What's the best credit card deal today?

[Rideski]

It’s fake for sure.
Being a lazy maggot, I posted here before I searched the number.
All scam. Fake number, P.O. box, etc.
I guess I’ll call my CC company anyway and see if anything else is fishy.
They must think I’m a dentist cause I hang out with you nuts.
Second realistic scam I’ve seen this year.
The LinkedIn scam was just a few months ago and I’m still getting hit with that stuff weekly.

I know some people here have frozen/locked their credit.
Kinda fits in this thread. Worthwhile?

[iceman]

seems pretty easy to do from what I've read and there doesn't seem to be much of a downside except you have an extra step if you need to grant access. I was thinking of doing but I saw a butterfly or something shiny and got distracted.

[skaredshtles]

seems pretty easy to do from what I've read and there doesn't seem to be much of a downside except you have an extra step if you need to grant access. I was thinking of doing but I saw a butterfly or something shiny and got distracted.

I believe that they charge you $$ every time to lock/unlock the report as well, IIRC. Which is fucking DUMB because it has got to be nothing more than a bit that they switch from RW to RO to lock the record. It should be as easy as logging in and clicking a little fucking checkbox.

[Kevo]

I know some people here have frozen/locked their credit.
Kinda fits in this thread. Worthwhile?

Yep, I keep my credit frozen at all three credit reporting agencies. It's totally worthwhile. It makes it impossible for someone to open up credit in your name or to hard pull your credit without your permission.

That said, in my state it costs money ($10 each time) to unfreeze your credit once it is frozen which is complete bullshit. There should be a law that makes it free to freeze/ unfreeze your credit whenever you want.

[nickwm21]

You guys that are redlining the 524 rule;

- doesn’t opening and closing all these cards have a negative effect on your score?

- are you worried about having that much credit exposure out there to scam?

- what’s the upside? Aren’t you spreading your points thin through so many programs?

I’m all about choose the card for the airline or hotel you use the most and run all your purchases through that....


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[Danno]

You guys that are redlining the 524 rule;

- doesn’t opening and closing all these cards have a negative effect on your score?

- are you worried about having that much credit exposure out there to scam?

- what’s the upside? Aren’t you spreading your points thin through so many programs?

I’m all about choose the card for the airline or hotel you use the most and run all your purchases through that....

Score isn't that important, really. How often do you use it? To get mortgages and car loans and not much else. And all of the credit applications only have a small impact on score (Kevo is the resident master, he can chime in here). And if you have a good score, opening oodles of credit cards won't hurt it that much. It only matters if a) you're right on the cusp of good/bad, and b) you're planning on a loan in the near future.

Scam? Not really. Consumers are well protected in credit card fraud, not sure what other scams there are.

This is why I only look at sign up bonuses. I have cards I use for everyday use, and some for specialized use (because of certain benes), but it's fairly easy to use a new CC for a month or 3 to get the sign up, then go back to my regular cards.

[Rideski]

Xfinity looked at my score when I signed up a month ago. Said it was different than pulling a full report. Is that still possible with frozen profile?

[Ted Striker]

^^^ in the past a credit pull was considered hard if you were applying for anything new, and soft if you already had a financial relationship with the company. (not sure if that's still the case though, and don't know about frozen).

[RShea]

Score isn't that important, really. How often do you use it? To get mortgages and car loans and not much else. And all of the credit applications only have a small impact on score (Kevo is the resident master, he can chime in here). And if you have a good score, opening oodles of credit cards won't hurt it that much. It only matters if a) you're right on the cusp of good/bad, and b) you're planning on a loan in the near future.

Scam? Not really. Consumers are well protected in credit card fraud, not sure what other scams there are.

This is why I only look at sign up bonuses. I have cards I use for everyday use, and some for specialized use (because of certain benes), but it's fairly easy to use a new CC for a month or 3 to get the sign up, then go back to my regular cards.

I thought they did look at the total lines of credit you have and percentage that is used as part of the scoring- but no expert by any means just what I though I had read. IE if you have 150K in the total amounts of the limits across a large number of cards, and comparing that to someone that has 50K on 2 or 3 cards only does not matter?? Also if you have a card that has a $10K limit and you have 9K on that card vs having 9K across 2 or three cards that may have a $15K limits in total??

[Danno]

I thought they did look at the total lines of credit you have and percentage that is used as part of the scoring- but no expert by any means just what I though I had read. IE if you have 150K in the total amounts of the limits across a large number of cards, and comparing that to someone that has 50K on 2 or 3 cards only does not matter?? Also if you have a card that has a $10K limit and you have 9K on that card vs having 9K across 2 or three cards that may have a $15K limits in total??

I'm not saying that lots of cards (or no cards) has no impact on your credit score. Or that how you distribute the spending has no impact on your score. Kevo is the maggot who can maybe answer those questions.

What I am saying is that if you are responsible, pay your bills off on time (and in the case of CCs pay them in full every month!), etc -- in other words have good credit in general -- your score won't be impacted enough to make a darn bit of difference. Sometimes I have played the churning game, other times not, and my score has not moved in any significant way. It's good enough to get me approved for the most favorable loan terms when I have sought a loan, and that's really all that matters.

Lots of people get so worked up over their credit score, as if having the highest score wins them a prize. But the reality is that you just need to be above a certain threshold. And even more to the point, you only need to be above that threshold when you are seeking significant credit (home, auto, or other large loan). Which for most people isn't that often.

[XXX-er]

I got no idea what my credit score is or even if I have one, don't need credit, don't need loans ... I use some free visa cards and a lot of cash

A few years ago met a bering sea Fisherman down in Sayulita, buddy wanted to stay another week but he ran out of cash and had to borrow more cash so I asked why not just go to the bank M/C ?

he was 40 yrs old, he had no credit score, never had a credit card of any kind, I forget if he even had a bank account but he had worked all his life fishing painting carpentering, owned houses, trucks boats cars sleds all paid for in cash

I suggested he should get some cards and use them a bit to establish a credit rating but I think my words were going right over his head

[dgilligan02]

You guys that are redlining the 524 rule;

- doesn’t opening and closing all these cards have a negative effect on your score?

- are you worried about having that much credit exposure out there to scam?

- what’s the upside? Aren’t you spreading your points thin through so many programs?

I’m all about choose the card for the airline or hotel you use the most and run all your purchases through that....


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First question...this is largely a misnomer in my experience. New account typically dings me for 5-7 points, it recovers in 60-90 days. Always pay in full on time every time. So we have large credit available and small utilization rate. I think I read somewhere that scoring likes to see you use responsibly 5-7% of your available credit. Have had LOTS of new accounts last five years (both wife and I)...never spent much time below 800. YMMV.

Second question...no.

Third question...we have been tons of places we'd not have been able to go. We've largely focused on eliminating the air portion of travel costs.

[MiddleOfNight]

We've largely focused on eliminating the air portion of travel costs.

+1


(is your avatar a sunset through a plane window .. on a trip bought with rewards? legit.)

[Mustonen]

I thought they did look at the total lines of credit you have and percentage that is used as part of the scoring- but no expert by any means just what I though I had read. IE if you have 150K in the total amounts of the limits across a large number of cards, and comparing that to someone that has 50K on 2 or 3 cards only does not matter?? Also if you have a card that has a $10K limit and you have 9K on that card vs having 9K across 2 or three cards that may have a $15K limits in total??

Too many lines can hurt you a little. So can opening and closing cards. As noted, the impact of that is often overstated, usually not more than a few points. These have a larger impact on bankruptcy predictors, and some lenders will use this criteria for an approval or denial outside of the scoring models altogether.

What isn’t overstated is the impact of utilization.... that is, using only 10-20% of available lines. The other big ones are recent delinquency (last few months, older has much smaller impact), mix of credit, length of credit, etc.

So, $9k over 3 lines or 15 lines matters a lot less than whether that total available is $15k or $45k. Also keep in mind that the scoring models don’t usually factor in your income, if they even know your income. $150k in cc debt matters differently if you’re pulling in $50k/yr or $1.5m/yr, i.e. focus less on the numbers, more on the ratios....

[Ted Striker]

^^^ re: utilization, many (most?) cards only report what's on your statement so paying off in full a few days before closing results in zero utilization, whereas paying any amount after the statement has been issued is no different than carrying the balance.

[Mustonen]

^^^ re: utilization, many (most?) cards only report what's on your statement so paying off in full a few days before closing results in zero utilization, whereas paying any amount after the statement has been issued is no different than carrying the balance.

Only if their billing cycle coincides with their credit reporting cycle. It might match up (just because it’s easier and easier to think about, the FI I work at cycles and reports on the last day of the month) but it can just as likely not. There are advantages to decoupling these cycles, if only to manage resources, and one has very little to do with the other.

[Ted Striker]

So it's a fluke! That's funny because I learned that through trial and error to get my own utilization to appear to be zero to the credit bureaus (even though I put everything on the cards). I guess in my case it just worked out that way because my billing cycles end fairly close to the end of the calendar.

[dgilligan02]

(is your avatar a sunset through a plane window .. on a trip bought with rewards? legit.)

Prob guilty as charged...

[406]

Citi dropped their price rewind & travel benefits, so wanting to drop them. Need a visa/mc that does >=2% back on anything, us it to pay daycare, so not a category like fuel or groceries. No annual fee. Suggestions?

[Danno]

Citi dropped their price rewind & travel benefits, so wanting to drop them. Need a visa/mc that does >=2% back on anything, us it to pay daycare, so not a category like fuel or groceries. No annual fee. Suggestions?

I have a Priceline card (from Barclay) that does 2%, but it may not be offered anymore. Also have the Citi DoubleCash card that is 2% (you get 1% on the purchase and 1% when you pay the bill).

Getting more than 2% on general purchases is next to impossible.

[bagtagley]

We've got the Fidelity Visa. 2% back on everything, paid monthly into a free Fidelity brokerage account.

https://www.fidelity.com/cash-manage...signature-card

Their web interface is antiquated, but we've been happy with it.

[Ted Striker]

Getting more than 2% on general purchases is next to impossible.

or takes a lot of effort (i.e. multiple accounts with 2%-5% on various categories, plus net referrals like active junky, etc)

[Danno]

or takes a lot of effort (i.e. multiple accounts with 2%-5% on various categories, plus net referrals like active junky, etc)

well, yeah, getting more than 2% is possible on some purchases. I'm talking about the fact that as a general use card buying random shit, it's next to impossible.

But yeah, I get more than 2% on utilities, cell phone bill, restaurants, gas, travel, and whatever Discover has going, if I remember which card to use.

[Ted Striker]

Sure, I got that. And I'm in the same 'have to remember which card to use' boat.

[Dantheman]

Yep, I keep my credit frozen at all three credit reporting agencies. It's totally worthwhile. It makes it impossible for someone to open up credit in your name or to hard pull your credit without your permission.

That said, in my state it costs money ($10 each time) to unfreeze your credit once it is frozen which is complete bullshit. There should be a law that makes it free to freeze/ unfreeze your credit whenever you want.

Keeping it frozen unless you need it is the smart move in general, but if you were part of the Equifax data breach you should absolutely keep yours frozen. The shit someone could do with that data is crazy. And, yes, charging you to freeze/unfreeze sits right near the top of Corporate Bullshit Mountain. The credit agencies also make it hard as fuck to find where to freeze it on their websites.

Back to the topic at hand--I'm lazy and do a shit ton of my spending at Costco, so just put everything on a Costco Visa.