2 ms·

From my perspective, SPG was the best rewards card of 2007. It's the best overall rewards offered by American Express, but there are better cards. It, of course

From my perspective, SPG was the best rewards card of 2007. It's the best overall rewards offered by American Express, but there are better cards. It, of course, depends on your spending habits but off the top of my head, I'd opt for Citi Prestige or Chase Sapphire over SPG. Besides, people who want to maximize rewards will specialize. BCP for 6% back on groceries, Sallie Mae for 5% on Amazon and Gas (discontinued), Prestige for 5% back on travel, Ink for 5% back on utilities, Discover and Freedom for their rotating 5% categories and great online cashback, and finally something like Citi DoubleCash for 2% on everything else. A single general-purpose card can't compete with a stable of specialists. And if somebody lacks the spending to support ROI on several cards including some with annual fees, that person is not the lucrative VIP you're after.

x0x0 11y ago
If you missed that sallie mae card, you can get amazon's house card for a flat 5% statement credit directly applied each statement. It's zero hassle. There's no reason to choose the 3% amazon chase card. Also, I simply can't figure out how amex makes money on the bcp. I hit the full $6k of groceries and just use it for groceries and gas.
- thedufer 11y ago
  The 5% statement credit on the Amazon card is only for Prime members, so if you're not already one that could be a big reason to stick with the 3%.
- ikeboy 11y ago
  Only if you have prime.
  - x0x0 11y ago
    oops, you're totally right, but if you have the level of amazon spending that justifies prime, this basically makes prime free at the price of remembering to pay that card off one a month...
    - ikeboy 11y ago
      An extra 2% cashback means you need $5000 a year to justify it. However, both Discover and Chase Freedom occasionally have a 5% quarter for Amazon (freedom had 10% last 4Q for a few weeks), limit $5000, so you really need to be spending more to justify it. Edit: also, anyone using a credit card should have autopayments set up. Unless you're extremely organized and have a good reason to do otherwise.
      - _delirium 11y ago
        I don't like autopayments, because I need to log in at least once a month to check my statement anyway, to make sure there are no unauthorized charges (or restaurants charging the wrong amount, etc.). Once I check the statement, then I pay. As an added bonus, the payment status (is the statement balance $0?) serves as a flag to tell me whether I've checked this month's statement yet.
        ikeboy 11y ago
        You can still use it as a failsafe. Schedule it to kick in on the last possible day, that way if you pay earlier nothing happens, but if you forget there aren't fees and negatives on your report. Or just have them send emails for new statements, and don't archive/delete the email until you've looked through the transactions.
      - x0x0 11y ago
        If you spend roughly 2-3k like I do, you can view it as a 50% discount on prime. And the discount can be increased if you accept their $1 credits (per item if you check them out individually) for not using 2 day shipping for stuff that isn't urgent, which can now be spent on kindle books too... Setting up autopayments to pay the minimum on the day before it's due is definitely worth doing just in case anything slips your mind.
- encoderer 11y ago
  I don't know, but I do know that in my pocket my wallet is a simple iphone sleeve and I keep my ID, transit card, and only 2 credit cards -- and BCP is one of them. The giant credit line and secondary benefits like roadside assistance just gives me a peace of mind in American Express. A friend once needed an air ambulance in central america and the pilot wouldn't fly without guarantee of payment -- Amex approved a $30k authorization over the phone with the pilot on his PRG. Also, they've always been on my side in disputes. I had an issue with Stamps.com, i was busy, i waited months to resolve it, i didn't ask for it all to be refunded but it just was. I imagine that brand loyalty will be worth it for Amex in the long run, but i'm certainly coming out ahead for now.

x0x0 11y ago

If you missed that sallie mae card, you can get amazon's house card for a flat 5% statement credit directly applied each statement. It's zero hassle. There's no reason to choose the 3% amazon chase card. Also, I simply can't figure out how amex makes money on the bcp. I hit the full $6k of groceries and just use it for groceries and gas.

thedufer 11y ago
The 5% statement credit on the Amazon card is only for Prime members, so if you're not already one that could be a big reason to stick with the 3%.
ikeboy 11y ago
Only if you have prime.
- x0x0 11y ago
  oops, you're totally right, but if you have the level of amazon spending that justifies prime, this basically makes prime free at the price of remembering to pay that card off one a month...
  - ikeboy 11y ago
    An extra 2% cashback means you need $5000 a year to justify it. However, both Discover and Chase Freedom occasionally have a 5% quarter for Amazon (freedom had 10% last 4Q for a few weeks), limit $5000, so you really need to be spending more to justify it. Edit: also, anyone using a credit card should have autopayments set up. Unless you're extremely organized and have a good reason to do otherwise.
    - _delirium 11y ago
      I don't like autopayments, because I need to log in at least once a month to check my statement anyway, to make sure there are no unauthorized charges (or restaurants charging the wrong amount, etc.). Once I check the statement, then I pay. As an added bonus, the payment status (is the statement balance $0?) serves as a flag to tell me whether I've checked this month's statement yet.
      - ikeboy 11y ago
        You can still use it as a failsafe. Schedule it to kick in on the last possible day, that way if you pay earlier nothing happens, but if you forget there aren't fees and negatives on your report. Or just have them send emails for new statements, and don't archive/delete the email until you've looked through the transactions.
    - x0x0 11y ago
      If you spend roughly 2-3k like I do, you can view it as a 50% discount on prime. And the discount can be increased if you accept their $1 credits (per item if you check them out individually) for not using 2 day shipping for stuff that isn't urgent, which can now be spent on kindle books too... Setting up autopayments to pay the minimum on the day before it's due is definitely worth doing just in case anything slips your mind.
encoderer 11y ago
I don't know, but I do know that in my pocket my wallet is a simple iphone sleeve and I keep my ID, transit card, and only 2 credit cards -- and BCP is one of them. The giant credit line and secondary benefits like roadside assistance just gives me a peace of mind in American Express. A friend once needed an air ambulance in central america and the pilot wouldn't fly without guarantee of payment -- Amex approved a $30k authorization over the phone with the pilot on his PRG. Also, they've always been on my side in disputes. I had an issue with Stamps.com, i was busy, i waited months to resolve it, i didn't ask for it all to be refunded but it just was. I imagine that brand loyalty will be worth it for Amex in the long run, but i'm certainly coming out ahead for now.