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What's the best credit card to shop with?

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nootch

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<FONT face="Trebuchet MS"><FONT size="4">There are so many different credit card companies these days, and they're all boasting different benefits. What are you using and why?</FONT s></FONT f>

[Edited by nootch @ April 28, 2000 (edited 3 times)]
 
There are so many options...
You could go with Discover, where you get money back.
You could go with Amex, where you usually have to deal with annual fees and aren't allowed to carry a balance (meaning that you have to pay in full each month).
You can go with Visa or MC, where every card comes from a different bank with different rules and offers.

Personally, I've had a Citibank Visa since college, and it's worked fine. I have the added advantage of having a checking and savings account through Citibank, so I can pay off my Visa bill via electronic transfer from either of my bank accounts.
I just got a Discover, basically for the cash back bonus, and I haven't had too much of a problem. Using it to purchase my computer parts, I've managed to acquire a hefty bonus in only 3 months.

One note: I've noticed that many of the places I order online from don't always accept Discover as a form of payment. Visa is much more widely accepted... Something very important to keep in mind.

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Serendipity is looking for a needle in a haystack and finding the farmer's daughter.
 
S'up Nootch

Lotsa options, but don't forget to check these pages out for special offers.
http://www.visa.com/pr/pr_level2.ghtml?region_id=1&sub_category_id=0&category_id=1
http://www.mastercard.com/exclusives/
http://home3.americanexpress.com/specialoffers/special_offers.asp

The best answer to your question is to use the card that gets you the best deal! And don't forget about frequent flyer miles, which can add up pretty quick, especially if you're lucky enough to travel on an expense account.

Peace, hope this helps

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Confucious say: Jah make herb for man
 
Like they said, so many option, so many choices.

The card that I currently using is the citibank Sony card. You get points for every dollor you spend, or 3 to 5 times for every dollar spent on a sony product. The points are good to use toward getting "free" sony stuff.

Plus the online feature is pretty nice.

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In Hong Kong, he'd be dead.
 
Are there any credit cards where you can view your current and past account detail ONLINE like you can with webcertificate?

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My Citibank, sony card has an online account that lets you see previous statements, and current statements. Really nice when I want to check if a company charged my account.

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In Hong Kong, he'd be dead.
 
Remember to also check their online fraud protection policies.. Some don't have them, others go out of their way to provide you some security in that way.
smile.gif


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^Alien^ -- Alien Soup Administrator / Owner
["Everything was true. God was an alien. Oz really is over the
rainbow. ...and Midian is where the monsters live." -Nightbreed]
 
i like amex blue. no annual fee, low interest rate, view account info. on-line and there's a points/rewards program w/this one. just cancelled first usa visa, as they suck ...

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"It's easier to stay out than get out"
 
I don't like FirstUSA VISA either-- they've made merchant disputes hard for me in the past. They also screwed up
one of my payments and it took 7 calls! to fix it.

I haven't had any problems with Discover.

With both these cards you can easily set up an online account
where you can check your balance, transactions, and pay online.
Again, the FirstUSA site is somewhat buggy. I'm going to cancel that card as soon as I find a good VISA deal elsewhere.
 
and another thing (dammit) - i always mailed my payments to 1st usa like two weeks in advance, but many times it never got credited to my account until a few days after the due date, thus resulting in pesky finance charges ... more money for them i assume ... sneaky ****s ...


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"it's easier to stay out than get out"
 
Well I have a First USA Visa and a Citibank Mastercard that I use for most of my online shopping (when I don't use my Visa Check Card that is) and I'd have to say that each card/company has its own distinct advantages and disadvangates.

For instance.

My First USA card has a 12.9 Fixed APR which wasn't too bad for a college kid back when I was in school and they don't send you very much junk mail, with the exception of checks you can use on your account which I found came in very hand because they let you obtain a lower APR for a few months. But they also, like spider said, had a bad habit of saying that my payment was late even though I sent it in anywhere from 1 to 1 1/2 weeks ahead of the due date which resulted in 2 late fees when I first started using it.

About 6 months ago I got a Citibank Mastercard that has a 9.9 fixed APR which again is pretty **** good, becuase I wanted to transfer my high balance from my Visa over to it and get a 2.9 APR for 6 months so I could do some hard core paying off since I'm out of college and have a real job now. Now where First USA was lousy at processing payments, Citibank is excellent, I can send my payment in 3 days before the due date and it always gets there on time with no hassles and no late fees. They also have really nice online account reporting so I can check out when transactions cleared and stuff with no hassle, and their CS people are usually really nice when I have to call them about something. But like any credit card company they also have their drawbacks, and the one that stands out the most for me is that they are really bad about getting telemarketers calling you for some "free upgrade" or "new card" or "special offer" all the freaking time (i know, i used to be one of those telemarketers) and since I got that card I have noticed that I've been getting about 4x as many telemarketer calls as I used to.

If I were you, I would just get a visa check card from your local bank that withdraws from your checking account to use for your online shopping, because you won't rack up large CC debt (like me
frown.gif
) and you will still get all the nice Visa customer support that you would with a real CC.

Well thats my opinion on the matter, and I just have one parting piece of advise for you. Make sure you can pay off what your put on your CC right away because it does pile up, I know it did for me, and now paying it all back sucks (about one pay check a month for me goes right to Citibank to try and get that thing paid off by the end of the summer).

JD
supergrin.gif


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Anandtech = Staples' ****
 
you don't mind shopping on-line with your debit card? i don't know man, that irks me - i mean, it's your money, not the bank's ... and if somebody got a hold of your number?

i know w/most debit cards, you are usually only responsible for up to $50, but while your disputing it - your still out the money - and what if the rent's due ...

maybe i'm just being paranoid ...

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"it's easier to stay out than get out"

[Edited by spidergoolash @ May 05, 2000 (edited 1 time)]
 
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