Earlier today, I wrote about how I made over $300 this past year using an Amex Blue Cash card as my primary credit card. Now I'd like to tell you about my second credit card (the only other one I have), why I need it, and how I use it.
First of all, even if I had no other need for a second credit card, I'd still carry one. Why? Banks and credit card companies (or card verification machines/systems) make mistakes sometimes and credit is denied on one card by accident. This has happened to me only a couple of times in my life, but when it did, I was glad I had the back-up card.
In addition, anyone who uses American Express as their main card needs a back-up. Why? Quite simple -- Amex isn't accepted everywhere. For us, Amex isn't accepted at two places we go to rather frequently -- a pizza joint and a grocery store. Plus, when I'm out traveling, I'll run into a place now and then that doesn't take Amex, so I need a back up.
For our #2 card, we use a Subaru MasterCard. It gives us 3% back on all purchases in Subaru Bucks, dollars I can spend at my dealer to have my car worked on. Yes, I know, the dealer is more expensive than a "regular" garage, but stick with me, and I'll tell you why it's still a good deal.
A couple years ago, my wife and I knew that we were putting a lot of miles on our Subaru and that our 30,000-mile check up would happen in the near future. We allocated all of our purchases to our MasterCard for some time and charged $10,000 to the card (paying off the balance every month, of course) to earn $300 in Subaru bucks. (FYI, with our Amex card, we would have earned $168 in cash).
Last December, I took my car in to the dealer for a 30,000-mile tune up. They charged $370 while other garages were offering similar services for around $300. I paid with my Subaru Bucks plus $70 for a grand total cost to me of $70. If I had used my Amex card and gone to the dealer, it would have cost me $202 ($370-$168). And if I would have used my Amex card and gone to another garage, it would have cost me $132 ($300-$168). In other words, the Subaru MasterCard allowed me to get the best deal on an expense I knew was coming.
In addition to this, there is one other advantage to my dealership that made the decision a no-brainer. I'll share that tomorrow.
how do i apply for this card
Posted by: john Giaquinta | July 10, 2009 at 09:51 PM