soopa

I have 2 credit cards... both with miniscule credit limits... both are pretty much useless too me and as such, go unused.

I keep them just because their my 2 oldest cards and I like having something with a lengthy history on my report.


I've decided I need a card for large expenses. I often buy shit like TV's/whatever in cash (debit) and I think I would better serve myself by putting it on a card and paying it off with that cash.

I know the dangers of credit cards, i've flubbed up early on, and I know how to use them wisely.


I need something with a high limit... maybe even an AMEX.


I keep getting pre-approved offers for AMEX Gold Rewards... I'm considering accepting.


Any other suggestions?

95gt

http://www.citibank.com/us/cards/car...plat/index.jsp

Citi® Dividend Platinum Select® Card

• Earn a full 5% cash back on supermarket, gas station and drugstore purchases and 1% on all other purchases, up to $300 a year1
• Earn cash back on eligible cash advances and qualifying balance transfers1
• Low APR on balance transfers
• Apply online & get an instant response

doopstr

Just call up your CC company and tell them to increase your credit limit. I bet you get 5 more K just for asking.

dabuda

before you get a new card, you can always call and ask them to raise your credit limit. they should do another credit check and determine a new credit limit.

if that's not an option i have diners club, benefits are:
- no limit
- extra month to pay before they start charging finance fees

the only problems are:
- no limit
- not accepted as widely as visa/mastercard

CrockPot

citibank hooks up the limit too...if you've been a long term member.

Dan Martin

I have an eBay credit card and it roxors: http://pages.ebay.com/anything/points/index.html

I have a comptech swaybar coming my way with the points I've collected.

Whiskers

Ill start the bidding at $5 for your card...

soopa

no point raising limit on cards that suck.

rise

I just signed up for this card also.
My other card is a Chase Ultimate Rewards card. Get points for GCs that pretty much amount to 1% back

CrockPot

I primarily use Fleet or MBNA Rewards for purchases, and my Chase (Shell) for gas.

CrockPot

i have a PayPal one via Providian that is pretty sweet...mainly because it gives me free access to my credit score.

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

What benes are you looking for in the card?

Cash back
Airline miles
????

Intox1221

Go for the AMEX if u want to make big purchases.
Bare in mind the gold card which has "no pre-set spending limit" comes with an annual fee around $75 while the green one is around $30 per annum. Also for both of these cards, you must pay the balance in full in each month.

NiteQwill

Call me stupid... But I never understood how AMEX works like that? Isn't the point to pay off a card because it accrues interest? How does AMEX make money? I would rather buy something in cash if I knew I was going to pay for it anyway at the end of each billing cycle.

OTOH, I have CitiBank Platinum, great returns and all you need to do is ask if you want to increase your credit limit. I pay my balance in full each month.

Intox1221

i thought about that too... but come to think of it... they charge $75 per annum for the gold card (lets not even talk about the platinum with a $300.00 tag)... if they have a million member (keep in mind this card is offered world over), they make $75 mil a year jus like that...

Scrib

AMEX Gold.

I've debated for some time to upgrade to the Gold, but just haven't gotten around to it. I am constantly getting asked to upgrade. Right now I have the AMEX Blue. I get points with the Blue card and can carry a balance.

But I don't carry balances, hence my drive to get up to teh Gold. However, I like the idea that if my wife and I were to fall on hard times and just couldn't pay the full amount off on the AMEX, the Blue allows balances, teh Gold doesn't.

Just somethng to keep in mind.


Regardless, get an AMEX. Negotiate to have the annual fee waived for at least the first year.

Scrib

They do more than charge cards... I mean, they get 3%+ on every transaction made. Yes, they do get $75 per account (more depending on # of cards, platinum, etc)...

But they're also an invesrment firm, insurance, etc... They make PLENTY of $$$.

Dan Martin

They also charge retailers about 3% on every transaction so that will add up in a hurry.

Jinen

I work for Amex and I'll answer your question:
1) 1/3 comes from the annual fees
2) 1/3 comes from the discount revenue (everytime you charge something, that merchant has to pay amex a certain percentage, around 2-2.5%)
3) 1/3 comes from other areas such as late fees, and other penalties of that sort


The advantage of using a credit card for all your transactions as opposed to cash is that you can earn membership reward points or airmiles points or you could even get cash back. Once those points accrue to a certain amount, then you can redeem them for many many many types of different items.

For example, let's say if I have 60000 points on my card, then I can get a "free" ipod...now keep in mind that you don't necessarily have to spend 60000 dollars to earn those points...there are times when certain companies will offer you 10x points per 1 dollar...for example FTD.com...they had that deal before (not sure if they still have that)...they would give you 10 points for every dollar that you spend...so you can accrue points that way...

another way to accrue 5000 points easily is if you seek help from a financial advisor...you don't necessarily have to "purchase" anything, but just have a meeting with them and for that they would give you 5000 points...

basically, there are a lot of ways to accrue these points, but you have to be smart about it...and the amex gold card offer that you get, it probably waives the first year's annual fee, so you won't have to worry about paying that 75 or 90 dollars (not sure exactly what it is in the US, since i work on the international side)...

another card that you should look into is the AMERICAN EXPRESS BLUE CASH BACK...they would give you up to 5% cash back on your purchases, depending on how much you spend annually and whether you carry a balance...just research it and decide...i personally have gone for that card and i also have the gold card too...

but to make a long story short, if you are in the market for a new credit card, then look around...check sites like bankrate.com ....that site should be able to help you with your decision...

if you have any additional questions, feel free to pm me...i kind of like talking about this topic hahaha

xizor

I :heart: citibank. Awesome online site, auto schedule billpay (haven't been late in 5 years). one of the best reward rates as well. AMEX pissed me off by rejecting my application a while back so screw them, I don't want to keep a balance on my card to get reward points like they require too.

Jinen

ya, amex has a tough decisioning criteria.....but hey, they're among the top companies to have the lowest amount of fraud...


keep in mind that fraud is about 3-5 billion dollar industry....lol...

Intox1221

Also is having too many credit cards a bad thing... even though if all of them are being maintained well and paid on time... ?

Edit: Also does anyone have any discover products... if so... any feedback.. good, bad ??

Jinen

Nope, not at all...as long as you are paying your bills on time and there is no delinquency on your account, you're good...what you may want to do is cancel certain cards that you haven't used in years...for example a macy's card, or a sear's card or something of that sort...if you don't use it, then cancel it, but make sure you redeem any points or cashback before you go ahead and cancel...

discover products....umm...my personal opinion is that they ...they just don't have the product to compete with amex or visa or mastercard...

Intox1221

Cool a lot of ppl here r talkin up abt citi cards, there must be a good reason for that... yup already closed my express, jcpenny and this other one i cant remember a couple months back...

ric

I've had AMEX for about thirty years now, started with green, then went to gold. Have avoided platinum, because the annual fee is $300 for zip, in my opinion. It is not a credit card, which keeps you honest in terms of prompt payment and no credit card rackup. However, after a few months, they will "introduce" you to the ability to credit-assign large-ticket items (travel, etc), and they will also offer you their Optima card. No longer true, but AMEX was the most useful card to travel with, and even though most places now accept M/V cards, the AMEX offices in foreign countries are very useful for a bunch of financial transactions. They originally started as a formalized form of "letter of credit" for wealthy US tourists traveling in Europe.

AMEX has a great antifraud team; over the decades I've had a few shady merchnats try to take advantage of things, and AMEX was all over it.

I keep a credit card for business, one for personal and the AMEX. THe AMEX gets used the most. I avoid propietary cards for clothiers and gas companies, as they usually have insane interest rates and I can do better on generic plastic. The only exception are a couple of cards for car rentals provided to me by my firm.

ric

some card companies will "renegotiate" and give you a different rate if you call them up to cancel the card.

Adam_Schwartz

I was recently pimping this card out. 5% is a great return for just buying everyday items.

I have a Discover and the above card - that's more than enough for me. I am sure you, soopa, could get a high credit limit via Discover. Just BS on the residual income part.

ric

They get it back from the merchant, which the other cards do as well. AMEX started as a replacement for a letter of credit, which would be written by your home bank, and you would then carry the letter with you to get money while you traveled. It was not intended as a credit/loan card, it was intended to allow you to travel without carrying huge quantities of cash that could be lost or stolen. Part of their success in the early years was that having an AMEX had snobby connotations - you traveled by air (before they were flying cattle cars) you traveled by oceanliner and stayed in expensive hotels - cheap ones didn't take them. AMEX took a big hit when revolving credit cards emerged. For whatever it's worth, the credit card companies are getting money at both ends of the transaction. I believe AMEX's merchant surcharge may be greater than credit cards, which is why AMEX is not as widely accepted.

If you are well-disciplined and pay of the credit debt before interest accrues, good for you - you're in the vast minority of folks who hold these things. Most people use them to live beyond their means. For those of us who have gotten into a certain amount of credit card hell, AMEX allows us some level of control, it just becomes a replacement for big wads of cash.

ric

not to be a shill for AMEX, but they run a decent travel agency. My wife and I don't use package travel, make our plans ourselves - AMEX foreign agencies (Paris, to be specific) helped us finalize some planning when we got there.)

btw - if you get an AMEX card, you will shortly be deluged with offers from everyone else...........................

Adam_Schwartz

You have to think of a credit card as an entity that is paid to assume the liabilities assumed by merchants when people buy goods from them, thus the merchant does not have the hassle of dealing with delinquent accounts payable. They are trading one thing for another, i.e. getting paid minus a fee in return for not having to deal with collecting money later or worse, not getting paid at all.

So they make money even when people pay off their balances in full. That is also why you see such competition among the CC companies - they want to collect as many fees as possible from merchants and they need YOU to use their card to get those fees.

Adam_Schwartz

AMEX and Discover fees must both be relatively high, because they are accepted less frequently than MC and Visa from my experience.

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

Jinen is incorrect. Having too many credit cards is not a good thing. I believe the rule of thumb is if you have more than 2 or 3 major credit cards (Amex, Visa, MC) credit bureaus look at you differently. The Consumer Federation of America says that having all those credit cards on your credit report looks like potential liability. To a creditor, it's the potential for thousands of dollars in expenditures. To maintain a healthy credit report, experts suggest keeping at most two or three cards active at a time.

F900

Yes but your missing the point, when you apply for credit, sometimes they do a Manual review of your credit history, they will see that you have small limits, so how can you expect him to give you a $10000 spending limit when the highest you ever had was a $1000 limit on your current credit cards (as an example).

Also having higher limits on your current credit cards helps with your overall ultization on your report and therefore gives you a higher FICO score.

Most people who apply for Amex Blue start out with between $2000-$5000limit, again it all comes back down to your Credit Report.

Forget about Amex Green/Gold (its not a Credit Card), unless you intend to PIF within 30days from the time you recieve the bill. Although there good cards to have for many reasons, I have 3 AMEX charge Cards and Amex Blue, I don't really using anything else unless they don't take Amex.

Take my advice or not. Call your current credit card companies and request a CLI wait until they report your new limits to the CRAs and then apply for the card you want. It makes a difference for the reasons i pointed about above with ultization and a higher FICO score can lead to a Higher Credit Limit on that new CC you apply for.

NiteQwill

Thanks for the insight Scrib and ric! Learn something new everyday.

As for paying balances in full... YES! In the many years of having my number of cards (I have 2 major credit cards MC Visa, a military credit card, and a gas card), I have not paid a single cent in interest because I pay every card in full every month. The return of having great credit and higher spending limit is nice, but I feel I can breath if some big "incident" shows up where I have to spend mucho dinero (Now, that doesn't mean I don't have cash assets).

ric

Well, you're the exception rather than the rule, frankly, and most credit card companies would wither away if all of their clients were as well-behaved as you. I respect your establishment of fiscal boundaries. I learned the hard way....... bailing out of credit card debt is a massive challenge once you've gotten in over your head.

biker

I always assumed CC stands for Convenience Card - don't have to carry cash. If you can't pay for something with cash (in the bank) you shouldn't be buying it - very simple.

FICO scores depend on the credit limit to debt ratio. If you have debt and you close some card account, your credit limit goes down and takes the FICO score down with it.

I have a reward MC - very simple, 1% off everything. Unless you plan to buy a car or some other real big ticket item, you can live with almost anyone cards' limit.

Adam_Schwartz

Precisely - CC companies would not offer the low intro rates and cash back awards if they didn't know they were going to net a some kind of overall gain. That's because most people abuse their credit and spend more than they earn.

My dad was telling me about a little trick some CC companies do. Let's say you are late on a car payment and you have a CC with 0% apr. Well, that CC company likely has it in their user agreement that if you are late paying ANYTHING they can jack your rate up with little advance warning. Then that 0% rate turns to 20-30% in a matter of weeks.

dom

KavexTrax

Each time you ask for a raise though, its considered an inquiry, and a raise would be minimal anyhow. Why not apply for a new card get a nice long 0% intro rate, fluff your annual salary a bit, and dump the card after the intro is over?

95gt

Just thought I would vent on the utter pain in the ass getting my card has been.

SIgned up for the citi dividend. They overnight it requiring a signature. Nothing wrong with that. Since I wont be here when it comes I do the old sign the back releasing them to leave the package. Next day.... new note.

Apparently it requires a 21 year old or older to sign it and can not be left. Well this is a pain in the ass. Fine i go on the website and have it redirected to my neighbor who will be home all day so she can sign for it. Noon rolls around and I get a ring on my phone. Hey its UPS

"Sir sorry but we can not redirect it because it requires your signature at your address."



The place they are holding it is about 20 miles away from my house. Fuck that. So i call citi and now they are sending it to my neighbor's house directly.

You know I am all for security and stuff but just send the fucking thing through regular mail and put it in my mailbox for christ's sake.

if they don't deliver it tomorrow I will just cancel the fucker. What really sucks is my wife keeps asking what this package is and I had no idea what it was. She kept asking me if I had ordered any porn. "no honey" you sure it requires an adult signature. "no honey you are the only one for me "



rant over