<<Forget the frills, bells and whistles, stick with a credit card that
offers the lowest cost of borrowing.>
Generally, using a credit card to borrow will result in you paying the
highest possible interest rate, short of patronizing your local
organized crime folks.

John Cowart

zxcvbob wrote:
- quote -

I didn't know Cabela's had one that paid back. Similar..I'm a big fan of
the REI branded VISA, you get 1% back on all purchases, and you receive
it with your annual REI dividend (REI is an outdoor store organized as a
co-op so you get dividends back on your non-sale purchases). Almost
every dollar I spend flows over that card, and a lot of the climbing
junk in my closet was bought with this "found money." And a canoe, and a
lot of Patagucci stuff I wouldn't think of buying with real money.

You can also get your dividend check as cash instead of spending it at
the store but where's the fun in that?

I think cash-back cars are better deals than the airline miles ones.
When you factor in in the annual fees typically charged on the airline
cards, the shrinking number of seats allocated to those mileage tickets,
and the deals you can usually find on tickets on the internet, I'll take
the cash.

-Tad

- quote -

Hey, Bob, the first time I ever saw a Cabella's card was at work last year
when 14 out-of-state hunters came in to get fishing/hunting licenses and
bear tags. They looked like they were going to have too much fun to ever get
near a bear, but they sure were spending on that card and they obviously
were using the rewards.

Elizabeth Richardson

nospam wrote:

- quote -


I stopped using my GM card for the most part because I'm unlikely to
ever buy a /new/ vehicle again. The card has just over $1600 worth of
points that will probably go unused.

I put most of my purchases on a Cabela's Club VISA card that pays 1%
back (sometimes 2%) in discounts at Cabelas sporting goods store. Plus,
because I'm in the program, Cabela's sends me $10, $20, and sometimes
more in coupons and special discounts every couple of months. By
stacking several discounts and coupons and using about $30 in points, I
saved over $100 on a $250 purchase right after Chrismas.

No fees for the card, and I pay the balance off every month (I'm not
even sure what the interest rate is because I don't pay interest.) You
can use the points at any time without having to wait for them to
accumulate to some magic multiple of 1000.

If you spend much money at all on sporting goods, it's the best "cash
back" credit card that I've found -- unless you are saving for a GM
vehicle; in that case the GM card wins.

Bob

"Leigh Menconi" wrote:

- quote -

None of the ones I use have a fee.

"nospam" <nospam[at]atall.xatt.net> wrote in message
news:5aoOf.502861$qk4.136535[at]bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
- quote -

Are they all fee-free? I stopped using the airline reward cards because of
the annual fees. Hadn't thought of having more than one citibank card.
Thanks for the tip!

Leigh

"$cott" <ezmortgageloanz[at]aol.com> wrote in message
news:1141541855.059442.309790[at]j33g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
- quote -

If you pay your balance in full every month, it really doesn't matter what
the advertised interest rate is. You don't have to pay it.

Elizabeth Richardson

Dave wrote:
- quote -

RESPONSE: Continue to use these cards in moderation and paying the
balance in full when you use it. Keep these positive credit accounts
open to maintain/improve your credit scores.

- quote -

RESPONSE: Don't select a credit card based upon rewards; what reward
is it getting cash back from a credit card issuer that might be
charging you a higher compound interest rate? Forget the frills, bells
and whistles, stick with a credit card that offers the lowest cost of
borrowing.

Regards,

Scott Miller
Commercial and Residential Lender/Broker

www.RealEstate-IQ.com
www.EZMortgageLoanz.com

"Leigh Menconi" wrote:

- quote -

It does, but Citi will be glad to issue you more than one. I have four - 2
of the Dividend Platinum Select ones and 2 AT&T Universal Cash Rewards. All
of them are the 5%/1% variety. When I hit the annual rebate max on one, I
put it away and switch to the next card. Since I use them for everything
from groceries to utility bills to property taxes, I'll usually max out the
annual rebate for all four of them in a year. If that happens, my fifth and
fallback card is the Chase Freedom one - 3% on gas/1% for everything else.

Balance paid in full every month, of course, so that no interest gets paid
out.

For anyone who has control over their spending, it's an easy way to reduce
their expenses by $300-1200+.

I think the Citibank card has a 300 max dividend per year. I put mine away
last year after we hit that mark, haven't taken it out again. It's in the
mice-type in the CC agreement.

Leigh

"Dave" <apophis_93[at]yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:3pt602d02j7d06i69ccvc9nmklil7h89o1[at]4ax.com...
- quote -

Dave wrote:
- quote -

Congratulations! I hope you will be able to maintain the zero balance
for the rest of your life.

- quote -

Just one caveat here is to not get carried away with trying to maximize
your cash rewards. If the temptation of the cash rewards lures you into
buying things that you wouldn't normally have, then that works against
you. (I don't really need this TV, but geez, I'd be getting $20 back in
rewards!) Another note is that the EE savings bonds only cost half
their face value. So the BondRewards % is really only half of what is
stated.

In the last six months I've done four things to greatly improve my
financial situation!

1. Paid off my credit cards FINALLY!

2. Citi Dividend Card
Since there's now good cash 'Dividend' credit cards, I use a Citi
Dividend Mastercard. It pays 5% back on purchases made at grocery
stores, drug stores and gas stations. In four months, they are sending
me a check for over a $100!

3. BondRewards.com
Do all my online shopping through http://www.bondrewards.com . They
reward you a percentage of your purchases back in US Savings Bonds.
You shop at popular online stores like, sears.com, target.com, J&R
Music World, Apple, Dell, plus many other popular and specialty sites.
My fave online stores are J&R Music World and Musicians Friend. J&R
pays a high 5% reward. I just bought a Nikon SLR and a printer and got
enough for my first $50 US Bond. If your ordering office supplies for
work at say, officemax.com , do it through bondrewards.com. The 4%
reward will add up to a tidy sum for you! It's patriotic and you save
as you spend. Use your Dividend card and double dip your rewards!

4. High Interest savings account - INGDirect.com
I love INGDirect ! Look for the orange ball. They pay far higher
interest than banks. Currently 3.75% for a liquid cash account. No
fees! They currently have a 4.75% intro offer. CDs too! You do all
transactions over the Internet. They are also opening banking Cafe's
in several US cities. Can't wait until they open one in the SF Bay
Area.

So far this year, I've earned over $400 dollars in cash rewards and a
$100 in savings bonds just by changing a few habits. Next year I'll
probably double both these figures as well as earning interest from my
savings account.