What Rewards Card Do You Recommend?

One of my goals is to get a rewards credit card. For the sake of my own sanity, I've made an effort to pay my credit card balance in full each month (I'm going two months strong!). Since I'm getting more comfortable with this habit, I've decided that it's appropriate for me to start shopping around for various cards. These are the card attributes that I've decided are important:

• No annual fee
• No monthly maintenance fees (in fact, no stupid fees that are assessed, even if I elect not to use the card)
• Every purchase qualifies for points (none of that fancy stuff with "select merchants" or restrictions to entertainment or dining expenses)
• Points/rewards/miles don't expire
• I can use points/rewards/miles on any travel purchase (any airline, car rental company or hotel) without blackout dates.

Given these requirements, I've been considering Blue Sky from American Express, Venture Rewards from Capital One, Miles by Discover, and Chase's Sapphire card.

I realize that a couple of the cards waive the annual fee for the first year (one version of the Venture Rewards card and the Chase Sapphire card, specifically), but I'm confident that I'd be able to negotiate waiving the fee in subsequent years.

I've been on credit card comparison sites such as CreditCards.com, BankRate.com, CardRatings.com and even Google's credit card reviewer, and I'm still undecided.

The APR (annual percentage rate=the cost of using other people's money) and late payment fees are not important to me, as I will continue to pay my balance in full each month (no finance charges here and I ain't the one to go jacking up my credit score with late payments). Moreover, I will use this new credit card for regular purchases: food, gas, my phone bill, and miscellaneous expenses (ex: cat stuff, airfare, entertainment).

Do you have any of the above-mentioned credit cards? Have you thought about getting a rewards card recently? What have been your experiences? What advice would you offer as I make this decision?

This Phone Bill Can't Be Right

I am a satisfied customer of AT&T. I don't have a "fancy phone" with internet access and whatnot (at least for now :>). I have a plan with just enough minutes (I have plenty that have "rolled over") and unlimited text messages. The base price for my rate plan is $59.99 ($39.99 for the minutes and $20 for unlimited text messages). I've gotten accustomed to paying just under $70 a month for my phone bill (including taxes, fees, and the occasional usage charge for when I accidentally access the internet<<those data charges suck!) However, I've noticed that my most recent bills have been $71+. 

At first, I thought I was accidentally accessing the internet more often than usual. Turns out, one of the miscellaneous fees has increased. Now you might say, "what the heck is your problem? It's just a couple of dollars." Well, I believe it "all adds up." Besides, I'm irritated that my monthly spending plans reflect a $70 expense for something that turns out to be a little bit more. At the current rate (approx. $71/month), I'm spending $12 to $24 more (per year) on my phone than planned!

Okay, so maybe I'm being a bit dramatic. You know what I did? I changed my billing address to my parents home (heck, I have their address on file for other accounts, so what's the big deal?). My hope is that the local fees for their city/county/state will be lower than the local fees for my city/county/state. I'm crossing my fingers I can go back to paying $69.82/month (or less). I'll keep you posted!

Would you change your billing address on an account if it meant paying lower taxes and/or fees? Why or why not?

P.S. I recently signed up for auto-pay on this account. I guess it took me so long because I have a thing with control and desire to move money when I want to. ..and this auto-pay plan doesn't allow you to set the payment date. Most importantly, I wanted to make sure that I'd have the funds available to cover the expense, as I assign certain expenses to the 1st or 2nd pay period of the month. However, I've been bought... there was a $10 incentive to switch to auto-pay or paperless billing (I did this eons ago). So I'm just waiting on my ten bucks! I'll probably ask you what to spend it on ;)

It's My Budget! Part 1 of 3

Now that I’ve settled the car note stress, on to letting you folks now what’s going on with my budget. I earn $2778.02 a month and here’s the breakdown:

As I stated in the previous blog, I will ask for your recommendations for making financial decisions. I’ve divvied my budget into three categories: non-negotiable, maybe negotiable and negotiable expenses. Let’s start with the non-negotiable categories.

I spend $1919.21 each month for these non-negotiable expenses:

Car Payment**, $1045: Down from $1245/month to $1045/month, I am working on eliminating my car note in a “microwave minute”. Why am I committed to paying so much for an obligation that only requires $269.11/month? Because I ran the numbers for a few payoff scenarios and learned that I would be able to put more money away for savings and investment accounts by eliminating the car note sooner than later. Besides, life is better without a car payment :) Just think about all of the money NOT tied up to a note that can go to more fun stuff, like brokerage accounts, weekend trips, savings accounts, treating friends to dinner, etc. I just might have as much fun as the pup in this video...

Rent, $475: Having a roommate significantly cuts down on my housing expenses. Luckily, this amount includes utility payments, parking and Internet.

Student Loan, $229.21: Barring disability, bankruptcy or death - three very unfortunate circumstances- the federal government wants its money back, and, at a minimum, this is what I have to pay them.

Travel, $100: My close friend is getting married in April 2011 (congrats buddy!). In preparation for his destination wedding, I’ve been setting aside $100/month to pay for travel, accommodations and spending money (you know, for a wedding gift, jet skiing, over-priced adult beverages, group tours, etc.) I intend to save this amount up to April and commit to only spending cash will I’m enjoying the festivities (I think the theme song for the wedding party should be this). We’ll see where the $100/month will go afterward (Morocco anyone?).

Phone, $70: I have a no-frills plan with an equally non-frilly phone. I selected my service provider mostly because the people closest to me are customers of the same company. Translation: free mobile to mobile without worry of how many people I can put on a special list AND I don’t have to feeling guilty about them using THEIR minutes to talk during peak hours. I should mention that a friend recently put me on to another company...essentially, I could pay the same amount for my plan, but get more features. Since I’m smack dab in the middle of a contract, I think I’ll sleep on the idea of switching cell phone companies. Those cell phone termination fees are kinda nasty!

**Correction to 09.09.2010 Post: Previously, I stated that due to the change in my debt reduction plan "What’s more likely to happen is that I will finish off the debt in April 2011." After reviewing my 'debt reduction' spreadsheet, I am on track to complete this feat by the end of March 2011. I apologize for the oversight.