Current Events > Finance savvy peeps. What should I look for in a rewards credit card?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Turns out I have a near perfect credit score, so options are pretty open.

I'm assuming that rewards cards tailored to specific spending (e.g. for flights or for specific hotels) give you more, but obviously are only worthwhile if you're spending there a lot.

Maybe a general rewards card for everyday spending is best?

@_BIueMonk
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@Darkman124
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Sam Jackson says Capital One.

You gonna argue with Jules Windu?
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amex do some good everyday reward cards, normally first year is free and if you don't want to pay then you can cancel after

if you have some flight miles then it's worth getting a BA/avios or virgin credit card to help push you over towards free flights

lloyds bank also has a reward credit card and i remember seeing it a couple years ago and it was decent. not sure how it's like now
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Parappa09 posted...

amex do some good everyday reward cards, normally first year is free and if you don't want to pay then you can cancel after

if you have some flight miles then it's worth getting a BA/avios or virgin credit card to help push you over towards free flights

lloyds bank also has a reward credit card and i remember seeing it a couple years ago and it was decent. not sure how it's like now

Does cancelling your card not damage your credit score though?
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pinky0926 posted...

Parappa09 posted...

amex do some good everyday reward cards, normally first year is free and if you don't want to pay then you can cancel after

if you have some flight miles then it's worth getting a BA/avios or virgin credit card to help push you over towards free flights

lloyds bank also has a reward credit card and i remember seeing it a couple years ago and it was decent. not sure how it's like now

Does cancelling your card not damage your credit score though?

ive not heard that before, potentially? not sure why it would though
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there's no reason to ever cancel a card. let it expire and dont activate the next if you must.

i use Bank of America cash rewards because I do my ROTH IRA with them, and keep my emergency fund with them, so i get 1.75% cash back on everything (more on gas and groceries). it's a poor card if you're not their highest tier of account holder

for normal people the capital one quicksilver is the best deal, 1.5% cash back across the board is convenient and simple

imo miles cards lock you in to using an affiliated airline provider. youll often save more by being flexible about who you fly with, certain flights are just always cheaper with certain airlines. better to earn $500 cash and buy a $450 flight than get a $600 flight free.
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The act of cancelling the card itself doesn't affect your credit, but it has "side effects" that can affect your score:

- The average age of your credit account will possibly go down (especially if it was an older card).
- Your total available credit amount will go down, which means that the percentage of credit used will go up. Say you had two cards that each have $5,000 credit ($10,000 total). You have $1,000 on one - 10% available credit usage. You close the other card you're not using. Now it's $1,000 out of $5,000, not $1,000 out of $10,000 - meaning you'd go up to 20% available credit usage.

there's no reason to ever cancel a card. let it expire and dont activate the next if you must.

If you have zero intent of ever using the card again, you might as well just cancel it, unless it's expiring as soon as within a month or two. Otherwise you're just leaving it open to the possibility of being stolen/hacked and used. It's a very unlikely event, but I don't see the rationale behind keeping that vulnerability open.
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because you can always report fraud, and are never responsible for fraudulent use of your card.
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Darkman124 posted...

because you can always report fraud, and are never responsible for fraudulent use of your card.

Why go through that hassle though?
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because canceling your card shortens your credit history and there's no reason to do that
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Darkman124 posted...

because canceling your card shortens your credit history and there's no reason to do that

But it's going to be shortened regardless once the account is automatically closed for inactivity...
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to my knowledge that isn't a thing that happens

i have an account with GE capital that i havent used in 6 years

still producing history on my last credit report

still 0 balance
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Darkman124 posted...

to my knowledge that isn't a thing that happens

OK, but according to reality it is a thing that happens.
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can you provide me with information indicating this other than your post? i'm open to new information.
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I only ever cancelled one card, and that was my first one. I only closed it cause it had no rewards, a shit limit, and an annual fee.

Don't cancel cards or let them expire. You average credit age will go down. You total credit limit will go down. You number of accounts will go down. All hurt your credit.

Citi probably has the best general cash rewards. 1% when you buy something, and a other 1% when you pay. The quicksilver card has 1.5% for everything.

I also use Chase Freedom. It has rotating rewards categories. Right now I get 5% at gas stations and 1% at other locations. Discover and AMEX have decent cash rewards too.
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Darkman124 posted...

there's no reason to ever cancel a card. let it expire and dont activate the next if you must.

i use Bank of America cash rewards because I do my ROTH IRA with them, and keep my emergency fund with them, so i get 1.75% cash back on everything (more on gas and groceries). it's a poor card if you're not their highest tier of account holder

for normal people the capital one quicksilver is the best deal, 1.5% cash back across the board is convenient and simple

imo miles cards lock you in to using an affiliated airline provider. youll often save more by being flexible about who you fly with, certain flights are just always cheaper with certain airlines. better to earn $500 cash and buy a $450 flight than get a $600 flight free.

I sceond the Quicksilver card. My wife uses it for all her work travel expenses. She then gets reimbursed and we keep the cash back.
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I use Citi Double Cash. Basically 2% back on everything.
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Darkman124 posted...

can you provide me with information indicating this other than your post? i'm open to new information.

https://tinyurl.com/yc95xhjl
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/shrug

didn't know it was a thing. hasn't been done to me.
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Hexenherz posted...

Darkman124 posted...

because canceling your card shortens your credit history and there's no reason to do that

But it's going to be shortened regardless once the account is automatically closed for inactivity...

You'll get a notice in the mail well before a credit card gets closed for inactivity. All it takes is just putting a small charge on the card to keep it open when you get that notice. I have about 8 or 9 credit cards and I only use 1 primarily.
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One of the first credit cards I ever got was a Barclay and the rewards are iTunes gifts cards lmao

It's good to have one for gas and groceries at least.

my every day cards are American express blue cash and capital one quicksilver. AMEX gives 3/2/1% based on categories I can never remember (3% restaurants, 2% gas, 1% everything else? something like that). Quicksilver is 1.5% for everything.

There is also a Fidelity Rewards cards that gives 2% cash back everything into a fidelity account (IRA, 529 or Cash Management Account). $0 annual fee, $100 cash back on $1000 of purchases in 90 days.

that's the best card ive seen in a while and i will probably be applying to it and stop using my capital one.
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