AmEx Blue vs. Citi Dividend Rebate Credit Cards (cont'd.)
Guest: XeroK00L
Post subject: AmEx Blue vs. Citi Dividend Rebate Credit Cards
Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 6:44 am
quiznut1 wrote:
JoyJoy wrote:
Citi Dividend has the American Express logo on their card now so really it's the best of both worlds!
The OP originally was asking which card was a better card, the Blue Cash, or Citi Dividend.
My advice would be to use the Citi Dividend card exclusively for the 5% cash back on gas, groceries, and drugstore, because the 5% Blue Cash rebate on these purchases doesn't kick in till you've reached $6,500 in total annual purchases.
Once you reach the $300 yearly rebate limit with the Citi card, use the Blue Cash as your primary card, because you'll have probably reached that $6,500 threshold with Blue Cash on everything else. This means you'll be able to earn the 5% rebate on gas, groceries, and drugstore with Blue Cash. Otherwise, for the first $6,500, you will only earn 1% on gas, groceries, and drugstore.
So use the AMEX Blue Cash for everything else but gas, groceries, and drugstore till you reach the $6,500 threshold, then feel free to continue to use it for everything else along with gas, groceries, and drugstore. The first $6,500 in total annual purchases earn .5%, (Everything else, not gas, groceries, drugstore) with Blue Cash, and then it's 1.5% after that, which is better than the Citi Dividend's 1% on non-gas, grocery, and drugstore.
Actually, Blue Cash sucks...for most people. Please read the debate I had with Andri who firmly believed the Blue Cash did any good for her:
http://creditcardperks.webgroups.biz/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=7634
What most people including quiznut1 fail to realize is that, in the process of reaching that $6,500 threshold, you LOSE a lot by not using a 1% or better-rewarding card.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I have to say it once more, that the Blue Cash is only good if you actually spend more than $13,000 in purchases that do not fall in any of the categories that could otherwise earn you more than 1% in rewards, which is very rarely the case for most people. As can be seen in the thread I linked above, Andri and her husband tried very hard to maximize the benefit they get from the Blue Cash yet in the end they still earned less than they could have if they had used the Dividend card. As Ira pointed out in the end of the thread, cleverly using "situational cards" is the way to go. Wasting chances of higher rewards just to meet a threshold of a card is not.
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Guest: cameron
Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2006 12:08 pm
I appreciate the analysis re: blue cash. However, I have a different perspective. Maybe Im wrong, if so please set me straight. Its true you are losing ground the first $6500. Since you only get .5% rather than 1% you lose $32.50. You gain that back the next $6500. I have heard talk about specialty cards, but when I check on them they are no longer offered, or require a costco membership, or a business, or something else that precludes me. I am willing to look at restaurant cards, home improvement cards, or tuition cards, since I spend significant money there, but there comes a time where its not worth my time to save a few buck. There are downsides to carrying lots of cards too, such as liability if you lose them all. Using Blue Cash with the 1.5% rewards, and City and Chase for the %5 while you build up to the $6500 level seems like a practical strategy. It may not be perfect, but it is a reasonable approach.
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Guest: XeroK00L
Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2006 1:07 pm
cameron wrote:
I appreciate the analysis re: blue cash. However, I have a different perspective. Maybe Im wrong, if so please set me straight. Its true you are losing ground the first $6500. Since you only get .5% rather than 1% you lose $32.50. You gain that back the next $6500. I have heard talk about specialty cards, but when I check on them they are no longer offered, or require a costco membership, or a business, or something else that precludes me. I am willing to look at restaurant cards, home improvement cards, or tuition cards, since I spend significant money there, but there comes a time where its not worth my time to save a few buck. There are downsides to carrying lots of cards too, such as liability if you lose them all. Using Blue Cash with the 1.5% rewards, and City and Chase for the %5 while you build up to the $6500 level seems like a practical strategy. It may not be perfect, but it is a reasonable approach.
Thanks for chiming in. I can totally see how some people may prefer carrying only a couple of credit cards at any time.
Well, in that case (using the Dividend for everyday purchases and the Blue Cash for everything else), just make very sure that you do spend more than $13,000 /year in non-everyday purchases (at places that do take Amex BTW), so that you'll at least break the 1% barrier with the Blue Cash. If you can't make sure of that, you should stick to a fixed 1%-rewarding card.
CardRatings.com is the most comprehensive source for comparing credit card offers. Please visit CardRatings.com to view the best rated credit cards!
Guest: georgee
Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2006 3:19 pm
I have Chase Cash Plus, Citi Dividend, and AMEX cashback.
I use Citibank for gas, groceries, and drugstores, and AMEX for everything else (for the 1.5% after I hit $6500). Once I hit the $300 rebate for the calendar year on Citi, then I switch to Chase Cash Plus for gas, groceries, and drugstores, and earn the $300 annual rebate on that card.
At any one time I am carrying only two (not all three) cards -- either Citi and AMEX or Chase Cash Plus and AMEX,
This works for me, and all three cards get a good workout during the year.
CardRatings.com is the most comprehensive source for comparing credit card offers. Please visit CardRatings.com to view the best rated credit cards!
Guest: JoyJoy
Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2006 5:48 pm
Sounds like a plan to me!
I can say I'm really learning a lot here. All I have ever known is to get a cc and pay it. I never went with the rewards, etc., but with so many people ranting about the rewards and how much they are really saving, it just makes sense to have your card and balance transfers work for you. Important thing, however, is to KNOW HOW to make them work for you though. Thanks for your input.
_________________
J~J
CardRatings.com is the most comprehensive source for comparing credit card offers. Please visit CardRatings.com to view the best rated credit cards!
Guest: XeroK00L
Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2006 7:59 pm
georgee wrote:
I have Chase Cash Plus, Citi Dividend, and AMEX cashback.
I use Citibank for gas, groceries, and drugstores, and AMEX for everything else (for the 1.5% after I hit $6500). Once I hit the $300 rebate for the calendar year on Citi, then I switch to Chase Cash Plus for gas, groceries, and drugstores, and earn the $300 annual rebate on that card.
At any one time I am carrying only two (not all three) cards -- either Citi and AMEX or Chase Cash Plus and AMEX,
This works for me, and all three cards get a good workout during the year.
Just out of curiosity, do you mind telling us if you have been able to charge more than $13,000 on the Blue Cash annually?
CardRatings.com is the most comprehensive source for comparing credit card offers. Please visit CardRatings.com to view the best rated credit cards!
Guest: catalyst4christ
Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2006 11:10 pm
I have the same cards that georgee mentioned along with a Discover. I use the Citi as my primary for everything, except whatever Discover has as their Get More promotion, then I use the Discover. Also I use the Discover at Sam's Club cause it's the only card accepted there. Once I hit the max rewards on the Citi, I then use my Chase Cash Plus Rewards as primary. I haven't maxed the rewards on both the cards before. I also have the AMEX Blue Cash but I don't spend/earn enough money right now to maximize that card so I stick to the three I mentioned previously. System works for me right now. Anything to make it better?
D
_________________
AMEX Blue Cash/Citi Dividend Platinum Select/Wells Fargo Platinum/Chase Cash Plus Rewards/Discover Classic/Capital One Platinum/GAP Card
CardRatings.com is the most comprehensive source for comparing credit card offers. Please visit CardRatings.com to view the best rated credit cards!
Guest: georgee
Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2006 7:52 am
Yeah, I charge about $16,000 annually on AMEX. I have Discover Restaurant card, too. I have reached the $1500. I won't even use it since I am not at all interested in their 5% "Get More" promotions.
CardRatings.com is the most comprehensive source for comparing credit card offers. Please visit CardRatings.com to view the best rated credit cards!
Post subject: AmEx Blue vs. Citi Dividend Rebate Credit Cards
Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 6:44 am
quiznut1 wrote:
JoyJoy wrote:
Citi Dividend has the American Express logo on their card now so really it's the best of both worlds!
The OP originally was asking which card was a better card, the Blue Cash, or Citi Dividend.
My advice would be to use the Citi Dividend card exclusively for the 5% cash back on gas, groceries, and drugstore, because the 5% Blue Cash rebate on these purchases doesn't kick in till you've reached $6,500 in total annual purchases.
Once you reach the $300 yearly rebate limit with the Citi card, use the Blue Cash as your primary card, because you'll have probably reached that $6,500 threshold with Blue Cash on everything else. This means you'll be able to earn the 5% rebate on gas, groceries, and drugstore with Blue Cash. Otherwise, for the first $6,500, you will only earn 1% on gas, groceries, and drugstore.
So use the AMEX Blue Cash for everything else but gas, groceries, and drugstore till you reach the $6,500 threshold, then feel free to continue to use it for everything else along with gas, groceries, and drugstore. The first $6,500 in total annual purchases earn .5%, (Everything else, not gas, groceries, drugstore) with Blue Cash, and then it's 1.5% after that, which is better than the Citi Dividend's 1% on non-gas, grocery, and drugstore.
Actually, Blue Cash sucks...for most people. Please read the debate I had with Andri who firmly believed the Blue Cash did any good for her:
http://creditcardperks.webgroups.biz/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=7634
What most people including quiznut1 fail to realize is that, in the process of reaching that $6,500 threshold, you LOSE a lot by not using a 1% or better-rewarding card.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I have to say it once more, that the Blue Cash is only good if you actually spend more than $13,000 in purchases that do not fall in any of the categories that could otherwise earn you more than 1% in rewards, which is very rarely the case for most people. As can be seen in the thread I linked above, Andri and her husband tried very hard to maximize the benefit they get from the Blue Cash yet in the end they still earned less than they could have if they had used the Dividend card. As Ira pointed out in the end of the thread, cleverly using "situational cards" is the way to go. Wasting chances of higher rewards just to meet a threshold of a card is not.
CardRatings.com is the most comprehensive source for comparing credit card offers. Please visit CardRatings.com to view the best rated credit cards!
Guest: cameron
Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2006 12:08 pm
I appreciate the analysis re: blue cash. However, I have a different perspective. Maybe Im wrong, if so please set me straight. Its true you are losing ground the first $6500. Since you only get .5% rather than 1% you lose $32.50. You gain that back the next $6500. I have heard talk about specialty cards, but when I check on them they are no longer offered, or require a costco membership, or a business, or something else that precludes me. I am willing to look at restaurant cards, home improvement cards, or tuition cards, since I spend significant money there, but there comes a time where its not worth my time to save a few buck. There are downsides to carrying lots of cards too, such as liability if you lose them all. Using Blue Cash with the 1.5% rewards, and City and Chase for the %5 while you build up to the $6500 level seems like a practical strategy. It may not be perfect, but it is a reasonable approach.
CardRatings.com is the most comprehensive source for comparing credit card offers. Please visit CardRatings.com to view the best rated credit cards!
Guest: XeroK00L
Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2006 1:07 pm
cameron wrote:
I appreciate the analysis re: blue cash. However, I have a different perspective. Maybe Im wrong, if so please set me straight. Its true you are losing ground the first $6500. Since you only get .5% rather than 1% you lose $32.50. You gain that back the next $6500. I have heard talk about specialty cards, but when I check on them they are no longer offered, or require a costco membership, or a business, or something else that precludes me. I am willing to look at restaurant cards, home improvement cards, or tuition cards, since I spend significant money there, but there comes a time where its not worth my time to save a few buck. There are downsides to carrying lots of cards too, such as liability if you lose them all. Using Blue Cash with the 1.5% rewards, and City and Chase for the %5 while you build up to the $6500 level seems like a practical strategy. It may not be perfect, but it is a reasonable approach.
Thanks for chiming in. I can totally see how some people may prefer carrying only a couple of credit cards at any time.
Well, in that case (using the Dividend for everyday purchases and the Blue Cash for everything else), just make very sure that you do spend more than $13,000 /year in non-everyday purchases (at places that do take Amex BTW), so that you'll at least break the 1% barrier with the Blue Cash. If you can't make sure of that, you should stick to a fixed 1%-rewarding card.
CardRatings.com is the most comprehensive source for comparing credit card offers. Please visit CardRatings.com to view the best rated credit cards!
Guest: georgee
Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2006 3:19 pm
I have Chase Cash Plus, Citi Dividend, and AMEX cashback.
I use Citibank for gas, groceries, and drugstores, and AMEX for everything else (for the 1.5% after I hit $6500). Once I hit the $300 rebate for the calendar year on Citi, then I switch to Chase Cash Plus for gas, groceries, and drugstores, and earn the $300 annual rebate on that card.
At any one time I am carrying only two (not all three) cards -- either Citi and AMEX or Chase Cash Plus and AMEX,
This works for me, and all three cards get a good workout during the year.
CardRatings.com is the most comprehensive source for comparing credit card offers. Please visit CardRatings.com to view the best rated credit cards!
Guest: JoyJoy
Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2006 5:48 pm
Sounds like a plan to me!
I can say I'm really learning a lot here. All I have ever known is to get a cc and pay it. I never went with the rewards, etc., but with so many people ranting about the rewards and how much they are really saving, it just makes sense to have your card and balance transfers work for you. Important thing, however, is to KNOW HOW to make them work for you though. Thanks for your input.
_________________
J~J
CardRatings.com is the most comprehensive source for comparing credit card offers. Please visit CardRatings.com to view the best rated credit cards!
Guest: XeroK00L
Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2006 7:59 pm
georgee wrote:
I have Chase Cash Plus, Citi Dividend, and AMEX cashback.
I use Citibank for gas, groceries, and drugstores, and AMEX for everything else (for the 1.5% after I hit $6500). Once I hit the $300 rebate for the calendar year on Citi, then I switch to Chase Cash Plus for gas, groceries, and drugstores, and earn the $300 annual rebate on that card.
At any one time I am carrying only two (not all three) cards -- either Citi and AMEX or Chase Cash Plus and AMEX,
This works for me, and all three cards get a good workout during the year.
Just out of curiosity, do you mind telling us if you have been able to charge more than $13,000 on the Blue Cash annually?
CardRatings.com is the most comprehensive source for comparing credit card offers. Please visit CardRatings.com to view the best rated credit cards!
Guest: catalyst4christ
Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2006 11:10 pm
I have the same cards that georgee mentioned along with a Discover. I use the Citi as my primary for everything, except whatever Discover has as their Get More promotion, then I use the Discover. Also I use the Discover at Sam's Club cause it's the only card accepted there. Once I hit the max rewards on the Citi, I then use my Chase Cash Plus Rewards as primary. I haven't maxed the rewards on both the cards before. I also have the AMEX Blue Cash but I don't spend/earn enough money right now to maximize that card so I stick to the three I mentioned previously. System works for me right now. Anything to make it better?
D
_________________
AMEX Blue Cash/Citi Dividend Platinum Select/Wells Fargo Platinum/Chase Cash Plus Rewards/Discover Classic/Capital One Platinum/GAP Card
CardRatings.com is the most comprehensive source for comparing credit card offers. Please visit CardRatings.com to view the best rated credit cards!
Guest: georgee
Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2006 7:52 am
Yeah, I charge about $16,000 annually on AMEX. I have Discover Restaurant card, too. I have reached the $1500. I won't even use it since I am not at all interested in their 5% "Get More" promotions.
CardRatings.com is the most comprehensive source for comparing credit card offers. Please visit CardRatings.com to view the best rated credit cards!
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