2

I have 3 credit cards (two Citi Platinum cards, and an AmEx Blue) and a debit card.

No lines of credit, mortgage, loans, etc.

8/23/2006 12:41:40 PM

to synapse

1. none
2. i think 2 things, my college loan(20,000) and my cable bill...does rent count?

[Edited on August 23, 2006 at 12:42 PM. Reason : .]

8/23/2006 12:41:58 PM

cable + rent are not credit acconts. no one is lending you money for those (i hope)

8/23/2006 12:43:20 PM

Quote :

"I love my Dividend Rewards 5% cash back on gasoline and groceries 1% cash back on everything"

i have gotten hundreds of dollars in cash since i got mine a couple years ago. my wife has one(different account #) so we can get up to 600$/year.

hope they dont change the terms like someone said earlier

8/23/2006 12:44:53 PM

abandon all hope, they're definitely doing it

8/23/2006 12:46:30 PM

^ soon as i typed that i checked my unopend mail pile and found the letter saying its going to 2%

SHIT!

8/23/2006 12:48:35 PM

like i said before, the citi driver's edge card might be a good alternative for you.

8/23/2006 12:49:23 PM

i'm thinking the AmEx Blue for my main card, its got 5% rebates on groceries and gas if you spend 6500, which I'm sure I will.

Furthermore, if you spend 6238 on your AmEx blue and only get 1% back, that is mathmatically equivalent to spending 6500 and getting 5% back, i.e. you're marginal cost of spending that 250 or so bucks is zero.


Oh, and an introductory APR of like.. nothing. for 6 months. The BP card ain't got that.

[Edited on August 23, 2006 at 12:52 PM. Reason : oh]

[Edited on August 23, 2006 at 12:53 PM. Reason : 6, not 16]

8/23/2006 12:51:07 PM

Quote :

"american express blue gives you 5% back on everyday purchaces (gas, drug and grocery) IF and only if you spend more than i think 6250 or so a year on your card. If you put all your groceries on there and all your gas, I have a hard time thinking you won't hit that mark."

i think u only get 5% on what you spend OVER $6500.

Quote :

"Blue Cash from AMEX may be a decent option, but you only 1% on GG and 0.5% on everything else on purchases up to $6500... Purchase from $6500 and up give you 5% cash back on GG and 1.5% on everything else. Basically only good if you spend a lot of money and this os your primary card. Also, no cash back limit, which is good."

can anyone verify this?

8/23/2006 12:52:13 PM

i edited it, thats correct

actually what i did was screw up and leave it in there with a note underneath

[Edited on August 23, 2006 at 12:54 PM. Reason : .]

8/23/2006 12:53:41 PM

Quote :

"1) about 12-15 open accounts"

arent you concerned about this being bad for your credit score? or does it not matter how many open accounts you have?

8/23/2006 12:53:58 PM

Quote :

" if you spend 6238 on your AmEx blue and only get 1% back, that is mathmatically equivalent to spending 6500 and getting 5% back"

i dont follow that...


^^ and yeah, i was about to point the 6 month thing out

[Edited on August 23, 2006 at 12:56 PM. Reason : ]

8/23/2006 12:55:35 PM

my monthly credit card bill is usually anywhere between $1500 - $2700, so if citibank drops me down im probably going to cancel my cards with them

8/23/2006 12:57:50 PM

^ if you pay it off every month i doubt they would care.

8/23/2006 12:59:07 PM

i never carry a balance, so im sure they don't care at all. but I care

8/23/2006 1:00:07 PM

you shouldn't cancel your cards, just consolidate the accounts (leaving the oldest one open) and leave them in your drawer.


synapse: my credit score has done nothing but go up since I entered the CC game, so no I'm not concerned at this point.


also, they DO care, even if you don't carry a balance. They still make tons of money off of the fees they collect from merchants when you use your CC. Of course that's nothing compared to interest + late fees, but it's still considerable income.

[Edited on August 23, 2006 at 1:04 PM. Reason : d]

8/23/2006 1:01:12 PM

What i'm saying is that if you hit that amount, 1% back will equal what 5% back would be on 6500.

So if you spent 6400, you would get 1% back, which is a grand total of 6400 - .01*6400, which is 6336.

However,, say you bought something at lowes for 100 bucks. this would take you to 6500. Now you would get 5% back on 6400, and 1.5% back on your lowes purchase. This is a grand total of 6400-.05*6400 -.01*100.

this comes out to be 6179. so by spending an extra 100 bucks you SAVED what.. 158?

8/23/2006 1:05:01 PM

Quote :

"synapse: my credit score has done nothing but go up since I entered the CC game, so no I'm not concerned at this point."

yeah i was sure you had checked into this, thats why i asked. i read something in a 10yr old credit book that said if you have too many accounts open then it looks bad...i wasnt sure about it tho.

8/23/2006 1:05:14 PM

I think synapse is correct on the Amex Blue.

You get 5% on any spending ABOVE 6500. So you would get 1% on 6499, then 5% for anything beyond that.

8/23/2006 1:06:16 PM

I got that, thats not what i was talking about.


maybe it was, i could have saved a lot of confusion if had just edited the whole damn thing.

[Edited on August 23, 2006 at 1:08 PM. Reason : .]

8/23/2006 1:07:25 PM

it looks like i might start using my amex more often now

8/23/2006 1:07:54 PM

Quote :

"also a good idea to have more than one card should you have an expensive purchase like a blown engine on your car or something that will put you over 50%+ of your credit limit you should split it over two cards so that you dont screw up your balance/available credit ratio "

That's not going to help any. Score is based on your total balance and your total credit limits on all cards. Also, if you carry a balance on too many cards it hurts your credit a bit.

8/23/2006 1:08:12 PM

Also, its the Amex Blue Cash version

8/23/2006 1:08:30 PM

^^ from what i've gathered, the more credit lines + the larger they are, the better when it comes to revolving credit accounts.


If you're applying for a flat payment account, such as a car loan or mortgage, they will sometimes look at all of your available credit as a liability. They will usually give you a chance to close some of those accounts though.

having lots of credit accounts does not impact your actual score negatively.

8/23/2006 1:08:33 PM

Quote :

"That's not going to help any. Score is based on your total balance and your total credit limits on all cards. Also, if you carry a balance on too many cards it hurts your credit a bit. "

not true, they look at overall utilization %, and utlization % per card.

if you go over 50% on any one card, it's a huuuge hit.

And anyway, the more accounts the better. Your overall % takes less of a hit if you've got lots available credit + makle a large purchase.

8/23/2006 1:10:03 PM

Quote :

"What i'm saying is that if you hit that amount, 1% back will equal what 5% back would be on 6500. So if you spent 6400, you would get 1% back, which is a grand total of 6400 - .01*6400, which is 6336. However,, say you bought something at lowes for 100 bucks. this would take you to 6500. Now you would get 5% back on 6400, and 1.5% back on your lowes purchase. This is a grand total of 6400-.05*6400 -.01*100. this comes out to be 6179. so by spending an extra 100 bucks you SAVED what.. 158?"

I dont think you get this. You're complicating it much more than it needs to be...and your explanation is backwards anyway.

You only get 5% back on gas, groceries, drugs, 1.5% on everything else. And thats only on what you spend over $6500. For the first $6500, you only get 1% on gas, groceries and drugs and 0.5% on everything else. I think your facts and figures dont take this paragraph into account.

I guess you're trying to say that, put in that situation where you have spent $6400, you have to spend money to make money and its not really worth it. That doesn't make any sense either...as that $100 spent at lowes will get you something you need for your house or whatever, its not $100 wasted.


http://www124.americanexpress.com/cards/loyalty.do?page=bluecash.maximize



[Edited on August 23, 2006 at 1:15 PM. Reason : ]

8/23/2006 1:14:24 PM

yeah, i think thats basically what i was saying, sorry if it wasn't clear.

8/23/2006 1:15:59 PM

the Amex Blue has always seemed more trouble than it's worth, to me.

8/23/2006 1:16:35 PM

Quote :

"if you go over 50% on any one card, it's a huuuge hit."

are you saying if you EVER go over its a hit?

or if a card is CURRENTLY over 50% when the report is ran then its a hit?

8/23/2006 1:17:23 PM

but you have a ton of cards right? i want something with flexible spending, such as not being tied to particular gas station, and I also want a decnet rate.

8/23/2006 1:17:53 PM

shit
is citibank bringing all of their rewards cards down 2%?

i really like using their card and earning the 5% cash back on all my groceries and gas

8/23/2006 1:17:54 PM

Quote :

"the Amex Blue has always seemed more trouble than it's worth, to me."

Yeah i'm not a fan, you only earn decent rebates on purchases after you reach $6500...losing out on a few hundred dollars there.

8/23/2006 1:20:58 PM

Quote :

"and I also want a decnet rate."

so you're planning on carrying a balance?

8/23/2006 1:21:29 PM

synapse: the CC companies report your balance to the bureaus at the end of your billing cycle. So they see whatever balance you see on your statement. You can trick this system by paying off your balance before your statement comes out. But once the balance has been reported, it stays that way until the next month.

subtotal: the 1% you are making up UNTIL you hit 6500 is a ripoff compared to other cards. Unless you spend a WHOLE lot, this card will not even yield a full 5% for "everyday" purchases. Say, for example, you only manage to spend 8000 in a year. You are getting 6500@1%, then 1500@5%. Put that in a math machine, and you're only getting ~2% overall.

jnpaul: as far as I know, the Dividend is the only Citi card that offers 5% on "everyday" purchases. Other cards have it, but only as promos (for 3 months, etc..) So I'm afraid the 5% goes away with the Dividend.

8/23/2006 1:22:25 PM

no, if i carry any balance, it will be low.. i guess what i should say is this:

i'm just starting my first 'real' job, and i need to buy a lot of shit. it would be nice to get a card with no interest for say.. 6 months. a kind of 'just in case' feature.



i don't know, the more i'm forced to talk about this, the more it makes it clearer what i want, so i guess this is good.

8/23/2006 1:24:16 PM

you're definately right about that, something thats easy to overlook.

8/23/2006 1:25:37 PM

when i got my first real job, i got a rooms to go card w/no payments, no interest for 2 years. Also, the interest does not begin to accumulate until your 2 years is up. Can't beat that deal.

8/23/2006 1:25:59 PM

this is horrible news those $50 reward checks from citi were NICE

8/23/2006 1:28:06 PM

shit no you can't. I'm buying more electronics stuff, which doesn't usually help to get a rewards card, because if I scour the internet, i can save more by research than i could get back on a card at a specific store

8/23/2006 1:28:27 PM

well i've got something for ya in that dept.

if you're willing to get a little creative, you could go for the advanta business card (unless you do in fact own your own business)

it gets 5% CASH on gasoline, office supplies, utilities, computer equipment (this includes BEST BUY + Circuit CITY, probably other "electronics" stores ttoo), cell phones and Internet services.

It also features a 0% for ~1.5 yrs.

only drawback is you can only make $25 in rewards per month, and it's capped at $300/yr.

other than that, great card.

[Edited on August 23, 2006 at 1:35 PM. Reason : f]

[Edited on August 23, 2006 at 1:36 PM. Reason : d]

8/23/2006 1:34:10 PM

thats not bad though, i might check that out.


you got a link?

[Edited on August 23, 2006 at 1:43 PM. Reason : ..link..]

8/23/2006 1:42:19 PM

wait, how would you pull that off?

8/23/2006 1:44:08 PM

Quote :

"synapse: the CC companies report your balance to the bureaus at the end of your billing cycle. So they see whatever balance you see on your statement. You can trick this system by paying off your balance before your statement comes out. But once the balance has been reported, it stays that way until the next month."

yeah i know how the reporting cycles work. I thought you were saying if you EVER go over 50% on a CC then it looks bad...forever. Creditors can see how much you've used any particular card since the agencies report max balance EVER on a card.

but I think you're saying that its just a big hit if the balance on a card is over 50% at the time a report is ran.

8/23/2006 1:44:42 PM

https://www.advanta.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=apply.card_features&session_id=39909718&session_key=nWrvuRxGAtxqCRSD

damn, that looks like the best card out there...if you ever buy stuff from the big office/electronics retailers.

ok scratch that, this kinda kills it:

Quote :

"A maximum of $300 in Cash Back rewards may be earned on this account in any enrollment year, with a maximum of $25 in Cash Back rewards earned in any billing cycle."

not only is it $300 back max per year, but its only $25 back per month max...so have fun with that.

[Edited on August 23, 2006 at 1:49 PM. Reason : ]

8/23/2006 1:45:57 PM

I will probably be buying my shit from newegg.com

8/23/2006 1:50:13 PM

^^yes, that is what i'm saying.

I'm pretty sure your max balance ever, though, is simply the highest REPORTED balance ever. So it's ok to go over 50%, but you should pay it down before your statement hits.

8/23/2006 1:50:34 PM

^^ the advanta card does give 5% at newegg, fyi


to "pull it off", just pick a cute name for you business. Mine is [my initials] Engineering.

It's a consulting firm, we just haven't gotten any work yet

[Edited on August 23, 2006 at 1:55 PM. Reason : d]

8/23/2006 1:54:24 PM

don't i have to have a business?

I have to go through government security clearance checks, i'm not trying to fake a business.

8/23/2006 1:56:10 PM

ok sorry for posting in this thread like a maniac all day, but one more thing about business CCs:

they do not report AT ALL on your personal credit report. It's a great place to "hide" balances you're carrying, etc. Adversly, it will not help improve your credit score.

8/23/2006 1:56:55 PM

BP card is 5% on gas, somebody post a link to 5% cash on grocery stores plz

8/23/2006 1:57:17 PM