<p>The AMEX Blue looks very good IF you spend $1,000-1,500/mo. The cash back is on a tiered system and the higher amount kicks in at $6,500. Before that it’s a lower %. For those hitting $18k in expenses (gas, groceries, tuition), it looks very good. </p>
<p>Do remember that every time you open a credit card it does effect your credit score. There is an average length of time that you have held accounts. The longer the better. This is NOT a reason not to shop best card! Simply a reminder that accounts aren’t disposable.</p>
<p>So Citibank, on their own, switched our card and said they’d be sending a new card. Assuming that has a new account number, do you think that will be reflected on our credit score as a new card? If we cancel it without using is, does it ever show up on the report?</p>
<p>Missypie-citibank sold us recently as well, so I actually do know this one. I called and was pretty peeved. I was told it wasn’t a problem. I didn’t believe them. I checked my report. Go, figure…there’s the card I’ve had for 20yrs with the right information, just now listed as Chase instead of Citibank. I’m almost positive it will show with the new information and the original open date.</p>
<p>It is my understanding that one should not “cancel” a credit card as your credit score will take a hit. A local consumer advocate suggests keeping the card and charging something on it every six months or so. It can be a pack of gum or a stop at McDonalds, just as long as the card stays active.</p>
<pre><code>* Rebates are awarded every January for the purchases made the previous 12 months.
There’s no limit to how much you can earn in a year.
The more you use your card, the greater your rebate.
</code></pre>
<p>Annual Net Purchases Cash Rewards Rebate
$0 to $5,000 0.45% of all Annual Net Purchases
$5,000 to $10,000 $22.50 plus 0.85% of Annual Net Purchases over $5,000
$10,000 to $17,000 $65 plus 1% of Annual Net Purchases over $10,000
$17,000 or more $135 plus 1.25% of Annual Net Purchases over $17,000</p>
<p>Artloversplus, you can open and close as many accounts as stores will offer you credit. My point was that it does matter in your credit score. Fewer and longer periods of time are better than opening and closing accounts. When you close the account it does not simply disappear.
It was simply a note, not a judgement.</p>
<p>It’s a very odd matrix. Three is not always better than five if the two that you cancel were the longest held accts with the best credit lines. You can go from having 5 cards at an average of 5yrs and credit of $20k, to 3 cards with an average of 2yrs and a credit of $7k.</p>
<p>I have a Bank of America Worldpoints card. This thread made me go and check the terms. No limit, no expiration. Every once and a while they send out promotions…the latest one is for the months of Aug/Sept we earn 5% (points, which may be redeemed for cash or merchandise/travel) on almost all purchases.</p>
<p>I have a Capital One No-Hassle Cash Rewards card and love it.
No limit to cash rewards - and any time you want, you can go online and ask them to use your accumulated rewards as an account credit. VERY easy! We charge virtually everything (including utility bills) and pay in full every month. We get hundreds of dollars back each year.</p>
<p>And NO foreign transaction fees - NONE - they even eat the 1% fee that Visa charges for foreign transactions.</p>
<p>Costco Amex is our main card … and we have a Discover card (with cash back) as the backup … then a Mastercard (with cash back into a 529 plan) … so we’re covered everywhere</p>
<p>The Fidelity deal sounds great. They offered it to me a while back but I ignored it because I’ve used Discover for well over 20 years. I may possibly pay my last tuition check for my son for this fall as he only needs six credits to graduate. I told him that I’d pay for the spring semester if he wants to continue for the full four years.</p>
<p>Of course there’s graduate school coming up. He has a potential free ride up to a Phd at his current school or we could look at others where it would cost us something.</p>
The latest version of the Fidelity card jumps to 2% cash back after $15K. I need to look into this one. I easily hit that every year.</p>
<p>I’m bummed I missed out on the Schwab 2% cash back card, I didn’t learn about it until too late. I hope they bring it back, I have a Schwab account too.</p>
<p>I saw that $15K thing. That’s pretty easy to hit with college tuition for our son. But that expense might end pretty quickly. I wonder how fast I can get the Fidelity card. Daughter’s bill is due Monday so that won’t happen but it would be nice for our son’s bill which is probably due at the end of August. I think that we can do over $15K on household expenses though it would help to move recurring payments over from the Discover Card.</p>
<p>I wonder if any of these cards offer ‘courtesy’ checks that could be used to pay tuition at schools that don’t take amex, whathaveyou. They are sometimes sent with your statement. They may be treated as a cash advance in the world of ‘interest’ so if you don’t pay it off right away you’re toast.
Just a thought. I’m sure this isn’t something that others haven’t thought of or tried who are further in this game than we are.</p>