Seeking CC help/suggestions - Specific conditions

[glitch99]

@pattyb53

I use PayPal when I order something online. I find that this is the easy way to pay, rather than getting out my credit card and filling out the info. PayPal has my cc info handy & ready to go.

shinobi, I have used PayPal for years. But you talk about using Synchrony Bank as a way to gain a PayPal cc. I wonder if the idea that you have used PayPal as I have would qualify me for a PP credit card.

Synchrony Bank issues the Paypal credit card, like they do for a number of co-branded cards. Yes, you can apply for it if you have a Paypal account.

[shinobi]

@glitch99

If you pull payments to the card from an external account, after 2-4 payments that account will become eligible for rewards to be redeemed into. You also need to keep pulling occasional payments from that account, for the account to remain as a redemption option.

Good post and helpful to others. Not an option for me the way I’m doing things. I pay using my Alliant checking account and Alliant bill pay. Nobody is getting my Alliant checking account number.

Funny, this same thing came up with Discover. I made a special payment to them just today so I could activate one of my other checking accounts to receive rewards payments. They told me I would have to renew every seven months. Dunno yet if it even will work They were uncertain so I decided to experiment. We shall see next month.

[shinobi]

@pattyb53

I wonder if the idea that you have used PayPal as I have would qualify me for a PP credit card.

glitch99 is correct as usual. Yeah, all you need is PayPal membership and you can apply for their card. It’s not gonna be a big deal for you if you want the card. Synchrony Bank will each month, upon your command, send your rewards to PayPal. From there you can order the money to be sent, via ACH, to any account you want with no hassles. And as I posted, above, they do a really efficient job of getting your rewards money out to you quickly.

[Honkinggoose]

@shinobi

Credit to PayPal for delivering my money so quickly. They could not have provided me better service.

Someone please memorialize this. We won’t see it again.

[qcumber98]

@shinobi

With Citi there is no option to route the reward to an account of your choice.

I’ve always had my rewards direct deposited to my BOA checking account.

[shinobi]

Understood. Yes, glitch99 covered this in his post up thread.

Thing is, I choose not to receive my rewards in the same account I use to pay Citi.

It’s a similar situation at Discover, except they are less strict than Citi. I just did a payment to Discover from my “receive rewards” account in hope it will allow them to deposit rewards there for the next seven months. Am not certain at all this will work and will not know, one way or the other, until early September.

[meed18]

@shinobi

Thing is, I choose not to receive my rewards in the same account I use to pay Citi.

I’ve heard of credit cards companies clawing back rewards, but never heard of them clawing them back AFTER they have already paid them out. If they tried to do an ACH pull from an account in which you only gave them the permission to ACH push, that would be a big legal no-no. Why are you worried about that?

[shinobi]

@meed18

I’ve heard of credit cards companies clawing back rewards, but never heard of them clawing them back AFTER they have already paid them out. If they tried to do an ACH pull from an account in which you only gave them the permission to ACH push, that would be a big legal no-no. Why are you worried about that?

No disagreement. I’m receiving rewards from a number of different directions. Where possible I try to direct all the money to the same account. This just make it easier for me to total things up. Really, clawbacks never even occurred to me.

That said, I also use my variety of accounts to lower visibility of what I’m doing. I suspect that’s not unusual and that everyone else does the same thing. It just makes what I’m about a little less obvious to any particular individual financial institution. And it costs nothing . . . or almost nothing.

[shinobi]

For MasterCard across-the-board rewards aficionados like me (you people know who you are ), here are the best I can find with no annual fee. Order here is best first:

1. Tie. Obviously Citi DoubleCash and PayPal. No others can offer you 2%.

2. Citizens Bank cash back plus World MasterCard. Not bad at all at 1.8%. Respectable and profitable.

3. Dollar Bank Rewards MasterCard. This card offers a 1.25% reward.

4. Tie. Barclaycard World MasterCard and Bank of America cash rewards World MasterCard, sometimes know by its nickname the “1-2-3” card.

Notes:

There may well be other MasterCards at 1% which are unknown to me. I can make money at 1% but, frankly and obviously, I prefer the MasterCards with larger rewards. I do own and regularly use the cards listed at #4. Both are good cards and I have nothing negative to say about either card, except that the reward is minimal.

Actually I have all of the above-listed cards with the exception of #3. Definitely am considering applying for that card.

Dishonorable mention:

Not listed above because it features a $39 annual fee is the Capital One QuicksilverOne MasterCard. Look, Citi and PayPal and Citizens Bank can offer us MasterCards with a higher reward than 1.5% and no annual fee. So exactly what is Capital One’s problem with at least dropping the annual fee for their MasterCard that only offers a 1.5% reward?!

Capital One: bunch of cheapskates

ETA

OK, sorry. I just read the fine print on the #3 Dollar Bank deal above mentioned. It’s a squirrely deal where you only are allowed to collect your rewards twice each year! I probably should not have posted on a card I do not actually own.

[scripta]

@shinobi

$39 annual fee is the Capital One QuicksilverOne MasterCard. Look, Citi and PayPal and Citizens Bank can offer us MasterCards with a higher reward than 1.5% and no annual fee. So exactly what is Capital One’s problem with at least dropping the annual fee for their MasterCard that only offers a 1.5% reward?!

Capital One: bunch of cheapskates

CapOne has different cards depending on your credit. They refer to it as “Credit Level” right on the website. The AF cards like QuicksilverOne are for people with “average credit”. Quicksilver is 1.5% no-AF Visa for “excellent credit”. Perhaps they distinguish the two by having them on different networks. Or maybe they have the ability to issue any card on any network. Did you ask?

[shinobi]

@scripta

Did you ask?

No, but it is worth a try and I appreciate the suggestion. And you are right about the different credit levels. I saw that, too, but did not dig deep. Thanks

Finding MasterCard credit with high rewards percentage across the board is a tough nut to crack.

[SpeedingLunatic]

Doesn’t C1 have a $59 AF 2% visa?

Doesn’t help on the MC side, but a decent product nonetheless.

[shinobi]

@SpeedingLunatic

Doesn’t C1 have a $59 AF 2% visa?

Capital one offers their QuickSilver card with a 1.5% reward rate, no annual fee, and a $200 bonus!

However, sadly for me, it is a Visa card.

Gotta admit, though: that is a tough card to pass up.

Have not run across their 2% card.

[shinobi]

@qcumber98

Bad: The $150 signup bonus can be redeemed for cash but only to a HSBC Checking/Savings account.

Thank you, qcumber98 for that valuable heads up.

I did not mention HSBC in my summary (see just a bit up thread) because I had forgotten about them. I also panned HSBC, which I do not like one bit, far up thread, back nearer to the time qcumber98 posted this.

That was then. This is now.

The HSBC base card is a MasterCard with a 1.5% reward and no annual fee. I’m in no position to quibble at this point about losing $150 seeing as 1.5% reward mastercards with no annual fee are not at all easy to locate.

If HSBC facilitates rewards collection for this card I might just apply for it. Means if they do not force me to open an account or if they offer a free, no strings, checking account as does (for example) Bank of America.

The thought of doing business again at HSBC make me wanna puke. No question this card is bottom of the 1.5% reward MasterCard barrel. But the bottom of the barrel is still inside the 1.5% barrel nevertheless and things are getting pretty desperate.

ETA

After checking, HSBC does not offer free checking. So only way to collect your rewards here is via a statement credit . . . unless you want to pay checking account fees.

[SpeedingLunatic]

Correcting myself here, $95 not $59. Decent card though.

https://www.capitalone.com/small-business/credit-cards/spark-cash/

Again, not a MasterCard, but just commenting that C1 has some decent CC products.

[shinobi]

Yeah. But business cards have special requirements, i.e., you have to have a business. I do not qualify for a business credit card.

[shinobi]

OK, back to MasterCards and to HSBC in particular:

Researching the HSBC Mastercard, it is a very strange card. The card has a variable rewards rate! In order to realize the full 1.5% reward you must cash in at least $50 worth of rewards. Also, rewards must be cashed in in $50 increments. However, the rep did say that the $150 bonus is permitted to be applied as a statement credit.

And for those, like me, without an HSBC checking account, the only rewards option is a statement credit.

All told I guess I can live with terms like the above. But those HSBC terms are far less favorable for cardholders than the terms of other rewards MasterCards.

[gremln007]

@shinobi

Yeah. But business cards have special requirements, i.e., you have to have a business. I do not qualify for a business credit card.

@shinobi, This is not really true. I have opened a few business cards lately (with Chase). You can be a sole proprietor in most states under your SSN. It also takes about 37 seconds to establish an EIN with the IRS. If you google about business cards on some of the usual blogs, you will get more info. I am sure others on this thread can help as well.

[shinobi]

I intend no disrespect and I understand such a decision on your part and that it works for you. I also do not question that a person likely might be able to do as you stated.

But misrepresenting myself as a business, or being in business, is not something I would do. I always go with my gut. And my gut says that (for me) this is not prudent.

Instead I’m working hard to locate cards for which I can apply as an individual.

War story:

You know, it’s funny. More than thirty years ago I “sort of” had a “business” selling firewood. It gave me some very short lived federal tax benefits back at that time. I actually came up with a name for my “business”, which even made the D & B listings back then . . . . before I dropped it like a hot potato so the state tax bloodhounds - and God only knows who else - would not start sniffing around my action.

[shinobi]

Well finally pulled the trigger on another new card. Went with HSBC because:

1. It’s a MasterCard

2. $150 bonus (cost me $50 as compared with Cap One Quicksilver Visa) - worth it to get the MasterCard

3. 1.5% reward plus annual (not paid until one year is up) 10% bonus for a total of 1.65% reward if I can get the bonus

4. No annual fee

HSBC gave me instant approval with a line large enough to where I will be able to work with it. Gotta say this has been a very tough decision process for me but I am really happy to have garnered yet another MasterCard.

I pretty much decided to apply for two cards since I could not make up my mind or perceive clearly the best course forward. However, now that I have this HSBC card I feel pretty good about things, a weight has been lifted, and I may wait another month before applying for the second card.

Course it’s too early to know how this will work out, but right now am happy camper. If this card ends up functioning OK it will significantly increase my income.

MasterCards totally ROCK!!