Every non-debit card I have is either amex or mastercard. I sometimes go to costco which only takes visa, so I'd like to get a visa to use there. We're not big spenders or big travelers. So I'm not sure that I need anything special, but looking for suggestions on what could be the most useful card I can get.
Trying to avoid cards with annual fees, because I probably won't use the benefits enough to be worth it.
Cards I've considered:
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Costco: I'm not sure that I spend enough ($100/month or so) to make it worth it over other cards.
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Amazon: We do buy things often on amazon, but as with the cost costo, probably not enough to make the amazon card worth more than any other card. I used their savings calculator and it came up to $40/year. I've also heard horrible reviews on the service.
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Fidelity: I like the idea that I can have points deposited directly into my accounts.
Current cards:
- Navy Federal Amex $27,000 May 2023
- CapOne Venture One $2,000 Dec 2024 (AU of my wife's card)
- CapOne Savor $11,000 Jan 2025
- SDFCU Secured $500 Jan 2023
FICO Score: 800
Oldest account age: 2 years, 5 months
Chase 5/24 status: Never had a chase card
Income: 58,000
Average monthly spend and categories:
Expenses:
- dining $200
- groceries: $500
- gas: $80
- travel: $0
- other: $50
Really don't need another card, but need a visa. What are your suggestions?
byu/sy029 inCreditCards
Posted by sy029
9 Comments
I suggest to check out BofA CCR CC, there is an offer for 6% cash back. I have 4 of them
For just Costco trips the Citi Double Cash might be your best bet – straight 2% back on everything with no annual fee. Way simpler than trying to optimize categories when you’re not spending huge amounts
The Fidelity card is basically same thing (2% flat rate) but goes straight to investment account which could be nice if you’re already using them for investing
If you’re only spending $100 a month at Costco, you’re not going to get much value out of any card you choose, so just pick a no annual fee card that you like. Fidelity seems like a good catchall 2% option if you already have/plan to get a Fidelity account.
Get the Navy Federal Flagship Credit card, it’s a visa with 2% flat cash back, 3% travel, free Amazon, free global entry with TSA pre check, and no FTF. The 49 AF is offset by the free Amazon/tsa pre check.
If it’s available in your area – the AAA daily advantage is a good bet too. 5% at grocery stores and 3% at wholesale (aka Costco).
Fidelity Visa also includes a $120 statement credit for Global Entry (which includes TSA Precheck), which makes those free
Navy Federal cashRewards+ or Fidelity Rewards are both solid 2% Visa Signature catch-alls. No annual fee and no foreign transaction fee on either. Would preference the cashRewards+ due to the notably larger sign-up bonus and dealing with NFCU rather than US Bank/Elan Financial. But neither is a wrong choice
I recommend transitioning from the SDFCU secured card to an unsecured card. Secured cards are for people who need to build credit, which isn’t an issue for you. Specifically, see if you can transition to their Visa Premium Cash Back+ card. It gives 2% back on everything and is good at Costco.
If SDFCU only allows you to upgrade to the Visa Platinum Rewards card, it probably isn’t worth the effort. Instead, I recommend *closing* that account *after* you apply for and get Navy Federal’s Cash Rewards Plus card. CR+ is a Visa that offers 2% back on everything and is good at Costco. Plus, seeing as you got a $27k CL from NFCU for the More Rewards card, you should have no trouble getting the $5k CL required to get CR+ rather than the regular Cash Rewards card.
Separately, the Venture One card is not very good, and you should revisit why it’s in your wallet, especially if you don’t travel.
Although I use Venture X and Savor as my daily drivers, VX is a very different product than V1. V1’s main use is as a way of channeling points from Savor or Quicksilver to Capital One’s transfer partners. CR+ is my back-up card. CR+ is a great 2% card because it’s Visa, has no FTF, and NFCU customer service is excellent. CR+ and More Rewards would be my daily driver duo if I didn’t have VX + Savor.
P.S. Even if SDFCU allows you to transition to CB+, it may be worth closing it and getting NFCU’s CR+ anyway to simplify your banking experience.
Fidelity Visa