Credit Cards

I don't talk much about credit cards here because we've been credit card debt free for over a year! And contrary to Dave Ramsey and some others, we do still have and use credit cards. The difference is now we pay the balance off in full each month! The two main credit cards that we use are #1 - my Discover and #2 - Chuck's Citibank Dividend Platinum Select. Both of these cards offer cash back bonuses. We don't use our cards very often. If we purchase something online, we use the cards but other than that, they sit pretty dormant. So our balances on them are pretty low most months, if not zero.

That is Chuck's only credit card but I actually have four others in my wallet! First is a Citibank Driver's Edge card. I haven't used this card since 2001. But it was my first credit card I opened so I kept the card because I was worried about it impacting my credit score if I closed it. I finally got sick of carrying it around though and called today to cancel it. Guess what! It's been closed for over a year. I guess they just forget to let me know that. Whatever. I can now shred the card and not worry about it.

Second I have a GM Card through HSBC Bank. This is my second oldest (well, now I guess oldest) card. I don't use it often but when I do I earn cash towards a new vehicle purchase with GM. We just did that in August and were able to take over $800 off the negotiated price of our truck. Now that we are definitely not in the market for a new vehicle, this card has taken a back seat. I have only been pulling this one out when merchants won't accept Discover. That used to be more of a problem then it is now though.

Third I have a Citibank Corporate card. Remember when I had to apply and get a Corporate American Express card? Well, my company ceased it's corporate Am Ex card agreement right around the time I went on my trip in December. I ended up putting my hotel and meals on my Discover and GM Card and then was reimbursed. My flight made it on to the Am Ex card before the deadline. Instead of the Am Ex card (already taken out of my wallet and shredded), my company has a new deal with Citibank. So I applied for that card but it arrived about a week after my trip. So, it's in my wallet but I doubt I'll have any business trips in the near future where I'll need to use it. It will sit in the back with the GM Card.

And finally I have a Chase Visa. A long time ago I used to sell Pampered Chef and Chase and Pampered Chef had a corporate agreement. I held a Pampered Chef logo'd Visa that I used only for business expenses so it was easy to separate from personal expenses. A few years back Pampered Chef and Chase went their separate ways and Chase sent me a generic Chase Visa card. After I stopped selling Pampered Chef, I used the card mainly for balance transfers as Chase always gave me 3.99 or 2.99 or 4.99% balance transfer offers. Now that we're credit card debt free, this card has not been used in over a year.

Since I mainly use my Discover, but not everyone takes Discover, I wanted to have a back up card that I could actually get some rewards with and didn't want that card to be the GM Card. So today I called Chase and asked if I could get the generic Chase Visa switched over to a Chase Freedom card. I contemplated going with the Chase Sapphire to earn airline rewards but really, when are we going to go traveling that I'd be able to use them? So I went with the Freedom card instead and will now be earning cash back with that card. I'll have to figure out if I'll get more cash back using the Discover or the Case Freedom cards. Hmm...

I guess you can tell that we're in the camp of "responsible credit card usage." We use them, gain the rewards and pay the balance in full each month. Still, for most items (gas, groceries, etc.) we simply use our check cards and have the money taken directly from our checking account. It's nice to have the cards available though for larger purchases (to take advantage of the rewards), when traveling, or when purchasing items online.