Credit Tips: Best Credit Card Combination

Posted On: July 1, 2006

Author: pluffiesc
Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 1:12 pm
Post subject: Best combination of three credit cards - Citibank/BP/???.

Hi, I’m new to this great site and would appreciate any feedback. I’m trying to simplify my credit card situation by applying for only three credit cards.
Most of my spending is done in the following three categories:

1) Groceries - usually the largest monthly spending.

2) Restaurants - usually the second largest.

3) Airline tickets/travel - usually the third largest.

I am not a student or businessperson, so that would exclude some cards.
I was planning on doing the following so any suggestions/improvements would be welcome.

1) Apply for the Citibank 5% rebate card for supermarket shopping. I am assuming that Whole Foods Market is eligible for the discount. Does anyone know of any application codes to get freebies with the initial application?

2) I was going to use Chase Rewards Plus 5% rebate card but can’t find this on the Chase website so I’m assuming it’s no longer available.

3) Apply for the BP card for 2% rebate on restaurants/travel. Can someone tell me the best site for getting free stuff with the initial application for a BP card.

4) Are there any other good rebate cards besides Citibank and BP for non-students and non-business. I would like to have a third card besides Citibank and BP.

Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

Author: cameron
Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 1:17 pm
Post subject:

THose cards are similar to what I use. Also check out BofA Power Rewards, if you spend a lot it goes up to 2% rebate. If you do home improvements, Chase has a good card for that.

Author: quiznut1
Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 2:29 pm
Post subject: Re: Best combination of three credit cards - Citibank/BP/???

Quote:
Hi, I’m new to this great site and would appreciate any feedback. I’m trying to simplify my credit card situation by applying for only three credit cards.
Most of my spending is done in the following three categories:

1) Groceries - usually the largest monthly spending.

2) Restaurants - usually the second largest.

3) Airline tickets/travel - usually the third largest.

I am not a student or businessperson, so that would exclude some cards.
I was planning on doing the following so any suggestions/improvements would be welcome.

1) Apply for the Citibank 5% rebate card for supermarket shopping. I am assuming that Whole Foods Market is eligible for the discount. Does anyone know of any application codes to get freebies with the initial application?

2) I was going to use Chase Rewards Plus 5% rebate card but can’t find this on the Chase website so I’m assuming it’s no longer available.

3) Apply for the BP card for 2% rebate on restaurants/travel. Can someone tell me the best site for getting free stuff with the initial application for a BP card.

4) Are there any other good rebate cards besides Citibank and BP for non-students and non-business. I would like to have a third card besides Citibank and BP.

Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

Okay, assuming you have not applied for any of these cards yet, here’s what I would do. First off, go to Card Offers and become a member. It’s free. Log in to your account, and click “Cash Rewards”. Then find the Citi Dividend Platinum Select card in the offer page and click the green “Apply” button. This will lead you to the application for the card via the link. Make sure you do it this way and not through Citi’s website. In the end, you’ll have a $40 cash reward if you are approved.

Okay, if you want to apply for the Chase Cash Plus Rewards card, it is still available, even though it’s not on the Chase website. There is a specific number to call with an offer code, and I know this because I’ve been watching this Fat Wallet Thread. The offer code is 2YL, and the phone number is 1-888-787-0329. As of 5/24 anyway, the offer is still alive. The offer code will get you 10,000 bonus points, which you can redeem for $100 cash back on your first purchase. The only down side is that there is a limit of 30,000 points per year ($300), and the 10,000 bonus points will go against that limit. But still not a bad bonus.

For everything else I would recommend the Bank of America Power Rewards Visa. Once again there is a link on Card Offers to apply for this card and get a $30 cash reward if you are approved. Check it out.
For this card, it is 1 point per dollar on everything you spend, no limit to how many points you can earn in a year. No annual fee, and redeem 50,000 points for a $1,000 statement credit (2% cash back), or 30,000 points for a $450 statement credit (1.5% cash back). The points do expire in 5 years, but refer to This Thread to see my opinion on how to get around that. It explains how you can buy points in 1,000 increments for $20, and “bump” your points to the 2% cash back redeemable level, with no effect on your $20 “investment” in the end.

Author: maddybeagle
Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 7:24 pm
Post subject: Best Credit Card Combination

People are reporting that they rec. a letter that Chase Cash Plus Rewards is going to a 1% reward and that card isnt on chase’s site anymore so I would go with the citi cards.

Also, simplicity and diamond preferred are offering 100 dollar bonuses (toward gift card) so I would go with the diamond pref. and possibly convert to div. select after you get the 100 dollars in gift cards(since you get cash back rather than thank you points). I have read that you can do this from the cardoffers website to get extra 40 bucks in addition.

Some folks recently posted on the bp card with up to 75 bucks in bp gas cards.

Author: quiznut1
Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 11:37 pm
Post subject: Best Credit Card Combination

That will stink if Chase does really goes through with that. I got a chance to talk to a representative, who told me that the 5% program wasn’t going away for current cardholders. I have a hard time believing him though, because that is what they told me when I had the Discover Restaurant card. We’ll see.