What's your favorite rewards credit card?

[FIREseeker]

I'm new to the world of credit cards. Right now I have a Discover it card. It (get it? ha) is awesome but the rewards are only mediocre.

Do you have a favorite rewards card? Please note if you could what your credit score was when you applied. Mine is 720ish right now..

[disneysteve]

Pick the card that pays rewards that are most meaningful to you whether that be cashback, airline miles, hotel stays, free books, free coffee, whatever.

My favorite? That would be my Marriott Visa. We love to travel. Marriott has a wide variety of properties all around the country (and world) and being able to periodically stay for free is a nice perk. We've got a free weekend trip booked in October. In November we're doing a paid stay at a pretty pricey Marriott in Florida but at least I know we're earning a bunch of reward points in the process so there's a side benefit to what we're spending on that trip.

[FLA]

I've had Discover for 20+ yrs. The rewards work for me because I do not want travel or miles. When I've racked up points, I buy a gift card that is worth more than the cash I'm "paying", for instance, spend $20, get a $30 gift certificate. Pair that with one of the quarterly deals, like 5% off dept stores and shop through their website and you sometimes get another 10% off in cash back. The shopping through them deal has gotten weaker over time and if the gift cards aren't for a store you shop at, there are other rewards to choose.

I would shop through Discover to get 5-10% extra cash back, using Lands End gift cards on clearance items and you could also use the LE discounts, like free ship and 30% off, then if dept stores were "up" this quarter, I'd get another 5% back in cash back. I got work clothes so cheap and rarely used "real" money. But again, look close because the program does not seem as good.

out of all my cards, this seems to have the best fit for me. Plus it separates your charges by category, if you tend to charge everything and pay in full monthly, them showing the categories, I have a fairly good idea of where I am overspending

[FLA]

However, there is another card that gives you effectively >3% cash back if you redeem for certain travel, and 2% cash back if you want simple cash back. And that is Fidelity Investment Rewards Amex Card. However unlike Discover It, this card does not have category bonus. But for general spending, I think this is probably the best credit card. You can read more about this card in my blog post here.

but do you have to have investments at Fidelity?

off to google Vanguard cc, lol

[snafu]

One more point...many cards waive fees for the 1st year so whatever the deal is this year, it can easily change next year. The cards themselves change terms and conditions.

The overriding point is that you must be one of the small percent of the population who absolutely always pay the entire balance at least two business days in advance of the due date. Interest will make mush of any perceived benefit. Better to pay cash

[FLA]

thanks, always pay bill in full. Too bad about Fidelity, I used to have my investments there. Vanguard just has a debit card, bummer

[xxdeanerxx]

American Express Blue Cash Preferred. Credit score was probably around 650 3 years ago.

[creditcardfree]

Favorite card? Geez, now that I have spent the last two years racking up as many credit card rewards as possible it is hard to decide, but Discover It, Chase Freedom, Southwest Rapids Rewards Visa are a few of my favorites. We have American Express Blue Cash Everyday card, primarily for offers not rewards. I use US Bank for 5% off our cell phone bill every month.

We have credit scores over 800 despite opening credit cards on a regular basis for two years. We ALWAYS pay off our cards in full before being charged any interest. I don't recommend opening credit cards for rewards unless you have the ability to pay them in full every month.

[creditcardfree]

Favorite card? Geez, now that I have spent the last two years racking up as many credit card rewards as possible it is hard to decide, but Discover It, Chase Freedom, Southwest Rapids Rewards Visa are a few of my favorites. We have American Express Blue Cash Everyday card, primarily for offers not rewards. I use US Bank for 5% off our cell phone bill every month.

We have credit scores over 800 despite opening credit cards on a regular basis for two years. We ALWAYS pay off our cards in full before being charged any interest. I don't recommend opening credit cards for rewards unless you have the ability to pay them in full every month.

[corn18]

Citi Double Cash Rewards Mastercard. 1% back when you buy, 1% back when you pay. Easy peasy. I make more spending on that card than I do on any of my savings.

[Blessed]

My favorite is Discover. It was already detailed above by another poster I've had Discover over 20 years. I also like Barclays Carnival card since we take a cruise yearly and use the double rewards. I should really look into the Citi Double card mentioned above!

[Leo]

Citi Double Cash Rewards Mastercard. 1% back when you buy, 1% back when you pay. Easy peasy. I make more spending on that card than I do on any of my savings.

Same here. Basically 2% free money for most of my expenses.

[MonkeyMama]

Citi Double Cash Rewards Mastercard. 1% back when you buy, 1% back when you pay. Easy peasy. I make more spending on that card than I do on any of my savings.

Same here.

For whatever reason they only gave us a $3,000-ish credit limit initially. ??? I had got it increased to $10k shortly after receiving the card (I suppose I could have asked for more?). Anyway, I just asked for a big increase today. I can now phase out our 2% cash back American Express that is not accepted as widely. With a more useful credit limit, the Citi Double Cash is now officially my favorite card.

[Petunia 100]

Same here.

For whatever reason they only gave us a $3,000-ish credit limit initially. ??? I had got it increased to $10k shortly after receiving the card (I suppose I could have asked for more?). Anyway, I just asked for a big increase today. I can now phase out our 2% cash back American Express that is not accepted as widely. With a more useful credit limit, the Citi Double Cash is now officially my favorite card.

Me too, my initial limit was 3k. I've had the card about a year now and they have raised my limit twice without my asking. It's still fairly low though, about 6k. Oh well, it's still my favorite rewards card.

[kork13]

My favorite credit card right now is the Sallie Mae card from Barclaycard. 5% cash back on the first $250/mo on groceries, 5% on the first $250 on gas, and 5% on the first $750 at bookstores (which includes any purchase from Amazon!!!). These three categories are easily the most frequently used in our household. My wife & I both have one of these cards, effectively doubling the monthly cash back limits. I also convinced my brother & father to both get this card as well.

For everything that doesn't fall inside those categories, I do have the Citi Double Cash card, which definitely is a great card as well.