Fast Running Blog

My Bank of America credit card may now come with an annual fee.  I guess it's not enough for them to charge the vendors 1-3% of my purchases.  They need more money to pay some seriously huge bonuses.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/credit/2009-10-13-bank-of-america-rewards-card-charges_N.htm?obref=obinsite

So does anyone have a credit card they suggest I switch to?  I have a debit card, but I think a credit card is a good way to rack up cash back (right now I get 1% back and pay no fees) and maintain a good credit history.

We could do a Costco-AMEX but Amex isn't accepted everywhere.  I guess I could just use my debit card where Amex isn't accepted.  But it'd be annoying/embarrassing to be told by some vendors it is not accepted if I whip out my Amex card without thinking.

Any other suggestions?

We love American Express. They go the extra mile whenever any problem arises. It is a pain that some places don't take AmEx, but I think it is completely worth it. AmEx still treats their customers as valuable assets, rather than a pain in their side (like so many other companies do thise days).

I have a Citibank Dividend card- no fee, cash back.

From what I've read, there are many debit cards now that are starting to use some sort of  rewards system. You may want to look into that.

Chase does a rewards card. You do have to pay an annual fee to get it tough. I think it is $25. It also used to be that some places (car rentals, airlines) wouldn't take a debit card, but that is changing as visa and mastercard have pushed their debit cards more and more.

I have a Chase rewards (mastercard) with no annual fee.  1% cash back (redeemed in $50 chunks).  It used to give 3% on gas too until they cut that. 

Here's a good one as well:  http://www.chasefreedomnow.com/ , 1% back on everything, 3% back on rotating categories (gas, supermarket, etc.), no annual fee, and $50 for signing up. 

I'm like you Michelle, and would rather not get an AMEX card.  For people who do, there is a Fidelity card that gives you 2% back on everything in the form of a deposit to a retirement account (so, basically 0% after the next market crash!!).  No annual fee on it, but you do have to have a Fidelity account. 

I too like Jon have the Citibank DIVIDEND card (a Visa), and haven't had any problems. Have used it for over a year now and have got over 180 bucks back in cash! Which means that Citibank has paid for 3-4 people to eat at my wedding next year! Woohoo!

If you fed people McDonalds it would be more like 30 people if you do value meals or 45 if you let them choose 4 things off the dollar menu  ;D