Comments on: Best Cash Back Reward Credit Cards

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:26:19 +0000

Hi Vicky, I don’t know if it’s a Visa or a Mastercard but it’s one of those so you won’t have any problems with acceptance.

By: Vicky

Vicky — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:37:07 +0000

Sctrojan, Did you have any problem with Chase Freedom card? Do all the stores/restaurants take it? I looked at it before, but since it does not have a Visa/MasterCard/Discover written on it was not sure if it works everywhere. Jim, do you know anything about this card? Thanks

By: SCTrojan

SCTrojan — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:10:15 +0000

A comment on the Chase Freedom card….if you wait until you accumulate $200 in points, you can trade it in for $250 in cash. It’s a nice bonus on top of the 3% cash back for your top 3 categories and 1% cash back for everything else. And, this summer (2009), they’re having a promotion where if you register & spend $1500 in the travel & dining categories, all of your purchases will receive 3% cash back, regardless of whether they were your top 3 or not.

By: lili

lili — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 22:53:08 +0000

USAA Cash reward american express card:
5% cash rebate on your first $650 of gas, grocery and dining purchases each month for the first year.

Ongoing cash rebates up to 1.25% on your USAA American Express Card purchases.

By: jim

jim — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:15:00 +0000

You can simply join by paying the membership fee (NMFA.org signup). There are other perks like a GEICO discount (it's their organization-related discount, so if you already get that then this isn't going to give you more of a discount).

By: LAL

LAL — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:05:36 +0000

How do you become a member of NMFA? Is it worth it? And you can get mortgages with PenFed and CC?

I have Citibank Simplicity Cash Back CC, no longer offered. I’m grandfathered in. 5% back on cash, groceries, drugstores. 1% on everything else and there is a $300/limit annually.

By: jim

jim — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:28:51 +0000

Kenny… you are entirely correct, I’ve made the correction.

By: Kenny

Kenny — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:16:38 +0000

In you comment about the cards there is an ERROR. You said “There is one downside, the 5% doesn’t kick in after you’ve spent $6500 that year based on your anniversary date. After the first $6500, where you earn less than 5%, the 5% kicks in.”

The meaning above is has a bit of controversy. If someone reads the 1st sentence, it means that 5% does NOT kick in AFTER the $6500 is spent. The 2nd sentence says that 5% kicks in AFTER the $6500 is spent.

Please correct it, or correct me……English is my 2nd language so I may be wrong in the interpretation.

For readers, basically, you are better off with Citibank Diamond card that give 5% or 5 ThankYouPoints from your first $1. I like that card, but that card has a catch where this promotion expires every 12 months. So, I get a card in my name, add another card, give the 2nd one to my wife, and the following year, apply for a card in my Wife’s name and get an additional card, which I use. Of course, I close the card in my name.

This gets around the $6500 issue and also the special promo.

Thanks.

Kenny

By: Scott

Scott — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:08:02 +0000

SPG AMEX is the best airline card now that they just opened their own direct flight booking service with no blackout dates: http://www.spgflights.com/. I just got the email on this service this morning. Of course you can always redeem 20,000 StarPoints for 25,000 airline miles (minus United and Continental who require more) whenever you want. Only downer is the annual fee is $45 (first year is free and you get 10,000 points for signing up) but I’ve found it to be well worth it.

I did a quick check on how good their new airline booking service might be and found that I could get a Northwest flight from home to my wife’s family’s home for only 20,000 points but NW listed the same flights on their site for 50,000 miles! (I did a quick check on an international flight and the deal was not so good though – I guess your miles will vary.)

FYI, anyone can join the SPG program for free. The credit card just makes it easy to rack up points quick.

By: Ceo Reom

Ceo Reom — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 04:10:44 +0000

Doesn’t the Chase or Discover card already offer unlimited 1% cashback on everything else? Why the need for the CashReturns card?

By: fivecentnickel.com

fivecentnickel.com — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 03:05:47 +0000

Blue Cash rocks, especially if you have a big family. The 3% difference on groceries vs. the PenFed card is actually a pretty big deal in my house.

By: JB

JB — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 01:33:36 +0000

Oh and I forgot to mention:

Thanks for the site Jim. Always a pleasure to read.

By: jim

jim — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 01:26:33 +0000

saladdin: Yes, all cards have a membership requirement but I think that it’s very clear on the Penfed card that you need to be a Penfed member. You can’t just walk in and join, you have to get in through other means (albeit simpler means).

As for the Blue Cash, I do think the $6500 sucks but I’ve gotten a bunch of emails from people who recommended the card after my best gas card post, which is what put it on my radar.

By: saladdin

saladdin — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 22:18:17 +0000

I’m with JB.

Jim,
I don’t buy the “membership requirement” reason for exculsion. All cards have some type of “requirement” from annual fees to needing to have a FICO above a certain score (700 for example) or even salary mins.

I say any card that only allows max rebates to kick in only after $6500 should be excluded. The Penfed card is just a better deal all around.

saladdin

By: jim

jim — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 21:08:26 +0000

JB: Some people have mentioned the Penfed card but since it does have some membership requirements (albeit low ones, like you can join the NMFA to become a member) I left it out of this list. It would’ve made for a great “everything else” card in addition to a great gas card.