Whether it's your first Bonnaroo or you’re a music festival veteran, we welcome you to Inforoo.
Here you'll find info about artists, rumors, camping tips, and the infamous Roo Clues. Have a look around then create an account and join in the fun. See you at Bonnaroo!!
My girlfriend sent this to me today and I was unhappy about it because I specifically didn't share this with her when I saw it because I wanted to put Smashmouth on repeat next time she went out.
5.5/four tet, daphni b2b floating points, avalon emerson 5.12/neil young 5.19/mannequin pussy 5.21/serpentwithfeet 5.25/hozier 6.12-16/bonnaroo 6.28/goose 6.29/goose 9.17/the national + the war on drugs 9.23/sigur ros 9.27-29/making time 10.17/air
have we discussed credit cards here in the past? i need some first timer advice, but don't want to bother with all of my details if there's already a thread somewhere with recommendations.
www.nerdwallet.com is pretty good. Feel free to shoot me a message if you have specific questions - it can be overwhelming with the various options.
5.5/four tet, daphni b2b floating points, avalon emerson 5.12/neil young 5.19/mannequin pussy 5.21/serpentwithfeet 5.25/hozier 6.12-16/bonnaroo 6.28/goose 6.29/goose 9.17/the national + the war on drugs 9.23/sigur ros 9.27-29/making time 10.17/air
have we discussed credit cards here in the past? i need some first timer advice, but don't want to bother with all of my details if there's already a thread somewhere with recommendations.
we probably have somewhere but I can't remember.
stating the obvious first, whatever card you get make sure you pay it off monthly. interest charges will quickly eradicate any benefit you get from points or cashback. similarly if you choose a card with an annual fee make sure you'll earn more rewards than the fee. if you are intending to carry a balance just go for the lowest interest rate you can find.
second, decide if you want points or cash back. personally i prefer cash back, it's just clearer and easier for me to understand cash then getting X amount of "points" that will have different redemption values for different things.
third, choose a card that rewards how you spend. there are some cards that give good cash back but the merchants you get the cash back from rotate quarterly. i guess this could be fun for some people but i'm pretty fixed at the places i buy things.
all that said, here are the cards i use and the reason i use them:
1. citi costco card - the absolute best card for members of the Church of Costco. 4% back on gas up to $7,000 per year, 3% on restaurants and travel, 2% on all purchases from costco, 1% on all other purchases. Every february i get a redemption certificate, bring it into costco and they straight up give me a handful of cash. We do 90% of our grocery shopping at costco, and also go to restaurants a lot. our recent trip to vegas we booked through costco travel, which was a great deal plus we got 3% cash back. add this on top of having an executive membership which gives 2% back on costco purchases and it becomes totally worth the annual costco membership. no fee for the credit card itself.
2. brooks brothers mc - simply because i buy most of my clothes from BB. it's a confusing points system but every now and again i get a $20 or so credit towards future purchases which is nice. plus they have sales for card members only throughout the year.
3. amazon visa - don't use this much anymore since we don't use amazon a lot, but it's 5% cash back on amazon purchases, via statement credit i think.
but there is a world of great credit cards out there you can take advantage of. as was already mentioned nerdwallet is a great resource for searching for a card that works for you.
beebee, I actually prefer one with points, so I can hoard them and use them when I need them. It's like having another savings account. (I have Chase Sapphire Preferred which heavily rewards travel and restaurants which is like 90% of my spending.)
Welcome back Bonz, but I do not find it strange that your presence being requested in the Orgy thread and then you showing up, like it was the quacking Bonzai Bat Signal.
beebee, I actually prefer one with points, so I can hoard them and use them when I need them. It's like having another savings account. (I have Chase Sapphire Preferred which heavily rewards travel and restaurants which is like 90% of my spending.)
Ya if you travel a lot the Chase Sapphire is great.
Couple factors to consider, if you’re just using a credit card to build up your credit, you should pick one based on what gives you points on things you buy, and rewards you would use. If you don’t travel much the Chase Sapphire isn’t the best option (especially since it has an annual fee. Not hard to get your money’s worth out of it, but not a given). If you shop on Amazon a lot, their card is essentially giving you cash back there.
If you’re getting a credit card because you have one big purchase you have to make then you should pay close attention to the APR and find one with a 0% interest intro rate.
Post by 10goldbees on Dec 20, 2019 10:43:54 GMT -5
beebee you might consider using a spending tracker like Mint to see where all of your money is going (if you can't quickly figure that out yourself). Then get a card with rewards that will benefit you most in that area. So if you eat out constantly get a card that gives a higher bonus on restaurants. Or if you commute two hours every day by car, get a card that gives more points/cash back on gas.
If you're really trying to maximize your rewards, look into bonuses for adding authorized users. Delta offers like 3,000 miles for adding another person to your card. You could always get the card then add your husband once there's a good incentive.
I am paranoid about cards that do points instead of cash back because they can always redefine what a "point" is. But if they're giving you cash you know the exact value of that. If you want a card that does straight up cash back, 2% is about the best you're going to find that's available to most people. I think Citi and Barclays both do 2% cash back but I'm not positive there. Of course, if you see an attractive card that offers points, it's pretty easy to figure out what the real world cash value of one of their points is so you can compare it to a cashback card.
On that matter, do a little research on the customer service provided by each company. Amex customer service has always been helpful and easy enough to work with. Wells Fargo customer service is absolute dog shit. You could use that factor as a tie-breaker if you find multiple cards you like. It will make a difference who you're talking to when you're stressed about money.
Once you have the card in hand, use it for every purchase. You'll get the most benefit out of your reward and you'll also have an added layer of fraud protection. If someone steals your debit card you have to convince the bank a crime was committed then they refund you money that was already spent. If someone steals your credit card, no money actually leaves your pocked before your closing date so you have some cushion to get the charges reversed.
I started with a secured card when I graduated college. My credit history was basically non-existent so I couldn't get any of the cards I actually wanted. That card I got through Wells Fargo. You give them a sum of money to hold onto and they give you a credit card with a limit for that amount of money. I made 12 on-time payments in full and they automatically refunded my deposit and bumped me up to a regular credit card.
Next card I got was a Discover it card. It does 1% cash back on everything and 5% on rotating areas throughout the year. Right now the higher cash back is on Amazon, Target, and Wal-Mart so I've made all my Amazon purchases on it. It's fine and I've never had an issue with it.
My main card is a Amex Delta Platinum. I got it because until recently my job heavily revolved around travel. They reward you with SkyMiles on all purchases, free checked bags, and a "free" annual buddy pass. I say "free" because the card costs $200 a year so I'm basically purchasing a ticket in advance but that's fine. I was going to do it anyway.
You definitely need to research a bit on the relationship between credit score and credit card spending. Obviously, you need to pay your credit card off in full every month. I believe it hurts your score to carry a balance from month to month. And, obviously, you're basically taking out a high interest loan on what's likely daily purchases if you aren't paying it off. Having a credit card can really benefit your credit score if you keep your total card spending to less than 10% of your credit limit. (Your credit limit is the total amount of money you're allowed to have on your balance when it closes each month). So if you have a credit card with a $1,000 and you have a balance of $800 on it on your closing date it looks bad. If you have a balance of $90 on it on your closing date it looks great. I pay mine off every week or two and try to keep my closing balance under 5% of the total credit limit.
Finally, don't be afraid of having a high credit limit. It may seem counter intuitive but my understanding is that having a high limit shows credit agencies that your trustworthy with a lot of money (assuming you're spending properly and not carrying a balance). And if you don't get a huge line of credit right out of the gate, that's fine. You can always request a higher limit once you've established a relationship with the credit card company. My advice about having a high credit limit might not be true if you're looking to make other large purchases (like a home) so double check me on that before you ask for 100k in credit haha.
one other thing i'd note on travel cards is if you do fly a lot, look into a card that gets you access to airport lounges. if you have a long layover or have to arrive at the airport early due to early hotel check out/late flight, being able to hang out in a Delta Sky Club lounge or similar is an amazing perk.
when i was in 6th grade i was travelling with my family and we were in a delta sky club. OJ Simpson was there and i met him, he was incredibly kind and autographed the Clive Cussler book I had with me. he was familiar with the book and we talked about it, then he signed it "OJ Simpson - Peace to You". six months later i was watching the bronco chase on TV at a friends house.
anyway get in that airport club you could meet celebrities!
2024: The Floozies, Phyphr, Disco Biscuits, Cimafunk, WSMFP, The Killers, Cory Wong, Dumpstaphunk, Bomba Estereo, Molly & Golden Hwy, Big Freedia, Payton/Nth Power, A.P&TFN, Mule
beebee you might consider using a spending tracker like Mint to see where all of your money is going (if you can't quickly figure that out yourself). Then get a card with rewards that will benefit you most in that area. So if you eat out constantly get a card that gives a higher bonus on restaurants. Or if you commute two hours every day by car, get a card that gives more points/cash back on gas.
If you're really trying to maximize your rewards, look into bonuses for adding authorized users. Delta offers like 3,000 miles for adding another person to your card. You could always get the card then add your husband once there's a good incentive.
I am paranoid about cards that do points instead of cash back because they can always redefine what a "point" is. But if they're giving you cash you know the exact value of that. If you want a card that does straight up cash back, 2% is about the best you're going to find that's available to most people. I think Citi and Barclays both do 2% cash back but I'm not positive there. Of course, if you see an attractive card that offers points, it's pretty easy to figure out what the real world cash value of one of their points is so you can compare it to a cashback card.
On that matter, do a little research on the customer service provided by each company. Amex customer service has always been helpful and easy enough to work with. Wells Fargo customer service is absolute dog shit. You could use that factor as a tie-breaker if you find multiple cards you like. It will make a difference who you're talking to when you're stressed about money.
Once you have the card in hand, use it for every purchase. You'll get the most benefit out of your reward and you'll also have an added layer of fraud protection. If someone steals your debit card you have to convince the bank a crime was committed then they refund you money that was already spent. If someone steals your credit card, no money actually leaves your pocked before your closing date so you have some cushion to get the charges reversed.
I started with a secured card when I graduated college. My credit history was basically non-existent so I couldn't get any of the cards I actually wanted. That card I got through Wells Fargo. You give them a sum of money to hold onto and they give you a credit card with a limit for that amount of money. I made 12 on-time payments in full and they automatically refunded my deposit and bumped me up to a regular credit card.
Next card I got was a Discover it card. It does 1% cash back on everything and 5% on rotating areas throughout the year. Right now the higher cash back is on Amazon, Target, and Wal-Mart so I've made all my Amazon purchases on it. It's fine and I've never had an issue with it.
My main card is a Amex Delta Platinum. I got it because until recently my job heavily revolved around travel. They reward you with SkyMiles on all purchases, free checked bags, and a "free" annual buddy pass. I say "free" because the card costs $200 a year so I'm basically purchasing a ticket in advance but that's fine. I was going to do it anyway.
You definitely need to research a bit on the relationship between credit score and credit card spending. Obviously, you need to pay your credit card off in full every month. I believe it hurts your score to carry a balance from month to month. And, obviously, you're basically taking out a high interest loan on what's likely daily purchases if you aren't paying it off. Having a credit card can really benefit your credit score if you keep your total card spending to less than 10% of your credit limit. (Your credit limit is the total amount of money you're allowed to have on your balance when it closes each month). So if you have a credit card with a $1,000 and you have a balance of $800 on it on your closing date it looks bad. If you have a balance of $90 on it on your closing date it looks great. I pay mine off every week or two and try to keep my closing balance under 5% of the total credit limit.
Finally, don't be afraid of having a high credit limit. It may seem counter intuitive but my understanding is that having a high limit shows credit agencies that your trustworthy with a lot of money (assuming you're spending properly and not carrying a balance). And if you don't get a huge line of credit right out of the gate, that's fine. You can always request a higher limit once you've established a relationship with the credit card company. My advice about having a high credit limit might not be true if you're looking to make other large purchases (like a home) so double check me on that before you ask for 100k in credit haha.
no this is absolutely true. it's why opening multiple credit cards can be a good thing - as long as you keep a low balance on closing date. the more overall credit you have is a factor in your score. Especially because it can create a lower "percentage of credit used." It actually helped my credit to open up a few cards after we got a mortgage and a car payment because then our loan balances were a lower % of our credit limits.
as far as helping your credit, whatever you do keep your first credit card open. The length of your credit history is a big factor. I still have a really basic, intro credit card I got in college and I'll never close it because it's been open for so long. If you don't have any credit cards, it may be best to open a fee-free one first even if it doesn't have the best benefits, because you can just leave it open forever to create a longer credit history without accruing annual fees- or double check that you can downgrade to the no annual fee version of the card. but, don't necessarily be turned off by annual fees either. many companies have free and paid options, and in some cases the fee will pay for itself through rewards/points. With my AMEX as long as I average like $30 a week in groceries it pays for itself, and that's not hard to do.
Look around for new cardmember offers too. I churn through quite a few cards to take advantage of these. I have found that AMEX and Discover have the best customer service by far. Citi overall just kinda sucks, customer service-wise and card selection/rewards. check out thepointsguy.com and it has good info about rewards and comparing different benefits.