Best Credit Card?

[SkyDog58]

If we all did that, there would be none of these big cash back programs. They are subsidized by those who don’t. Kinda likea the rich get richer and the poor get poorer thang.

Note that I did not write “everyone”, I wrote “we.” And by we, I meant the folks on POA as we have had this conversation before and it seemed that everyone said that they do it this way. I realize that not everyone with a credit card use them that way and probably some on here do not as well.

 

[jordane93]

I hear the Chase Sapphire is good if you don’t want to be loyal to a specific airline but you’ll get access to non specific airline lounges. I just have my generic Bank of America travel rewards card mainly because there are no international transaction fees. It works for me now. Maybe sometime in the near future I’ll switch over to Amex or the Chadr Sapphire card.

 

[kayoh190]

That five time card replacement thing happened when I ran EVERYTHING through that card. I was intensely ****ed off by the fifth one. I called and told them that it had to be internal fraud for that to happen and one more and I was gone. I actually got a call from Barclays security after that and they were actually interested. I explained the whole thing to the security guy and he was genuinely interested. It also stopped and elbever happened again. I hope they pressed charges on their former employee once they figured it out.

Maybe if you’d stop using your card to impulse buy every damned thing offered up via banner ad on pornhub, you wouldn’t have these problems!

I’ve only had one case of fraud on a credit card in 20 years, so while it was a PITA to update the vendors when it happened, I still feel I’m way ahead.

 

[CharlieD3]

What's the best cc?

None. Well, maybe AMEX black. Credit cards are the mark of the beast.... Nah.

Here's the thing... Merchants are not required to take cash. Legal tender or not, cash is going the way of the dinosaur.

And, there are some fools implanting RFID chips so they don't have to bother with cards...

I have a Credit Union debit card and one credit card.

I guess Dollar rent a car has a "thing" where you can rent a car with debit card now.. but they're the only ones I know of, and you have to pre-arrange or setup or something.

 

[bflynn]

Don't rent a car with a debit card. They charge you a large deposit and take money out of your account or freeze it. That is your money that gets locked up for several days after your return the car.

 

[CharlieD3]

Don't rent a car with a debit card. They charge you a large deposit and take money out of your account or freeze it. That is your money that gets locked up for several days after your return the car.

Yeah, that's why I have one cc. And use it for on-line purchases for the protection.

 

[JOhnH]

I have one credit card. I use it for everything. That makes it easier to see and enjoy the rewards. If you have several cards, you might get $20 back here, $3.62 back there, maybe a $100 or more elsewhere. I like big single lump sums that I can see and appreciate. Also, IMO, it takes unnecessary effort to carry and use different card for different purchases depending on what is being promoted this month. And if I want to look back later to see how much I am spending, and where, one card makes it easier.

I considered, based on an above comment, to stop using it for small purchases at small businesses, but that kind of defeats one of my goals of tracking my expenses. Besides, I used to run a small business, and I actually preferred taking CC or Debit cards. I hated checks because one bad check can cost more than a month of merchant charges. And cash was a pain in the neck. You had to count it and recount it and drive it to the bank and keep sufficient cash on hand to make change, and it was awfully easy for employees to pocket the proceeds of a cash sale. I much preferred electronic payments.

But the caveat is that it gets paid off every month. I have an automatic payment set up through my brokerage account so I never have to worry about a missed payment.

 

[denverpilot]

I guess Dollar rent a car has a "thing" where you can rent a car with debit card now.. but they're the only ones I know of, and you have to pre-arrange or setup or something.

Don't rent a car with a debit card. They charge you a large deposit and take money out of your account or freeze it. That is your money that gets locked up for several days after your return the car.

They did that in their deal with Dave Ramsey. I believe their schtick is that they’ll only hold $200 but you have to sign up to be a member of their rewards plan.

They’re owned by Hertz anyway, and I never have ever seen them have good prices, just like Hertz.

We used Hertz exclusively at one business I used to travel for, because it was such a “consistent” product everywhere and we had some screaming deal with them, and we could self insure.

I’ve got a bunch of memberships to the various car rental companies (including Dollar) and never use them anymore. I can almost always beat them easily with a simple google search, or just Uber/Lyft and not mess with it for quick trips.

Before Uber long ago, I even did a cab to an off airport rental place to get a little Ford Ranger for a week and a half. Cost me half of what the airport rental places in California can do with their forced airport taxes and garbage. Ha.

Wasn’t expecting the little pickup. Owner just asked me if I wanted to drive that instead of a compact, since he could find someone else to rent the compact. I said sure, didn’t bother me. Suitcase can sit on the pax side. LOL.

 

[alfadog]

Anyone have the Amazon Prime Rewards card?

"The Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card, issued through Chase, has some enticing rewards: 5 percent back on purchases you make on Amazon and at Whole Foods, as well as 2 percent back at restaurants, gas stations and qualifying drug stores, plus 1 percent on all other purchases. When you sign up, Amazon also throws in a $70 gift card bonus."

I have it but I only use it for Amazon purchases. Though I will look into using it for gas now.

 

[weilke]

Delta Amex. The cash value of the tickets I buy with the miles and the upgrades I get through the status beats any of the various cash-back schemes.

 

[EppyGA]

Costco VISA, pretty much buy me a months worth of groceries once a year plus. We have a GM Card, only use it for EAA Chapter expenses currently. It did gets us $3,500 of our Equinox. Both are paid of monthly.

 

[weilke]

I use my debit card, money is there... Not a credit card using someone elses money.

I use a CC for any purchase I can make without a convenience fee. Internet purchases, Amazon, gas stations, insurance bills etc. Never had a fraudulent transaction that wasn't caught by the CC company before it posted. My CC number has been the same for the last 10 years.
My wife uses her debit card issued by the local community bank for everything. She has to get a new card every couple of months and chase after money the bank generously sent to some walmart in West Virginia yo buy someone a stack of money orders.

With a credit card, it's the companies money that is at risk for fraudulent transactions. For debit card it's your money. The zeal of the card issuer to clamp down on fraud scales accordingly.

 

[asicer]

​

I use a CC for any purchase I can make without a convenience fee. Internet purchases, Amazon, gas stations, insurance bills etc. Never had a fraudulent transaction that wasn't caught by the CC company before it posted. My CC number has been the same for the last 10 years.

It could be my imagination but chip cards and contactless payments seems to have upped the security quite a bit. That and I try to use PayPal whenever available.

 

[Shepherd]

The one I found on the ground at the gas station.
Free gas and no bill.

 

[asicer]

The one I found on the ground at the gas station.
Free gas and no bill.

Do the pumps around you not require a zip code for authorization?

 

[luvflyin]

Note that I did not write “everyone”, I wrote “we.” And by we, I meant the folks on POA as we have had this conversation before and it seemed that everyone said that they do it this way. I realize that not everyone with a credit card use them that way and probably some on here do not as well.

Gotcha. I was just getting it it out there that the system relies on a lot of people not paying balances off and paying lotsa interest. But yeah, most here seem to use cards wisely

 

[weilke]

Gotcha. I was just getting it it out there that the system relies on a lot of people not paying balances off and paying lotsa interest. But yeah, most here seem to use cards wisely

Not necessarily. For the most part, the CC companies make money on the transaction fees. It's not like those of us who pay our cards monthly and never rack up an overlimit or late charge are leeching off the ones who do.

 

[denverpilot]

With a credit card, it's the companies money that is at risk for fraudulent transactions. For debit card it's your money. The zeal of the card issuer to clamp down on fraud scales accordingly.

The protections are the same. Any reasonable banking institution will put their money in your account while they investigate. You’re only on the hook for a few days.

Granted, those without reasonable banking institutions will say they had to wait to get reimbursed but that just means they need to bank somewhere else. Usually a credit union.

Only had one fraudulent transaction on a debit card in over 25 years of using one. CU had the money back in my account in 36 hours, and I called them at hour 24 or so. No big deal at all.

Now if someone told me a craphole bank like Wells Fargo or worse, BofA held their money, I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest.

 

[denverpilot]

Not necessarily. For the most part, the CC companies make money on the transaction fees. It's not like those of us who pay our cards monthly and never rack up an overlimit or late charge are leeching off the ones who do.

It’s a combination. The fees don’t come close to paying for all their internal largess.

My nephew is dating a girl who most of her job is to design fancy cards for banks to try to catch the eye of the wealthy. Metal cards aren’t even the top of the line these days. She won some industry award for some curved thing. Said the machining shops had a hard time making them. It’s ridiculous.

But no way do ONLY the transaction fees cover the salaries of hundreds who work on garbage like that. It’s a job, but I don’t think anyone on their deathbed doing that work will be remembered for it. Ha. Not that most of us will be either.

“Here lies Nate, he really kept our buggy telecom and server software running well, considering what crap it really was...” LOL.

 

[luvflyin]

Not necessarily. For the most part, the CC companies make money on the transaction fees. It's not like those of us who pay our cards monthly and never rack up an overlimit or late charge are leeching off the ones who do.

I wasn’t implying ‘leeching’ but the end result could be looked at that way. I once heard that in the Credit Card industry, they refer to those who pay off balances monthly as Deadbeats

 

[weilke]

I wasn’t implying ‘leeching’ but the end result could be looked at that way. I once heard that in the Credit Card industry, they refer to those who pay off balances monthly as Deadbeats

I heard that too, and I don't believe it to be correct. A deadbeat for the bank is the customer who defaults on his balance which leads to a loss of both the earned interest and the majority of the outstanding principal. The high interest charges and late fees are what pays for that risk.
If I run 10k/month on my card but pay it all off with a monthly autopay, the CC company does just fine with the interchange fees they collect each month.
Some issuers like Amex live mostly off the interchange fees. Others like Comenity and Capital One make the bulk of their money on interest and the 'issuers of last resort' make all of their money on nosebleed level of misc. fees they charge on their cards (how much interest can you collect on an $500 limit card?).

In a roundabout way I work for one of the largest issuers of low limit high fee cards in the country. So I can only encourage everyone to overspend and be tardy on their payments .

 

[Shepherd]

Do the pumps around you not require a zip code for authorization?

I was joking, but...
I know half a dozen stations where they don't ask for a zip code.
Rural America. Gotta love it.

 

[denverpilot]

I was joking, but...
I know half a dozen stations where they don't ask for a zip code.
Rural America. Gotta love it.

You do know that means they’re paying a fine for not meeting the PCI standard for businesses doing card transactions and they’re passing the annual fines for not doing so, along to you at the pump, right?

My rural pumps require a ZIP code. Of course, it being the only gas station in the ZIP code, it’s a completely stupid authentication method.

 

[Huckster79]

You do know that means they’re paying a fine for not meeting the PCI standard for businesses doing card transactions and they’re passing the annual fines for not doing so, along to you at the pump, right?

My rural pumps require a ZIP code. Of course, it being the only gas station in the ZIP code, it’s a completely stupid authentication method.

taking zip is not part of PCI compliance.... taking zip is a merchants option for AVS (address verification), it typically cost the merchant a few cents to do this per transaction. The concept is to lower fraud, and the merchant has to decide if the cost of avs is worth it or the increased chance of chargebacks due to fraudulent card use....

PCI is about the merchants security parameters- following a list of rules such as not writing down and maintaining card numbers as well as a security scan of their internet network for security weak points...

 

[GaryM]

Anyone have the Amazon Prime Rewards card?

"The Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card, issued through Chase, has some enticing rewards: 5 percent back on purchases you make on Amazon and at Whole Foods

No experience with that card, but I figure I save 15% on food just by not shopping at Whole Foods.

 

[Salty]

taking zip is not part of PCI compliance.... taking zip is a merchants option for AVS (address verification), it typically cost the merchant a few cents to do this per transaction. The concept is to lower fraud, and the merchant has to decide if the cost of avs is worth it or the increased chance of chargebacks due to fraudulent card use....

PCI is about the merchants security parameters- following a list of rules such as not writing down and maintaining card numbers as well as a security scan of their internet network for security weak points...

This is correct. I'll just add that the merchant usually saves on chargebacks when they use AVS, so they generally make their money back in high chargeback businesses. IE: When a customer claims the charge is fraudulent, the merchant pays less if they used AVS during the authorization.

Salty,
20+ years in CC transaction processing biz (acquiring)

 

[Huckster79]

This is correct. I'll just add that the merchant usually saves on chargebacks when they use AVS, so they generally make their money back in high chargeback businesses. IE: When a customer claims the charge is fraudulent, the merchant pays less if they used AVS during the authorization.

Salty,
20+ years in CC transaction processing biz (acquiring)

yes! That’s exactly what I meant was they have to decide which is a better more economical choice...

So you’re in the biz too huh? I’m partners in a small Merchant Services business in Michigan and part of CoCard

 

[Sinistar]

I was joking, but...
I know half a dozen stations where they don't ask for a zip code.
Rural America. Gotta love it.

I know of one airport within 100miles of us that you just pump you gas and jot down your name and address for the bill. The owner told me that he's only ever been ripped off once in over 30yrs. Its my backup airport if I'm broke

 

[Salty]

I know of one airport within 100miles of us that you just pump you gas and jot down your name and address for the bill. The owner told me that he's only ever been ripped off once in over 30yrs. Its my backup airport if I'm broke

I did that at an airport on a cross country three states away. He called me a few days later for a credit card number.

 

[Everskyward]

No experience with that card, but I figure I save 15% on food just by not shopping at Whole Foods.

I have the Amazon Prime Rewards card, which works out for me since I buy quite a bit from Amazon.

I don't shop at Whole Foods, or Costco either. I mostly shop at the neighborhood Safeway, since it is the most convenient.

 

[Daleandee]

The best is not to have any credit cards at all!

Or use someone else's!

 

[denverpilot]

taking zip is not part of PCI compliance.... taking zip is a merchants option for AVS (address verification), it typically cost the merchant a few cents to do this per transaction. The concept is to lower fraud, and the merchant has to decide if the cost of avs is worth it or the increased chance of chargebacks due to fraudulent card use....

PCI is about the merchants security parameters- following a list of rules such as not writing down and maintaining card numbers as well as a security scan of their internet network for security weak points...

I’m well aware of the pci requirements for digital terminals. I do the audit every year. The part I don’t do/know is gas pumps. Ha.

Whether for pci or proving a transaction is valid, still blatantly stupid out here.

Everyone has the same zip. LOL. All you need is a lost card found out here and you’ll know the zip.

Probably true of a lot of places not inside cities, really.

But appreciate the info. If I ever have to care about gas pump transactions, please shoot me. Hahaha.

 

[RyanB]

No experience with that card, but I figure I save 15% on food just by not shopping at Whole Foods.

I’ve actually haven’t found Whole Foods to be largely more expensive than other grocery stores. A lot of their produce is actually cheaper than Publix, at least here. I’m also of the belief that their products (for the most part) are better quality than most of the competition. Better ingredients, less sugar etc. YMMV.

 

[Huckster79]

I’m well aware of the pci requirements for digital terminals. I do the audit every year. The part I don’t do/know is gas pumps. Ha.

Whether for pci or proving a transaction is valid, still blatantly stupid out here.

Everyone has the same zip. LOL. All you need is a lost card found out here and you’ll know the zip.

Probably true of a lot of places not inside cities, really.

But appreciate the info. If I ever have to care about gas pump transactions, please shoot me. Hahaha.

all of pci IMHO is just crap for the end fat cats to take more of my merchants money. I despise pci and all that’s related to it.

Our bread n butter has become the cash discount model where the customer not the merchant in effect covers the processing expense.

 

[denverpilot]

all of pci IMHO is just crap for the end fat cats to take more of my merchants money. I despise pci and all that’s related to it.

Our bread n butter has become the cash discount model where the customer not the merchant in effect covers the processing expense.

No argument about PCI here. If the banks themselves don't have to do it... What's the point?

I've had ten card numbers stolen INSIDE Barclay's before I dumped them. Slow learner. Long time ago

The security guy when I reached him with the story eventually, was VERY interested though. Lol.