Good Rewards Cards That Are NOT AMEX

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cdc

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Amex has been tooling me around since mid-November and my vagina is getting very sandy over it. I'm fed up and want to get another card with another company, but when I do research no other card compares to either the Plum or the Starwood.

Details:

I'm looking for either cash back or travel benefits

I spend 50-100K per month

Any recommendations?
 


Good luck trying to find a card other than an amex with a spend capability of between 50K-100K a month.

What problems are you having with your amex?
 
Looking for one as well.

Main problem with AMEX for me is if I were to be put under a financial review and they request 2 yrs worth of income taxes. Try justifying spending 6 figures a month when you only made like 7k last year in school.
 
Good luck trying to find a card other than an amex with a spend capability of between 50K-100K a month.
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It shouldn't be that difficult considering that I would pay it 1-2 times per week to keep it below the limit. Even AMEX isn't giving me that much of a leash, but with the Plum card (which I currently own) I only get rewards on the part of my balance that makes it to the end of the month.

What problems are you having with your amex?
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Same as everyone else. Hold on my account despite keeping a $0 balance. Lowered limits. Bad customer service where I've heard two different things about the way my card works.

It's time to ask myself whether all this extra time I'm spending keeping my AMEX account active is actually worth it.

I've got a Visa rewards card. No fees, 21K limit.
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Wow, thanks. I'll look into this "Visa" that you speak of.

Care to share WHICH Visa out of the THOUSANDS of different incarnations you own and why you chose that one?
 
cdc said:
Wow, thanks. I'll look into this "Visa" that you speak of.

Care to share WHICH Visa out of the THOUSANDS of different incarnations you own and why you chose that one?
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Bank of America Signature Visa - Wordpoints Rewards. I chose it for rewards... no limit on points, points don't expire, can get cash back, no fees. It's not my only card, but it's definitely one of my favorite.
 
I live in Canada and I use the Visa Platinum Avion card. The annual fee is $175. You get 1 point per $ spent and the points can be redeemed on flights for 100 points = $1 if you book with less than 2 weeks notice or they have packages that you can use if you book before 2 weeks to departure. You can also redeem the points for all manner of other things, tv's, RRSP tax contributions, loan payments, credit line payments or whatever. I have no idea if they have the Avion card in the US but worth a try i suppose.
 
After spending too much time on this already, my incomplete research shows the Capital One Visa Business Platinum with Double No Hassle Miles looks to be the best deal.

Business Platinum with Double No Hassle Miles - Small Business Credit Card - Capital One

The biggest downside is it looks like you can only get a $20K limit. That would be a pain in the ass, but I might get this just to have as backup for WHEN amex decides to screw me again.

They also have a Triple Rewards card where you get 3x for one category that you choose. One of the options is "Advertising and Marketing" but I bet there is some catch where my myspace and facebook charges wouldn't count. I feel like it's safer to just do the double points for everything.

Anyone have any experience with these cards?
 
why not just pay directly from your checking with a Visa/MC debit card?

i got a business checking account from my bank and they give me all kinds of rewards/perks and cash back as well.. and I dont have to keep paying a 3rd party each day/week/month when my credit limit runs out on my credit card.

for those that think you cant get a high spend limit on a debit, think again.. I opened mine with a 7.5k daily spending limit and got it raised to 21k a day spending after a few weeks. I asked about the max limit and I can get a increase to 99k a day as long as the money is in the account.

the key to this is getting wires into your account direct from your network. Weeklies and even Copeac's daily wires are a good path to go. You also must have a good relationship with your local bank manager as well.

if you wondering what bank it is.. its Chase, owned by JP Morgan. Also, Citibank will let you open a new checking account and get a debit card where you can spend 25k a day on the first day as long as you got the money in the bank.
 
to add, I get 1% cashback rewards for Internet purchases, and YES it does include Facebook, Myspace, Google, etc.

as far as other rewards, there is too many to list actually. Go ask your bank what they can do for you. This solution is much easier then credit cards/charge cards unless your bank cant help you with debit.
 
The Plum card gives you 2% cash back on all purchases. If you're spending anywhere near $10K/day, you're leaving $3000/month on the table just for the convenience of not having to pay a bill.
 
Don't send them income tax statements cuz that will be auto-fail. Send them some bank statements, and a letter from a CPA on their letterhead that you're making $XXX,XXX. That should shut them up.
 
cdc said:
The Plum card gives you 2% cash back on all purchases. If you're spending anywhere near $10K/day, you're leaving $3000/month on the table just for the convenience of not having to pay a bill.
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hmm.. OK, the poster asked for alternatives to Amex. Not sure how your response helps him.
 
yubrew said:
Don't send them income tax statements cuz that will be auto-fail. Send them some bank statements, and a letter from a CPA on their letterhead that you're making $XXX,XXX. That should shut them up.
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I did that as well and they closed my account cause I didn't send them a form to look at my past income tax returns.
 
btw, for anyone that needs/wants an american express, but has the issue with the past income, check out americanexpress.com/idc. They don't factor in your credit score or past income, but base it on your bank statements/info as well as your accountants info.
 
Ok, so just to leave this thread with a happy ending I ended up getting the Capital One card I mentioned above. I obviously haven't received it yet, but the decision has been made so please start with the ridiculing.

Also, after giving it more thought I've come to realize that cash back cards aren't the best option because the cash back goes to your business and gets taxed one way or the other. It's much better if you can acquire points/miles that you can use for personal use because anything that gets attributed to your business ultimately gets taxed hard before you get your grubby hands on it.
 
gopher said:
btw, for anyone that needs/wants an american express, but has the issue with the past income, check out americanexpress.com/idc. They don't factor in your credit score or past income, but base it on your bank statements/info as well as your accountants info.
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+1

Just what I need, thanks.
 
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