credit cards

23 years ago

DH & I are fed up with our credit card company and are looking to get a new CC. We'd like one with low interest (or interest free for as long as possible since we'll be tranferring our currnet balance) and one with some nice benefits or perks (ie: miles, money back, vacations, etc). Also, the people have to be HONEST, good customer service & friendly to deal with. Am I asking too much? Is there a such CC company out there?

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Comments (10)

Meghane
23 years ago
We just got a good deal from Discover, but of course you can't use it everywhere. Free interest on balance transfer for life as long as we make 3 transactions a month, I think interest on purchases was in the 10% range, plus the cashback bonus. We transferred some high interest cards, cut them up and closed the accounts, and are paying off new transactions every month to avoid interest all together. Pretty good deal for us.
NebrJewel
23 years ago
Meghane - I received that ad for Discover. However, I understood that unless you have a 0 balance, that is, you have paid off the balance transfer, you would be charged interest on the transactions you make on that card. So if you charge $100 a month on that card per month, and you had a balance transfer of $2000, you would still end up paying a interest on your purchases because when they receive your payment, they will apply it to the balance transfer amount. However, I may have misread the advertisement and I threw it away.

Sharla, I would suggest you get one card with a 0 to low interest to transfer your balance and then get another card that you use for purchases and pay off those purchases every month. I have been using a Sears card and have accumulated enough points last year to pay $100 towards new glasses and bought a docking station and digital camera at Sears. I now have another $250 worth of certificates to use at Sears. They also offer certificates for other business but you get more at Sears.
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DH & I also have several cards with no balance on them. We will be applying for a mortgage soon, so I asked my banker this question. He told me to cancel the majority of the cards, but to keep either a couple with fairly low limits or one card with a pretty decent limit. He said that banks like to see someone have $30,000-$40,000 worth open credit on cards (depending on your income). He says that lets them know that you have a source of available money that you can access quickly. He said they don't like to see huge amounts of open credit because that shows the potential for a problem. We pulled our own credit reports & they said that the amount of unused credit we have may actually be hurting our score. We have only a tiny fraction owed but a lot of open credit. Another thing my banker & the credit report mentioned was the ratio of how much you owe to the amount of open credit. Example: If you owe $5,000 & have two cards with a total credit limit of $20,000, cancelling one card that has a $10,000 limit can actually hurt you. Instead of having a balance that equals one quarter of your available credit, you will now owe an amt. equal to half of your available credit. If you want to cancel, make sure you write a letter to the credit card company & keep it & proof that you mailed it on file. Make sure to request that they note in your file that the card was cancelled at your request. Having a lender cancel your card can hurt your credit score. If you won't be applying for a loan any time soon, you can just leave them & they will drop off of your credit report after a few years.
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Sarah, Done correctly and you can pay for quite an amazing vacation for yourself. My wife and I chose to be GC's with an onsite project manager and we ran 90% of our build through CC's. My philosophy was that if I was going to be building a new house and I was the ultimate check writer that I was going to get a killer vacation out of the process. (We're planning a 3 week Southeast Asia trip to Japan, S. Korea & Thailand next year on our rewards from the house). All that being said, I'll try to keep it simple for you and save you the effort. Research and get as big of lines as possible on the following 2 or 3 types of cards: #1 - Chase Sapphire (Personal Card) #2 - Chase Business Ink Card #3 - Chase Business Bold Card. All 3 should have substantial sign-up bonuses if you look online so that will get you started. Also if you have 100% transparency on your build like we did, we created a 2nd card with our project managers name on it and told him every time he placed an order with any supply or trades to pay with the card. That way we had 100% transparency on what our build is costing us and can track everything to run a live-time budget analysis, etc. In the end, we're ending up with over 500,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points that will be buying us a couple of first class tickets and some decent hotel stays. Just make sure you always pay the balance at the end of each month (Or as oftentimes happened to us, we'd pay the balance off every week or so as you can max out a $30K-$40K card limit pretty quickly when you're building a new house). Good luck and yes it can be done! Andrew
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Guess I will switch to virtual, like I need another nuisance in my life. Its been a while since Ive had a fraudulent charge. My card always removes the charge if I report it, but it bugs the heck out of me that someone gets a free purchase. The biggest problem I had was when someone stole all my cards from my bag at work. They really had chutzpah because my office was not easily accessible and there was only one way in and out. The first charge was hair accessories at Bloomingdales and they worked their way up to orcering laptops online in the few hours before i discovered the theft. Actually, I think my card company called me to ask if Id made that charge. Grrr.
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User
23 years ago
Check with your credit union.
User
23 years ago
"We'd like one with low interest (or interest free for as long as possible since we'll be tranferring our currnet balance) and one with some nice benefits or perks (ie: miles, money back, vacations, etc)"

Unfortunately, the company has to PAY for those perks, and it's usually in the form of higher interest rates. You usually have to decide if you want the perks or the low interest.
joyfulguy
23 years ago
Hi Sharla,

A deal like this is where it *really* pays to shop.

Carefully.

Check out all the nooks and crannies of the various offers. Look over all the small print.

Don't be in a hurry.

Maybe ask some people whose judgement you trust what their experiences have been - and whether they have a recommendation.

Dad used to say, "Marry in haste - repent at leisure!"

One could almost say similarly about choosing a credit card - though a bad choice would usually be much less onerous, and more easily remedied.

Good wishes as you choose.

joyful guy

P.S. I assume that you've thrown out most of the offers that have appeared in your mailbox over the past three? months?

I could send you some, if you wish.

jg
sharlanet
Original Author
23 years ago
No thanks joyfulguy! We get plenty ourselves! lol Just wondered if anyone has found a great one they'd share!
rhonni
23 years ago
I really like my Citibank card. It is sooooo easy to pay online and they have always given me a good rate, even after the promo offer at 0% expired - they will meet any other offer. www.citicards.com

I also agree to check with your credit union - they have good deals usually, or even think of getting a home equity line of credit and pay off credit card debt. .....just an idea......
weebus
23 years ago
The interest rate should be irrelevant if you are paying them off in full each month. If you are not, ask yourself why
joyfulguy
23 years ago
Re: weebus' message,

Amen ...

Amen ...

Amen ...

Would you go to the bank/credit union to borrow for an ordinary consumer purchase?

If not, putting it on a credit card when you can't pay off the balance in full each month is ...

pretty well the same thing.

If you can't live on your regular paycheque now, how will you manage next year to:

-pay next year's expenses, plus

-pay the fairly heavy interest rate on the loan you made this year to live on this year, plus

-pay off some/all of the loan you made this year,

to pay for this year's living beyond what you can afford now?

Let us know when you find out how to do it.

joyful guy
martyg
20 years ago
I like Citi Bank. I get back 5% on groceries, gas, and prescriptions, plus 1% on other things. I go to Kroger's on Tuesdays - Old Folk's Day, and get another 5% off groceries. I pay it off monthly - no interest and up to 10% cash back - up to $300 a year. Works for me. They also offer the 0% usually when you first go with them. Marty

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