*Credit card owners which one do you prefer?

[Dale Moser]

I've had a chase freedom card for the last year and a half or so. You can use the cash back to get gift cards to any number of places (about 50 I think), apply it directly to an Amazon purchase, apply it to your balance....or they'll send you a check. I'm getting my new Costas next month on points, and I'll get 5% back on those too!

[cheez]

Back in college I had a small savings account at the CU. When I was in a bind and needed money I would get a share secured loan with low interest. I'd pay off the loan and still have the money in the savings account. If you have any savings it might be an option for you.

As far as credit cards, as many others have said, get one with rewards. Mine is no annual fee and cash back. I put everything I can on it and pay it off in full every month and only once had to pay any interest fee (my mistake not paying enough that month).

[solocam_aggie]

I do the same.

I spend money when I have it; not before.

Spending money you don't have is never a good idea.
It looks like Landrover abides by these same rules; and we have all seen his trophy room.

Good advice from a smart man.....

Well ill be the first to say that not everyone has the cash flow to not spend money they dont have. Countless times I have taken loans out for cattle to build my herd. I will assure you that if I took your approach and only bought one here and one there when I had the money, I would not have what I have now.

Every persons financial situation is different. Just because he has a nice trophy room doesnt mean squat. My old roomate has a stunning trophy room, b/c his grandpa left him over 5 million

[Shake N' Bake]

none if i cant buy it cash then i dont need it !

Amen Brother!! I'm no longer a slave to my FICO score!!

[Caprock]

I have about 6 credit cards and use each one of them for different reasons, all have a rewards program and all have no annual fees. I have never carried a balance from month to month and therefore have never paid interest. To answer your question here are the cards I have and what I use them for so you can compare to what you have been looking at.:

GM Card - It rewards you with a down payment on a new GM vehicle up to a certain amount, once I reach that amount I stop using it and move to a different card

AOPA (Aircraft owners and Pilots Association) card - It gets me discounts on avgas and car rentals while flying

Sears Card - discounts on items from sears and great protection from fraud and stolen identity, even if it doesn't involve their card

Power Rewards Card - it's reward is payments to your mortgage if BOA handles your mortgage. It isn't as user friendly and a big drawback is it is administered by BOA

Cabelas Card - use it for discounts at Cabelas and the points you build for free Cabelas stuff, it is very user friendly

Wells Fargo Card - has good rewards, usually in the form of gift cards, and is very user friendly for monitoring spending and downloading to a finance program

Several of the above mentioned cards also let you pick your own rewards, such as gift cards to amazon, and a lot of other places. I had a discover card that I canceled because their rewards weren't as good as some of the others and it seemed like there were a lot more places that didn't take it. I also have a debit card but don't use it much, if it gets stolen and someone takes money out of your bank account it is a lot harder than contesting charges with a credit card. The credit card companies usually do a good job of watching for fraud and refunding any charges that you didn't make. I buy just about everything on a credit card, but with so many cards some of them don't get used much. I try to use them at least twice a year to keep them from getting canceled from inactivity. Just some thoughts for you while you try to find a card you like.

[BrianL]

I have the old GMCARD. I have about $3100.00 in rebate to apply towards a new truck, problem is I'm not ready for a new truck. Max is 3500.00, so I'll be capped out this year.

[Dale Moser]

I have the old GMCARD. I have about $3100.00 in rebate to apply towards a new truck, problem is I'm not ready for a new truck. Max is 3500.00, so I'll be capped out this year.

That's why I cut mine up. Along about 2008 Gm started putting weird restrictions on how much you could use on specific vehicles. I cashed out and cut it up.


While I can certainly understand the debt free lifestyle, and hope to live it someday.......some of you Ramzis are getting a little hard to take.

Credit cards are NOT the devil, they do not mean you are in debt, and I've never been held hostage by my FICO score!!! Dude wants to build credit.....let him work on some credit!

[cosmiccowboy]

just applied for Citi card and the Academy and was denied, arrrrg!!
How can anyone get credit if they can't start any cedit?
is it true money makes money,if paypal or amazon reported I'd be in like flynn?

Sounds like you have bad credit problems. Go to your bank. They have programs where you can give them a deposit and they give you a credit card to re-establish your credit.

[cosmiccowboy]

Once you get your credit score better Chase Freedom is the best no fee rewards card out there.

[Bily Lovec]

heck I love credit cards, ID put my house note on my amex if they'd let me.
I have an amex and my debit card. I put as much on the Amex as I can.
I charge about $3k a month on it and pay it off monthly.

be responsible. make them pay you to spend their money.

[Black Ice]

Credit car =free money if you can manage it. I've racked up around $350.00 since September in D I C K's sporting goods money. I would recommend another card but I still buy things from them and get a good bit because of the card. Academy would be perfect and just use it to buy corn or ammo with the rewards money. You just have to pay off the card every month.

[Dale Moser]

Credit car =free money if you can manage it. I've racked up around $350.00 since September in D I C K's sporting goods money. I would recommend another card but I still buy things from them and get a good bit because of the card. Academy would be perfect and just use it to buy corn or ammo with the rewards money. You just have to pay off the card every month.

Why limit your earnings to just d!cks, academy, etc?

Chase Freedom will give you a visa gift card good for anywhere if you want. They do 3 month long promotions where you get 5% back from certain places like Lowes, grocery stores, gas stations, drug stores, etc. Right now it's Lowes for instance. If I'm gonna go buy something big at Cabelas, I just go to lowes and buy a cabelas gift card (you can get them at cvs, Kroger if they are on the 5% list for that month) for the amount I want and go buy it. 5% back right there. Then apply the points to your bill.

[Joshua Flournoy]

A credit card is just a piece of plastic. It shouldn't be a problem if you control it instead of letting it control you. Not dangerous in the least unless you lack discipline and self-control. We've had a business credit card for our business the last 8 years, never carried a balance over to the next month, always pay it off at the end of every month=no interest. Get points for nice rewards. Very convenient. No problems.

[adam_p]

You "creditcardsarethedevil" people are missing out on free money. My card pays me to use it. Not the other way around.

[ducks-and-bucks]

No credit card at all is what I perfer... I got one and all ive done is rack it up... not im having to pay it of!! I cant do the credit card thing... im going back to cash only.... if I aint got the cash I cant afford it. Thats my best way of doing things.