Beware "pay at the pump"

[Larry]

what sort of beni's do people here actually get from their cards? are they worth the trouble of changing cards? and do you have to pay fees ?

In roughly a year and a half, I've accumulated roughly $1,000 in "points" that I can spend on pretty much anything that says "Disney" on it.

It cost me nothing.

(Well, there's some aggravation. My other cards have credit limits like $30,000. For some reason, my Disney card has a limit of $1,000, and they will not permit me to pay it in advance. I have to use the card, wait three days for the charge to post to the account, then pay it. Means that I have to pay off my card roughly every five days.)

[techboy]

what sort of beni's do people here actually get from their cards? are they worth the trouble of changing cards? and do you have to pay fees ?

My Schwab Visa (currently not available to new customers) pays a straight 2% cash back on all purchases, and has no annual fee.

My Starwood American Express has a $45 annual fee, waived the first year, and gives me one starpoint per dollar spent. This is useful because they can be transferred in blocks of 20,000 starpoints for 25,000 miles on many airlines, and I use them for international premium class tickets that would cost thousands of dollars each (not that I would ever pay that much), so that's worth a lot to me (though not as much if one does not travel, obviously). If you go that route, make sure to apply quickly, as they have an amazing deal right now where you get 30,000 points as a bonus (expires at the end of the month).

There are lots of other award cards out there, and it's fairly easy to get at minimum 1% cash back. No offense to Larry, but proprietary programs generally aren't as good, because redemptions are limited, and you can usually use the cash from a cash back card to buy as much or more of whatever the prize is, with added flexibility.

The downside to rewards cards generally is that they have higher interest rates, so they suck for people that carry a balance, but I don't.

For people that don't carry a balance, it's fairly easy to earn over $1000 in cash or prizes (tell them what they've won! :pfft:) each year.

What Credit Card Should I Get ? FAQ is a sticky thread at Fatwallet Finance that can get you started, and that forum is also an excellent place to find the latest deals.

[techboy]

For some reason, my Disney card has a limit of $1,000, and they will not permit me to pay it in advance.

Chase used to allow easy reallocation between cards, which is how my wife and I each managed to get cards with a $35,000 limit on teacher's salaries. They cut mine back, but hers is still around.

Sadly, they don't do that anymore (for obvious reasons), but you could probably ask them for a credit line increase, especially if you've got a year plus history of responsible and heavy usage.

[Mickalino]

Does anyone know which gas stations in Gainsville? I use the exxon one on rt 29 heading to charlottesville in the past

Gainesville, Florida.

Home of the Gators.

He asked which gas stations, not which Gainesville

[Sandman69]

He asked which gas stations, not which Gainesville

Correct, however the gas stations he is worrying about are in Gainesville, VA, not Gainesville, FL. So his response was valid.

There wasn't a problem with the Exxon on rte 29, since it is in a different state that where these happened.

[Mickalino]

Correct, however the gas stations he is worrying about are in Gainesville, VA, not Gainesville, FL. So his response was valid.

There wasn't a problem with the Exxon on rte 29, since it is in a different state that where these happened.

:doh: :dunce: :doh1: