If you're ready to move beyond the Intermediate stage you might consider specialty, store specific, cards for places you frequent.
===Amazon Cards===Amazon Prime currently costs $119/year. It comes with a [https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200444160 host of benefits] including free & fast shipping, a video streaming service, and a music streaming service. However you can also get free shipping at Amazon by ensuring your total order value is more than $35 (although the shipping speed will not be as fast). Therefore, whether or not Prime is of value to you depends on how important fast shipping is, whether or not you'll use their streaming services, and how much you spend per year at Amazon. If your goal is to maximize the amount of money in your pocket then you have 3 basic choices:*Don't pay for an Amazon-PrimeAccount and get 3% cashback with the [https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Rewards-Visa-Signature-Card/dp/BT00LN946S B007URFTYI Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card]===Requires *Pay for an Amazon Prime account. It provides:*Account and get 5% cashback on everything you buy at with the [https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Prime-Rewards-Visa-Signature-Card/dp/BT00LN946S AmazonPrime Rewards Card]*Pay for an Amazon Prime Account and get 5% cashback & 0% financing on everything you buy at Whole Foods*No yearly fee*No foreign transaction feeslarge purchases with the [https://www.amazon.com/Synchrony-Bank-Amazon-com-Store-Card/dp/B008A0GNA8 Amazon.com Store Card]
Amazon To help you make this decision I've calculated a few values including the "break even point" to go from the 3% card to a 5% card. Lets assume for a moment that you don't value the shipping and streaming benefits of Prime but are interested in maximizing cash in your pocket. Since the Prime currently membership costs $119/yearyou start out at a $119 deficit in cashback when using the 5% card. The Amazon Visa gives To get more cashback with the 5% cashback from Amazon (if card than with the 3% card you 'll have an Amazon Prime account). Therefore:*if you to spend $25,380/950 per year at Amazon you can, basically, get a free Amazon Prime account*if . If you spend less than $2this,380/year at Amazon the 3% card gives you're, basically, subsidizing more cash in your Amazon Prime account and getting it at a discounted ratepocket. ie: Now if you spend a lot at Amazon, but not quite $15,190/year you get 50% off your Prime subscription*if you spend more than $2950,380/year you're, basically, getting can consider the delta to be a free Amazon "discounted" Prime account plus 5% cashback less $119membership. ie: For example, if you spend spent $54,000/year at Amazon in a year you'd get make $120 cashback with the 3% card or $250 200 cashback, - $119 of which goes toward your Prime account leaving you = $81 with $131 leftthe 5% card. I see So at this as a point the Prime membership is "freecosting" you $120 - $81 = $39. Perhaps $39 is worth it for Prime account and $131 cashbackmembership benefits.
Bottom line, if To help you figure out how much you spend $2,380 (or more) each year at Amazon, there is really no reason not in a year you can go to have https://www.amazon.com/gp/b2b/reports and download your entire Amazon purchase history as a Prime account and this credit card[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comma-separated_values CSV] file (that can be opened in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Excel Microsoft Excel] or the entirely free [https://www.libreoffice.org/discover/calc/ LibreOffice Calc]).
Not sure how much you spend at Both the [https://www.amazon.com/Amazon each year? You can get all of your -Rewards-Visa-Signature-Card/dp/B007URFTYI Amazon spend history by going to this site Rewards Card] and running a report which will give you all of your purchase history in a CSV file: the [https://www.amazon.com/gpAmazon-Prime-Rewards-Visa-Signature-Card/dp/b2bBT00LN946S Amazon Prime Rewards Card provide:*3%/reports5% cashback on everything you buy at Amazon*3%/5% cashback on everything you buy at Whole Foods*2% cashback at gas stations, restaurants, and drug stores*1% cashback on all other purchases*No yearly fee (except the Prime membership for the 5% version)*No foreign transaction fees
===[https://www.lowes.com/l/Credit/consumer-credit-center.html Lowe's Advantage Card]===