There are three credit cards everyone should have in their wallet for their amazing rewards.
But before I begin, I do want to say that if you are not disciplined enough to pay off your credit card bill in its entirety every month, then none of these cards are for you. If you want to put some money back in your pocket, stop paying the insane interest rates on the credit cards you do have. Then you can sign up for these new ones!
1. A Target card. You don't have to get a Target VISA, just the Target store credit card. You get 5% back automatically at checkout. I prefer Target for almost all of our household needs, we had our baby registry there, and it's the best place to buy granola bars. Seriously, stop buying granola bars at the grocery store.
Not only do you get 5% in-store, you also get it on-line with the added bonus of FREE shipping. I hate buying anything without getting free shipping, and this little red and white plastic baby guarantees it.
2. American Express Blue Cash Preferred. We've only had this card for 5 months, and we've already made $350 cash back. Why? For starters, you get 6% at Grocery stores. Being the frugal couple we are, we eat at home a lot and pack our lunches. Which means a bigger grocery bill. There's an annual fee of $75, but as you can see, we've already more than made up for that. You also get 3% at gas stations, and 3% at department stores. If you sign up now, you get $150 extra reward dollars if you spend $1000 in the first three months. We also make money on this card by taking an extra "frugal" step that some of you may laugh at. If we know that we are going to make a big purchase at Home Depot or Lowe's, we go to the grocery store first and buy gift cards there. 6% saved! We just found out the other day that Winn-Dixie carries Amazon gift cards so we are psyched about that. And as you know, grocery stores carry gift cards for all kinds of places - restaurants, stores, movie theaters, Fandango, iTunes . . . so if you are willing to go that extra step, think of all the money you can save!
3. Pentagon Federal Visa Platinum Cash Rewards Card. 5% at gas stations with no annual fee! Disclaimer: You can only get this card if you or your spouse is military, OR if you or your spouse's parents are/were military. (Thanks, Ralph!) You have to sign up for a savings account (we have the $5.00 minimum sitting in ours) and then you can sign up for the credit card.
Now, if you stopped reading above because you aren't military, I'll remind you to look back at the AmEx and realize that you will still get 3% at gas stations with that card. That's still really awesome.
Our money makers are those three. I'm going to tell you about a fourth one we just signed up for. The Fidelity American Express rewards card. You get 2% rewards on everything you buy, and it can go to retirement, investment or 529 college savings account. With baby Watts on the way, we decided it will go towards the 529. This will be the card we use for everything else besides groceries, gas and Target. And the reason why we decided on this one? No other card will give you 2% on everything.
I should also tell you that we are opening an additional 529 at Vanguard to deposit a set amount of money into each month. Reason being - 1. college is expensive. 2. Vanguard is the manager for the Utah 529 educational savings plan. Utah, you ask? After doing our research, we learned that you can sign up for any state's 529 plan. A lot of people sign up for their own state's plan because it gives them a state income tax break. Florida doesn't have state income tax, so that wasn't a factor for us. Utah has the best 529 plan out there, and we plan on eventually rolling over the one from Fidelity to that one (you can do that without penalty). 529's are very similar to 401ks and Roths - the earlier you start, the less you have to put in every year.
Did I lose you at Fidelity, retirement, investment, and 529? I tried to make it sound interesting! Just picture the spirit fingers . . . right . . . NOW!
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