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Bank of America Cash Rewards Card.

FreeFlyNole

Seminole Insider
Jan 2, 2008
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Does anyone have this card, I think it's a pretty good deal.

It gives you 1% on all purchases, 2% on groceries, and 3% on Gas.

If you keep $50K combined in your checking / savings they give you a 50% bonus on that, which makes it 1.5% / 3% and 4.5%.

I spend about $10k a month (I use my card for work travel) and got a $1000 rebate this quarter. A $4k return on $50K in a year is pretty damn good, especially for how low risk it is.

And I think because it is a rebate (giving you money back you spent) you don't have to pay taxes on it. Can any of you CPA types tell me if that's right?
 
I have it and use it for groceries and gas. I have a couple other cards that have changing categories that give 5% rebate, so I use them on those categories. I use Capital One Quicksilver on all other purchases with a 1.5% rebate.

They are rebates on purchases so generally not taxable income.
 
I have a Amex that i get 2% on everything - deposits the cash into my Fidelity brokerage account, and from there i can transfer to my bank account. no fee.

For non-amex, I have a Capital One Venture card that gives me 2%. I can get cash, but i have to wait until i have travel expenses and then i do the purchase eraser. otherwise, its 1%.
 
Is the grocery cash back capped? That sounds like amex blue, but I get capped at $600 cash back a year. Does it have a yearly fee?

the 50k doesn't seem like a great deal. I'm sure money could be better in a higher yielding account.
 
No fee. In my case, I have the cash in a money market savings account so it's earning 1.3 percent also. So if you add that to the fact that you get these rebates with no tax consequences it's equivalent to making a 10/11% rate of return. Again with zero risk.

I don't know, just seems pretty decent. If I wasn't spending so much and paying it off every month on this card I would t consider it
 
I think your math is a bit off. There is no way you are getting 10-11%, it's probably closer to 3% (120k a year and 4k in rebates).

All that said, 3% gas, 2% groceries and 1% everything else with no annual fee is a great deal. With Costco dropping AMEX, I'll probably be in the market for a new card anyway.
 
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Originally posted by given2fly:
I think your math is a bit off. There is no way you are getting 10-11%, it's probably closer to 3% (120k a year and 4k in rebates).

All that said, 3% gas, 2% groceries and 1% everything else with no annual fee is a great deal. With Costco dropping AMEX, I'll probably be in the market for a new card anyway.
I did the math based on the $50k static in the savings account as the capital I was calculating the return on, I get about $4k-$5k in rebates (I do a minimum of $10k a month, and sometimes have big months as much as $25K in a month) plus the 1.3% on the account.

I'm not counting the money I spend in the equasion, as it's not really my money. and it's paid every month so no skin off my back. Im just looking at what I can make for keeping $50K tied up in a savings account vs another investment vehicle.

If I make $5K on it, that's 10% plus the 1.3% that the account pays.

Like I said, it may not work for everyone out there, but for guys who put all their business expenses on a personal card, this is a pretty decent return.
 
Have the money put in a BOA account and get an extra 10%. You can have it sent to pay the credit card and still qualify for the extra 10%. I like that card. Have had it for 10+ years.
Posted from Rivals Mobile
 
I use Amex Blue cash preferred for 6% on groceries and 3% on gas. Then I use Citi Double Cash card for 2% unlimited on everything else. I don't think there is a better setup.
 
Originally posted by baddnole:
Sun Trust is 5% across the board.
I'm pretty sure that is introductory.

I have a business account with them for my wife's business, and they tried to sell me that but it was a year
 
Originally posted by seminole1992:

Need to keep in mind that these card companies do not lost money on this deal.
I think all credit card companies bank on the fact that you won't pay your bill in total each month.
 
Originally posted by FreeFlyNole:

Originally posted by seminole1992:

Need to keep in mind that these card companies do not lost money on this deal.
I think all credit card companies bank on the fact that you won't pay your bill in total each month.
If you miss once, the balance of power shift back to them. Need to be very careful when flirting with credit card companies.
 
Originally posted by seminole1992:

Need to keep in mind that these card companies do not lost money on this deal.
yes, but that is a side issue. (they get paid from the merchants, and then they make more if you don't pay on time)

the issue is how do you get the best deal for yourself.

anything north of 2% in my experience is either limited to narrow categories like gas or groceries, or capped, or both.

the other hoops they make you jump through is give you some sort of worthless points or they have thresholds where you earn at the good rate only after you spend through a hurdle, then you have a cap., or they have an expensive annual fee.

the cards i listed are good deals without that nonsense.

the only cards i have seen that are better are the hotel cards like Marriott or SPG if you travel a lot and know how to spend the miles for more than 2 cents a mile. Marriott has a card right now that is 70,000 point for signing up, plus 1 free night at a cat1-4 property, and no annual fee the first year. 70,000 pts gest me 2 nights here (Boscolo Budapest):

boscolo_new_york_palace_budapest_meetings_l.jpg
 
Originally posted by Spearhead04:

I use Amex Blue cash preferred for 6% on groceries and 3% on gas. Then I use Citi Double Cash card for 2% unlimited on everything else. I don't think there is a better setup.
Yep. The AmEx Blue Cash Preferred card is excellent. That is my main credit card. Even with the $75 annual fee, that is easily and quickly recouped. I should note that because people were scamming the card on groceries, the 6% is not unlimited anymore! but capped at $6,000. You also get 3% at department stores.
 
Look up the sallie Mae barclaycard.

5% cashback on groceries and gas (only up to $250/month in each category) and 5% cashback on bookstores up to $750/month. Bookstores include Amazon!

Only draw back is the lower caps and $25 cash back bonus after your first purchase (compared to BoAs $100 bonus).
 
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