Best Credit Card?

[Stache Attack]

All small business owners should get the Cap One Spark card. It pays 2% cash on every purchase. It adds up extremely quickly and is paid off each month.

Step dad owns a company that works on some items that involve a lot of “hardware”. He cleans up with this card and his Alaska card

 

[CorbLand]

I mean I like buying small things I want/for fun. A good gain on money you already spend…

That’s what I do. Had my card for 15 years and in that time period I have paid interest on it for 6 months. Got hit with a perfect storm of taking 18 credits in college for my last semester and work hours got cut really hard. Bills had to be paid.

 

[CHWine]

We've had the Alaska card for many years. For us....it works. When we built our house back in 2007 we bought everything on the card and paid off monthly. We wound up with two round trips to MX for two years in a row. We have about 175k miles as of now. MX is on the radar for Feb '26!

 

[signing off]

The risk from handing out a debit card tied STRAIGHT to my savings account seems obscene. The red flag goes up AFTER THE MONEY IS GONE.
We all know first hand dozens of people who will share their headache example of this happening.
So my basic recommendation for best credit card is....YES .
They are are great partner as long as you know how to dance.
Example, 9 nights in S California...car, airfare and hotel this February, about $700 out of pocket. 2 nights beachfront was half of that total.

 

[180ls1]

on money you already spend…

This is the pivotal part.

Most people spend in excess of what they get back in points/rewards by a significant margin. Same goes for loans vs paying cash.

You gotta know yourself. Whats the saying? "If we all did what were supposed to we would be millionaires with 6-pack abs."

 

[Stache Attack]

This is the pivotal part.

Most people spend in excess of what they get back in points/rewards by a significant margin. Same goes for loans vs paying cash.

You gotta know yourself. Whats the saying? "If we all did what were supposed to we would be millionaires with 6-pack abs."

This is the pivotal part.

Most people spend in excess of what they get back in points/rewards by a significant margin. Same goes for loans vs paying cash.

You gotta know yourself. Whats the saying? "If we all did what were supposed to we would be millionaires with 6-pack abs."

Any thoughts on the safety portion stated above? I’ve had easily contested issues with my debit card once or twice but I know if they find serious information it is hard to undo

 

[CMP70306]

Man, I have to ask.
As someone that tries to never use credit cards. Why not pay yourself back?
I just feel like its a scam to use a CC for cash back or frequent miles whatever they are offering.
I will use the zero percent financing and pay it off in time.
Why not toss a hundred or two in some sort of high earning savings account?
Open an IRA?
Too many better options than making payments for "cashback".
Just my opinion here.

I'm learning here.
Maybe I'm doing it wrong, seriously.
I hate credit cards, but after reading these posts, should I consider using them?
I don't use them enough to know how to get cash back?
Always thought taking them for the no finance/interest was good enough?

As many people have stated it’s all in how you use them, I personally use my Cabela’s card for things I was already going to buy anyway but only for purchases that don’t charge an extra fee for credit cards. I also pay it off every month a couple days before it’s due which allows me to keep more funds in my savings account longer to continue earning 3.7% interest.

So I'm gonna go against the grain here and piss on the parade a bit....
NOTHING is free...All you guys going on about points and earn back must have never owned/run a small business and see how much those fees cost merchants every month.
No business "absorbs" those processing fees just for you to have the convenience of swiping a card instead of bringing cash or a check. They ALWAYS get passed back to the consumer in the form of higher prices or more recently an upfront charge of an additional 3-5% to use a credit card.
Get used to that up front charge for not carrying cash, its gaining more and more traction. We are contemplating taking that route with our business...We pay tens of thousands a year just for people's convenience of swiping a card...like every business expense, that factors into what we charge.
Long of it short, you feel like your getting rewards and 'Cash back'....but your really just paying for it yourself through inflating costs of goods and services your buying with that card, you just dont see it to know that so you think your getting something for "free"....just something to think on.
That being said, I have multiple cards but use them as sparingly as possible and certain occasions like when the cash option isn't available such as online shopping, or when out of town and don't want to carry much cash.

Credit cards are the devil...but unfortunately a necessary evil in what our society/economy has become

The thing is that for the vast majority of my purchases I’m already paying that inflated rate whether I use cash or card. In those instances it pays to use the card and get cash back on my purchase.

You may not pay interest and get a few bucks back, but I guarantee you most if not all of you are spending money you wouldn't otherwise to garnish those peanuts. It encourages spending. Why do you think those programs exists? You think you are smarter than the CEO's getting 50 million/yr? I think not.

Those programs exist to get people to use “their” credit card or patronize “their” store. I’m sure they encourage spending to some degree but I’ve never thought “If I spend $500 on this item I don’t need I’ll get $5 to use at Cabela’s”.

I have however waited months to purchase something from Cabela's until it was either on sale or had a x5 points so I could get 25% of the order back in club points. With some waiting and deal shopping it’s worked well enough to earn me about $6,000 over the years paying for stuff I was already buying anyway. The only difference was that with the benefits from the cards

Maybe I wasn't clear. I am referencing the Dave Ramsey theory that when you are forced to count out your hard-earned cash and plunk it down on the counter for something you 'feel the pain' of whatever purchase your make, and there is a stick effect of making large purchases. Alternatively, when you swipe a card, it's one swipe whether it's a pack of gum or some Swaro EL's.

I promise you, if you went to all cash, you would spend less than your credit spend minus rewards, and be ahead.

I have the opposite issue, my cash ends up getting used in small amounts overtime and I generally don’t keep good track of it. And over the years I’ve found it’s not the big charges that get you, it’s all the little ones you aren’t paying attention to that add up.

My credit card spending however I track religiously with a multi page spreadsheet that I update weekly or biweekly with all of the spending by my wife and I on our cards and out of our bank accounts. In January I put together a breakdown of our expected expenses for the year with the estimated reoccurring charges and have a pretty good breakdown of how much money we have available after all our needs are met.

 

[180ls1]

Any thoughts on the safety portion stated above? I’ve had easily contested issues with my debit card once or twice but I know if they find serious information it is hard to undo

That's pretty much how it is. More and more banks are offering debit protection but its certainly not on the level of credit cards.

 

[Snowwolfe]

Man, I have to ask.
As someone that tries to never use credit cards. Why not pay yourself back?
I just feel like its a scam to use a CC for cash back or frequent miles whatever they are offering.
I will use the zero percent financing and pay it off in time.
Why not toss a hundred or two in some sort of high earning savings account?
Open an IRA?
Too many better options than making payments for "cashback".
Just my opinion here.

Because I can use my Costco Citibank card every time I get fuel and earn a 4% discount. And then when I use the same card when eating out I get another 3% discount, and finally another 2% when I use it at Costco.
Last year the wife and I "earned" a free $700 just for using this card.

 

[BananaHands]

Cash back is great but if you do any traveling I would really look into travel cards like the chase sapphire or a hotel specific card. The points really do go way further than any cash back value.