Let me just open this post by saying that if you have a history of getting in trouble with credit cards, this is not the deal for you. (This is just not the right economy to be carrying a credit balance.)
We've always been pretty good with credit cards, taking advantage of sign-up offers, cash back, gift cards, etc. When we had some very large expenses, we were able to put them on credit cards, get the cash back or gift cards, pay them off right away, and make out really well for our efforts. We don't really carry balances more than a month or two, tops, and I can't remember the last time we were late on a payment.
So I do follow the various credit card companies and their offers to see which ones are worthwhile. One year, I tracked all my bonuses, gift cards and cash back checks from credit card companies and banks, and they amounted to almost $4,000. And the wonderful part was that I didn't buy or spend my money on anything I didn't already need to get those bonuses. If you can get to that place, you're working the offers to your advantage.
I've always liked my Discover card. It's not accepted in as many places as my Visa and Mastercards are, but I'll use it wherever it is accepted, because cash-back is my favorite reward (who doesn't love cash?).
Discover has completely reworked all of their various types of cards and now has a single card called the Discover It card. The really nice thing about this card is that they've reviewed all the perks of the various Visas and Mastercards out there and bundled them all together on the It card, making it a very attractive credit card to use. Here they are:
- Customer reps are located in the United States (ALL of them) and you may always opt to speak to a human being, 24/7. Ally Bank has this feature also, and I can't tell you how much I LOVE THIS.
- No late fee or rate increase on your first late payment. Late payment forgiveness has got to be my all time favorite feature, as even the most responsible person messes up sometimes.
- Quarterly rotating 5% back categories. This is my second favorite feature. Every three months, they'll change out which categories they will give you 5% cash back on. This quarter, from January 2013 through March 2013, you'll get 5% back on movies and restaurants, up to $1,500 in purchases. (Now, if you're watching your budget, you shouldn't be spending $1,500 a quarter in restaurants and movies!)
- 1% flat cash back on everything else. This adds up quickly, especially when you put your larger purchases on your Discover.
- No annual fee.
- No overlimit fee.
- No foreign transaction fee. (Use it in Israel!)
- Instead of waiting for your reward, you can use it to pay for things directly on Amazon.com. I buy tons of stuff on Amazon and this gives me access to my rewards right away.
