credit cards suck hardcore. I am likely not going to use my chase card as hardcore now since they raised the rate even more.

My daily driver is my american express evreyday card. While the Apple Card is my 2nd favorite card. I will likely close the Apple Card if Chase ends up getting it.



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credit cards suck hardcore. I am likely not going to use my chase card as hardcore now since they raised the rate even more.

My daily driver is my american express evreyday card. While the Apple
Card is my 2nd favorite card. I will likely close the Apple Card if
Chase ends up getting it.

1ooo% agree with you - they're trying to F us real good! OMG.



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My daily driver is my american express evreyday card. While the Apple
Card is my 2nd favorite card. I will likely close the Apple Card if
Chase ends up getting it.

My reliable friend is Capital One. They've saved my ass on numerous occasions. Fifteen years ago a waitress scammed my number in an airport restaurant. They detected the strange activity, shut down my account and issued me a new card immediately. This has happened at least three times. Their algorithms are good and they have a nice rewards program now so I can get points on purchases not unlike the Chase / Amazon card. It works!


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I've had similar issues with most of the cards I've had over the years. Not really any problem with the rates as much as compromise due to data breaches, or hit & run sales clerk of some sort, but the card I have had the all-time best rates and service with has been my Credit Union. I still have my Alaska Airlines card, and my REI card, but use them each for different reasons.

With ANY card, the smartest thing I feel to do is simply not use it unless you already have the liquid capital to pay it off every month. I simply use my mileage card to pay off large monthly bills, and the others for small stuff where I don't feel like carrying cash.

The points certainly grow when you use the card as a 'middle man' between your cash and your bills.

J..


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With ANY card, the smartest thing I feel to do is simply not use it
unless you already have the liquid capital to pay it off every month. I simply use my mileage card to pay off large monthly bills, and the
others for small stuff where I don't feel like carrying cash.

In my 20s/30s I carried some major credit card debt, i was indeed a serf.


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With ANY card, the smartest thing I feel to do is simply not use it
unless you already have the liquid capital to pay it off every month. I simply use my mileage card to pay off large monthly bills, and the
others for small stuff where I don't feel like carrying cash.

Yep! My goal is good credit and I always pay the cards off completely. Same thing with loans. I bought my Forester August 2020 and had it paid off in under six months. I paid off our first house prior to divorcing my first wife; paid off school loans for myself and my two daughters... several cars etc., and I don't think credit cards like me yet if I want something nobody hesitates to offer me credit. It's a good tool to have....


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1ooo% agree with you - they're trying to F us real good! OMG.

Hm, how? Did something new happen?

Seems like my credit cards have lower percent cashback "deals" than they did before, outside of the regular cashback categories. Other than that, and of course the tracking, I don't see a down side to using CCs within your means and paying them off entirely each month. Just maximize on the rewards, whichever is more important to you (travel points vs cash back or whatever).

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Hi, Phigan.

Seems like my credit cards have lower percent cashback "deals" than they
did before, outside of the regular cashback categories. Other than that,

Rewards cards in the UK have always been crap. My wife and I signed up for a Chase debit card because (aside from paying you and the new customer I think 20 quid each for referrals) they gave 1% cashback on virtually any spending up to 15 quid a month. The wife and I usually hit that every month, mine from work travel and hers from groceries and fuel.

Now they have changed it to only give the 1% on "everyday shopping", i.e. groceries and fuel, so we struggle to get much out of that. Luckily trains count and I use those a fair bit for work.

BobW


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Now they have changed it to only give the 1% on "everyday shopping",
i.e. groceries and fuel, so we struggle to get much out of that. Luckily

Wow! That's crap! The Amazon card (Chase) gives us 5% back on Amazon purchases, 2% back on gas and .. one other thing, and 1% back on everything else. The bank card is similar, with a selectable category for the top cash back tier. Again, 1% back on everything outside of the special categories. Oh, but the Amazon one has a limit and I don't think the bank one does.

You've checked around with other credit card options? Do you have Capital One there? I hear they have shitty rates but good rewards. Shitty rates are fine when you never carry a balance.

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You've checked around with other credit card options? Do you have
Capital One there? I hear they have shitty rates but good rewards.
Shitty rates are fine when you never carry a balance.

We do have Capital One here but I think they mostly do rip off cards for people with bad credit records. There are some about that do rewards but they're mostly rubbish, the best is usually AMEX but even then it's not great and they are notorious for pulling your pants down if you're not incredibly careful about paying it off - plus a lot of places won't take it.

I think AMEX did a 5% cashback card but you had to pay for it and that was pretty stand-out against the UK market. I might have a look later and see what's going on. I think the average balance on credit cards is a little lower in the UK than the US, though we have to be catching up fast at the moment.

I've never taken on debt, same as my parents and grandparents, but seemingly that's odd these days. Seems to me that when my parents couldn't afford to feed us when I was little they just made do. Nowadays people are happy to borrow so they can upgrade from a 55" TV to a 60", or to go on holidays.

Klarna and friends really worry me - as if it's not bad enough form to pay someone to go and fetch your junk food, now you can spread the cost over 4 payments as well. We really are doomed as a species.

BobW


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We do have Capital One here but I think they mostly do rip off cards for people with bad credit records. There are some about that do rewards but they're mostly rubbish, the best is usually AMEX but even then it's not great and they are notorious for pulling your pants down if you're not incredibly careful about paying it off - plus a lot of places won't take it.

The UK does not have the interchange fees that help subsidize credit card rewards in the states.


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Hi, U.G.

The UK does not have the interchange fees that help subsidize credit
card rewards in the states.

I am reading here that we do... but it's a maximum of 0.3%. There are half a dozen other fees the retailer may have to pay depending on who they take their card terminal from, accounting for another few percent. I'm sure there's plenty of cash sloshing around in the system but not really enough to give the end user a convincing slice.

On the other hand I do quite well out of cashback sites - there's one which is paid membership (though you can get that waived provided you spend each month at the retailer who introduced you to the scheme. It sounds scammy and it looks *super* scammy but it is pretty great. Got 10% cashback on a foreign holiday I booked earlier in the year - or I would have, but it put me over my 250GBP per month maximum credit.

We have been putting all the cashback into a savings account for 2 or 3 years now and are planning to take a holiday with it at some point.

BobW


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