American Express Blue Cash CC - up to 5% cash back

[jimmyhaha]

http://home4.americanexpress.com/blue/bluecash/bluecash_prodinfo.asp

looks good if u spend 6k+ / year.

 

[Pothead]

pretty good...looks much better than the AMEX blue point rewards.

 

[MorphineChild]

up to 5% is very limited. I have spent over $800 (had the card a few months now) and only have cashback rewards of $2.99!! Not anywhere near 5%. But a cool card!

 

[Maximus96]

its "UP TO" 5%, but if you have a balance of at least $1, then you get at least 2%

 

[salvorhardin]

pretty good if you spend over $6000 on everyday purchases and never completely pay the balance throughout the year then you can get the 5%, at least it is still better than getting nothing

 

[tuNaB2nroB]

Yeah the Key to this card is to maintain a balance, too bad the 0% apr isn't a permanent thing, I've had the card for a few months and I love the benefits, if you go to the AMEX site they might be listed, i know they are listed if you are a card-holder...deals such as 15% of car rentals, free shipping from online stores (Banana Republic) discounts on hotels, just alot of cool stuff.

 

[AnimEva]

so if i have a balance of just $1, i can get 5% for the everyday purchases i made that month?

 

[salsal]

Originally posted by: AnimEva
so if i have a balance of just $1, i can get 5% for the everyday purchases i made that month?

And the interest you charged to it everyday. If you carry a balance the new charges do not have a grace period. With 0% intro interest it may work but after that ... Well you get the picture.

 

[o157]

we need to have a minimum of $20k house income to qualify for the card, BTW

 

[Pothead]

Originally posted by: o157
we need to have a minimum of $20k house income to qualify for the card, BTW

ha....not true...thats what they all say..

 

[pinoy]

Originally posted by: tuNaB2nroB
Yeah the Key to this card is to maintain a balance, too bad the 0% apr isn't a permanent thing, I've had the card for a few months and I love the benefits, if you go to the AMEX site they might be listed, i know they are listed if you are a card-holder...deals such as 15% of car rentals, free shipping from online stores (Banana Republic) discounts on hotels, just alot of cool stuff.

If i may add, you get additional 1 yr warranty on electronics you buy using Amex Blue, w/c i think is worth having it.

 

[AnimEva]

so you only get 2% on the amounts left on your credit card as a balance? The amount you pay off dont get the bonus 2%?

 

[Engineer]

Citibank just sent me an offer (I took) for 5% off ALL purchases through Feb. 28, 2004. Looks like CC companies are trying to get business!

 

[PrimeRisk]

The Citibank Click Card was an awesome cash rebate credit card. It earned 2% cash back on all purchases monthly for the first year, 1% after that, and up ot 3% during different promotions. No minimums and no annual fee. Unfortunately Citibank terminated that program about a year ago and converted my card to a Citi Dividend Platinum Select Mastercard (that's a mouthful) It offers 1% back on all purchases, no annual fee, and 0% for 6 months. The only limit is a max of $300 cash back per year, but if you spend over $30,000 per year on your CC you should have lots of CCs and have a larger disposable income than the average bear.

You can check out the details from the application page found HERE. My APR is a fixed 9.9%, YMMV based on credit rating and etc.

 

[spikemike]

Originally posted by: o157
we need to have a minimum of $20k house income to qualify for the card, BTW

I got the blue for students, and after a while just called up and asked to switch to blue cash, they said no problem, and i don't make even half of 20k/yr

 

[deejayshakur]

ironically, i just applied for this last night. i was a previous student blue user, but cancelled the card after bvg, aka pricematching was done away with.

anyway, the real gems to this card are 1)purchase protection 2)return protection and 3)buyer's assurance. its all explained in the details on the website. trust me, 1-2% does not amount to much or even the tricky 5% cashback, but the ability to extend the warranty and return products after the retailer's return period is, to quote mastercard, "priceless".

 

[spikemike]

definitely the return and warranty stuff is great, but if you do that return protection, be as vague as you can, they screwed me over because i said my motherboard won't work to my requirements without a lot of extra work (epox 8rda+ compatibility problems), they decided that meant it was broken and wouldn't pay the restocking fee like they were supposed to, when i had to return my memory though i just said it wasn't compatible and that was good enough, so just be vague and say you made a bad decision or something along those lines, all i wanted was the 12$ restocking fee back but they had to be d**ks about it and wouldn't reconsider even after i talked to a supervisor and tried explaining that the product worked just fine

 

[dealonfire]

MAKE SURE you understand how the cash rebate rule.. it may not be as good as you may think it is.

NOTE, the annual spending for "EVERYDAY purchases" and for "All Other Purchases" are counted SEPARATELY..

That means, you need to spend $6000 just on everyday purchase to BEGIN enjoy 3% cash rebate. Everyday purchases are for stand-alone U.S. supermarkets, gas stations, drugstores, and home improvement stores.. That means you need to spend MORE THAN $500 A MONTH on groceries and gas..etc. Even if you spend $600 a month, 90% of it, you are only earning 1% cash rebate..

CONCLUSION? FOR MOST PEOPLE, you really just get 1% Cash back on groceries and gas purchases..

As for OTHER purchases, the annual spending (EXCLUDING those "everyday purchases" at groceries and gas stations) need to be $6000+ to BEGIN enjoy 1.5% cash rebate.. below that, you actually just get 0.5%..

Let's forget about the bonus for carrying balance, because if you carry balance you are already paying high interests, 1 or 2% discount in interest rate won't save you much..
(ALSO the bonus is only for the amount you don't pay off.. so spend $1000, pay off $999, only the remaining $1 earn the bonus.. you can't play games here)

ALL THIS MAY SOUND NICE...
.. Earn up to 3% for your everyday purchases*
.. Earn up to 1.5% for other purchases
.. Get up to a 2% cash back bonus when you carry a balance

You can do the math. In my opinion, unless you spend $1000 PER MONTH on groceries + gas + home improv. goods, otherwise, do not get this card. IF YOU DO SPEND THAT MUCH, you should get the DELTA SKYMILES CARD instead. You ALWAYS earn DOUBLE miles on these "EVERYDAY purchases". $1000 per month = 2000 Delta Miles. Each miles is worth 1.5cents(this is from polls). So, that's 3% rebate on every dollar.

There are many FLAT 1% Cash(or gasoline) rebate cards out there, where you earn 1% on even the first dollar you spend. For people who spend less than $15000 a year on their credit cards, the flat 1% cash rebate cards would earn you the most rebate.. (Also VISA cards are accepted at more places than AMEX, keep that in mind.)

Usually, Cash(or gasoline) rebate cards don't have annual fees. So, avoid cash rebate cards that charge annual fee.

However, most airline mile cards do have annual fees. Because each mile are on avg. worth 1.5 cent, and you earn 1 mile per dollar spend, THAT's 1.5% rebate basically starting the first dollar you spend. If you spend more than $15000, your best bet would be a card that earns you airline miles.

For flat 1% cash rebate, I think the best one currently is the Chase StockBack card. (You earn between 2-10% rebate for some online purchases, sort of like ebates actually..)

For a card that earns you airline miles, THE BEST ONE is the American Express Starwood Card. You earn 1 starpoint per dollar spend, but one Starpoint => 1.25 miles!! That's 1.85 cents back per dollar spend. That's like 1.85% rebate on every dollar! Also, NO annual fee first year, only $30 after the first year! The annual fee is lower than all of the other mileage cards, AND you earn MORE miles per dollar spend.

Some may disagree with me about the stockback card being the best flat 1% rebate card(some never-heard of credit card companies do offer slightly higher rebates), but I don't think anyone will disagree with me on the Starwood card being the best mileage card after done some research and comparisons..

 

[CTrain]

NOT HOT at all.

Its very misleading.
The only way to earn 5% is to basically spend over $6K on everyday purchases are for stand-alone U.S. supermarkets, gas stations, drugstores, and home improvement stores which will earn you 3% after the $6K.

Then to earn the other 2%, you must carry that balance over....and you only earn 2% on the balance that you didn't pay. But then again you are paying up the ZING ZANG on the interest that they charge you on the balance.

So after the introductory 0% interest, the card is not that good.

 

[Aztech]

dealonfire,
Thanks for the detailed analysis. I currently have an MBNA card that gives 5% back for every "pay at the pump" gas purchase, but I need another card for other purchases.

 

[brokejumper]

I am currently shopping for a new credit card and I want a Visa/Mastercard. What do you all think of the Perfectcard from Chase?

Chase PerfectCard MasterCard
* 6% rebate on all gasoline purchases (90 days)
* 3% rebate on gas purchases thereafter
* 1% rebate on all other purchases
* Purchase Protection



Link

The trick between this one and the Stockback card would seem to be how much you shop at the particular stores that have a deal with them. Otherwise, the gas rebate makes it a bit better no?

 

[ww4397]

The $6K threshold you guys are talking about is for all purchases not just "everyday" purchases. Once over the $6K threshold for all purchases, "everyday" purchases get a 3% rebate and "non-everyday" purchases get 1.5%.

[EDIT]

Oh yeah, forget about trying to get the 5% rebate unless you plan on carrying a balance.

 

[bspahn]

Originally posted by: dealonfire
MAKE SURE you understand how the cash rebate rule.. it may not be as good as you may think it is.

NOTE, the annual spending for "EVERYDAY purchases" and for "All Other Purchases" are counted SEPARATELY..

I just spoke to them on the phone and it appears that the "EVERYDAY purchases" and the "All Other Purchases" are NOT counted separately. So if your total purchases for a year are $6000 then you'll get back 1.5% for all your "other purchases" and 3.0% back on the "everyday purchases".

Bill

 

[Fant]

That chase card looks like a better deal. I spend over $6k a year on my credit card but thats on my mastercard...not amex...not everyplace accepts amex. So a mastercard/visa is more useful. And I would get 3% cashback on gasoline purchases and 1% on all other purchases made anywhere. The annual fee is waived as long as you make 9 purchases a year. What do you guys think?

 

[AMDSoldier]

Originally posted by: Fant
That chase card looks like a better deal. I spend over $6k a year on my credit card but thats on my mastercard...not amex...not everyplace accepts amex. So a mastercard/visa is more useful. And I would get 3% cashback on gasoline purchases and 1% on all other purchases made anywhere. The annual fee is waived as long as you make 9 purchases a year. What do you guys think?

I think I'm gonna try that card.

I deliver pizzas for a living, so having that gas bonus, could help me out.