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NFT: Credit Card rec for a big purchase?

DC Gmen Fan : 9/7/2017 7:06 pm
If you had a big purchase coming up (12-15K) which credit card would you suggest using for it? Are airline miles cards worth it these days?
It's not a purchase I want to make but rather have to and I figure might as well get something for it.

Thanks as always BBI
can you qualify for  
santacruzom : 9/7/2017 7:30 pm : link
a Discover personal loan or something along those lines? The interest rates will be dramatically lower.
I have a Capital One Venture Card  
johnnyb : 9/7/2017 7:38 pm : link
It gives me double points for every purchase. These points can be redeemed for travel- airline, hotel, car rental. You find your best deal, use the card to pay, and redeem points to pay for eligible travel expenses. There are no blackout dates or limited seating. Purchase your tickets, pay and redeem when you want.
RE: can you qualify for  
DC Gmen Fan : 9/7/2017 7:59 pm : link
In comment 13587708 santacruzom said:
Quote:
a Discover personal loan or something along those lines? The interest rates will be dramatically lower.


I plan on paying it off in full. Just want to get something for all the $$s.
RE: I have a Capital One Venture Card  
DC Gmen Fan : 9/7/2017 7:59 pm : link
In comment 13587712 johnnyb said:
Quote:
It gives me double points for every purchase. These points can be redeemed for travel- airline, hotel, car rental. You find your best deal, use the card to pay, and redeem points to pay for eligible travel expenses. There are no blackout dates or limited seating. Purchase your tickets, pay and redeem when you want.


Is there an annual fee for the card you speak of?
I like cash  
Jim in Fairfax : 9/7/2017 8:06 pm : link
You can spend it anywhere, any time, no blackout periods, or limited quantity.

Capital One Quicksilver gives you 1.5% cash back, plus a $150 sign up bonus after you spend $500 within 3 months. Also has no foreign transaction fees if you're an overseas traveler.
American Express  
rebel yell : 9/7/2017 8:08 pm : link
Platinum
Get the Chase ink plus or preferred  
chuckydee9 : 9/7/2017 8:09 pm : link
I think if you get to 5k in 3 months the reward is 80k points and when use for travel through chase rewards it's equivalent to $1k... Look it up on nerd wallet. That site is really useful for this.
What’s the purchase for?  
jgambrosio : 9/7/2017 8:16 pm : link
I have the BOA preferred rewards card, and if you have $xxx in a BOA/ML account, you get a bonus tier up to a 75% bonus. So instead of 1%, you get as much as 1.75%, or instead of 3%, up to 5.25%.
offers change all the time  
rasbutant : 9/7/2017 8:36 pm : link
so you kind of have to do the research to find whats best for you.

I do like the American Express card that gives you 5% back on groceries up to $6000.
Link - ( New Window )
RE: offers change all the time  
jgambrosio : 9/7/2017 8:52 pm : link
In comment 13587752 rasbutant said:
Quote:
so you kind of have to do the research to find whats best for you.

I do like the American Express card that gives you 5% back on groceries up to $6000. Link - ( New Window )


I have that one, it’s great, and it’s actually 6%. They upped their annual fee this year but still worth it.
RE: American Express  
pjcas18 : 9/7/2017 8:55 pm : link
In comment 13587732 rebel yell said:
Quote:
Platinum


Starting in September they upped their annual fee for this card to $550.

They have a lot of benefits that could make it worth it and they have a decent rewards program, but I wouldn't have this card if my company didn't pay the annual fee.
A few come to mind  
nccowboyfan : 9/7/2017 9:54 pm : link
Chase has a 50K points after 4K spent,plus earn based on purchased, that's not bad, but if you want straight cash Citi Double is 2%. Barclay had a card a while back, if you spend 1000 you got 200 back and the amount went up, plus cash back. Wells Fargo had a similar deal.
IMHO, points cards are dumb.  
Knineteen : 9/7/2017 10:00 pm : link
"Points" aren't a currency and can't be easily compared to other "points" cards. They sound impressive but are mostly a facade.

Get a straight cash-back card.
Citi Double Cash card...2% cash back on any purchase.
If you are buying goods  
DCOrange : 9/8/2017 6:40 am : link
Check into one that gives points plus doubles the warranties on whatever you are buying. I think my Citi card does that.
I used Citi Double Cash  
Deej : 9/8/2017 7:52 am : link
for everything. The 2% really adds up.
I use the Chase/Amazon card  
Beer Man : 9/8/2017 8:49 am : link
I get 5% back for everything I buy on Amazon, 2% for some things (gas and dining?), and 1% for everything else. I'm big time Amazon shopper, so it adds up
I use either AMEX or Capital One for purcahses  
PatersonPlank : 9/8/2017 8:58 am : link
Both offer really got programs. AMEX I've used to get cruises, airlines, etc., and they even have their own travel agency. Capital One has the best matching program, and their awards are redeemed at a good level per dollar. I've used them for hotels and airfares. The drawback is the amount of things available isn't as great as AMEX.
I use either  
family progtitioner : 9/8/2017 9:35 am : link
Amex cash back or Southwest air card. The Southwest card is great, i haven't paid for airline tickets in years and I get the companion pass which allows someone to fly free with me. The only drawback is that I'm limited to southwest routes.
I mentioned my Amex Platinum  
pjcas18 : 9/8/2017 9:50 am : link
which I use for business travel (and it's my personal card not corporate so I can use it for other things) but with Amex you really need to pay the balance off every month, so while I don't carry any credit card balances, I know people do and they do allow pay over time options now, which is new for Amex, they're not great terms.

For personal use I have a Bank of America cash rewards card which has a scaling level of cash back, 1% on everything, 2% on gas, and 3% on groceries.

It works out well for us, but there are probably better choices.
Citibank Double Cash Mastercard  
Don in DC : 9/8/2017 1:49 pm : link
1% back on all purchases, and 1% back on all payments. If you use it and pay it off each month, it ends up being 2% cash back on all purchases.

On $10K, that's $200. And it's consistent. No gimmicks, no airline miles that can expire or have the terms changed. Cash on the barrel, every month.
Chase Sapphire Reserve  
Metnut : 9/8/2017 2:17 pm : link
is a pretty nice value if you plan on using points to travel. I believe there's a 60,000 point signup bonus with a $4000 spend the first 3 months. Since you can redeem the points at 1.5X when you use the Chase Ultimate Reward Portal, that's equivalent to a $900 signup bonus.

Additionally, the card earns 3X points for dining and travel which equates to 4.5% back per dollar spent on these areas. The fee on its face is $450 per year, but you get a $300 automatic rebate on money spent on travel, so if you think you'll spend at least $300 on Uber, airfare, trains and/or hotel over the course of the year, your annual fee comes out to $150.
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