The Credit Card Rewards Game

We have one active card. For the past 5-6 months we have been lucky enough to pay off our balance every month. The perks of the SS checks, and the FICO score is great. We get reward points some months, and some we do not. We use the card for Amazon almost exclusively. So, what rewards we do get just get put towards our Amazon purchases.
 

Colleen said:
I went to NerdWallet and filled out the questionnaire to see what CC I should be using. The recommendation was Chase Freedom Unlimited.
I have one in a drawer somewhere that I've never used and it expired in 2016.

My questions are: should I get a new one and when you apply for a new CC, doesn't it affect your credit score?
Click to expand...


Call the cc customer service number to find out if the old Chase cc can be renewed or if you have to reapply.

I have a good credit score, but I hope not to use it because I am totally out of debt and plan to stay that way.

.
 
I have to correct my last post. I thought we had the Chase Freedom Unlimited card in the drawer but I was wrong...it's the Chase Freedom that's never been activated. Today we applied for the Unlimited card and plan on using it at the grocery store, getting gas, eating out (which isn't often), Sam's Club (once a month), Home Depot, etc. I have an Amazon Prime card that I've been using for purchases at Amazon.

We don't really have any CC debt. Whatever we buy within the month is paid off the next month.


Olivia...I don't understand your statement: " So if you quit a card, that could reduce your credit score. " What does that mean? We've used our Discover card for years but we don't get any rewards because I always forget to "sign up" every quarter, so we've decided to not use it any more. Will that effect our credit score???

 

Colleen said:
Olivia...I don't understand your statement: " So if you quit a card, that could reduce your credit score. " What does that mean? We've used our Discover card for years but we don't get any rewards because I always forget to "sign up" every quarter, so we've decided to not use it any more. Will that effect our credit score???
Click to expand...

Colleen, it probably doesn't pertain to you since you pay off your balances every month. For people who run a larger balance on a card and decide to drop another card because they don't want to, for instance, pay an annual fee, then their debt ratio to what they have available gets lowered, which could affect their credit score. Another thing is when dropping an older credit card for a new one, then they lose the credit history of the card they are dropping. It doesn't mean it will affect one's credit score, but just one factor among several.
 
Given that my expenses per month are limited:

Space Rent - Don't take debit or credit card.
Dining - Get 3% off with CCard One.
Gas - Get a $.05 gal off if pay cash.
Groceries - <$300, get 2% off with CCard One.
ISP - Pay direct from bank, if credit or debit used they add $3.50,
Utilities (elec/streaming & wireless) - <$200, get 1.5% with CCard Two.
Amazon Prime - Get 5% off with Amazon Store Card.
CCard three is only used for emergencies.
Deposit enough to cover CCards One & Two in online savings get 1% interest better than CU.

Total rewards monthly - $18 CCard One, $3 CCard Two, nothing CCard Three. $21 x 12 = $252 annually.
I never pay interest always pay the total balance off monthly. JUST LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE!
Charge <10% prior to statement close for FICO score.

Camping & snow birding spaces usually don't take credit or debit cards use my senior pass for those.
I don't fly, take the train or boat, no travel discounts needed. I never stay in hotel.

I'M JUST A MINOR LEAGUE PLAYER, NEVER WILL GET RICH FROM DEBT.
 
Ironically...I received an email this morning from my online bank where we have a savings (I think it just went to 1.8%) and a 2-yr. CD offering a cashback CC. It offers 2% cashback at gas stations and grocery stores; 1% on all other purchases; a 10% deposit bonus when you deposit your cashback in your account; and $100 bonus on $500 purchases during a 3 month billing cycle.
 
Anything that makes me work, like thinking about cash back and how I could manipulate that, is just not worth it to me. I could use that time just balancing my check book. Yes, I am that kind of dinosaur. And I don't like flashing my credit card around the least I can. For the second time my dad got a call from his bank that there was a suspicious use of his credit card locally at a store. How could they do that when he still had his card? Did they make a duplicate? Oh, sure the thing will probably get straightened out in time, but I don't like that.
 
We use our cash rewards cc to auto-pay almost all of the bills, including other credit cards. Then, we auto-pay that cc bill from bank.


Some ccards have specific rewards for using them at their establishments. The Costco cc is an example, as is REI’s card. Other than those, we basically use the cash rewards card for everything.
 
Wandrin said:
We use our cash rewards cc to auto-pay almost all of the bills, including other credit cards. Then, we auto-pay that cc bill from bank.


Some ccards have specific rewards for using them at their establishments. The Costco cc is an example, as is REI’s card. Other than those, we basically use the cash rewards card for everything.
Click to expand...
New one on me, I didn't know you could pay one card with another, are you talking about balance transfers? or cash WDs? Seems that if you can you could play a whole new game.
 
Olivia said:
The amount you owe breaks down to what amount of credit card balances you have compared to how much credit card amount is available to you. So if you quit a card, that could reduce your credit score. Also, how well you have paid off loans such as car loans, personal loans, mortgages loans, etc. counts toward your score. So the more loans and the better you've paid them off on time, the better for your score. If you get rid of an old credit card to get a new one, that's a ding against how long your credit history is. There's more to this, of course.
Click to expand...
Olivia, Of course. However, dropping a card has not affected my credit score. I never get rid of cards I've had the longest. After all, I've had them a long time for a reason. I barely use even 5% of the credit that's available to me and pay off all balances in full each month. My FICO score runs between 817 and 820. I imagine it's wise for someone who doesn't have a good credit score to tread carefully when it comes to adding and dropping cards.
 
It is times like this that I think I am too distrustful for my own good sometimes. I have had a Cash Rewards credit card for years but had not cashed in for my rewards. I would charge monthly and pay it off each month and for years, I would get an email stating how many points I had. At the time, I thought, "What are they up to" so until I heard from someone that had used it, I stayed away from it. So, last Friday, I read this thread and saw all the good comments about it and began to understand it better. I logged into my credit card account, and I had so many points I couldn't believe it. I cashed them in and had them transfered to my checking account. I got my bank statement today, and I had $250 worth of points cashed in. I owe all of you a BIG THANK YOU for helping me understand this better. Thanks again!!!!!
 
make sure you understand how the points work on your card . as an example you can lose half your points with the fidelity 2% back card using it for gift cards or statement credits vs putting it in your money market and paying bills from there .

my chase card get a 50% boost in points when used for travel through the chase /expedia portal . if i use it for anything else i don't get the 50% boost .
 
AprilSun said:
It is times like this that I think I am too distrustful for my own good sometimes. I have had a Cash Rewards credit card for years but had not cashed in for my rewards. I would charge monthly and pay it off each month and for years, I would get an email stating how many points I had. At the time, I thought, "What are they up to" so until I heard from someone that had used it, I stayed away from it. So, last Friday, I read this thread and saw all the good comments about it and began to understand it better. I logged into my credit card account, and I had so many points I couldn't believe it. I cashed them in and had them transfered to my checking account. I got my bank statement today, and I had $250 worth of points cashed in. I owe all of you a BIG THANK YOU for helping me understand this better. Thanks again!!!!!
Click to expand...

====================================================================

I pay most of my bills with my credit card form TD Ameritrade. I get 1.75 % back on all charges. . It sure adds up and I pay off the balance every month.

I just wish I could get my wife to use her TD Ameritrade card.
 
Colleen said:
We retired in 2001 and sold our CA home and almost everything we owned so we could buy a 5th-wheel and truck and we traveled around the country for 3 1/2 years. Even if you don't have a piece of land to call your own, you still have bills and you need a way to pay them. So, back then, the only way we had to pay our bills was through our cell phone with Verizon. It was a slow hook-up...and sometimes we had no hook-up if we were in a campground with lots of trees or our west were there's a whole lot of nothing in the deserts. We stopped in Las Vegas and bought a laptop so I could set up automatic bill pay with our bank account. We had a physical address in TX where all the full-timers like us went to become Texans and then we could have a PMB box. It worked great. We just notified them where we were staying for a few days and they would send all our mail to us. Back then, we didn't use our CC much. Be bought everything with our debit card. We didn't know about rewards.

So, all this time I've continued to have our bills auto paid with our bank account. This whole discussion has me thinking....should I be having my bills auto paid with a cashback CC and making myself a few extra $$$$???? I use my debit card for all my groceries and gas (I don't shop WalMart...haven't set foot in a store in 5 years). I don't ever write a check unless I have to....like a couple weeks ago when we had our 2 bathroom s tiled or when we had our propane filled or when we had a delivery of stone for the back yard). Sometimes, I can't use a debit or CC, but a lot of other situations, I should be using my CC more often instead of my debit card...right??
Click to expand...

Colleen, first of all, I think it's very cool that you guys hit the road like that traveling all over the country. I "met" some friends online who exactly what you did when I checked out on the wonderful website they created. It's for full time RV-ers to find out about the various factors to consider while full time RV-ing, complete with budget sheets and tips on finding work while on the road. http://www.rv-dreams.com/

You could have racked up thousands of dollars by now using reward cards to pay so many bills! Over the last 10 years, I'm pretty sure I've gotten back close to $6,000. You have more protection using a credit card, especially for certain categories of products. You can also dispute charges as well as take advantage of certain card owner benefits such as travel insurance and virtual card numbers (which make it safer to shop online). GO FOR IT Colleen!! :)
 
OneEyedDiva said:
Colleen, first of all, I think it's very cool that you guys hit the road like that traveling all over the country. I "met" some friends online who exactly what you did when I checked out on the wonderful website they created. It's for full time RV-ers to find out about the various factors to consider while full time RV-ing, complete with budget sheets and tips on finding work while on the road. http://www.rv-dreams.com/

You could have racked up thousands of dollars by now using reward cards to pay so many bills! Over the last 10 years, I'm pretty sure I've gotten back close to $6,000. You have more protection using a credit card, especially for certain categories of products. You can also dispute charges as well as take advantage of certain card owner benefits such as travel insurance and virtual card numbers (which make it safer to shop online). GO FOR IT Colleen!! :)
Click to expand...

I never knew about such things "back then". We were "old-school" and paid everything with our debit card. All our bills were paid automatically so we didn't have to worry that something wasn't getting paid or it might be late. I sure wish I would have known about it sooner, but at least I'm clued in now....thanks to this forum :) I've quit using my debit card, except our car payment and house payment has to remain the same auto pay from our bank or we would be charged a fee every month. I've switched our utilities, Netflix, Amazon Prime, groceries, gas, and any other purchases to our Ally CC. I can go online to their web and see how much I've earned. Better late than never, I guess :)
 
.

I did a lot of traveling in my youth... but now I prefer home and local travel.

All my rewards are redeemed as cc statement credits.
 
we are the reverse. we never had much time to travel with limited vacation time while working. we try to do a trip every other month now . last one was bermuda and previously cuba
 
Roadwarrior said:
And of course you didn't buy any useless 'stuff' to get those miles.
Click to expand...

why would anyone just buy useless stuff ? we charge as much of our daily living expenses as we can where there are no extra charges for using a credit card and taker advantage of point deals .

we got 60,000 points just for taking the chase sapphire reserve card . we get a 50% boost in points when booking our trips through the chase expedia portal . we use the chase freedom card for the 5% quarterly purchases then transfer that to the reserve card for a boost to 7.50% when we travel .

so nope no useless stuff at all and neither do most people who accumulate points . that is a ridiculous assumption and i fail to see where useless stuff even enters the equation ..

when you see points like this raised it is usually by those who have no interest in getting free things from points so that is their rationalization for not doing it but it is not how it works . anyone who can't be responsible with credit cards can't handle them points or no points .

it is no different than the silly reasons those who are risk adverse come up with for not investing over the long term .
 
Last edited:
I budget $750 per month for possible living expenses items. Based on that if I get 1.5% for everything then I could make $11.25 or $135. My monthly fixed expenses are $240, I estimate that my monthly grocery bill/sundry items is $400, gas runs about $80 or less. Total monthly expenses = $720 could possibly bring me cash back of $10.80 x 12 = $130 annually - IS IT WORTH THE BOOK KEEPING headache? How much does one spend on clothes, entertainment & travel?

My RV park rent is paid semi annually ($1075 for 6 months), can use a card ($16.12 cash back), add to the $130 = $146. Travel expenses is 4000 miles @ 15 MPG $930 x .02 = $18.60. ($146 + 18.60 = $165). I stand to amass a fortune of $165! My lifestyle is very minimal, I don't fly, stay in hotels, usually prepare my own meals, dining is not an event for me I eat to live - not live to eat. Can't hear so I never go to shows or concerts. My movies & reading are taken care of with my library card, all free.

My health is good, my weight is normal, I get my exercise without a club membership. Wife gets my pension, I live very comfortable on my SS, I have medicare/with supplement, my out of pocket drug charges are less than $300 a year. I drive an old vehicle which is paid for, my tax refund covers all my annual expenses including maintenancee & insurance. A vehicle is to get you from point A to point B, if you want to go in style, go but if you don't need the BS status symbol drive an older dependable auto. I have no mortgage, or auto loan.

Where can I make thousands without increasing my outlay? What am I missing? You need to come up with a better reason than insulting me about my risk aversion. I've played the investment game quite well, thank you! Just don't need the worry in my 'Golden Years'.
 
Roadwarrior said:
I budget $750 per month for possible living expenses items. Based on that if I get 1.5% for everything then I could make $11.25 or $135. My monthly fixed expenses are $240, I estimate that my monthly grocery bill/sundry items is $400, gas runs about $80 or less. Total monthly expenses = $720 could possibly bring me cash back of $10.80 x 12 = $130 annually - IS IT WORTH THE BOOK KEEPING headache? How much does one spend on clothes, entertainment & travel?

My RV park rent is paid semi annually ($1075 for 6 months), can use a card ($16.12 cash back), add to the $130 = $146. Travel expenses is 4000 miles @ 15 MPG $930 x .02 = $18.60. ($146 + 18.60 = $165). I stand to amass a fortune of $165! My lifestyle is very minimal, I don't fly, stay in hotels, usually prepare my own meals, dining is not an event for me I eat to live - not live to eat. Can't hear so I never go to shows or concerts. My movies & reading are taken care of with my library card, all free.

My health is good, my weight is normal, I get my exercise without a club membership. Wife gets my pension, I live very comfortable on my SS, I have medicare/with supplement, my out of pocket drug charges are less than $300 a year. I drive an old vehicle which is paid for, my tax refund covers all my annual expenses including maintenancee & insurance. A vehicle is to get you from point A to point B, if you want to go in style, go but if you don't need the BS status symbol drive an older dependable auto. I have no mortgage, or auto loan.

Where can I make thousands without increasing my outlay? What am I missing? You need to come up with a better reason than insulting me about my risk aversion. I've played the investment game quite well, thank you! Just don't need the worry in my 'Golden Years'.
Click to expand...

I understand completely. The CC game isn't for everyone. I don't think we spend enough, either, to amass a fortune when it comes right down to it, but I'm giving it a shot for the rest of the year and we'll see if it amounts to anything. What I was attracted to was the cash I do accumulate from using my CC will be put right back into our savings account with Ally. That extra $$$ is additional to what our saving is making right now at 1.65%. Anything extra, in my book, is a good thing. I guess I look at it that that extra $200 you could be making a year could go for rent space, groceries, gas...whatever. That's just me, though :)
 
Roadwarrior said:
And of course you didn't buy any useless 'stuff' to get those miles.
Click to expand...

we spend over 10k a month so it is well worth it to us . when you live on so little , like 750 a month there is little you can really do . for the most part these posts are for those it applies to .

i could never understand why people choose to post in threads that do not apply to them just to say it does not apply to them. but your post about how much useless stuff did i have to buy is still nonsense
 
I started this thread! I admitted then I was getting into the game, now AW I'm not seeing all the advantages & money making opportunities that everyone else claims they receive, so I became dis-enchanted with the game.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top