The real benefit is when one has a business and can charge business things to a MC or Visa. H got grandfathered in to the highest status on American Airlines for life despite rarely flying because he put all his business spending on an MC.
Romani, what are your goals with a new CC? Flight miles? hotel stays? Cash back?
I get the impression that maybe cash back might be your highest priority right now? If so,
What about the Amex Blue?
$100 back after spending $1,000 in first 3 months. Earn 3% cash back at U.S. supermarkets, 2% at U.S. gas stations & select U.S. dept stores, 1% rest. No annual fee.
or Blue Preferred?
$150 back after spending $1,000 in first 3 months. 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets; 3% at U.S. gas stations & select U.S. dept stores, 1% on other purchases. $95 annual fee.
I’ll agree with others that customer service is superior to what I’ve experienced with VISA; warranties, rental car insurance, etc. It is also true that Amex is not accepted everywhere, so keep a VISA as well. Also, pay off every month or all those high interest charges will eat up any cash back you earn.
Would also agree with others that The Points Guy is a good resource…and try and get a card with good sign up bonuses…
I pay $75 annually for Amex Preferred Cash card for the 6% grocery rebate (now capped at $360/yr benefit (on $6000 of groceries), whereafter it goes to 1%). If you don’t buy that many groceries, you can also get a no-fee card for reduced rebates). I only use t for groceries.
I use PenFed cash card for 5% gasoline rebate. My Exxon/Mobil Speedpass (same as cash, and sometimes a $0.10 rebate per gallon) is also tied to the PenFed card. Only use this for gasoline, and now only on DW’s car, since my Tesla …)
I use Amazon Visa for Amazon purchases (I buy a lot on Amazon) for 3%.
Any other purchases are put on whatever card is closest to my thumb in my wallet for 2% (Fidelity Visa or Citi DoubleCash MasterCard).
I don’t remember precisely, but last year we got ~$2500 in rebates. Yes, we spend too much, but we would have spent it anyway, and we ALWAYS pay in full each month.
I find this a good middle ground between obsessing about signup bonuses and monthly specials on the one hand, and using only a regular credit card on the other hand.
ETA: cross posted with gosmom.
I though most people’s second credit card was their debit card. Aren’t all debit cards tied to some sort of credit line as well as your accounts?
@HarvestMoon1 , there is ZERO benefit to a debit card. I explicitly request an ATM-only card from my banks. Your account can be emptied out fraudulently with a debit card, with no offsetting benefit. Banks will usually indemnify you for the loss, but they aren’t obliged to. Cc, by contrast, limit your exposure to $50 if you make timely notification, and usually waive that. The only beneficiary of debit card is the bank.
Not a fan of debit cards at all…much more protection with credit cards…
Thank you all. I’m heading out to an art fair but just real quick:
-I have only closed one credit card in my life- one that had an annual fee. I think I have about 5 credit cards but I only use one (Chase/Amazon card). I carry 2 with me at all times just in case and then I have 3 at home in a safe place.
-I do not use debit cards. I have one but I don’t even carry it with me. I don’t think I’ve used a debit card since high school.
-I would like a 0% balance transfer + 0% interest if possible. For the first time in my life, I’m carrying a balance because of medical bills. Not a super high balance but a balance nonetheless. We can pay it off if needed but we’re trying to keep a larger cash cushion in case I am hospitalized and can’t work. I despise paying interest so that’s another big reason we’re looking at another card.
-My total credit availability right now is someone around 30k between all of my credit cards.
-I think I want a card with cashback but I’ve always only had cashback so I’m not sure what other perks are out there :).
We will have no problem spending whatever we need to in the first few months so that we can qualify for sign-up bonuses.
If you want a zero percent balance transfer, check if any of your existing cards have that option. I periodically shred such offers from my Chase card… I am sure others send those coupons, too.
I would go with Amex if only because it is very good about removing charges for items when you have concerns/issues about the purchase.
I got taken by a vendor on eBay–purchased an expensive handbag that was half the retail price of the item. (Yes–I should have known it was too good to be true.) I never received the item and I contacted the vendor numerous times–he/she told me (via email) the item would arrive shortly. Soon after, I got a notice that I had registered mail–I went to USPS and signed for the item. It was a cardboard mailer with a piece of paper that said “please be patient.”
At this point, I filed a complaint with PayPal and eBay. Both said there was nothing they could do because I signed for a package. I had saved the registered letter and took photos of the mailer I received, which could not have been large enough for the purse.
Both eBay and PayPal again said they could not return my money. I then called Amex and got an immediate refund. Amex investigated and supported me. I saw that eBay removed the seller’s account, but still wouldn’t help me. As a result I am very loyal to Amex. We have a Platinum card and use many of the benefits outlined above.
“though most people’s second credit card was their debit card. Aren’t all debit cards tied to some sort of credit line as well as your accounts?”
Like ixnaybob, I have an ATM-only card. I cannot see any possible reason, ever, to have a debit card.
@Bromfield2 , had you paid for the item with PayPal or with Amex?
“-I would like a 0% balance transfer + 0% interest if possible. For the first time in my life, I’m carrying a balance because of medical bills. Not a super high balance but a balance nonetheless. We can pay it off if needed but we’re trying to keep a larger cash cushion in case I am hospitalized and can’t work. I despise paying interest so that’s another big reason we’re looking at another card.”
romani, the Chase Slate is the hands down BEST balance transfer offer. Absolutely, and I tell you I have checked them all out! It’s 0% interest for 15 months, with 0 balance transfer fees. There is nothing else out there, with 0 balance transfer fees. The others might offer 0% interest for 12 months, but with a 2-3% balance transfer fee (so basically it’s like paying 2-3%). You aren’t going to get any points or money for balance transfer, obviously, but 0 interest and 0 fees are a standout.
If you want to extend it for longer than 15 months, what you could do is first you apply for the card, and transfer your balances on there (as long as the credit line is large enough, I think it might be a 30K max on this card, but unsure). And then when it gets near the end of the 15 months, have Mr R apply for a Slate card. Then transfer your Slate balance onto another credit card or HELOC (if you have one) briefly, then transfer that balance onto his Slate card. Unfortunately they won’t let you transfer from Slate card to Slate card, maybe not even from another Chase card, but there are ways around it.
Check it out, this is the best deal going!
A couple of caveats to that Slate card, though. Only balance transfers within 60 days of account opening are eligible for the 0 balance transfer fee, and the interest rate jumps up after 15 months, so gotta pay it off before then.
@Bromfield2, not to go too OT, but many years ago I was a seller on eBay. Someone fraudulently said that they had returned a pool vacuum to me, that I had signed for it, and PayPal said “tough.” Thankfully, the thief was too cheap to pay for real freight, and had sent back a brick weighing a few pounds. I showed PayPal the shipping info and they agreed to disallow the chargeback. :))
Fwiw, I did thousands of consignment sales on eBay, am pretty savvy about scams, have written and published a book on Amazon about the experience, but don’t use eBay any more. Jus’ sayin’.
PS. I wouldn’t vote for Meg Whitman for dog catcher.
$450 annual fee! 
@IxnayBob - yes I have never used the credit line attached to my debit card but thought I needed the line for overdraft protection in the event of an emergency or oversight. Do you get overdraft protection with no fees/penalties without a line of credit attached? My debit card is with a bank where I only maintain a checking account - no other accounts.
For me that line of credit would be my back up if I lost my other 2 credit cards.
I would never use a debit card for purchase, not even at a grocery store. If there is an over charge or fraudulent charge you are pretty much out on your own. The money is out of your checking acct and it it up to you in trying to get it back.
$450 is a steep number until you weigh it against the benefits. For folks who travel a lot the benefits significantly outweigh the fee.
I pay Marriott $80 annual fee, but that is essentially a pre-paid one night at a mid-level hotel. Because we stay at Marriott hotels often, I always use my voucher. Usually, it cost way more than $80 to reserve the room, so the fee is worth it to me.
@HarvestMoon1 , we have overdraft protection/LoC with no debit card. I guess it’s not horrible if you keep a low balance, but there are times when our balance goes way up; for example, at bonus time before we move the funds to Vanguard, we have a balance that I would hate to lose. I can’t imagine that BoA would make us eat fraudulent activity, but I’d rather not find out.
I think almost everyone who accepts a debit card also accepts CC. As a courtesy, I pay cash at the few small local merchants that appreciate not paying the CC fees (eg, many at our farmers market accept CC, but are grateful when I offer to pay cash).
@Ixnay so there are ATM cards that you cannot use at point of purchase? I thought all ATM cards were also debit cards. Then if you wanted overdraft protection you need the line of credit.