Comments on: Credit Cards Do Have Their Rewards

By: Andrew Askew

Andrew Askew — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 04:05:24 +0000

yeah same here on the car, i just used that as an example for when i was between jobs and had to repair my car, not to mention my card is still promo 0 percent… def better to pay from savings… if you have any

By: kitty

kitty — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 02:14:49 +0000

“Honestly, it is very easy to miss a payment by mistake (although I’ve never done it and hope never to either), or pay less than the full balance off each month. ”
Actually, it is not easy to miss a payment by mistake. You get a bill sufficient amount of time in advance to send your check. How is opening a bill, looking at balance column (not payment due column) and signing a check for the full amount difficult? Don’t see a bill in the mail – you know you made purchases last month, so call. You can also use online payment.

Better yet, there is such as thing as “automatic payment of the full balance”. Then you will never miss a payment – the credit card issuer will just take it off from your bank account on the due date. Chase, AmEx, most other banks offer it. If a bank doesn’t – switch to another one. Chase is actually one of the better ones in this regards – you can sign up for automatic payment right on their website. With most other banks you need to fax or send in the form.

“Variable APR that I use for major emergencies that I would need to pay over time, like car repair.”
I wouldn’t count car repair as a major emergency. This is what savings account should be for. 7% is significantly higher than what banks pay. Major emergencies are medical bills. Or legal.

“Avoid cards with annual fees and high interest rates, regardless of what the reward program offers”
Agree about annual fees, but why do you care about the interest rate if you pay your balance in full. It could be 99.99% for all I care. I am not paying it.

By: Andrew Askew

Andrew Askew — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 20:49:51 +0000

They way I do it works like a charm. I have two main credit cards; CapitalOne Platinum & Chase Freedom. Now the CapitalOne is 6.49% Variable APR that I use for major emergencies that I would need to pay over time, like car repair.

My Chase thom is another story, I don’t use cash anymore unless I have to (like arco), so I use my credit card for everything I buy, from food to Bills. Every pay check I pay off the balace of the card, so I have not once seen interest (being over 10% I wouldnt want to either). The chase freedom seperates your purchases into categories, and will give you 3% cash back on your top three and 1% on the rest. Now I don’t spend much on the card, so I really only make about $40 or less in rewards per month. But if you don’t redeem your rewards till $200, then you get back $250.

Reward cards are great, if you can control them.

By: Clever Dude

Clever Dude — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:47:30 +0000

Sara, you’re right about being cautious. Honestly, it is very easy to miss a payment by mistake (although I’ve never done it and hope never to either), or pay less than the full balance off each month. You truly have to be organized and dedicated to make sure you don’t screw yourself over. Just one month of interest for us would totally negate a year’s worth of rewards, which is why I’m very diligent about paying off the full balance each month.

By: Sara

Sara — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:41:25 +0000

I love my rewards card, but I just don’t spend enough to really rack up the points. That’s definitely a good thing, but it’s easy to see how you can get sucked down the rewards points rabbit hole. I think it’s important to consider credit card rewards as an unexpected bonus instead of trying to max them out. $2,000 in debt is so not worth a $25 Outback gift card.