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Woot. Just got approved for an Amex Blue Preferred $$$$


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We have had our Amex Blue forever, and love it because we get cash back every purchase--3% on groceries, 2% on gas, and 1% on everything else. Just found out about their preferrd card which offers SIX PERCENT back on groceries with no limit and we are approved! :party: we pay our credit card every month, so the rate is not a factor, but wow. I am a happy camper.

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Well, we buy 90% of our groceries at Costco, and they don't take CCs. But I do buy Costco gift cards online with my CC (2% back) and then use my gift cards to purchase groceries (another 2% back with executive membership) so it is close.

 

What I love about our American Express Fidelity card is that it is 2% back on every purchase.

 

Does your new card have a $75 yearly fee?

 

Dawn

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Well, we buy 90% of our groceries at Costco, and they don't take CCs. But I do buy Costco gift cards online with my CC (2% back) and then use my gift cards to purchase groceries (another 2% back with executive membership) so it is close.

 

What I love about our American Express Fidelity card is that it is 2% back on every purchase.

 

Does your new card have a $75 yearly fee?

 

Dawn

 

Costco takes American Express. I dumped Sam's Club for Costco partially for that reason. They don't take Visa/MasterCard but they even have their own branded Amex card.

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Excellent.

Sounds like you are part of the minority for whom these schemes are really worthwhile.

 

I actually don't think it's a scheme. Many excellent budgeting sites have also said that IF youpay off your balance monthly, AND spend more than $25/week on groceries, you will MAKE money. We apply the dollar rewards directly to our balance, so we really do save. (there is a 75 dollar fee, which is why it is only worth it if you spend that or more on groceries-and if you have kids, you probably do! ;))

Edited by Halcyon
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Well, we buy 90% of our groceries at Costco, and they don't take CCs. But I do buy Costco gift cards online with my CC (2% back) and then use my gift cards to purchase groceries (another 2% back with executive membership) so it is close.

 

What I love about our American Express Fidelity card is that it is 2% back on every purchase.

 

Does your new card have a $75 yearly fee?

 

Dawn

 

Yes, it does, so one needs to spend at least $100 a month on groceries (fr example) to make that back. Ummmmm, we do :tongue_smilie:

 

I love your costco idea. Aother idea that i read about online is to buy Visa cards at your grocery store, get the 6% discount on it, and en use the visa at another store, like Home Depot or wherever, that you wouldnt get 6% on normally. I dont know that i will do that, but it is a neat idea.

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We have had our Amex Blue forever, and love it because we get cash back every purchase--3% on groceries, 2% on gas, and 1% on everything else. Just found out about their preferrd card which offers SIX PERCENT back on groceries with no limit and we are approved! :party: we pay our credit card every month, so the rate is not a factor, but wow. I am a happy camper.

 

Cool! One question though. Do you know if they count wholesale clubs as supermarkets getting the 6% cash back or would that be considered an "other" at 1%?? I do most of my shopping at the wholesale club. Thanks. :)

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Cool! One question though. Do you know if they count wholesale clubs as supermarkets getting the 6% cash back or would that be considered an "other" at 1%?? I do most of my shopping at the wholesale club. Thanks. :)

 

Good q. They do NOT count wholesale clubs as regular grocery stores. Hat would be cool, though!

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We have had our Amex Blue forever, and love it because we get cash back every purchase--3% on groceries, 2% on gas, and 1% on everything else. Just found out about their preferrd card which offers SIX PERCENT back on groceries with no limit and we are approved! :party: we pay our credit card every month, so the rate is not a factor, but wow. I am a happy camper.

 

Great amount coming back!

 

Excellent.

Sounds like you are part of the minority for whom these schemes are really worthwhile.

 

:confused: It's up to the individual person to make this work for him. If he chooses to use the credit card despite being able to pay it off each month and ends up owing interest that negates the rewards, it's the person's failure -- not the company. I just don't like calling it a scheme. It's a tool used to make the credit card desirable.

 

Companies offer coupons for the same reason. They are not on a mission to make food less expensive for the masses. Coupons are a tool to get business.

 

We have an Amazon CC. We pay it off monthly because we are buying things we would normally buy, and instead of the money coming out of our checking account, it's on the credit card. When Christmas rolls around, we will have about $600 to spend on Amazon.

 

I was wondering if there are better credit card deals out there. Sounds like there are. :D

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Yes, it does, so one needs to spend at least $100 a month on groceries (fr example) to make that back. Ummmmm, we do :tongue_smilie:

 

I love your costco idea. Aother idea that i read about online is to buy Visa cards at your grocery store, get the 6% discount on it, and en use the visa at another store, like Home Depot or wherever, that you wouldnt get 6% on normally. I dont know that i will do that, but it is a neat idea.

 

We buy Amazon gift cards at Kroger. This earns us Kroger fuel points. Aside from Kroger, we do nearly all our shopping on Amazon, so we buy quite a few gift cards. The purchase also increases our rewards from our Amazon credit card.

 

I do know the rewards aren't as great at Amazon, but we have never had a rewards card before and didn't really shop around. Perhaps we will at some point.

 

Amazon, I believe, is 3 points for everything bought on Amazon, 2 points for fuel and 1 point for the rest.

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We have a Southwest Airlines Rewards card and a Disney Reward card for those same reasons and they work great!! We will have enough points for 3, maybe 4, round trip flights on Southwest next year. Woo hoo!! That's up to $1600 in free tickets, since round trip to Florida is a minimum of $400 per person for us. I put EVERYTHING I buy on the Southwest card. Then, at the end of each week, I pay off the balance...and wait for the reward points to roll in.

 

With the Disney Visa, I get 6 months, no interest, when I book a Disney World vacation. I put the whole $8,000 package on my card, divide the payments by six, and pay it off in full before the interest rate kicks in. Then my vacation is completely paid for before we even go.

 

I love it, and if you're disciplined, it's not a scheme at all. The rewards are real and they're spectacular!! :D

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Cool!

 

We have an Amazon Visa and are using it to buy materials for our house we are building (1% reward). I've also used it to pick up books and whatever we buy off Amazon, which is a decent amount (3% reward) . We pay it off every time we purchase something and get the rewards. The plan is to let the rewards add up while we build and once we're done, we'll have enough to buy all the little necessities for the house, and some fun stuff too! We haven't even poured the basement yet and we already have $300 in rewards. ( Scary and exciting!)

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Well, we buy 90% of our groceries at Costco, and they don't take CCs. But I do buy Costco gift cards online with my CC (2% back) and then use my gift cards to purchase groceries (another 2% back with executive membership) so it is close.

 

What I love about our American Express Fidelity card is that it is 2% back on every purchase.

 

Does your new card have a $75 yearly fee?

 

Dawn

 

Dawn, get a Costco Amex card. I don't think it has an annual fee either. You will get back up to 3% on all your purchases. (sorry, I don't recall the breakdown at the moment.) It is good whereever they take AMEX cards.

Plus you don't have to carry a Costco card and an AMEX card. It works as your membership card too.

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We have a Southwest Airlines Rewards card and a Disney Reward card for those same reasons and they work great!! We will have enough points for 3, maybe 4, round trip flights on Southwest next year. Woo hoo!! That's up to $1600 in free tickets, since round trip to Florida is a minimum of $400 per person for us. I put EVERYTHING I buy on the Southwest card. Then, at the end of each week, I pay off the balance...and wait for the reward points to roll in.

 

With the Disney Visa, I get 6 months, no interest, when I book a Disney World vacation. I put the whole $8,000 package on my card, divide the payments by six, and pay it off in full before the interest rate kicks in. Then my vacation is completely paid for before we even go.

 

I love it, and if you're disciplined, it's not a scheme at all. The rewards are real and they're spectacular!! :D

 

We chose travel rewards too. We have a Hilton Honors Amex and we earn about 35k points a month...enough for one night at an embassy suites hotel in most cities. Each year we are able to book 12-21 nights a year in Hilton properties (depending on specials, VIP bonuses, and tier of hotel or resort) for free each year. Free as in they print off our folio at the end of the stay and it says ZERO. Unless of course, we got a little carried away with the piña coladas by the pool.

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Costco takes American Express. I dumped Sam's Club for Costco partially for that reason. They don't take Visa/MasterCard but they even have their own branded Amex card.

 

I have used my Amex at Sam's. It has been awhile but we have definitely used it for major purchases. I am pretty sure that I have used it at Costco as well.

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Plus you don't have to carry a Costco card and an AMEX card. It works as your membership card too.

 

We have the Costco AMEX card. You get 3% back on gas, 2% on travel and restaurants, and 1% on everything else, with no annual fee. I like it because you can cash in your rewards for the full amount (my VISA has a rewards program but it costs more points for a prepaid debit card than for a store gift card of the same amount).

 

6% sounds amazing though....I wonder how much we would have to spend enough to cover the annual fee...off to do some calculating...

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Well, this inspired me to finally get the Amazon Visa they push at me at every checkout. We don't have debt (except for our mortgage) and have a very specific, written budget. I didn't know about the rewards from Amazon. Considering how much of our monthly budget is spent at Amazon... I think we should end up ahead at the end of the year!

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We have the Costco AMEX card. You get 3% back on gas, 2% on travel and restaurants, and 1% on everything else, with no annual fee. I like it because you can cash in your rewards for the full amount (my VISA has a rewards program but it costs more points for a prepaid debit card than for a store gift card of the same amount).

 

6% sounds amazing though....I wonder how much we would have to spend enough to cover the annual fee...off to do some calculating...

 

Only about $100 a month on groceries. I bet you spend more than that.

 

PM me if you decide to get one--i think we both get a bonus if you do.

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Well, this inspired me to finally get the Amazon Visa they push at me at every checkout. We don't have debt (except for our mortgage) and have a very specific, written budget. I didn't know about the rewards from Amazon. Considering how much of our monthly budget is spent at Amazon... I think we should end up ahead at the end of the year!

 

It can be a boon, really, IF you are diligent about paying off your cc. Plus, it improves your credit rating to have a credit card, again, assuming you pay it off and don't incur late fees.

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I don't know what % we get back but the company doubled rewards just in time for us to purchase furniture and flooring. I use the card for everything and pay it each month. I usually pay for a good portion of our children's Christmas with our cash back. Oh and there is no annual fee.

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Yes, I forgot. DH just got one. But he is the only one on the card.

 

It is good for wherever they use AmEx but all purchases other than Costco are only 1%. Fidelity gives 2% on all purchases everywhere.

 

Dawn

 

Dawn, get a Costco Amex card. I don't think it has an annual fee either. You will get back up to 3% on all your purchases. (sorry, I don't recall the breakdown at the moment.) It is good whereever they take AMEX cards.

Plus you don't have to carry a Costco card and an AMEX card. It works as your membership card too.

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I have used my Amex at Sam's. It has been awhile but we have definitely used it for major purchases. I am pretty sure that I have used it at Costco as well.

 

Really? That's good to know. Sams is closer to us and we had a membership at both for years (some things are better at one store, some at others), but it has been six years or more since we let it lapse).

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I have used my Amex at Sam's. It has been awhile but we have definitely used it for major purchases. I am pretty sure that I have used it at Costco as well.

 

Just Googled it for the definitive answer. Weirdly enough, according to their website Sam's club.com will take AMEX but not the actual Sam's Club. However, Sam's club will take Discover and Mastercard, but not Visa. The Amex thing I think has to do with a contract between Amex and Costco. So I suppose I'll let my membership stay as is.

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:confused: It's up to the individual person to make this work for him. If he chooses to use the credit card despite being able to pay it off each month and ends up owing interest that negates the rewards, it's the person's failure -- not the company. I just don't like calling it a scheme. It's a tool used to make the credit card desirable.

 

Dawn, just a cultural note. In American English the word "scheme" has a negative connotation whereas the word means "plan" (no negativity) in British English. I believe this is how Hotdrink was using the word.

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Well, we buy 90% of our groceries at Costco, and they don't take CCs. But I do buy Costco gift cards online with my CC (2% back) and then use my gift cards to purchase groceries (another 2% back with executive membership) so it is close.

 

Dawn

 

Like the other PPs said, Costco does take Amex. It doesn't have to be their Amex, either. I use my Starwood Preferred Amex there every week. With our little eaters, that's where we do the majority of our grocery shopping.

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Dawn, just a cultural note. In American English the word "scheme" has a negative connotation whereas the word means "plan" (no negativity) in British English. I believe this is how Hotdrink was using the word.

 

Ah, makes sense. :). I always thought the British were better with our language.

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Yes, I forgot. DH just got one. But he is the only one on the card.

 

It is good for wherever they use AmEx but all purchases other than Costco are only 1%. Fidelity gives 2% on all purchases everywhere.

 

Dawn

 

No, that's not true. You get 3% on gas whereever you purchase the gas. You get the 2% on travel and all restaurants and 1% on everything else.

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Just Googled it for the definitive answer. Weirdly enough, according to their website Sam's club.com will take AMEX but not the actual Sam's Club. However, Sam's club will take Discover and Mastercard, but not Visa. The Amex thing I think has to do with a contract between Amex and Costco. So I suppose I'll let my membership stay as is.

 

What a crazy PITA. You think that they would be wanting to get money however they can. We also have memberships at both. We use Sam's more but go to Costco for additional selections of furniture, bedding, holiday items.

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Very cool! Congrats!!

 

Like you, we pay our cards off every month. We have several of them and I have NEVER been charged interest...however, I have collected over $700 in cash (Bank of America Preferred Cash Rewards - not points and Capital One Cash Rewards), 4 free hotel nights (Starwood and Hilton Honors), a round trip flight (Skymiles Am Ex), $60 in Gap clothes (Gap), $120 in gas discounts (Exxon Preferred), and countless coupons (American Eagle and Gap) over the course of the last 9 months. Credit cards can be awful...or they can be a blessing. My credit cards work for me...I am not a slave to them!

 

ETA: on the Sam's note - YEP...we have one Mastercard just for use at Sam's club. So silly that they do not take visa. That is literally ALL for which we use that one card.

Edited by Tree House Academy
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We have a Southwest Airlines Rewards card and a Disney Reward card for those same reasons and they work great!! We will have enough points for 3, maybe 4, round trip flights on Southwest next year. Woo hoo!! That's up to $1600 in free tickets, since round trip to Florida is a minimum of $400 per person for us. I put EVERYTHING I buy on the Southwest card. Then, at the end of each week, I pay off the balance...and wait for the reward points to roll in.

 

With the Disney Visa, I get 6 months, no interest, when I book a Disney World vacation. I put the whole $8,000 package on my card, divide the payments by six, and pay it off in full before the interest rate kicks in. Then my vacation is completely paid for before we even go.

 

I love it, and if you're disciplined, it's not a scheme at all. The rewards are real and they're spectacular!! :D

 

 

We do the Southwest card as well. We get 6-8 plane tickets per year off of it.

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