Good credit cards for rewards? Comparison sources?

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I pay my credit card off every month, so don't bother with comments about wise credit card use. That's not what this thread is about.

My credit card I use for normal purchases is giving me overall 1% back through gift cards. I'd like to do better than that.

What I'm looking for is a card that has some decent rewards, purchase protection, etc. I've never really compared these before, so I'm not sure where to check or what's a good cash back rate.

What are some credit cards with good rewards? Are there any comparison sites I should check out?
 
I have 3 cards, all for various rewards. First is my Fidelity Visa which puts 2% into my brokerage account on every purchase. I think this is the best general cash-back card out there. Second is my Amazon Prime Visa which gets me 5% on every Amazon purchase, which makes sense for me given how much of my shopping i do with Prime. Third is my Chase Freedom Visa, which i only use for whatever the rotating 5% category is that quarter.
 
There are a few good sites. Nerdwallet is one. Google is your friend on this one and research widely. The one's you pick depend on your profile of spend and discipline. Here are a few examples:

Citi double cash : 2%
Sam's Club: 5% Gas, 3% Dining
Amex Blue Preferred: Groceries 6% (limit 6k) 3% gas
Discover: Rotating categories 5% up to $1500 spend each Qtr

Sam's, Amex and Discover have 1% for all others.

Others have no international usage charges and free checked bags which are good for travelers.

Good luck with the hunt.
 
Fidelity Visa works well if you have a Fidelity account. I prefer Vanguard (anti-fees stance). The Double Cash is a Mastercard but works in the same manner.

Originally Posted By: MarcS
I have 3 cards, all for various rewards. First is my Fidelity Visa which puts 2% into my brokerage account on every purchase. I think this is the best general cash-back card out there. Second is my Amazon Prime Visa which gets me 5% on every Amazon purchase, which makes sense for me given how much of my shopping i do with Prime. Third is my Chase Freedom Visa, which i only use for whatever the rotating 5% category is that quarter.
 
We have Amazon and Marriott Rewards cards. We pay them off every month as well.

I really like the Marriott card because we earn 5-10 free stays a year by using it everyday (comes in handy around vacation time when we want to extend trips by a day or two here and there). It does have a membership fee of $85/year, but you get a free night's stay on your (membership) anniversary, so it offsets in my eyes. Very happy with that card. We use it for everything now.
 
I like my AMEX Delta Skymiles Gold, Cap 1 Venture and Barclays Frontier Airlines VISA. Between these three, we get plenty of travel rewards. We have really started traveling more in the past 2-3 years and these accounts have become more and more useful.

For me,Cap 1 Quicksilver works best for cash back.
 
Originally Posted By: Coprolite
Fidelity Visa works well if you have a Fidelity account. I prefer Vanguard (anti-fees stance). The Double Cash is a Mastercard but works in the same manner.

Originally Posted By: MarcS
I have 3 cards, all for various rewards. First is my Fidelity Visa which puts 2% into my brokerage account on every purchase. I think this is the best general cash-back card out there. Second is my Amazon Prime Visa which gets me 5% on every Amazon purchase, which makes sense for me given how much of my shopping i do with Prime. Third is my Chase Freedom Visa, which i only use for whatever the rotating 5% category is that quarter.


double cash is good if you don't have a fidelity account. I own a lot of vanguard funds, that said, with the race to the bottom on fees for exchange traded index funds, the Blackrock offerings through fidelity are just as cheap and trade free.
 
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Agreed, I just felt more comfortable with Vanguard and my accounts have no annual maintenance fees there. I am sure Fidelity has something similar, as they are competing for the same customers. I have to include the cash back in my monthly transfer into the account from my checking, but it isn't a big deal as I am ideally transferring in money each month.

There are usually a few cards that operate in the same manner with very similar rules and they end up competing for those spenders that go for that kind of thing.

Originally Posted By: MarcS
Originally Posted By: Coprolite
Fidelity Visa works well if you have a Fidelity account. I prefer Vanguard (anti-fees stance). The Double Cash is a Mastercard but works in the same manner.

Originally Posted By: MarcS
I have 3 cards, all for various rewards. First is my Fidelity Visa which puts 2% into my brokerage account on every purchase. I think this is the best general cash-back card out there. Second is my Amazon Prime Visa which gets me 5% on every Amazon purchase, which makes sense for me given how much of my shopping i do with Prime. Third is my Chase Freedom Visa, which i only use for whatever the rotating 5% category is that quarter.


double cash is good if you don't have a fidelity account. I own a lot of vanguard funds, that said, with the race to the bottom on fees for exchange traded index funds, the Blackrock offerings through fidelity are just as cheap and trade free.
 
google linky-link

(some of the search results have been already mentioned by previous posters)

-do you travel a lot? - miles/rewards....
-do you spend a lot? - rewards/pints/cash back

what cards are accepted where do you usually go?
 
Originally Posted By: stephen9666
I pay my credit card off every month, so don't bother with comments about wise credit card use. That's not what this thread is about.

My credit card I use for normal purchases is giving me overall 1% back through gift cards. I'd like to do better than that.

What I'm looking for is a card that has some decent rewards, purchase protection, etc. I've never really compared these before, so I'm not sure where to check or what's a good cash back rate.

What are some credit cards with good rewards? Are there any comparison sites I should check out?


Beware of annual fees. while AMEX blue cash preferred sounds great with 6% on grocery retailers, it carries a $95/yr fee. I have Blue Cash Everyday, no annual fee, 3% at grocery retailers.
 
My brain spaced on putting that in. I was thinking it but didn't type.

We spend just about 6k a year and that nets 4.42% on groceries. If our grocery spending drops, we will drop down to the everyday next year. Right now, we are on a strict budget for everything outside of groceries. This drives the grocery bill up as we eat out less, etc.


Originally Posted By: LoneRanger
Originally Posted By: stephen9666
I pay my credit card off every month, so don't bother with comments about wise credit card use. That's not what this thread is about.

My credit card I use for normal purchases is giving me overall 1% back through gift cards. I'd like to do better than that.

What I'm looking for is a card that has some decent rewards, purchase protection, etc. I've never really compared these before, so I'm not sure where to check or what's a good cash back rate.

What are some credit cards with good rewards? Are there any comparison sites I should check out?


Beware of annual fees. while AMEX blue cash preferred sounds great with 6% on grocery retailers, it carries a $95/yr fee. I have Blue Cash Everyday, no annual fee, 3% at grocery retailers.
 
I like the no interest for 3 years cards.
I use the card for business and foreign purchases and I save far more than reward cards offer especially on equipment I can run and make money on. After the three years is up, toss it and get another.
 
I earn about 500$ in rewards per year..

The big one is amex blue preferred. 75$ annual fee, waived first year.

its 6% back on anything purchased at grocery store..
So I end up with 6% off on Gift cards and gas too from that one.
I usually combine it with fuel rewards for about 18% back on gift cards.

Discover and chase freedom both have 5% rotating categories.

and a 1.5% or 2% on anything card is a good one for the rest of your purchases.

This year is a bumper crop year.. with a few account bonus I should hit 1400$ in rewards/cashback and about $900 in free fuel.
 
Originally Posted By: AirgunSavant
I like the no interest for 3 years cards.
I use the card for business and foreign purchases and I save far more than reward cards offer especially on equipment I can run and make money on. After the three years is up, toss it and get another.


different card for different purposes. cash back is good for consumables, if you're financing a business, by all means, get the lowest rate. Frankly, I've been thinking of going back to school and am tempted just to put it all on a zero interest card rather than dipping into savings since I'll be making money well before the bill comes due and making money on my existing savings in the meantime.
 
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I have 2 separate cards.

CapitalOne QuikSilver - Unlimited 1.5%, no foreign fees. I use this for every day purchases and traveling. Have had this card for 6 years.
Citi Double Cashback - This was upgraded from my previous citi thankyou card the end of last year. I don't use this one very much, if at all. I'll make a purchase to show activity and pay it off. I should switch to this as my every day carry but I've a substantial amount of cash built up on the cap1 card that I want to continue building.

Biggest thing with all credit cards, make sure to pay in full.
 
Originally Posted By: pandus13

-do you travel a lot? - miles/rewards....
-do you spend a lot? - rewards/pints/cash back

what cards are accepted where do you usually go?


We don't really travel much, as we have small children.

More important to me would be cash back or points that can be used for gift cards.
 
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