Personal Finance Questions and Answers for Young Professionals » Cash Back Cards

Blue Cash® from American Express

pbucelwicz — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 14:49:06 +0000

Earn a $25 statement credit with $500 in eligible spending
No annual fee, 0% intro APR on purchases for up to 12 months, flexibility to pay over time
Earn up to 5% cash back on eligible purchases at supermarkets, gas stations, drugstores, and more
No limit on the cash back you can earn

What you need to know:

Its 5% cash back on select categories such as gas, grocery stores, drugstores, etc, after your total annual purchases are above $6,500. It is still a solid 1% cash back card for all purchases less than an annual $6,500, with 1.25% on all purchases there after. There is no annual fee, and you still get a lot of the great benefits of an AMEX card. If you have an AMEX card know, you know their customer service and customer satisfaction is outstanding. I will be using this card more often now.

Your Rebate is awarded annually for each Rebate Year (12 consecutive billing periods) in the form of a statement credit. Rebate percentages for each Rebate Year are as follows:

Year to Date Purchases	Cash Back on Everyday Purchases^*	Cash Back on All Other Purchases
$0-$6,500	1.0%	0.5%
$6,500.01 or more	5.0%	1.25%

Apply Now!

Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone,
not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express.
This site may be compensated through American Express Affiliate Program.

Discover® More(SM) Card Review: What you need to know.

pbucelwicz — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 01:23:58 +0000

Before getting any credit card you should read all the terms of use and all the fine print. I will highlight some of the things you should know about this cards cash back program before you decide to get it or not.

From the marketing text the card sounds great:

5% Cashback Bonus® in categories like travel, home, gas, restaurants, movies and more
5% to 20% Cashback Bonus at top retailers through our exclusive online shopping site
Up to 1% Cashback Bonus on all other purchases automatically
Unlimited cash rewards
Increase, even double, your rewards when you redeem for gift cards from our 100 Cashback Bonus Partners
0% Intro APR for 6 months on Purchases, and up to 6 months on Balance Transfers*
Apply Now!

The 5% cash back in categories such as travel, home, gas, restaurants, and movies are on a per signup basis and changes per quarter. The current Discover More Rewards calendar looks like this:

The Shop Discover is actually a really good program and you can earn up to 20% cash back on purchases as select stores.

Rewards Disclosures: Earn unlimited cash rewards on all purchases. Earn a full 5% Cashback Bonus on category purchases throughout the year by signing up for each program. In addition, earn a full 1% unlimited Cashback Bonus on all other purchases after your total annual purchases exceed $3,000; other purchases that are part of your first $3,000 earn .25%. Warehouse purchases (those made at select warehouse clubs, discount stores and their affiliates) earn .25%. We do not include warehouse purchases or 5% Cashback Bonus program purchases (up to the dollar limit specified in each applicable program) in calculating your total annual purchases to determine your tier level. Rewards are redeemable starting at $20. Rewards have no expiration date; however, if your account is closed for any reason or inactive for 18 consecutive months or if you fail to make the Minimum Payment Due by the Payment Due Date for two consecutive billing periods, your Cashback Bonus will be forfeited. Full terms and conditions will be sent with your card.

One reason I favor my Chase Freedom card still, is because VISA is more widely accepted. All places that accept credit cards will accept visa/master card(except Costco/BJ’s). Not all stores will accept Discover but most restaurants and major stores probably will.

* See the online credit card application for details about terms and conditions. Reasonable efforts are made to maintain accurate information. However all credit card information is presented without warranty. When you click on the “Apply Now” button, you can review the credit card terms and conditions on credit card issuers website.

Less than $4 dollars away from an extra $50 dollars!: Update 1

pbucelwicz — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 03:01:19 +0000

I was so close! I can’t believe I was this close and failed to reach $200 dollars in cash back rewards from Chase. A month ago I posted an article about how to save your cash back rewards because The Chase freedom card is no longer going to give the $50 dollar bonus for waiting until you have saved up $200 dollars in rewards. It is different for each person and I think it depends on the aniversary date. My $50 dollar bonus was going away June 30th, so I had up until my last statement day which was June 25th. As you can see below I just missed it. I would have made it easy if all my pending transactions had completed by midnight June 24th.

I have until June 30th. I wonder if I can call them and see what I can negotiate with them. That $3.34 could turn into $50 bucks. I know you might think thats not a big deal, but to come so close, and to have literally made it, just some delays in transactions means I don’t get the $50 dollars.

I wonder if there is a way for me to talk to them and see if they can make this happen. I would think almost 100% NOT going to happen. Why would Chase help me get more money, that is just not in the best interest of their company.

Make sure you guys check when your statements are ending, and when your $50 dollar reward is up! Don’t miss out like I am going to.

Update:
I emailed Chase this morning asking them what I can do to make up the point/cash. I asked if it was possible to transferpoints or borrow points in order to make it to the $200 mark I need to order that $250 dollar check. Here is the reply I got from Chase about 2 hours later:

I was shocked too! That was awesome! I have always been really pleased with the customer service from Chase, but this I never expected. Get a Chase card if you don’t already have one!

Here is the results already:

I will post another picture when I get the check. Please share if you had good customer service experience with Chase.

Save extra while shopping online

pbucelwicz — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:49:39 +0000

If you have’t tried shopping through your credit card company’s website… what are you waiting for?

A few of my credit cards that I know of have online shopping portals where you save extra money and earn up to 20% cash back!

Discover® Open Road® Card: ShopDiscover

Discover® More® Card

AMEX: ShopAmex

Running this site and having signed up for a few affiliate programs, I know a little about how this works. When I post an ad on this site and someone buys something from that link. We get a commission off it. There are hundreds of these online affiliates to sign up with. The credit card companies, like Discover, and ~~Chase~~ are doing the same thing. They are affiliated with these shops to offer an additional discount if you buy the products through their online shopping website. I’ve looked up a couple of the commissions because we share the same affiliate. Gap for example offers commissions between 4-6% off CJ’s affiliate program. Through shop discover purchases from Gap, get an additional 5% cash back, on top of the standard 1% cash back.

This is a great way to save some extra coin while shopping online. I highly recommend you take a look at your credit card online store next time you think about making an online purchase. They have hundreds of stores for everything from food to electronics.

My personal example: I recently purchased a new MacBook. The MacBook came out to $1634.00. I made the purchase through Shop Discover and earned a total of $86.12 cash back off that one purchase.

The Best Cash Back Rewards Credit Cards

pbucelwicz — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:30:56 +0000

A week ago I made a list of The best Gas rewards credit cards due to the rising gas prices. To help save additional cash when you can, I’ve made a list of the best cash back rewards cards. This is a multi-part post including other best of lists.

Best of credit cards:
The Best Gas Rewards Credit Cards
The Best Cash Back Rewards Credit Cards – Current Page

Discover® More® Card

5% Cashback Bonus® in categories like travel, home, gas, restaurants, movies and more
5% to 20% Cashback Bonus® at top retailers through our exclusive online shopping site
Up to 1% Cashback Bonus® on all other purchases automatically
Unlimited cash rewards
Increase, even double, your rewards when you redeem for gift cards from our 100 Cashback Bonus® Partners
0% Intro APR for 6 months on purchases and balance transfers
No annual fee
Apply Now!

Additional Benefits:

• 24-hour road side assistance with lock-out service, towing, and flat repair.
• $100,000 worldwide automatic travel accident insurance
• Collision, Damage, and Loss Insurance on rental cars
• Emergency card replacement, or cash advance if your card is lost or stolen
• $0 fraud liability for any unauthorized use if the card is lost or stolen

Capitol One® Card Lab

>>Get the Card

Discover Open Road – Update: New Terms*

pbucelwicz — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 15:35:25 +0000

Key Points:

• 0% Intro APR^
• Save at the pump and everywhere else.*
• 5% Cashback Bonus® on gas and auto maintenance purchases
• 5% to 20% Cashback Bonus at top online retailers
• Up to 1% Cashback Bonus on all other purchases**
• Unlimited cash rewards
• Increase, even double, the value of your rewards when you redeem for gift cards from our
80 Cashback Bonus Partners

Apply Now!

Fine Print you should know:

^0% APR for 12 months depending on credit.
*Earn a full 5% Cashback Bonus on your first $100 in combined gas and auto maintenance purchases each billing period, up to $1,200 annually.
Combined gas and auto maintenance purchases in excess of $100 each billing period earn Cashback Bonus at the same rate as other purchases
**Full 1% on all other purchases after your total annual purchases exceed $3,000; other purchases that are part of your first $1,500 earn .50%.

MoneyAnswerTree Review:

This is a great gas card. You earn 5% on the first 1200 in a year then 1% after that. This is still better than earning 3% on gas for the first 600 dollars a month with Chase Freedom. If you have an SUV or truck, you might want to go with the Shell Gas card. It offers 5% back on gas with no limits. With gas prices so high, and climbing, it is a good idea to get a single card for all your gas purchases. I also use this card for buying oil, and other related maintenance items for my car. I have also used this card as a form of financing, taking advantage of the 12 months no interest. As long as I pay off the balance before 12 months there are no fees.

Update: Jan. 25, 2008
Discover changed their terms for this card. Before it was earn a full 5% on the first $1200 in combined gas and auto maintenance per year and 1% back for every other dollar. They have lowered their cash back rewards! It is now .50% for every dollar spend $2999 and under, then 1% for purchases $3000 and over annually. This does not seem like that great of a card anymore. Additionally, the 5% back on gas is limited to the first $100 per month. I personally spend close to $200 dollars a month on gas. If you use this card for gas only it is still probably worth it. If you are like me and go to the same gas station all the time, check to see if your gas station has a rewards credit card. It will probably be better rewards. I use the Shell Platinum MasterCard from Citi®.

Technical Review:

The rewards program for Discover is very fast! You are able to redeem your cash back in increments of $20. You don’t need to wait until $50 like some other cash back cards. Also through the Discover site, there are options to make your rewards worth more by buying gift certificates to their affiliated retailers. The discover site is very secure, and one of the better laid out interfaces I have used. Everything is well layout and easy to find.

Discover® Open Road Card

>>Get the Card

Shell Platinum MasterCard from Citi®

pbucelwicz — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 00:36:34 +0000

Key Points:

MasterCard" />

• 5% rebates on all Shell gasoline purchases and 1% rebates on purchases everywhere else
• 0.00% APR on Balance Transfers* for 6 months§, then just 15.49%.
• All rebates are automatically credited to your statement against future Shell gasoline purchases made with your card
• No annual fee the first year, and thereafter it’s waived when 9 or more Shell gasoline purchases are made per year
• Online account management, Lost Wallet® Service, ATM cash access and much more…
• Plus, you now earn 5% rebates for 60 days on your first $2,000 in purchases everywhere else -that’s up to $100 in rebates!
Apply Now!

Fine Print you should know:

0% APR on your first balance transfer within the first 6 months from signup.
You will have 0% APR for 6 months from date of first balance transfer

MoneyAnswerTree Review:

This is by far one of the best gas cards you can get. Full 5% cash back for every Shell gas purchase. There is no limit to the rewards. Then 1% cash back for every other purchase. There is no saving up rewards with this card; they automatically deduct the rewards you have earned from your statement balance each month. Also if you use your card in the Shell convenient store, you also receive 5% cash back. You don’t fill up at Shell? Shell Gasoline is actually really good for your car. It tends to get better gas mileage than other gas. Read up on how Shell Gasoline can increase your gas mileage. This card also features a much lower interest rate as compared to other credit cards, if you are making the minimum payments. My card has an APR of 13.49%.

Technical Review:

The shell card interface is one of the more basic I’ve seen. I have seen minor improvements here and there over the past year. The site is easy to navigate and has every option you need online. Login security is basic, username and password still on the same page while most banks have moved to a more secure system by separating the login and password.

Read the full Terms