. Would make sense for lounges that are before security checkpoints to ask right?

PP just partners with lounges so the quality of the lounge can be completely variable. Like you could end up at an airport that has 4 PP lounges that are all different partners, sometimes I peak in one and the other to see which is better. Sometimes two PP lounges can be literally right next door to each other. Now another result of them being partners is that each lounge can sometimes have different rules or open/close times, etc.

The enormous network they have is a huge benefit for me. I've hit up lounges in places like Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Bolivia, etc where the general airport is just terrible (I've slept on the floor of Jomo Kenyatta International before - do not recommend)

Id say buffet finger food type stuff is stereotypical with free alcohol. The one in the DR had an actual bartender.. I want to say the one I was in in San Jose CR had food you could order tho.

Like I said for me the biggest benefit is in African countries or Latin America, where the lounge is significantly more comfortable than the airport (airport doesn't have wifi but lounge does for example)

Hope that's helpful.
 
sleevedraw

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Foler said:
Thanks for all the info sleeve!

So at the end of the day if my goal is to max cash back it sounds like fidelity may be my best option? I can't find where it says unlimited free equity/ETF trades in their perks, have a link?

Some years I can drop a ton on travel and others not much. Even if I only get 1% back on travel stuff do to forex ex fee that's still the same 1% equiv I'd be getting for chase cash back. However, the chase points multiplier for categories like travel could make up for the lacking cash back no? Like if I spend $30k on flights in a year I'd get $2k back where as with fidelity that could vary from 1-2% depending on the currency they charge me in (I've had smaller Africa based airlines use local currency). Thus chase would come out on top with cash back?

One thing that's a huge plus of chase reserve is priority pass. My travel is usually in Africa/ME/Latin America and the difference between the VIP lounge and regular is usually Vastly different in Podunk African or s American countries (once had a 6 hour flight delay in the DR and got myself and 6 friends into VIP lounge for free, airport had no wifi but lounge had wifi + free drinks)

RoI of priority pass in American and European airports I feel like is diminishing.
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If you are willing to park 100k at Merrill/BofA, then the Premium Rewards is the absolute best flat cash card (2.625% back). It has a $95 AF, but it's very easy to recoup this because it has a $100 travel credit. The travel credit only applies to incidentals like checked bags, fees, and food, but there are a couple ways that you can redeem this almost 1:1 for cash (buying an American Airlines gift card and then selling it, for instance.)

If you don't want to move investments but you spend a lot, the Alliant Visa Signature is the next-best option (3% year 1, 2.5% thereafter; $99 AF waived year 1). However, in order for this card to be better than a no annual fee 2% option, you would need to spend at least $19,800 per year on just that card.

Otherwise go with the Fidelity card.

As for Fidelity having free trades, pretty much all of the major brokers have recently started doing that after Schwab led the way.
 
Foler

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sleevedraw said:
If you are willing to park 100k at Merrill/BofA, then the Premium Rewards is the absolute best flat cash card (2.625% back). It has a $95 AF, but it's very easy to recoup this because it has a $100 travel credit. The travel credit only applies to incidentals like checked bags, fees, and food, but there are a couple ways that you can redeem this almost 1:1 for cash (buying an American Airlines gift card and then selling it, for instance.)

If you don't want to move investments but you spend a lot, the Alliant Visa Signature is the next-best option (3% year 1, 2.5% thereafter; $99 AF waived year 1). However, in order for this card to be better than a no annual fee 2% option, you would need to spend at least $19,800 per year on just that card.

Otherwise go with the Fidelity card.

As for Fidelity having free trades, pretty much all of the major brokers have recently started doing that after Schwab led the way.
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Gotcha. Not gonna park 100k over there. Def spend over 19k a year. I use fidelity for my investments and already have free trades

Thanks for the info!
 
Mist

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This one seems pretty good, and having an existing Chase Freedom of Chase Freedom Unlimited does not prevent you from getting the sign-up bonus.

Chase Freedom Flex Bonus: Up to $800 Cash Back in the First Year (slickdeals.net)

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Locnar

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Oh thanks, i'll apply for that tomorrow for sure

Edit: looks like a Chase Freedom but with less general cashback 1 percent vs. 1.5 percent.
 
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sleevedraw

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Mist said:
This one seems pretty good, and having an existing Chase Freedom of Chase Freedom Unlimited does not prevent you from getting the sign-up bonus.

Chase Freedom Flex Bonus: Up to $800 Cash Back in the First Year (slickdeals.net)
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It is, yeah. Basically makes the Blue Cash Preferred obsolete for a year (BCP gets a maximum of 4.4% cash back on supermarkets after the $95 annual fee).

And while some people are complaining about it being MasterCard for some reason, it's one of the very few no-Annual Fee cards that has the potential to be World Elite MasterCard, which has some nice fringe benefits (5 Lyft rides in a month = $10 credit once a month; 15% off on Lufthansa; 10% off Onefinestay)
 
kegkilla

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The Chase Freedom Unlimited also has a $200 cash incentive, so you can potentially knock both of them out and grab $400 in cashback bonuses.

Side note: credit card sign on bonuses are a very strong economic indicator. Sign on bonuses have been non-existent for the past few years because the economy has been so hot. Seeing them start to pop back up is an indication that the bank (Chase in this case, who inevitably has some of the best economic modelling data in the world) sees hard times ahead for the economy, thus they are incentivizing the card to keep sign ups going.
 
Mist

Mist

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China Bat Soup said:
The Chase Freedom Unlimited also has a $200 cash incentive, so you can potentially knock both of them out and grab $400 in cashback bonuses.

Side note: credit card sign on bonuses are a very strong economic indicator. Sign on bonuses have been non-existent for the past few years because the economy has been so hot. Seeing them start to pop back up is an indication that the bank (Chase in this case, who inevitably has some of the best economic modelling data in the world) sees hard times ahead for the economy, thus they are incentivizing the card to keep sign ups going.
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I've felt the same way. It's like they're saying they have a sudden need to find new idiots.

The credit limit they gave me is astronomical, which is a little strange since I already have Chase Freedom, Freedom Unlimited, Amazon Prime and Ink.
 
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Falstaff

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Yeah I didn’t realize what thread this was I thought you guys were talking about the open new checking account rewards...
 
Kiroy

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China Bat Soup said:
Credit cards generate most of their revenue from transaction fees.
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Yup. Ive said this in here before: seriosly think about where you use your reward cards. Big box stores is whatever, but if you frequent and enjoy some small ma and pa restaurant, or hair cut place, or shops or whatever, please use your debit card (or cash). It’s many points difference in fees.

I dont use reward cards at all becuase they raise prices on everyone. Those rewards dont spring out of thin air.
 
Harshaw

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Mist

Mist

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Harshaw said:
Applied and got put in application limbo :( Was going to abuse that 200 cash back for Christmas shit this year... and a new monitor for me. I've already got 2 chase cards, so I may hit their limit or something I guess.
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Na I've got 5 chase cards now lol.
 
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Mist

Mist

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Kiroy said:
Yup. Ive said this in here before: seriosly think about where you use your reward cards. Big box stores is whatever, but if you frequent and enjoy some small ma and pa restaurant, or hair cut place, or shops or whatever, please use your debit card (or cash). It’s many points difference in fees.

I dont use reward cards at all becuase they raise prices on everyone. Those rewards dont spring out of thin air.
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Or you could just tip more...
 
Mist

Mist

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Anyone that has the Amazon Prime Card, cash back is doubled to 10% for this stuff:

Prime Card Bonus Offer

Bonus rewards offers are limited time offers exclusively for Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card and Amazon Prime Store Card members with an eligible Prime membership while supplies last.
www.amazon.com

Bunch of nice Logitech and Western Digital stuff on here.
 
sleevedraw

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Citi launched a new card called the Custom Cash and it's...surprisingly good.

5% on your top spending category, up to $500/mo, 1% back on all others, $200 SUB, no AF.

Basically kills the BCE and BCP if you use it for grocery, and it also puts some pressure on the US Bank Cash+ by having categories that are broader and less finicky. Other possible categories for 5% are Restaurants, Gas Stations, Select Travel, Select Transit, Select Streaming Services, Drugstores, Home Improvement Stores, Fitness Clubs and Live Entertainment.
 
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sleevedraw

sleevedraw

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If you have a Southwest card. Today only.

RR points were recently devalued, but they still generally have a minimum value of 1.2cpp, so at minimum, this is a "Buy a $100 gift card or flight and get $60 in rewards points" deal.
 
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