Comments on: How to Max Out Credit Card Rewards

By: Raphael

Raphael — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:07:06 +0000

I came across your work today and decided to add a comment. With all due respect, there is one card that do gives 2% cash back. You must accumulate in excess of $25.00 to redeem. The name is Household bank. I closed my account because HSBC bank took over and raised my apr to 14% from 8%. Someone still have a platinum from them with the same feature. There was no limit on my reward earnings. And you can buy anywhere you want at any price. Well, HSBC may had spoiled that too. thanks and good luck.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:18:51 +0000

If you have an account at Fidelity, I’d recommend applying for a Fidelity platinum plus Visa. No annual fee, 1.5% back on every $1 spent. We put every single purchase we can on this car (of course we pay it off every month) and have made thousands.

The only downside is you need to initiate the transfer from the rewards program into your fidelity account, but in a way that’s great, because it’s going directly into your investment account.

By: EN

EN — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:51:59 +0000

Thanks for the response Jim!

By: Kara

Kara — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:42:46 +0000

I have a rewards Discover card. To get the most from it, I use http://www.mypoints.com when placing online orders. That way, I get points through that site while shopping online and through my Discover card.

By: jim

jim — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:36:27 +0000

EN: We’re going to keep the CashReturns because:
1) There’s no limit, some of the 1% cards have an annual limit.
2) They send you a check automatically, so you don’t have to request a check.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 11:46:23 +0000

Reward programs on credit cards are awesome. I have the Chase Freedom card that gives me 3% back on gas, grocery and restaurant and 1% on other purchases. It’s great because after you get $200 in rewards, you get a $250 check. Also, great tip #8. You can save tons of money by just not spending rather than spending more money just to get a few rewards dollars on a credit card. Great article Jim.

By: EN

EN — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 06:26:25 +0000

jim,

Not sure if this is of much use, but I applied for the SimplyCash card just before the change from 5% to 3% cashback on gas was announced. I thought of canceling but Amex allowed me to keep the old 5% reward structure for 12 months before they implement the change for me. So for now I’m just using the card to get 5% off gas and it’s working perfectly.

Side question, since you use the CashReturns card for mostly all of your purchases, what happens when you’re out of your first year and the card reverts back to 1% only. I think practically all cards offer at least 1% so it doesn’t seem very enticing anymore. Were you thinking of changing after the bonus expires?

By: claroconnect

claroconnect — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 04:22:05 +0000

Also, a great first step is to define your financial goals and spending plan. Without that, you won’t know if you are overspending each month. Once you have a plan in place, you can monitor your credit spending each month to determine what was in your budget and what was OUT of your budget.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 02:11:29 +0000

I love our rewards program. We just make sure we pay the credit card off in full every month and it has worked out great. It is nice having the extra cash or gift cards.

By: Hawkmoon Nine

Hawkmoon Nine — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:16:53 +0000

Costco TrueEarnings card is 3% for gas now (and you don’t just get it for gas at the Costco, any gas purchase qualifies), plus you get 3% back for restaurants and 2% back for travel purchases (1% for everything else). And they have specials, like switching your cell phone payment to your card and get a $10 Costco Cash card. I use the card for most everything, but unfortunately not everyone accepts Amex, so I carry a Citi MC as backup.

By: Emily

Emily — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:25:36 +0000

I totally second you on the “always pay in full” point. A reward card has zero value if you’re paying interest on it, especially since the APR is higher than that of a low-interest no-frills card. Some reward cards come with an annual fee, too — that in and of itself can wipe out any potential rewards.

By: 42

42 — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:08:40 +0000

My Amex Blue Cash has 5% “gas & groceries” but only after you spend about $6500; it’s 1% before that. But I use it for everything anyway so hitting that milestone didn’t take that long. Oh and yeah I pay it off every month

By: jim

jim — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:33:03 +0000

Good catch, I changed frames of reference midway through that thought, I meant a hundred of a dollar, thanks Jason.

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:19:49 +0000

“Each ThankYou reward point is worth approximately a hundredth of a cent, meaning 100 points equals one dollar.”

A quick math quibble… If each is worth 1/100th of a cent, then it would take 100 to equal $.01, and 10,000 to equal $1.