Best Credit Card Rewards 2.0

[Fatcamp]

Scheels.

Saving my rewards for a spotter.

 

[Sturgeon]

I have a Fidelity card that get’s 2% back on everything plus some bonuses here and there. I just have it all go directly into brokerage account that I buy stocks with.

Also have a Chase Rewards and Discover card that alternates 5% for quarterly categories and 1% on everything else.

Refferal bonus for Chase
Earn $200 cash back with the Chase Freedom Unlimited® or Chase Freedom Flex℠ credit card. I can be rewarded, learn more.

Freedom Credit Cards | Chase.com

Click to learn more.

www.referyourchasecard.com

 

[MTtrout]

The platinum is $250/year but you get a companion flight once a year that pays for that.

That was once a great plus but they block out a lot of flight dates now for companion tickets based on ticket prices. We’ve enjoyed the miles for sure but I’m frustrated that we never can use the companion tickets for the dates we want to fly.

 

[Firestone]

I love my costco card. Get around 1000 bucks a year back

 

[Runningwater]

I have Fidelity for regular purchases (2% cash back), costco visa (2% store 4% gas) and United (mainly for 1st and 2nd bags free). Just dropped Alaskan - will pick it back up when I'm eligible to with a good promo. Also have LLBean, and Amazon for store specific purchases (5% credit and free shipping LL and 5% credit Amazon.

 

[MThuntr]

I'm searching too and currently have both Alaska and Cabelas. Trip to POW via first class was $12 using Alaska points (plus fee for a couple years) and I build a few Cabelas points. Honestly I'm single and travel alone so companion fare is worthless for me. Baggage fairs help but again since I'm alone the annual fees are starting to catch up. Since my hunting buddies tend to be scattered to the wind, we rarely travel together and most prefer to drive if possible. So in the end I'll likely get rid of both of the popular "hunter" cards for something that is TBD.

 

[DakotaBPNW]

Citi Costco Card
Amex Delta Card

 

[woods89]

It all depends what you want out of it. Credit card rewards can be quite a rabbit hole if you make them.
I have-

-Chase Sapphire Preferred. This is a $95 annual fee card that lets you transfer rewards to airline and hotel loyalty programs, for better value. It provides some travel protections like rental car insurance, etc. 5% back on travel booked through Chase Travel, 3% on dining, 1% on everything else. My rewards from 2 other Chase cards get transferred to this card.

-Chase Freedom Flex. This card has rotating 5% categories every quarter. 2 or 3% on dining, and everything else is 1%. All these rewards get transferred to the Sapphire Preffered.

-Discover It. We are phasing this one out as rewards aren't worth quite as much on redemption. 1.5% back.

For my business-

-Chase Ink Unlimited. This is a straight 1.5% card. All these rewards get transferred to the Sapphire Preffered.

-Chase Amazon. 5% back on Amazon purchases, 1%. I think, on everything else.

 

[JasonWi]

I've had the Chase Freedom Unlimited for the last five years. It's only 1.5% but I wanted something easy and not having to chase quarterly categories.

Another thing that wasn't asked but to consider, unless you really need to open additional cards don't. It reduces the average age of your credit history. If your existing cards don't have a yearly fee it's better to not use them and keep them open instead of cancelling.

For example I only have that Chase card, no mortgage, car, school loans. I only keep the card to maintain a credit history for when I eventually apply for a home loan.

 

[ShawnStonefly]

Like other people do the Chase Sapphire (Travel/Restaurants) and Chase Freedom Unlimited(everything else), then roll the freedom points into my Sapphire account as you get a better return on it for travel and potentially gift cards. You have to do estimate your spend to see its worth spending money on a credit card. https://www.asksebby.com/tools has some good calculators to help with that.

 

[TheCougar]

USAA has a cash back card at 1.75% (might be 1.5%), I believe. It used to be 2.5%, but they recently reduced it.

 

[treillw]

While likely not the best, I use the Citi double cash rewards card and started to apply my reward to my bill every month or so. I had my reward built up for a few years and it covered my moose mount and half of my next bow.

Now that I have a desk job and have to pay for my own flights to visit family I have been thinking about switching cards to something else.

Better than Scheel's and Cabela's that only give 1%

 

[treillw]

I have either a healthy or unhealthy addiction to credit cards depending on how you look at it. I open approximately 4-5 cards a year for the bonuses, never carry a balance outside of a SxS at 0% because I could. I do not pay for most flights and my hotels have been free for years with 2-3 vacations per year with the family.

There's two camps in credit cards, team cash back or team rewards. By that I mean you get x% back in gas, groceries etc or you earn ~1-17x (worth various amounts) per $1 spent in regards you redeem for flights, hotels, gift cards, etc.

As a rule of thumb store credit cards are garbage along with most airline cards. There are significantly better cards available, even in the no annual fee tier. However, cards with annual fees generally will offer more value.

With that being said, there is no perfect card that covers every base. Which cards do you have, Cashback/rewards and how many are you willing to open?

You sound like a pretty good expert haha.

I'm just currently using the Cabela's card which is essentially a 1% back on everything I buy. Just going to a flat rate 2% cashback card will double my rewards.

I guess I need to do a breakdown of my categories and see if any of the 5% in a certain category and 1% for the rest will be more beneficial than the flat 2%. I have a feeling the flat 2% is better.

Probably don't want to open too many. Although, I don't think my credit score matters too much anymore - don't plan on taking out any loans.

 

[treillw]

You need to get the Conoco/76/Phillips 66 app and get CB on fuel as well. Doesn’t cost a thing. Check it out.

How does this work?

 

[MallardSX2]

You can make a decent amount of money if you constantly open and close new cards and chase the bonus. When you do that you can earn roughly a 17% rebate on evertything you buy. This is assuming you get $500 for a 3k spend on a new card and do not pay an annual fee.

That crushes your credit.

 

[SWFLhntr]

That crushes your credit.

How so? We did that 10 years ago erasing a bunch of CC debt. 0% on transfers and we switched at least once a year until it was gone. Wife and I’s credit was through the roof when we were done. We must have gone through a half dozen cards.

 

[Krcooke92]

I made a thread about this awhile back and never got around to making the change. There might be some new fish in the waters. Pretty sure I'm going to ditch the ole Cabela's card in favor of something more lucrative.

What offers the best rewards?

The idea of having a card to a store I like to shop at doesn't matter to me - I'd rather get $500 cash back that I can do whatever I want with than $385 to spend at Cabela's.

Thanks!

I use the capital one quicksilver and I get cash back on mostly all my purchases if your patient and can let the rewards sit without touching them for a couple months I’ve had close to $1000 build up that you can put toward anything or any store you’d like

 

[RadDad]

It all depends what you want out of it. Credit card rewards can be quite a rabbit hole if you make them.
I have-

-Chase Sapphire Preferred. This is a $95 annual fee card that lets you transfer rewards to airline and hotel loyalty programs, for better value. It provides some travel protections like rental car insurance, etc. 5% back on travel booked through Chase Travel, 3% on dining, 1% on everything else. My rewards from 2 other Chase cards get transferred to this card.

-Chase Freedom Flex. This card has rotating 5% categories every quarter. 2 or 3% on dining, and everything else is 1%. All these rewards get transferred to the Sapphire Preffered.

-Discover It. We are phasing this one out as rewards aren't worth quite as much on redemption. 1.5% back.

For my business-

-Chase Ink Unlimited. This is a straight 1.5% card. All these rewards get transferred to the Sapphire Preffered.

-Chase Amazon. 5% back on Amazon purchases, 1%. I think, on everything else.

Love the Chase Sapphire Preferred. Just got it for the wife and I so still learning about all the benefits but so far so good. I’m also fortunate to have an Amex Platinum through my company which means lounge access, travel insurance, and more. With these two cards there really isn’t much else I could ask for.

-RadDad

 

[thegrouse]

That crushes your credit.

Never fell below 800. I had over 20 new cards in 3 years.

 

[Gman12]

Capital One Spark card. 2% cash back on every purchase.