{"id":598,"date":"2015-12-14T06:00:51","date_gmt":"2015-12-14T11:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/backtothemouse.com\/index.php\/?p=598"},"modified":"2015-12-10T04:29:11","modified_gmt":"2015-12-10T09:29:11","slug":"advice-question","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/backtothemouse.com\/index.php\/advice-question\/","title":{"rendered":"Advice Question"},"content":{"rendered":"
I got my first blog related question from a friend\/reader the other week.\u00a0 He was fine with sharing the question and the related advice.<\/div>\n
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Question:<\/div>\n
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We have an expense coming up that will total around $4000 due in the next week or two, so I’m thinking about opening a new credit card and floating it on there.\u00a0 We will be able to pay off the expense slowly over time.\u00a0 The other option is to pay it in full with our tax return in early 2017, so a 15-month 0% APR intro period should get us there..\u00a0 <\/em><\/div>\n
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That said, I’ve narrowed it down to three cards:<\/em><\/div>\n
1. Chase Freedom<\/em><\/div>\n
2. American Express Blue Cash Preferred<\/em><\/div>\n
3. Citi Diamond Preferred<\/em><\/div>\n
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The first two have a 15-month 0% period, while the Citi has a 21-month period.<\/em><\/div>\n
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The Chase Freedom card has rotating categories that earn 5% back up to $75 each quarter ($300 per year) and 1% back on everything else.\u00a0 It has no annual fee and is usually issued as a Visa card.<\/em><\/div>\n
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The Blue Cash Preferred gets 6% back on groceries (up to $6000 in charges \/ $360 in cash back per year) and unlimited 3% on gas and has a $75 annual fee, which we would easily earn back.<\/em><\/div>\n
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The Citi Diamond Preferred earns Citi Easy Deals Points that can be used toward merchandise, gift cards, and local deals.<\/em><\/div>\n
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I don’t think we would get much use out of the Citi rewards, so I’m leaning more toward the Chase Freedom or American Express Blue Cash Preferred. That said, the 21-month 0% APR intro versus 15-month is attractive.<\/em><\/div>\n
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Our highest expenses that can be paid with a CC are, in order: groceries, electric bill, real estate tax, gas, cell phone, home insurance, and satellite TV.\u00a0 That said, I’m concerned that I won’t be able to take advantage of one or two of the potential Chase Freedom categories each year because we don’t spend much on dining, shopping, or travel.<\/em><\/div>\n
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Whatever card I get I would want to have for the long term; I’m not picking solely based on the ability to finance this short term payment. According to Credit Karma, I have very good odds of getting approved for all three cards, so that factor doesn’t narrow it down.<\/em><\/div>\n
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Do you have any feedback on any of these three cards?<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Answer:<\/div>\n
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Thanks so much for asking.\u00a0 Here are my thoughts:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The most important thing here is that you will have to hurry with whatever card you get.\u00a0 It can take a week or so to get the card in your hands.\u00a0 You might be better off calling and making the application over the phone and asking them to overnight you the card so you will have it in time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Don’t forget the sign up bonus.\u00a0 The Chase Freedom has a $150 bonus if you spend $500 in 3 months.\u00a0 Same for the American Express blue if you spend $1000 in the first 3 months.\u00a0 I don’t see anything for the Citi Diamond Preferred.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The bonus categories for the Chase Freedom will cap out at $300 a year while the American Express caps out at $360.\u00a0 I kind of balance that out with the annual fee of $75 though.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I am more of a fan of the Chase Freedom because I like using the rewards for airline miles, but you have a different purpose, which is strictly cash back.\u00a0 I’m going to talk about the rest of this in terms of that.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

So, given the above, I would also remind you that you can get gift cards for a ton of other places at either gas stations or at grocery stores.\u00a0 You said your categories are: groceries, electric bill, real estate tax, gas, cell phone, home insurance, and satellite TV.\u00a0 You probably aren’t going to get anything other that 1% on the electric, real estate, and home insurance.\u00a0 There are some cards that will get you 5% on cell phone and satellite TV, but those are business cards.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Chase Freedom categories are usually grocery stores in the first quarter, restaurants in the second, gas stations in the third, and amazon in the fourth.\u00a0 They sometimes throw in home improvement stores in one of those quarters.\u00a0 I’m sure you could max out the grocery store category just by buying up gift cards for future grocery store purchases, or if not, in gas station gift cards.\u00a0 Home improvement stores sell tons of gift cards as well!\u00a0 You can do the same for the third quarter as well with gift cards at gas stations.\u00a0 You can max the amazon one as well with gift cards.\u00a0 But, those are kind of artificial purchases in the hopes you can use them in the future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The American Express will pay constantly the whole year, which is a good thing until you max it out.\u00a0 You can spend at grocery stores and gas stations throughout the year, but the grocery store will cap out eventually.\u00a0 You can certainly max it with gift cards for other places.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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So, here is what I would do if I were in your shoes.\u00a0 I would get the American Express to start.\u00a0 I would meet the minimum amount ($1000) to get the bonus.\u00a0 After I put the spend on it and get things settled down a bit, I would also consider getting the Chase Freedom.\u00a0 You can spend on the Chase Freedom when the category is appropriate for what you are doing, or use the American Express.\u00a0 Some places don’t take American Express that will take Visa.\u00a0 Since the Chase Freedom doesn’t have an annual fee, it won’t be a bad thing either way.\u00a0 Just make sure you meet the minimum spend on it right away to get the bonus.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I probably didn’t make anything clearer with that explanation, but having more credit cards is only a bad thing if you can’t keep track of them.\u00a0 Plus, diversity in categories and charge cards (American Express vs Visa) is also good.\u00a0 You just have to keep track of the categories and make sure you use the right one at the right place at the right time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"\"<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I got my first blog related question from a friend\/reader the other week.\u00a0 He was fine with sharing the question Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-credit-cards","no-post-thumbnail","no-read-more-tag","no-sticky","use-excerpt","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":942,"url":"https:\/\/backtothemouse.com\/index.php\/free-flights-to-europe\/","url_meta":{"origin":598,"position":0},"title":"Free Flights to Europe","author":"Joseph","date":"March 10, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Recently, a co-worker told me he's planning to visit family in Europe in 18-24 months.\u00a0 We had previously discussed credit card rewards, so he was interested in reducing his costs for the flights.\u00a0 His lodging expenses will be covered since he's staying with family.\u00a0 He is taking his wife and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Credit Cards"","block_context":{"text":"Credit Cards","link":"https:\/\/backtothemouse.com\/index.php\/category\/credit-cards\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"united","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/backtothemouse.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/united-1.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1273,"url":"https:\/\/backtothemouse.com\/index.php\/upcoming-card-selection\/","url_meta":{"origin":598,"position":1},"title":"Upcoming Card Selection","author":"Joseph","date":"August 15, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"With the recent draw down in our hotel and airline accounts, we need a plan to replenish them.\u00a0 We have our travel plans set until December of 2017, so we have time to build our supply back up.\u00a0 We plan to continue spending on the credit cards we have right\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Credit Cards"","block_context":{"text":"Credit Cards","link":"https:\/\/backtothemouse.com\/index.php\/category\/credit-cards\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":206,"url":"https:\/\/backtothemouse.com\/index.php\/hilton-credit-cards\/","url_meta":{"origin":598,"position":2},"title":"Hilton Credit Cards","author":"Joseph","date":"September 19, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the best ways to earn Hilton HHonors points (which can give you free rooms at the Hilton Hotels and Resorts family of hotels) is to to sign up for one of the four types of Hilton-sponsored credit cards. 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Here is what we earned since the beginning of 2016: SPG\u00a0 - We\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Credit Cards"","block_context":{"text":"Credit Cards","link":"https:\/\/backtothemouse.com\/index.php\/category\/credit-cards\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"spg","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/backtothemouse.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/spg-300x189.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":330,"url":"https:\/\/backtothemouse.com\/index.php\/citibank-american-airlines-card\/","url_meta":{"origin":598,"position":4},"title":"Citibank American Airlines Card","author":"Joseph","date":"November 23, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"We've talked before about keeping your travel costs down by using credit card sign up bonuses for free flights.\u00a0 With this strategy, you can reap the benefits of a $500 flight per person and a free flight.\u00a0 The problem we've seen is that credit card companies want to hand out\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Credit Cards"","block_context":{"text":"Credit Cards","link":"https:\/\/backtothemouse.com\/index.php\/category\/credit-cards\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"citi-aadvantage-platinum","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/backtothemouse.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/citi-aadvantage-platinum.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/backtothemouse.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/citi-aadvantage-platinum.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/backtothemouse.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/citi-aadvantage-platinum.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/backtothemouse.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/citi-aadvantage-platinum.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":312,"url":"https:\/\/backtothemouse.com\/index.php\/chase-hyatt-credit-card\/","url_meta":{"origin":598,"position":5},"title":"Chase Hyatt Credit Card","author":"Joseph","date":"November 9, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"After moving through a series of Hilton Credit Cards and using up all the free nights and points you have accumulated, you'd almost think you would have to pay for a hotel room.\u00a0 Luckily, Chase comes to the rescue with the Chase Hyatt Credit Card.\u00a0 This card is an important\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Credit Cards"","block_context":{"text":"Credit Cards","link":"https:\/\/backtothemouse.com\/index.php\/category\/credit-cards\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"hyatt-points","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/backtothemouse.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/hyatt-points.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peu3ZL-9E","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/backtothemouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/backtothemouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/backtothemouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backtothemouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backtothemouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=598"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/backtothemouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":618,"href":"https:\/\/backtothemouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598\/revisions\/618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/backtothemouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backtothemouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backtothemouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}