Archive for July, 2010

Review of the PenFed Visa Platinum Cashback Rewards Credit Card

Saturday, July 31st, 2010

Last Updated: 5/30/2011

penfed-visa-platinum-cashback-rewardsThe Penfed Visa Platinum Gas card might be called a hidden gem. The value proposition of this card is very straightforward: its awesome for gas rewards (5% cashback)–but plain Jane on all other purchases (1% cashback).  

Read the rest of this entry »

Review of the American Express Blue Cash Credit Card

Saturday, July 24th, 2010

Note: As of 4/30/2011, American Express replaced the Amex Blue Cash Card (which is no longer available), with 2 new credit cards: the Amex Blue Cash Everyday Card, and the Amex BlueCash Preferred Card.  While the Everyday Card is slightly inferior to the old Blue Cash card at higher levels of spend (say, >$1,000 per month of spend on the card), it does outperform at lower levels of spend.

However, the real gem is the new American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card–which simply dominates it’s predecessor and consistently appears at or right near the top.

Follow this link to read PlasticIQ’s review of the American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card.


Last Reviewed: 7/23/2010
blue-cash-amexThe Amex Blue Cash Card (NO LONGER AVAILABLE) is a force to be reckoned with, ranking near the top of the pack if you spend enough on the card. If used skillfully, Blue Cash can earn an effective cashback rate of 3% or even more.

Read the rest of this entry »

Review of the Discover Escape Credit Card

Sunday, July 18th, 2010

Last Reviewed: 7/17/2010

The Discover Escape credit card (aka Escape by Discover) masquerades as a travel credit card, but is really falls into what I believe is a unique class of cards which I would dub “restricted cash-back credit cards”. Restrictions aside, this piece of plastic is a heavy hitter, and is frequently at the top of the PlasticIQ Ranking Engine.  You can apply directly for Discover Escape, or continue reading this review for more insights into why even Clint Eastwood would have wanted this card in his back pocket when he popped out of the Bay soaking wet.

Read the rest of this entry »

Review of the Schwab Credit Card

Saturday, July 17th, 2010

Last Reviewed: 7/26/2010

Important note: Around 3/31/10 Schwab stopped offering this card for new applicants (though current users of the card are grand-fathered in for the time-being). RIP Schwab.

Read the rest of this entry »

Review of the Chase Freedom® Visa With $200 or $100 Cash-Back Sign-up Bonus

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

While the Chase Freedom® Card probably can’t start a revolution, it does provide a whopping 5% bonus cashback on rotating spend categories each quarter.  Additionally, the Chase Freedom® card comes with a nice cash bonus–either $200 or $100 depending on which offer you apply for (the $100 cash back bonus card also provides a 0% into APR–details below).  In order to earn the bonuses you need to spend a certain amount on the card within a certain period of time, but it’s generally easy to do (see below for more info).  (more…)

-->

Last Revised: 12/21/2011;

While the Chase Freedom® Card probably can’t start a revolution, it does provide a whopping 5% bonus cashback on rotating spend categories each quarter.  Additionally, the Chase Freedom® card comes with a nice cash bonus–either $200 or $100 depending on which offer you apply for (the $100 cash back bonus card also provides a 0% into APR–details below).  In order to earn the bonuses you need to spend a certain amount on the card within a certain period of time, but it’s generally easy to do (see below for more info). 

Read the rest of this entry »