6 Credit Cards for Every Day Use
Updated May, 2020
The majority of my purchases and expenses are paid by these credit cards. My motto is if you have to buy something or pay a bill anyway why not get something for it? I want to share with you my five favorite credit cards that I use for everyday living expenses. I would like to warn you if you are not responsible enough to use credit cards then this article probably isn’t for you.
6. Chase Freedom Unlimited
This is a great every day card. The Freedom Unlimited pays 1.5% cash back on every purchase. You can use points as cash back or transfer the UR points to a travel card such as Chase Sapphire Preferred. Also, if you are looking for a card with zero interest the first year. This is your card.
Bonus: $150 cash back when you spend $500 within first 90 days
Annual Fee: No
5. Discover IT
This is a great card for beginners trying to establish some credit. You don’t have to have an incredible credit score to be eligible for this one. The Discover IT has some pretty nice rotating 5% cash back categories. My favorite part about it is October thru December you get 5% cash back when you shop at Amazon, walmart.com and Target. Perfect for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas shopping.
The downside, you can only redeem cach back if you have a minimum of $25. But once you have the minimum met, you can transfer the cash to your bank account or redeem as a statement credit. They also have a reward called ‘Cash Back Match’. For example, if you earn $100 cash back your first 12 months Discover IT will give you an additional $100. Be sure to really utilize it that first year!
Bonus: Cash Back Match
Annual Fee: No
4. Chase Freedom
Another great card with rotating categories. Chase Freedom is a great cash back card and a wonderful sidekick to the Chase Sapphire Preferred. You can redeem Chase Freedom cash back as cash and there’s no minimum requirement. And they can also be transferred as UR(ultimate rewards) points to a Chase travel card. I’ll discuss that more when I talk about the Chase Sapphire Preferred. The Chase Freedom has some good cash back categories such as grocery stores, restaurants and plenty more.
Chase will frequently give you random ‘Chase offers’ such as 20% off of Five Guys Burgers, 5% off at Starbucks or 10% off at Rite Aide. Chase Offers have expiration dates and are statement credit only. But they’re still nice regardless.
Bonus: $150 when you spend $500 within first 90 days
Annual Fee: No
3. Chase Sapphire Preferred
I like to have at least one travel card in my portfolio. The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great travel card. If you’re a beginner to the credit game, you may have to get some credit under your belt first. This card requires a 720+ credit score. The CSP is a heavy card as its made of metal. Their UR points are good for 12 airlines and hotels, as well as 1.25 cents per point. I highly recommend getting another Chase card to go with this. The Chase Freedom is perfect because you can put it to use and transfer the points to the CSR if you’re trying to prepare for a trip somewhere. I feel like the value of the points more than compensates for the $95 annual fee. The CSR is great if you travel all the time or only a couple times a year. The CSR has rental car insurance so great that you don’t even need to involve your actual car insurance carrier. For travelers, the CSR also covers trip cancellations and baggage delay. To earn UR points, you can earn two points per every dollar you spend on travel or dining and one point for everything else. There are better Chase travel cards than this. But this is perfect for the average Joe.
Bonus: 60,000($750 towards travel) points when you spend $4,000 within first 3 months
Annual Fee: $95
2. American Express Blue Cash Preferred
This essential card just got even more essential-er! Blue Cash is known for its 6% off at restaurants. But it also just recently added 6% off virtually any streaming service(Netflix, ESPN+, AppleTV etc) and 3% off transit. That includes Uber and Lyft. Add that long with 3% off at gas stations and this card has become a beast. There are three things stopping this card from being number one in my portfolio. They have a $25 minimum for redemption. Cash back can only be redeemed via statement credit. And there’s a $95 annual fee. But the pros more than outweigh the cons.
Bonus: $250 when you spend $1,000 within first 3 months
Annual Fee: $95
1. US Bank Cash Plus
I’m excited to talk about this card! My favorite and most versatile everyday card. Its arguably the most versatile cash back card out there. The Cash Plus card works like this. There are 12 categories that offer 5% cash back. You get to pick two of them. There are three 2% cash back categories. You get to pick one. The great things about the 5% categories is they contain everyday bills such as cable/internet/streaming, cell phone providers and utilities.
You can switch up your categories every three months depending on your needs that particular time of year. This could really add up depending on how much you pay per month in all of that. You have to pay these bills anyway. Why not get some cash back into your wallet for doing so. There is no minimum redemption requirement. If you have a US Bank account, the cash can be transferred into it immediately. No waiting three business days. My favorite card, hands down!
Bonus: $150 cash back when you spend $500 within first 90 days
Annual Fee: No
Conclusion
Credit cards can be intimidating. But, if you are responsible and spend within your means, they can be an asset. In a time of bank accounts with almost zero percent interest. These credit cards can be a nice alternative.