Best Reward/Rebate Credit Cards? (1 Viewer)

[Doug Miller]

Thought I'd open up conversation on reward/rebate credit cards. For the last 5 years or so I've had an Alaska Platinum card that I'm thinking about losing. It's $75 a year, and the only benefit it has now is the $50 companion flight -- the 1st class upgrades were always "full", they took the free entry to the VIP lounge away almost immediately. I just don't see a lot of benefit to the card now that we have two young ones at home, and my wife and I don't get to travel as much anymore. (I still get out quite a bit, but I don't want to use "our" miles to travel.)

What's the best options for reward and/or rebate cards out there now? There are so many different ones out there, that they're hard to keep straight. SO -- I figured there are probably enough of us/you out there charging our cards up on big screens/HD-DVD/etc, that I can get a good reference point.

I currently put all my purchases on the card, then I pay it off each month. I charge about $15,000-$20,000 a year on the card. Feel free to post links to the cards you're using. I figure this could be a good thread for a lot of us!

Thanks,
Doug

 

[Dan Mc]

I've got the Citi Diamond Rewards Card - 5 points for each $1 spent at groceries, pharmacies, and gas stations. 1 point for everything else. I usually get a $50 gift card every other month or so...places like Best Buy, Home Depot, Target...lot's of others.

Discover is also pretty good...you get 1% cash back on every purchase, and they have various promotions throughout the year where some purchases like gas, or resturants give you 5% back.

 

[DaveF]

I've used Discover as my main card for over a decade. But you don't actually get 1% back, you get up to 1%. It's a progressively increased percentage from 0.25% to 1%, the percentage increasing in 0.25% increments at certain spending levels.

I'm also looking for the best rebate card. Amazon is decent, with one point per dollar and a $25 GC every 2500 points (so a 1% equivalent return).

 

[Steve Kuester]

I've had a Capital One card for a good 10 years or so. I get (up to) 1% cash back on all purchases. Like Doug, my wife and I put everything we buy on the card and pay it off every month. I think we average around a $250-$300 rebate every year. I think its a pretty good deal, and I'm happy with it. Also, there is no annual fee.

Doug, I definitely think you can find a decent rewards based credit card without paying an annual fee.

 

[JoeyR]

Doug, go to www.fatwallet.com , head to the finance section and type reward card in the search bar and hold on to your seat.............................................. ..........

 

[Paul D G]

www.cardweb.com

-paul

 

[Scott Merryfield]

If you regularly purchase a new car, Citibank's Drivers Edge card is a very good deal. You get 2% of all purchases towards a new car. However, you only keep your points for a sliding 3 year window.

Since we have not been buying new cars as often, I'm thinking of switching to Capital One for airline miles. The only thing preventing me is the excellent customer service and fraud department at Citibank. I've received calls from them on numerous occasions when they notice unusual spending patterns on our card. In each case, they were legitimate charges (traveling), but it's nice to know they are paying attention.

That's much different than our experience with Discover Card. My wife's card had been compromised twice, and the second time they were able to trace the unauthorized charges to a person (international phone calls), but they chose to do nothing except issue her a new card. Their reason was it was too costly to pursue legal action for the cost of the unauthorized charges.