Credit Card Suggestion

[Carnage2011]

Anyone here have any recommendations for credit Cards that they like? A little info on the situation....my wife and I are debt free, we pay cash for almost everything, but I have a CC (cabelas, yes i know its not great) that I've had for 12 years. I use it monthly for fuel and that's it. I pay it off every month and only use it to maintain some credit history. My wife doesn't have any kind of Credit card, but I'd like to get one for her to pay for a few things here and there for her credit. Do you guys have any suggestions? I'm not looking for a Dave Ramsey pitch either, so save those for someone else.

 

[Nick87]

I try to use mine just for fuel also and things like tags etc that I can't use cash for. I have no interest in miles because I hardly ever fly anywhere. I got a ducks unlimited visa. Pays 3% cash back on gas and at any sporting goods stores.

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

What do you want to buy with it?

That will guide the best value cards. For example some cards give 3 percent back on gas, while others give three percent in restaurants, etc.

That'll help us help you

 

[Jwill]

I joined Pentagon Federal Credit Union for their rewards card(s). Have also used them for a couple home loans. Have had a really good experience with them.

 

[Wild Bill]

My wife manges all of that but we use a Capital One Venture card for all of our everyday purchases and she pays it off each month. We've paid for multiple trips with it. There is a yearly fee but I don't believe it is very much at all. We are happy with it.

 

[rwc101]

I get 5% on gas with my DU card.

 

[Schaaf]

I so badly want someone to only read the title and first sentence and get on a Dave Ramsey high horse. I’ll be waiting.

 

[jryoung]

We have had an Alaska Airlines CC for almost 15 years that we run our business on as well as have personal cards linked to the mileage plan. We use it to build miles for travel throughout the west primarily, but have also used it to purchase trips to France and Italy. Give most tickets are in the 7,500 to 22,500 mile ($) range, it may not make sense if you are only spending a couple hundred a month.

Some of the cash back cards can be a great option too. Bottom line, estimate your spend, your "return" (miles, points, cash), and the annual cost of the card and see what pencils out the best. I was looking at an AMEX platinum recently and while the annual fee was $750, if you traveled right and were able to utilize all the discounts they would be paying you to use the card.

 

[ashersdad]

We have had an Alaska Airlines CC for almost 15 years that we run our business on as well as have personal cards linked to the mileage plan. We use it to build miles for travel throughout the west primarily, but have also used it to purchase trips to France and Italy. Give most tickets are in the 7,500 to 22,500 mile ($) range, it may not make sense if you are only spending a couple hundred a month.

Some of the cash back cards can be a great option too. Bottom line, estimate your spend, your "return" (miles, points, cash), and the annual cost of the card and see what pencils out the best. I was looking at an AMEX platinum recently and while the annual fee was $750, if you traveled right and were able to utilize all the discounts they would be paying you to use the card.

Same here. Wife and I each have the Alaska Airlines CC. This year we'll use it for Hawaii next month and Alaska this Summer. I've had the Cabelas card for over 20 years and rarely use it anymore. For us we get way more benefit from the Alaska card.

 

[deer_shooter]

I have an American Express Delta Skymiles Platinum card and and American Airlines Platinum Mastercard. I travel a lot for work and can use either of these for business travel. I also use them for large purchases such as tires, etc and then payoff when the bill comes in. The delta card has a companion fare similar to Alaska Airlines card which comes in handy. A couple weeks ago we took a long weekend to Vegas and the round trip using the companion fare was a around $300 for both.

 

[Carnage2011]

Thanks for the ideas so far. As far as what she would be using it on, I’d say probably fuel and groceries. That’s already an easy monthly expense to track so it won’t be any additional expense.

 

[Wallydeuce]

We have 3 credit cards. Discover, Master Card and Costco Visa. We buy everything on credit cards. $2.59 gallon of milk? Discover. The key is to never carry a balance and take advantage of the cash back rewards of all of them. My NR elk tags have been covered by part of the cashback rewards.

 

[geetar]

I so badly want someone to only read the title and first sentence and get on a Dave Ramsey high horse. I’ll be waiting.

Haha I actually only clicked on this thread to see if anyone had gone there yet.

 

[glass eye]

I fly to AK every year for free on miles with an AK airlines card. Not just Anchorage but remote regions too.

 

[MThuntr]

I've been using the Alaska Airlines and have traveled 2 or 3 times for little or nothing. Flying first class to Alaska this spring for like $18. Admittedly once I zero out my miles I'll probably shut it down since there is an annual fee and I have to spend a lot to earn miles to use plus I have never used the companion fare. I hope this thread tips me off on some sleeper cards

 

[npaden]

There are several out there that are very good. For me, Southwest Airlines Visa card works well. I have the Alaska Airlines card and probably need to cancel it. I don't fly Alaska Airlines enough to justify the annual fee of $75. I've thought about switching to a Fidelity Card. They have 2% cash back on anything. Thought about a GM Card, should have done that last year as it looks like I may be buying 3 new GM vehicles in a 24 month period which is about the only thing that card is good for.

It comes down to finding a card that matches up with how you plan to use the rewards.

 

[cedahm]

Depends on what kind of 'reward' you are looking for.

If you want Travel points, then either an airline/hotel branded card from your chain of choice (e.g. the Alaska Air card mentioned above, but more or less every major airline and hotel chain has a number of branded card options) or a transferrable point currency card (Amex Membership rewards, Chase Ultimate rewards, Citi ThankYou Points, and recently Capital One Miles are the majors - which can be transferred to nearly all of the major airline/hotel programs, sometimes with bonuses)

Given I travel so frequently, I spread category spend across 4-5 cards.

If just general cashback awards - the Citi DoubleCash card is hard to beat. No annual fee and you get 1% cashback upon a charge and 1% additional when you pay the charge. So 2% cashback and no annual fee. You can apply the cash towards statement credits, or just get the money. You can also convert cashback to ThankYou points.

 

[rustednuts]

We use citi double cashback 2% back on all purchases. I view it as a 2%off coupon for all purchases and no need to remember categories. I've thought about adding Amazon for their 5% off on their website.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Go to nerd wallet and look at the various options for you.

If you travel Chase Sapphire of BOA travel rewards are good.
If you go to AK or fly AK airlines then that card is great, South West, Delta, etc...

I recommend trying to find a card the will benefit you the most based on your spending patterns and goals. There are a lot of options.

It's also best to get one before a planned big purchase as often to get the bonus points you need to speed like 3 -5k in the first couple of months.

If your using a credit card "correctly" APR and balance transfer rates shouldn't matter at all.

 

[seeth07]

I'm very interested in ideas too because I feel I don't get much benefit out of my Cabelas Black card. I don't really fly much either so gaining benefits from flying or using rewards to fly isn't much use to me.