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Created page with "Below is my list of Credit Card recommendations. I'll update it periodically as new cards come out and the terms on existing cards change. =Beginner: Citi Double Cash Card=..."
Below is my list of Credit Card recommendations. I'll update it periodically as new cards come out and the terms on existing cards change.
=Beginner: Citi Double Cash Card=
If you want a single, do it all, card with minimum hassle go with the [https://www.citi.com/credit-cards/credit-card-details/detail.do?ID=citi-double-cash-credit-card Citi Double Cash Card]. This card gives you:
*2% on all purchases
*No annual fee
*No maximum cashback
*Nothing to sign up for
Use this card for everything you possibly can (food, travel, utilities, etc) and start earning 2% on all of the money you spend. Make sure you pay it off every month; getting hit with an interest payment negates a lot of cashback.
=Intermediate=
If you are comfortable managing a few cards and want to earn more cashback consider the cards below.
===[https://www.citi.com/credit-cards/credit-card-details/detail.do?ID=citi-double-cash-credit-card Citi Double Cash Card]===
You're going to need a baseline card for all of your expenses that don't fall into other categories. For this, the best available right now is the Citi Double Cash Card which provides:
*2% on all purchases
*No annual fee
*No maximum cashback
===[https://www304.americanexpress.com/credit-card/blue-cash-preferred American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card]===
This is your grocery store (and possibly gas) card. It provides:
*6% back on groceries on up to $6000 spent per year
*3% back on gas unlimited
*1% on all else unlimited
It costs $75/year. Assuming you only use this on groceries the 6% pays for the yearly fee (when compared to a free 3% card) @ $2500 spent. Add in gas and it gets better so, for most people, paying the yearly fee is worth it. It also gives you access to some AMEX cashback offers that are something like "spend $30 at a Shell station using the card and get a $5 statement credit". Once you sign up for the deal you just use the card at the specified retailer and a credit is automatically issued to your account.
This card is only good for stores categorized as "supermarkets." This does not include big box stores liked Target & Walmart or warehouse clubs like Sam's and Costco.
===[https://www.uber.com/c/uber-credit-card/ Uber Visa Card]===
This card is, essentially a dining and travel card. It provides:
*4% cashback on dining
*3% cashback on hotels and airfare (including vacation home rentals)
*2% cashback on online purchases
*1% cashback on all other purchases
*No annual fee
*No foreign transaction fee
===[https://www.pnc.com/en/personal-banking/banking/credit-cards/pnc-cash-rewards-visa-credit-card.html PNC Cash Rewards Visa]===
This card is a gas (and possibly dining) card. It provides:
*4% cashback on gas station purchases
*3% cashback on dining
*2% cashback on grocery stores
*1% cashback on all other purchases
*No annual fee
Note that the rewards are only on the first $8000 spent annually.
=Specialty Cards=
If you're ready to move beyond the Intermediate stage you might consider specialty store specific cards for places you frequent.
===[https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Prime-Rewards-Visa-Signature/dp/BT00LN946S Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card]===
Requires an Amazon Prime account. It provides:
*5% cashback on everything you buy at Amazon
*5% cashback on everything you buy at Whole Foods
*No yearly fee
*No foreign transaction fees
===[https://www.lowes.com/l/Credit/consumer-credit-center.html Lowe's Advantage Card]===
This isn't actually a credit card in that it can only be used at Lowe's. However it's a great card to have if you are a Homeowner. It provides 5% instant savings on all Lowe's purchase (in-store and online) or optional 6 month 0% financing on purchases over $299.
===[https://www.target.com/c/redcard/-/N-4tfyn Target RED Card]===
This card provides 5% cashback for purchases made at Target and Target.com. Pretty straight forward.
===[https://www.reimastercard.com/credit/welcome.do?redirect=DirectTrafficsec&lang=en&exp= REI Co-op Mastercard]===
If you are outdoorsy REI is a great place to shop. The best feature is their 1-year no questions asked return policy. If you do shop at REI you can get an additional 5% on your REI dividend for all purchases (full price, sale, garage sale, etc).
=Quarterly Category Cards=
These cards are for the most advanced user. They require that you sign up for quarterly categories. To use these cards effectively you'll need to keep track of what the current category is and how much you've spent in that category this quarter as most of these cards have a $1500 spent cap for the quarter.
===[https://www.usbank.com/credit-cards/cash-plus-signature.html USBank Cash+ Card]===
This card allows you to choose two 5% categories each quarter (as well as a 2% category but you shouldn't have much use for that). The categories change occasionally but they consistently have Rental Cars, Gyms, and recently Home Utilities as 5% categories. I use this card primarily for the Home Utilities category.
===[https://www.discover.com/credit-cards/cash-back/it-card.html Discover it Cash Back Card]===
This card is 1% on everything but has rotating 5% categories that change each quarter. Typically you get 5% on up to $1500 spent in said category. These categories can include things like gas, groceries, plane tickets, hotels, etc. You have to actively sign-up (click a link) each quarter to activate the 5% quarter. The categories may, or may not, be the same as the Chase at any given time. If you don't mind having multiple cards you can often take advantage of the Discover & Chase cards being on different categories.
===[https://creditcards.chase.com/credit-cards/chase-freedom.aspx Chase Freedom Card]===
This card is 1% on everything but has rotating 5% categories that change each quarter. Typically you get 5% on up to $1500 spent in said category. These categories can include things like gas, groceries, plane tickets, hotels, etc. You have to actively sign-up (click a link) each quarter to activate the 5% quarter. The categories may, or may not, be the same as the Discover at any given time. If you don't mind having multiple cards you can often take advantage of the Discover & Chase cards being on different categories.
=Other Interesting Cards=
===[https://creditcards.chase.com/rewards-credit-cards/chase-sapphire-reserve Chase Sapphire Reserve Card]===
This card is interesting for a couple reasons.
#At the time of this writing you can get 50,000 rewards points after spending $4000 in the first 3 months. If redeemed for cash that is worth $500.
#If you redeem your points at the Chase Travel Rewards Website you'll get an additional 50% value on your points.
The benefits include:
*3% points on travel and dining
*$300 credit on your first $300 spent on travel
*No foreign transaction fee
*Reimbursement of TSA PreCheck or Global Entry every 4 years
*Access to Priority Pass Lounges
This card costs $450 annual, but this is offset by the $300 travel credit which makes it, effectively, $150 annually.
=Beginner: Citi Double Cash Card=
If you want a single, do it all, card with minimum hassle go with the [https://www.citi.com/credit-cards/credit-card-details/detail.do?ID=citi-double-cash-credit-card Citi Double Cash Card]. This card gives you:
*2% on all purchases
*No annual fee
*No maximum cashback
*Nothing to sign up for
Use this card for everything you possibly can (food, travel, utilities, etc) and start earning 2% on all of the money you spend. Make sure you pay it off every month; getting hit with an interest payment negates a lot of cashback.
=Intermediate=
If you are comfortable managing a few cards and want to earn more cashback consider the cards below.
===[https://www.citi.com/credit-cards/credit-card-details/detail.do?ID=citi-double-cash-credit-card Citi Double Cash Card]===
You're going to need a baseline card for all of your expenses that don't fall into other categories. For this, the best available right now is the Citi Double Cash Card which provides:
*2% on all purchases
*No annual fee
*No maximum cashback
===[https://www304.americanexpress.com/credit-card/blue-cash-preferred American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card]===
This is your grocery store (and possibly gas) card. It provides:
*6% back on groceries on up to $6000 spent per year
*3% back on gas unlimited
*1% on all else unlimited
It costs $75/year. Assuming you only use this on groceries the 6% pays for the yearly fee (when compared to a free 3% card) @ $2500 spent. Add in gas and it gets better so, for most people, paying the yearly fee is worth it. It also gives you access to some AMEX cashback offers that are something like "spend $30 at a Shell station using the card and get a $5 statement credit". Once you sign up for the deal you just use the card at the specified retailer and a credit is automatically issued to your account.
This card is only good for stores categorized as "supermarkets." This does not include big box stores liked Target & Walmart or warehouse clubs like Sam's and Costco.
===[https://www.uber.com/c/uber-credit-card/ Uber Visa Card]===
This card is, essentially a dining and travel card. It provides:
*4% cashback on dining
*3% cashback on hotels and airfare (including vacation home rentals)
*2% cashback on online purchases
*1% cashback on all other purchases
*No annual fee
*No foreign transaction fee
===[https://www.pnc.com/en/personal-banking/banking/credit-cards/pnc-cash-rewards-visa-credit-card.html PNC Cash Rewards Visa]===
This card is a gas (and possibly dining) card. It provides:
*4% cashback on gas station purchases
*3% cashback on dining
*2% cashback on grocery stores
*1% cashback on all other purchases
*No annual fee
Note that the rewards are only on the first $8000 spent annually.
=Specialty Cards=
If you're ready to move beyond the Intermediate stage you might consider specialty store specific cards for places you frequent.
===[https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Prime-Rewards-Visa-Signature/dp/BT00LN946S Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card]===
Requires an Amazon Prime account. It provides:
*5% cashback on everything you buy at Amazon
*5% cashback on everything you buy at Whole Foods
*No yearly fee
*No foreign transaction fees
===[https://www.lowes.com/l/Credit/consumer-credit-center.html Lowe's Advantage Card]===
This isn't actually a credit card in that it can only be used at Lowe's. However it's a great card to have if you are a Homeowner. It provides 5% instant savings on all Lowe's purchase (in-store and online) or optional 6 month 0% financing on purchases over $299.
===[https://www.target.com/c/redcard/-/N-4tfyn Target RED Card]===
This card provides 5% cashback for purchases made at Target and Target.com. Pretty straight forward.
===[https://www.reimastercard.com/credit/welcome.do?redirect=DirectTrafficsec&lang=en&exp= REI Co-op Mastercard]===
If you are outdoorsy REI is a great place to shop. The best feature is their 1-year no questions asked return policy. If you do shop at REI you can get an additional 5% on your REI dividend for all purchases (full price, sale, garage sale, etc).
=Quarterly Category Cards=
These cards are for the most advanced user. They require that you sign up for quarterly categories. To use these cards effectively you'll need to keep track of what the current category is and how much you've spent in that category this quarter as most of these cards have a $1500 spent cap for the quarter.
===[https://www.usbank.com/credit-cards/cash-plus-signature.html USBank Cash+ Card]===
This card allows you to choose two 5% categories each quarter (as well as a 2% category but you shouldn't have much use for that). The categories change occasionally but they consistently have Rental Cars, Gyms, and recently Home Utilities as 5% categories. I use this card primarily for the Home Utilities category.
===[https://www.discover.com/credit-cards/cash-back/it-card.html Discover it Cash Back Card]===
This card is 1% on everything but has rotating 5% categories that change each quarter. Typically you get 5% on up to $1500 spent in said category. These categories can include things like gas, groceries, plane tickets, hotels, etc. You have to actively sign-up (click a link) each quarter to activate the 5% quarter. The categories may, or may not, be the same as the Chase at any given time. If you don't mind having multiple cards you can often take advantage of the Discover & Chase cards being on different categories.
===[https://creditcards.chase.com/credit-cards/chase-freedom.aspx Chase Freedom Card]===
This card is 1% on everything but has rotating 5% categories that change each quarter. Typically you get 5% on up to $1500 spent in said category. These categories can include things like gas, groceries, plane tickets, hotels, etc. You have to actively sign-up (click a link) each quarter to activate the 5% quarter. The categories may, or may not, be the same as the Discover at any given time. If you don't mind having multiple cards you can often take advantage of the Discover & Chase cards being on different categories.
=Other Interesting Cards=
===[https://creditcards.chase.com/rewards-credit-cards/chase-sapphire-reserve Chase Sapphire Reserve Card]===
This card is interesting for a couple reasons.
#At the time of this writing you can get 50,000 rewards points after spending $4000 in the first 3 months. If redeemed for cash that is worth $500.
#If you redeem your points at the Chase Travel Rewards Website you'll get an additional 50% value on your points.
The benefits include:
*3% points on travel and dining
*$300 credit on your first $300 spent on travel
*No foreign transaction fee
*Reimbursement of TSA PreCheck or Global Entry every 4 years
*Access to Priority Pass Lounges
This card costs $450 annual, but this is offset by the $300 travel credit which makes it, effectively, $150 annually.
