A very good basic credit card - Blue from American Express(R)

who the hell wants travel points.

#1 true.
and what do they mean by merchandise? Have you seen the catalogs where you can get a dvd player, for "only" 15,000 points(aka $150.00)?

I do not like amex.
They are the masters of the fine print

"Once enrolled, you can earn one point for virtually every dollar you charge with Blue"

virtually? is it one point per dollar (like everyone else) or something less? are some purchases ineligible?

I had the costco amex card...it said "earn up to 1%"
what that meant was earn 0.25%, then get a "check" that is only redeemable at costco, and expires in 60 days.
of course I forgot to bring it to costco and so they kept their $3.17

and look around...many stores that take visa and mastercard, do NOT take amex...that is because amex charges them more.
if visa gets 2%, amex wants 3%...remember the discover card?

IF you can, get a card that will pay you in gift cards for stores where you actually shop. and if the card has a bonus of 10,000 to 15,000 points (instant $100-150) for first purchase, that is even better.

Read the fine print, if you are late on a payment for whatever reason (they not recieving your check or some computational error), your fixed APR disappears and balloons to over 30%. Due to a clerical error, my payment came late, I called them and the representative was very nice and removed the late fee and apologized for the misunderstanding. A couple of months later I find out that my so-called "low fixed APR" has disappeared. I cancelled my card immediately. Plus, Amex isn't as widely accepted as other cards anyway, big deal.

What card for the best rewards?

It's always a very good idea to fully investigate cards before you open an account. Having too many cards can affect your credit. Canceling accounts can also affect your credit.

The comments made here are correct, but do not apply to everyone:

1) Honestly I've never heard of a redeemable coupon expiring in 60-days, but I assume the above poster has seen this. Either way, if you are in California, and you have the Costco rewards, it does not expire in 60 days (sorry for other states that are lacking in consumer-protection laws).

2) The Costco Card you are referring to is not the best Amex Card for low $ spenders. It has a varying cash back rate. So if you spend $2K per year you get 0.25% back. If you spend $10K per year you'd get back around 0.95% (or $95). If you spent $20K per year, you'd get back 1.23% (or $245). If you spent $120K/year you'd get back around $1800. I think the main benefit is that it may not have a "cap" on rewards. Several cash back rewards cards put a $250-500 annual cap on rewards. For example the Citi Professional Cash Master Card has a limit of $500/annually. So the Amex Costco may be a benefit to business owners spending $50K+/year.


The "virtually" every dollar is there because you do not get rewards in the following cases:

1) Cash Advances
2) Returned Products
3) Purchase of Travelers Checks or certain Gift Cards

I believe this is true of most any rewards card: Visa, MC, Amex, etc.

Also, Amex rewards on this card are redeemable for Gift Cards.

If you travel, the amex starwood card is great, you get 10000 points to start and they are usable for free nights at Starwood hotels at great rates for points. I saw the card here.

Blue cash works great. As far as places that do and don't take AmEx, aside from Governmental institutions, shady Asian grocery stores and car salesmen most places will accept AmEx.

Having too many cards isn't bad on your credit. It increases your total available unsecured credit and reduces your credit utilization percentage, which both help your credit score. Your credit score may take a short term hit when you apply for a new card and have a hard pull on your credit, but that is only temporary.

Canceling cards will always hurt your credit because it reduces your available unsecured credit (raising your credit utilization percentage), and shortens the age of your accounts (especially if you cancel a card you've had for years).

gee thanks #8 plz enlighten us more

the amex clear card says it sends you a $25 amex check for every $2,500 you spend automatically. that sounds decent, screw those rewards programs. plus it says no fees of any kind.

#4 I like the citibank cards, my diamond preferred paid me around $100 for first purchase and 5 points per dollar for gas stations, drug stores and grocery stores. 1 point per dollar other places

I also have the professional card that paid $150 for first purchase and 3x points for car rental and office supply stores.

See if you can get one where the 5x or 3x deal does not expire.

I am probably going to get the starwood card too, 2 or 3 nights free is a good deal, they are very nice hotels (sheraton, etc) and worth around $70 per night IMO.

superd2006 if I was spending $50,000 a year on toilet paper and other stuff at costco, I dont think that my biggest problem would be the points limit. Thanks for the other information.