Credit Cards

Sometimes too good to be true really is too good – Origins Card 6% Everywhere Card

The past few weeks I’ve been targeted for a few Facebook and Instagram ads. I’m a sucker for a deal, and so I like to humor what comes across because occasionally there’s something to take advantage of. Fancy marketing copy. Bold value claims. Big headlines. However, just because you can make something pretty and make […]

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Capping credit card interest rates at 10% sure may sound good, on the surface…

…but there’s always more to the story. I’ll keep this focused on the the cap, and avoid the challenges associated with the…politicization at play. If the question were around affordability and predatory industry behavior, there would be a wide range of other administration focus, like…not gutting the CFPB. With that said, let’s get into it.

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How about a quick and easy discount on all utilities? (US Bank Cash+ 5% category)

Why leave money on the table when paying the pesky utility bill? Everyone uses some combination of electricity, gas, water, and trash. For more than five years, I’ve had the luxury of a very healthy 5% discount on utilities simply for using my US Bank Cash+ card. This has added up to many, many hundreds

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Turns out that there IS such thing as a free lunch, courtesy of AMEX & Resy

Is it still impossible to get something for nothing? Perhaps, as the Cards here do have some pretty hefty annual fees. That said, having a delicious meal for two, and the next day having pending statement credits for the full purchase price is pretty sweet. Let me break it down. Firstly, what is Resy? Resy

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2025 Credit Cards Wrapped — Somehow five new cards is a “light” year of card gaming

I’d be lying if I said every time I enter my information in an application and press “apply” I didn’t secretly have a little rush of adrenaline and anticipation of the hopefully-quick (and positive) outcome. There’s some moderate level of validation I get from banks making the outrageously poor business decision to give me new

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Sometimes even I surprise myself – AMEX Delta Stays $200 credit NEVER CLAWED BACK after cancellation (!!!)

While I love credit card rewards, I’m also a huge fan of the many perks associated with often high annual fee cards. At worst, these are marketing to get folks to consider the product. At best, these are actually really valuable for cardholders and meaningfully (or fully!) offset the associated card fees. Cue American Express

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There really is such thing as free money — in the form of $1.99 small-balance credits

I’ll start off by saying that this is maybe one of my all-time favorite schemes. While it won’t make you rich, it is a really pretty simple, so long as you can plan and execute accurately. In full disclosure, I have done this primarily at Discover after stumbling upon this a number of years ago.

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Burrrr It’s Cold Outside – so stay in and get Instacart+ and some free credits from Chase

This is the perfect no-nonsense partnership. Effectively every Chase card has a combined free trial of Instacart+ and a monthly credit. While I don’t love using delivery (or pickup) for orders in general, I’m all for it if it’s actually cheaper. This is. Instacart+ is effectively a no-fee (really, reduced-fee) delivery. Typically it’s $99/year or

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2.625% everywhere, no gotchas* (with an asterisk) BofA Premium Rewards Card

Alas, there is often an asterisk. This one comes in the form of “Preferred Rewards” relationship requirements with Bank of America. This relationship bonus is notable, bumping the rewards earn from 1.5% to 2.625% on all spend. No joke. Link to the product itself (not a referral link) The base product itself is perfectly fine

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