Saturday, December 31, 2005

Cash-Back Rewards Credit Cards

New article in the New York Times regarding the rising popularity of cash-back credit cards:

"Credit Cards With Rewards Are Worth a Look"

Yeah, cash-back cards are popular. I have three of them, in fact: Citibank's Dividend Mastercard and Upromise Mastercard, and Chase's Cash Plus Rewards Visa.

Like the NYT article mentions, I maxed-out the rewards from the Citi Dividend card pretty quickly. I don't much like Citi's online interface, but I can tolerate it. And Chase became a quick addition to my wallet when they offered me $100 (credited upon first purchase) to open the thing. And the intro offer of 15 months of 0% interest on purchases wasn't bad, either, when you consider that you can keep that money someplace like Emigrant Direct, earning 4% interest.

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— Posted by Michael @ 5:36 PM








9 Comments:
 

Recently I had an experience like what is posted before.Cash reward of 5% for cash drawal above 5000INR or article purchase above 5000 INR.But let me tell my experience.In every cash drawal the bank charged a cash drawal fee of INR 300 and for the purchase they gave me no refund but a credit mark of equivalent sum of 5 %.which I came to know ultimately they will add up and charge no renewal fee or give cards in free to my children.Yes They gave free insurance cover but valid upto....The whole card business has been made a shame by the outlets who sell the cards or give cards.It is aslow poison that will eat away the popularity of Master Card,Visa Card or Maestro etc in the long run unless they wake up to the occasion.Fortunate thing for the issuer is no person now a days wants to carry cash as it is risky.Any discount on card usage is a misnomer.The ME charges accordingly and the customer is fooled.He is happy with his crdit.

 

If you don't mind my asking, how has your experience been with the Chase Cash Plus Rewards Visa card? Is it difficult to manage and/or redeem your points?

I use the Chase PerfectCard, which gives 3% back on gas purchases and 1% on everything else. The biggest attraction for me was the fact that my rewards are posted directly to my balance each month and I don't have to hassle with anything.

I am thinking of switching to the Cash Plus Rewards Visa, but I guess I view keeping track of my own points and requesting that they send me checks for my rewards to be a hassle. But I'd be curious for any feedback you have.

TIA!

 

Anon,

I've only had the Chase Rewards card for a little over two months. I don't mind having to request the rewards $$$ at all, so that part of it doesn't matter to me. It's that way with the Citi Dividend card, and I've had no problems there.

I haven't tried to request my Chase rewards dollars yet, so that part of it is a wait-and-see, I guess.

 

I will say this - I have a Chase reward card and am finally using it. I really like redeeming my rewards - very easy to do. I go to their rewards website (which is kind of silly - why can't they have this on their original web page?) and pick what I want. They have a huge list of gift cards, etc (and money back) as options. I chose a gift card to Target for the first time and got it within a week via mail. Chase has been good to me - I do have a MasterCard Citi which I like as well but I maxed out in money back on that reward card. I didn't think that was even possible but it was! ;)

 

Just out of curiosity, what is the maximum reward for Citi?

I've been reading a lot of blogs today on cashback cards, and it seems this issue is always mentioned. Does the Chase card allow for more cashback than the Citi card?

(Those details don't seem to be prominently displayed on the pages advertising the cards!)

Thanks in advance,
Dan

 

Dan,

The annual rewards limit on the Citi card is $300. I'm not sure what the limit on the Chase rewards card is, but I know that their rewards have expiration dates on them.

 

In addition to getting cashback on your Credit Cards, you can sign up for services like Little Grad, www.littlegrad.com and earn cash for all you online shopping.

I love this service!

 

I just started using my Chase cash back card (5%at grocery stores,pharmacies and gas purchases)and 1% other.Does Wal-Mart qualify as a grocery store?

Anonymous Anonymous
, at 6:24 AM, March 01, 2006  
 

I have 3 cash back cards too, though different ones than you have. The best card or mix of cards for a person depends on how much they spend in each category (gas, groceries, restaurants, etc.) After having done this analysis for myself for many years, I finally built a tool that anyone can use to do the analysis quickly.

The calculator tool at Credit Card Tune-Up: Maximize Your Cash Back Rewards (www.CreditCardTuneUp.com) makes choosing the best cash back card (or mix of cards) easy. Given your spending pattern, it calculates your expected annual rewards for each of the leading cash back credit cards and even for your best mix of cards.

See the tool at http://www.CreditCardTuneUp.com/ .

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