I don't use a credit card at all.

My favorite is our ExxonMobil MasterCard. We get up to 2% cash back, plus 15 cents per gallon rebate on gas purchased at Exxon or Mobil gas stations. The rebates appear on each month's bill, and are deducted from each month's amount due. I like that better than having to call for rebates or wait until a certain time to get a check.

If you want cash back - AMEX Blue
If you want points that can be transferred to hotels, airlines, etc. and many stores - AMEX Gold.

Chase. That reminds me I need to cash in my rewards.

I mostly use the Chase Amazon card. It awards points (the most points when you buy something from Amazon itself) that convert to a dollar amount. You can spend this money on Amazon, have it deducted from your monthly bill, or ask for the cash. It all works out the same in the end.

I used to use two credit cards that awarded a percentage of my spending to humane organizations that help animals. But I stopped using them when the credit card companies said they couldn't reveal the amount of the percentage. I said, "As far as I know, you could be sending these organizations $25 a month, or you could be sending them a penny." So I switched to the Amazon card.

I'm with chloecat....no credit cards!

I use Chase Freedom. 1% cash back on everything. Revolving 5% every 3 months on different categories. Presently it's 5% on groceries and movies. Last 3 mos it was gas and something I don't remember. I've accumulated a lot of points in a short time. I charge everything and pay it off at the end of each month. Cash rewards in the form of a check on demand. No complaints here.

Chase Freedom and Discover here. As Mare said, 5% on something, which changes every quarter.
We use Amex, which always has 3% back on gas, unless the first two mentioned are paying 5%.
And we pay our cards in full every month.

Whatever I charge on my credit card, it is always paid off monthly. Build it up for cash back.

Discover and Costco Amex, both cash back. Always paid in full every month. Last trip to Costco, spent over $500, used my cash back check, got over $150 in change back!

Discover and we have always paid it off every month.

The LL Bean Visa for free return shipping plus points that accumulate for money off purchases. I'll probably get rid of it soon as LL Bean no longer sells anything close to the quality they used to.

My favorite is Am Ex gold and I charge everything and pay off each month. Last year I took my son to Ireland and had enough points to cover our plane fare - first class, round trip. What a luxury that was. I always watch to see what 'specials' are offered - double points for groceries, triple for gas etc. I really like the fact that the points never expire and can be transferred to other programs.

My backup for merchants that don't take Am Ex has been a USAirways VISA but I'm looking to switch since there are cards that offer more.

I think I'll check into the Chase Freedom.

I use Capital One. Was using Bank of America, but they awarded points that have to be cashed in. Capital One sends me an email alert every month how much cash back I earned. I can say deposit it into my checking, apply to my bill or send me a check. Straight up money, love it.

Although, I think I'll check into some of the others because I think I only get 1% back on everything.

And don't forget to ck ebates for anything you buy online.

We've had Citibank savings, checking and credit card accounts for years. They have a "Thank You" program which gives you points whenever you buy from a Citi vendor. I didn't even realize I was building points. I use the Citi credit card but always pay it off. Anyhow, they sent me a statement saying I had over 25,000 Thank You points. I checked what the points could buy and decided I just wanted cash, in the form of Citi debit caqrds. I got $225 in debit cards which came in handy.

Tobygirl, you might already know this, but I'm always reading (Suze Orman, etc.) that one should never cancel a credit card because for some stupid reason it reflects badly on credit ratings. The thing to do is simply stop using it. I have a couple of cards like that. It seems silly to hang on to them, but I don't want to mess up my credit rating.

Sorry to hear LL Bean's quality "ain't what it used to be." I used to be a big fan.

Penfed Rewards. Everything goes on it and is paid in full each month. The rewards add up quickly: 5% gas, 3% groceries, 1% all else.

We've used American Airlines AAdvantage CC's for many years. (Who knows where THAT is going in the future!)

We'd never get enough cash back from a rewards card to buy full fare first class seats to Maui every year. We now buy coach and use 30K AAdvantage points (each) to upgrade to first. We also pay $350 each for the upgrades, but coach + $350 is a far cry from the retail on a first class ticket ORD-OGG. (Last winter coach round-trip was an all-time low of $630 pp.)

This is a nine-hour flight. I can actually sleep on the redeye returns on the lie-flat seats in first class.

We now have a Costco Amex rewards card, but I think it accumulates and only 'rewards' us once a year. We only got the card after Costco opened 'next door'; still don't spend a *lot* there.

Like Chisue, I have American Airlines' AAdvantage card.

A mile-per-dollar card, use it for everything, and (knock on wood) I am able to pay it off each month. Which helps with my flights to St. Louis, where there's a hub, but I might be reconsidering this because so many airlines nowadays -- because of mergers -- have fewer direct flights to other places I want to go, plus it takes more miles to get a seat. I also tend to travel less cuz it's become a pain to take my pup with me.

I rec'd the Costco Amex card offering in the mail, but as you said, Chisue, I don't spend very much there. I can't buy enough Kirkland tuna to make it worth my money -- LOL!

Costco AMEX cards can be used anywhere that takes AMEX, not just at Costco.

Edward Jones Master Card

It's paid off monthly.

Thanks for the reminder, Alisande, I had forgotten that.

We mostly use the Chase card and pay it off each month...But, we do have a rewards card at our grocers that gives us money off on gas...SO, along with groceries, I buy gift cards for cat food at Petsmart, before we make any major purchases, we buy gift cards at this store, using our rewards card and then charging it on our Chase....Hubby says I'm double dipping but, you gotta do what you gotta do!

I also have a regular Chase and charge as much as I can I pay it off each month too. right now I have over 12,300 points and am thinking of getting a gift card from walmart for me or else I can use the points to pay on my credit card something like $123.00

Like Glenda and Lily316, the only card I use is Discover and pay it in full when the bill comes in.

SunnyDJ, don't they charge you for the cards (above the dollar amount?) I know CVS would have charged last time I checked so I sent a check. I was already sending $150. which didn't bother me but then $8.50 to get it there ($3. greeting card and $5. gift card charge)bugged me.

I always wonder why people do NOT use credit cards.

Your money isn't tied up -- until you pay the balance in full at the end of the month. You don't have to carry much cash or write checks. If the card is stolen, you're not held responsible if you report the theft. Using a CC establishes credit for you. If something you've bought with a CC is faulty, you can dispute the charge. You have a record of purchases.

Getting cash back or other 'rewards' is nice, but it's basically just more convenient to use a CC.

Breenthumb, I've never had to pay anything extra for the cards. That would be defeating the purpose.....I do think, there might be a charge for activating, if you're getting a Visa gift card, but I don't get them, so I'm not sure.....

Costco American Express here to. Their gas is .05 cheaper a gallon than anywhere else in town and we get cash back (once a year) for pretty much anything we use the card for. Not sure about my medical bills though, I've put several on there. Will have to check that out.

I use Discover. It's still the best deal I've found on a rewards program with 5% back on gas, 1% on other normal purchases and there's usually additional bonuses, sometimes 2% to 5% or more on gas, restaurant, hotel, or other places. You don't have to buy from certain places either. I like the convenience of using a card and have a record of payments. Makes it easier at tax time. I too don't understand why people would not use cards unless they can't get them.

And that rumor about never closing a card because it'll affect your credit rating is not always true. Often the opposite is true. First of all, it's far better for your credit for YOU to close the card than for the card holder to close it. If they close it, it will definitely impact your credit and for a much longer period of time than if you close it. You closing a card on occasion can actually help at times. Closing a card isn't likely to impact your credit significantly nor for very long and this comes from the bank loan officers with whom I've spoken about this topic.

Many, if not most companies will close accounts that are inactive for a period of time so if you're going to keep it hoping it'll help your credit, you probably need to use it regularly.

Also, every card you have counts against you in a way too since that's open credit. When you apply for a loan, Suzy O doesn't tell you that they look at how much POTENTIAL debt you have on your credit, and if it's too high for your income and the loan you want, you stand a chance of being turned down. So be careful when you hear these self-proclaimed "experts" tout their advice to you, especially advice they're using to get you to buy their books! That's not financial counseling, that's a sell-job. LOL