Best Credit Card (2016-2021)

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Re: Best Credit Card 2016

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It is amazing to me how they tolerate no fee cards with no usage. There must be enough that use them eventually to offset their costs.
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Re: Best Credit Card 2016

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kcowan wrote:It is amazing to me how they tolerate no fee cards with no usage. There must be enough that use them eventually to offset their costs.
What costs would there be? It's not like no-fee cards give you anything up front. You have to use them to get a a percentage of whatever you spend back in one form or another. If you don't use them you are just another entry in their database. I suppose they might mail you a monthly statement even if your account is inactive, but that is pretty trivial (and they really should be smart enough not to send a zero balance, zero transaction account a statement).
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Re: Best Credit Card 2016

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Chuck wrote:I suppose they might mail you a monthly statement even if your account is inactive, but that is pretty trivial (and they really should be smart enough not to send a zero balance, zero transaction account a statement).
Yup BMO Mastercard Air Miles Rewards. Statement every month for zero balance, replacement cards (partner card) every three years.
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Re: Best Credit Card 2016

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My Amex Simply Cash card has a zero balance on average 10 months of the year. At least they don't alert me for PDF statements for inactive months. Do folks really still opt for paper statements?

The only reason I have that card is for Front of the Line concert ticket purchases for Vancouver venues. Not so sure it is worth it any more since the pre-sales fill up fast. Does half the population now have Front of the Line privileges?
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Re: Best Credit Card 2016

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AltaRed wrote:Do folks really still opt for paper statements?
Yes.
I find them more convenient. The mailman leaves all of them in the same place, and I only need follow one process to open them and view them and pay them.
Maybe if digital statements were issued in a more consistent format and/or if the bills could be paid digitally out of the statements ....
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Re: Best Credit Card 2016

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pmj wrote:
AltaRed wrote:Do folks really still opt for paper statements?
Yes.
I find them more convenient. The mailman leaves all of them in the same place, and I only need follow one process to open them and view them and pay them.
Maybe if digital statements were issued in a more consistent format and/or if the bills could be paid digitally out of the statements ....
Yeah, it is a bit cumbersome for sure.

1. Each company sends an e-mail telling me there's a bill ready to pay.
2. I log into the company site with my PC and find where the bill is stored (which is completely different for each company).
3. I download the bill in PDP format and store it in my PC and then backup that bill onto my network drive.
4. While the PDF is running on my PC screen, I log into my bank and go to bills for that company and pay the amount on the PDF.
5. I then enter the payment code into a bills paid spreadsheet so I have a record that I paid the bill because I'm old and forget these things.

I play this digital bill game, but it sure used to be easier with the paper system. Those paper bills I use to pile up at my front door basket were a nice reminder they had to be paid.

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Re: Best Credit Card 2016

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For me it is:
1. An email telling me the latest statement is available for me.
2. At my leisure, I logon with one click to the company site (the logon credientials are already in Last Pass), download it, and look at it to see how much it is
3. At some date, I correct the amount shown as a recurring payee in Quicken to match that shown in my statement or my online banking site

Only three steps because: 1) the cloud auto backs up anything I put on my PC and synced to my devices, and 2) the amount itself is auto debited from my bank account.

Sometimes I let steps 2 and 3 pile up for 2-3 weeks before catching up witih 5-6 transactions.
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Re: Best Credit Card 2016

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AltaRed wrote:For me it is:
1. An email telling me the latest statement is available for me.
2. At my leisure, I logon with one click to the company site (the logon credientials are already in Last Pass), download it, and look at it to see how much it is
3. At some date, I correct the amount shown as a recurring payee in Quicken to match that shown in my statement or my online banking site

Only three steps because: 1) the cloud auto backs up anything I put on my PC and synced to my devices, and 2) the amount itself is auto debited from my bank account.

Sometimes I let steps 2 and 3 pile up for 2-3 weeks before catching up with 5-6 transactions.
Here's where we differ.

I don't trust the cloud.
I never do bills at my leisure or at some date, because I found I would forget to pay the bill.
I would never auto-debit anything. Many years ago it bit me in the butt. It's hard to stop auto-debit if a mistake has been made and you can get complacent and not notice over billing for long periods.

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Re: Best Credit Card 2016

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like_to_retire wrote:I don't trust the cloud.
That's why I store locally, then backup encrypted storage to more than one cloud (Google Drive and Dropbox.)

Nevertheless it would hardly be a disaster if I lost credit card statements stored in the cloud. Most CC issuers also store at least two years of CC statements on their site so there's yet another level of backup. (If my PC was destroyed, the cloud burst and my bank went broke all at the same time then I'm quite sure there would be more pressing problems for me to deal with than trying to recreate CC statements ;))
I never do bills at my leisure or at some date, because I found I would forget to pay the bill.
I find auto-debit is a huge convenience. It allows me to defer payment until due date. That gives me maximum time to review the bill as well as ensure that I never pay late interest. It also relieves me of the need to worry about this while on holidays, especially out of the country. Even so these days Internet access is readily available in most parts of the globe so I can monitor my account, review statements, etc. at least 99% of the time.
I would never auto-debit anything. Many years ago it bit me in the butt. It's hard to stop auto-debit if a mistake has been made and you can get complacent and not notice over billing for long periods.
The bank that auto-debits is the bank that issues the card, in my case TD. I've never had a problem with this arrangement. I'm confident that if I did they'd handle it without hassle.

But speaking of getting bit in the butt, let me tell you about the good old days when a paper statement arrived a few days after we left on a month's overseas trip. We thought we'd prepaid the account to cover all charges. Unfortunately we forgot one, our account went negative and we got charged an exorbitant (IMO) amount of interest even though there was more than enough money in other accounts at the same bank (in this case RBC) to cover the amount owed.

YMMV, of course.
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Re: Best Credit Card 2016

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Bylo Selhi wrote:I find auto-debit is a huge convenience. It allows me to defer payment until due date. That gives me maximum time to review the bill as well as ensure that I never pay late interest. It also relieves me of the need to worry about this while on holidays, especially out of the country. Even so these days Internet access is readily available in most parts of the globe so I can monitor my account, review statements, etc. at least 99% of the time.
I have auto-debited ever since I could and have never had an issue. I auto-debit all my monthly and quarterly utility/telecom bills, credit card statements and things like health insurance premiums. There is just no nefariouis intent from any of those issuers. I would not do it with retailers, e.g. gym memberships come to mind, nor does it happen with one time annual payments like my professional association, property insurance, auto/home insurance and the like. It is peace of mind as I can pretty much be oblivious to all of this in the interest of enjoying life without needing reminders to do this and that.

I understand some do not want to lose control (or perceive loss of control) of fund movements and do not mind that process being a make-work project.

Added: I do randomly go into my key financial accounts online on about a weekly or bi-weekly basis to see if there is any unusual activity (e.g. banks, credit cards, brokerages).
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Re: Best Credit Card 2016

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Wow!
I use auto-debit for all regular constant payments, which for me includes home and auto insurance. They are also auto-entered into Quicken. I added Rogers when it started charging for paper invoices - and as I commented at the time, Rogers' auto-debit is about 10 days before the due date. I've never been screwed on an auto-payment .... but I don't have any gym memberships :?.

I don't auto-debit CC bills because I need to manage their payments. Not everyone is so flush with cash that they can cover every CC bill without blinking. I certainly can't.
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Re: Best Credit Card

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I have Amazon/Chase Cr. card. What is the best way to have Euro cash for incidentals while in Europe?
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Re: Best Credit Card

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When ever I travel, it does not matter where, I always buy some walking around cash for my destination. Who knows? cabfare? bellboy?
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Re: Best Credit Card 2016

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I would personally be concerned about complacency if I were to move to auto-debit.

Bell and Rogers have routinely increased fees and negotiated discounts have expired. If I were not tracking these things monthly, noticing the increases, then there would be no timely trigger to call them up and cajole/threaten.

Furthermore, I like to keep the balance in my "chequing" account low since it yields no interest. This requires keeping an eye on the in-flow and out-flow.

Is this taking a lot of time, detracting from my enjoyment of life? Not really.
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Re: Best Credit Card 2016

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pmj wrote:I don't auto-debit CC bills because I need to manage their payments. Not everyone is so flush with cash that they can cover every CC bill without blinking. I certainly can't.
Good point. But then what? Do you pay them 20% to 30% interest? Apart from true emergencies I'd rather do without than pay those usurious rates.
Descartes wrote:Bell and Rogers have routinely increased fees and negotiated discounts have expired. If I were not tracking these things monthly, noticing the increases, then there would be no timely trigger to call them up and cajole/threaten.
Which is why the Bylo residence is a 100% Bhell-free and Robbers-free zone. I'm far more concerned about their ethics and behaviour than any chartered bank.
Furthermore, I like to keep the balance in my "chequing" account low since it yields no interest. This requires keeping an eye on the in-flow and out-flow.
I used to do this when interest rates were substantially higher. These days with "high" interest savings account generally paying under 2% (and taxable at that) I can't be bothered. I also travel overseas more often and for longer periods than I used to so having accounts on auto-pilot is a real benefit.

But again, this is all a matter of personal choice. There's no one approach that works for everyone all of the time.
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Re: Best Credit Card

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par4 wrote:I have Amazon/Chase Cr. card. What is the best way to have Euro cash for incidentals while in Europe?

Overpay your account before you leave. When you get to your destination, withdraw the cash from some specific ATMs. You'll incur a $5 CAD charge, but will get the absolute best exchange rate possible with no further fees. I'm planing on doing this on our summer trip, but many people on here have done it successfully.
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Re: Best Credit Card 2016

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My only bank account debits are Shaw Internet and Telus landline. Everything else goes on a credit card. These debits were set up in 1994. No problems. When we moved, the services were switched but not the billing.
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Re: Best Credit Card 2016

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kcowan wrote:Everything else goes on a credit card.
My approach is to put everything on CC that doesn't charge a fee to do so. For us that's things like Internet and phone but not gas, water and hydro utilities. This maximizes opportunities to collect CC rewards. We've done this using auto-charge for many years also without incident. (If only it was possible to put income and property taxes on CC without incurring fees that more than offset the CC rewards.)

One important consideration is to keep track of who's authorized to do auto-charging and to which CC. Then if a card gets compromised and you're issued a new card you know who to contact to give the new card number and expiry date.
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Re: Best Credit Card

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HardWorker wrote:Overpay your account before you leave. When you get to your destination, withdraw the cash from some specific ATMs. You'll incur a $5 CAD charge, but will get the absolute best exchange rate possible with no further fees. I'm planing on doing this on our summer trip, but many people on here have done it successfully.
You must not spend much. It is 1% of the amount withdrawn with a minimum of $5. So 1000 euros is a 10 Euro charge. Still a hell of a deal once you initial stash is gone. We go for a month and use the amazon card whenever we can but cash is still king. We have never found an ATM that would not give us euros.
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Re: Best Credit Card

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kcowan wrote:
HardWorker wrote:Overpay your account before you leave. When you get to your destination, withdraw the cash from some specific ATMs. You'll incur a $5 CAD charge, but will get the absolute best exchange rate possible with no further fees. I'm planing on doing this on our summer trip, but many people on here have done it successfully.
You must not spend much. It is 1% of the amount withdrawn with a minimum of $5. So 1000 euros is a 10 Euro charge. Still a hell of a deal once you initial stash is gone. We go for a month and use the amazon card whenever we can but cash is still king. We have never found an ATM that would not give us euros.

I thought as long as your account was positive, you can withdraw the money and only pay the $5 minimum fee? VISA ATMs are better since some banks might also charge their own fees to withdraw cash. I haven't done it yet, but yeah I agree, still a heck of a deal compared to anything else.
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Re: Best Credit Card 2016

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Bylo Selhi wrote:
pmj wrote:I don't auto-debit CC bills because I need to manage their payments. Not everyone is so flush with cash that they can cover every CC bill without blinking. I certainly can't.
Good point. But then what? Do you pay them 20% to 30% interest? Apart from true emergencies I'd rather do without than pay those usurious rates.
I did say "without blinking"! I have a secured LoC that I use as a flexible mortgage. Except by mistake, I've never paid full-rate CC interest charges for more than a couple of days. And more than once a phone call on a CC with a good payment record has been all that was required to get a few days of interest (and more importantly, any future downgrades) cancelled.
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Re: Best Credit Card

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I haven't recently met a European bank machine, including white-label machines, that has charged a fee on cash withdrawn from a CC. But they may exist - ISTR fees in France in 2013.
You can't necessarily withdraw Euros at all machines. We were just in Hungary, where the machines advertised florints and euros, but it didn't offer euros at the screen. It was a white-label machine, and it might have been empty ...
In the UK, no fees are levied on cash withdrawals from chequing accounts at any machine. No need to hunt for an own-bank machine!
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Re: Best Credit Card

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HardWorker wrote:I thought as long as your account was positive, you can withdraw the money and only pay the $5 minimum fee?
The fee is not related to the state of your account. Presumably the 1% / min $5 is shared between Amazon, VISA, and the owner of the bank machine, to cover all of their costs ... and make some profit!
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Re: Best Credit Card

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pmj wrote:The fee is not related to the state of your account. Presumably the 1% / min $5 is shared between Amazon, VISA, and the owner of the bank machine, to cover all of their costs ... and make some profit!
It could be hard for the 1% to exceed $5 because most ATMs restrict the amount of cash you can withdraw per transaction and per day. In the EU it's something like €300 to €500.

In any case if you use the alternative, a Canadian bank card/debit card, to withdraw cash from your Canadian account from an overseas ATM you'll be charged ~$5 by your bank, plus the 2½% to 3% vig on FX. So you still save the vig by using a pre-primed Amazon Visa. (Some banks like TD waive this ATM fee if you have their top-tier banking plan.)
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Re: Best Credit Card 2016

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Bylo Selhi wrote:One important consideration is to keep track of who's authorized to do auto-charging and to which CC. Then if a card gets compromised and you're issued a new card you know who to contact to give the new card number and expiry date.
I've also found some vendors, like Rogers, Esso Speedpass, National car rental, etc. send a friendly notice to update your CC information if the one on file has expired and they assume you have gotten a renewal.
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