It is unfortunate but true that we are not credit card savvy. Our saga of mistakes (blunders) started with a GM Master Card followed by a Discover Card some years ago. The GM Master Card earned us 5% cash reward that could be applied towards the purchase of a new GM car. The closest we ever considered was a Saturn in the 2000 timeframe when it was marketed as a new benefit. Ultimately, we never got around to buying a GM car and so all that accumulated rewards were for naught. The tiered rewards and the fact that not all places accepted the Discover Card sealed its fate.
Replacing the GM Master Card, was the Chase-Amazon Visa card that offered 3% rewards for Amazon purchases and 1% for everything else. The reward is immediate and since we frequent Amazon.com, the switch panned out.
We are regulars at Costco and used their basic card with American Express called the Cash Rebate Card. That card offers a tiered cash reward program that can be used towards Costco purchases. The tiered program is just 0.25% for the first $2000, 0.5% for the next $3000, and 1.5% for the amount over $5000 in purchases. Our rewards for last year added up to about 0.85% and our total purchases were about $500/month.
What we failed to recognize until recently was the fact that switching to an Amex-Costco True Earnings would have realized us far better cash back – 3% in restaurants and gas, 2% in travel, and 1% on everything else. Further, given our level of spending at Costco, an executive membership made better financial sense. Executive membership costs the consumer $100 instead of the $50 in membership fee. Purchases at Costco, are eligible for a 2% cash reward that can be applied towards Costco purchases. Executive membership wins hand down should your annual purchases at Costco adds up to $2500 or more. This is in addition to the rewards that one might get from the Amex card. Needless to say that by failing to grasp this latter fact we missed out our due on rewards cash.
Summary:
Till now our plan was to use Amex-Costco cash rebate card for Costco purchases and to use the Amazon-Chase Visa card for all other purchases. This combination realized us a reward level of slightly less than 1% on Costco purchases, 3% on Amazon purchases, and 1% on all other purchases. Below is a table that summarizes our new plan to use credit cards to maximize rewards:
· *Visa will be used at restaurants that do not accept Amex to obtain the standard 1%.
This combination along with switching to Costco Executive membership should enable us to take in significant rewards this year. We will revisit this strategy annually and see how we did and adjust as necessary as we move forward.
Related Posts:
1. Amazon.com Customer Service – Jeff Bezos backtracks on 30-day price guarantee policy!.
Last Updated: 12/2011.
Replacing the GM Master Card, was the Chase-Amazon Visa card that offered 3% rewards for Amazon purchases and 1% for everything else. The reward is immediate and since we frequent Amazon.com, the switch panned out.
We are regulars at Costco and used their basic card with American Express called the Cash Rebate Card. That card offers a tiered cash reward program that can be used towards Costco purchases. The tiered program is just 0.25% for the first $2000, 0.5% for the next $3000, and 1.5% for the amount over $5000 in purchases. Our rewards for last year added up to about 0.85% and our total purchases were about $500/month.
What we failed to recognize until recently was the fact that switching to an Amex-Costco True Earnings would have realized us far better cash back – 3% in restaurants and gas, 2% in travel, and 1% on everything else. Further, given our level of spending at Costco, an executive membership made better financial sense. Executive membership costs the consumer $100 instead of the $50 in membership fee. Purchases at Costco, are eligible for a 2% cash reward that can be applied towards Costco purchases. Executive membership wins hand down should your annual purchases at Costco adds up to $2500 or more. This is in addition to the rewards that one might get from the Amex card. Needless to say that by failing to grasp this latter fact we missed out our due on rewards cash.Summary:
Till now our plan was to use Amex-Costco cash rebate card for Costco purchases and to use the Amazon-Chase Visa card for all other purchases. This combination realized us a reward level of slightly less than 1% on Costco purchases, 3% on Amazon purchases, and 1% on all other purchases. Below is a table that summarizes our new plan to use credit cards to maximize rewards:
| Purchases | Store | Card | Rewards |
| Gas | Costco Gas Station | Amex-Costco True Earnings | 3% |
| Eat-Out | Restaurants | Amex-Costco True Earnings* | 3% |
| Travel | Travel Agent | Amex-Costco True Earnings | 2% |
| Costco | Costco & Costco.com | Amex-Costco True Earnings | 1% |
| Amazon | Amazon.com | Chase-Amazon Visa | 3% |
| All others | N/A | Chase-Amazon Visa | 1% |
This combination along with switching to Costco Executive membership should enable us to take in significant rewards this year. We will revisit this strategy annually and see how we did and adjust as necessary as we move forward.
Related Posts:
1. Amazon.com Customer Service – Jeff Bezos backtracks on 30-day price guarantee policy!.
Last Updated: 12/2011.
1 Comments::
Is there a list of restaurants for this Amex/Costco card? We have it and don't know what restaurants acknowledge it! Thanks....Murbelle
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