We put most all of our expenses on a credit card and just pay it off every month - it works great for us to not have to worry about balancing our checkbook and we earn great rewards. I've already gotten $500 in rewards checks this year. But our credit card reward program is changing and its not going to be as profitable anymore.
Our current deal is a chase freedom card and we get 3% in 15 categories (groceries and gas included) and 1% on everything else. When we have $200 in reward dollars, I cash in for a $250 check. Its changing to 5% on 3 rotating categories and you can no longer get the $50 bonus on $200.
I don't care much about interest rates since we never carry a balance. Any recommendations on good reward cards?
Re: Credit Cards
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DH and I do the same thing--charge everything and pay it off at the end of the month. He came into the marriage with an Amex Blue Cash and me with a Discover Cash Back. We charged similarly and his card always outperformed mine with cash back.
The Amex Blue cash gets 5% back on gas, groceries, and pharmacy and 1.5% (I think?) on everything else. The Discover cash back gets 5% back on rotating catergories and less than 1% on everything else, BUT Discover caps the 5% categories on your first $400 in that category, so you could max out quickly.
Marriott Premier (black card) allows you to earn points towards hotel stays...on top of that, you get a free night when you get the card, and each year after that a free night, so the annual fee more than pays for itself just in that 1 free night each year...but on top of that you can earn points for hotels.
My other fave is Southwest Visa since we fly out of Nashville on Southwest all the time, I earn points flying and tons of points using the card. Ryan and I each end up getting 2-3+ free flights a year thanks to our Southwest Visa.