Charge everything and PIF each month. I get a good $15 in rewards every month.

Remember the rental insurance is usually secondary to you regular car insurance.

__

My main card is Discover Escape, sure it's got a $60 annual fee, but look at the benefits including 50k primary rental coverage. [www.discovercard.com]

Citi's Diamond Rewards World Mastercard has price drop protection. If the price goes down within 60 days, they'll credit you the difference.

AMEX has damage, loss, and "retailer won't accept the return" guarantees that are effective 30-60 days after a purchase.

You know, this would have been a handy link to post on one of those "you use a credit card, ergo you must be a brainwashed sheeperson who is up to his eyebrows in debt" threads.

Not that it would have deterred them or anything...

This is something I like about Capital One - they have a section on their website that lists your exact rewards for each card you have, including ones you may not know about. For instance, I currently have 5,690 miles on my card. Ta da!

Credit is not evil, if used properly. I do all of my spending on a Credit card, but maintain a log of it so as to not overspend my paycheck. In the past 3 years it's paid for 6 round trip ariline tickets and best buy gift cards, etc. I'm trying to get my wife to use hers as well under the condition that it be a value that can be paid off each month. I've also purchased plenty of furniture and large-ticket electronics, paying no interest and being able to afford them using 0% 12-18 month offers.

If the end goal is a large purchase such as a home, new car, etc. It's much better to show that you can use credit effectively than it is to stay away from the stuff, it can lead to substantial savings in the long run. If you use it as a tool rather than a means of spending more, it can be one of the best financial things out there.

Plus there are the perks certain cards offer as well like insurance, warranty extension, etc.

My Fidelity Rewards puts 2% of my purchases into my 401k. Rather nice to pay my bills with it, then pay them all off each month, and I get that 2% bonus for things I would have paid for anyway!

Warning: Those perks may have changed. One of my credit cards that I got for just travel no longer offers automatic trip insurance, nor augmented repatriation insurance (additional insurance covering deductible and costs over a certain amount),nor luggage loss coverage, etc... Honestly it was a bit of an irritation, as news was buried deep in the middle of the new terms.

This happened some time ago, but it is worth calling a representative to clarify the "perks."

I sometimes wonder why many credit cards offer these "unknown" perks, when so few people ever get to know about them. And so few people know about them because the card companies do little to promote them. And maybe they don't promote them because they don't want you to use them. And if they don't want you to use them, why have them?

Probably so they can market all the "perks" they give you without having to actually pay for those perks.

I used Costco Amex on extended warranty claim for under cabinet ice maker that stopped working at 13 months (with a 12 month mfg warranty). They handled it very smooth, cost of repair was $800 and they decided to just pay for unit and reimbursed me full purchase price - $1250.

My Visa from Pentagon Federal recently started a cell phone protection program: if i pay my bill on my visa, my phone is insured for like $500 or something.
An absolutely brilliant idea considering I'm an iphone user who otherwise can't get a protection plan (which I wouldn't anyway).

Somewhere in my desk is all the paperwork that came with my cards and listed the perks, perhaps I should go back and read them again.

@IndexCreditCards: I would imagine it's so that if they're trying to retain someone or make a tough sell they have some extra ammunition.

@theblackdog: I'd suggest checking the website instead, since perks change regularly and they're increasingly diminishing. You don't want to count on a perk that turns out not to exist.

@Matt Singerman: Where is this section?

@MostlyHarmless: My husband is NOT up to his me in debt!

Oh, wait, different kind of eyebrows, right ... ?

@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): Are you telling me your husband does not owe you a boat load in favors and gratitude?

[You just gave him a son. Not-so-long-ago, he would have been totally indebted it you. [Not to say that guys arent any more, but these days they dont care if its a boy or a girl.]]

Just got a Sony Reader replaced 6 months after the warranty expired. It took some form-filling and a couple of calls but I have a working device again at no cost to me. Very nice perk that I sort of knew I had, but never tried to use before.

I've declined rental car coverage several times based on the credit card coverage, but I've never had to claim against it.

@MostlyHarmless: Gah, you're giving them ideas!!!!

@katstermonster: You call them "ideas" i call them "bait".

[just kidding. also, enough time has passed to be able to safely say that this thread wont break into a fight.]

@MostlyHarmless: I know...usually the combination of you, me, and Eyebrows is enough to start a riot. Where it Trai_Dep? That may be what we're missing.

P.S. So bummed I missed out on the receipt fiasco on the Walmart article...by the time I showed up, it was 80 comments deep!

@MostlyHarmless: P.P.S. Just got around to spending .5 seconds thinking about your username. And oh golly. Fantastic.

I've gotten a new coat/jacket every year from LLBean with their CC . They changed banks last year. They gave me a $10 coupon for the "hassle" of the change, and just sent me another $10 coupon for keeping them for a year. Free shipping from LLBean, too. I use that card exclusively for online purchases.
MY BP Visa has paid me over $100 this past year, just for buying gas from the BP station--which just so happens to be the cheapest and closest to home. And my car gets great mileage with it.
Both get PIF each month.

@katstermonster: Hehe thanks for the compliments.

Yeah, and Trai_Dep was also missing from the receipt fiasco. It was like so bizzare... at one point the thread was like "56 replies... none from friends." Most uninteresting flame war ever.

@wcnghj: The Visa Sgnature and the Mastercard World are the primary insurers when renting a car. The only requirement is that you must refuse their daily insurance, which isnt too difficult to swallow. I totaled a car last year and loked into renters insurance and it was prohibitive. Wasnt gonna drive my Camaro SS in winter conditions. The only stipulation was at the time that you could not rent car more than 15 consecutive days. So having a Visa Signature, I researched and fould that the Mastercard World had the same coverage and restriction. So while I was renting with the Visa Signature I applied and recieved the Mastercard World. I then switched the rental contract every 2 weeks. Only disadvantage was that I couldnt get monthly rate, but I did get the insurance rate.

@SalenaBabblerash: I am afraid you are mistaken, on the Visa Signature atleast. UNLESS you have no regular auto insurance.

[usa.visa.com]

[quote]Within your country of residence, Visa Signature Auto Rental CDW [b]supplements, and applies excess of, any valid and collectible insurance or reimbursement from any source. [/b]It does not duplicate insurance provided by or purchased through the auto rental company; it will not pay for losses reimbursed by your own insurer, employer, employer's insurance, or any other valid and collectible insurance; however, it will pay for the outstanding deductible portion or other charges, including valid administration and loss-of-use charges not covered by your applicable automobile insurance policy. Outside your country of residence or if you do not have automobile insurance, this benefit is primary in those countries where it is available, and in that case, you do not have to claim payment from any other source of insurance before receiving the benefits.
[/quote]

@mamacat49: Heh, I get everything free every year. I don't live that far from Freeport and whenever a coat zipper breaks or something like that, I get it replaced free in person.

Anyone know where I can find what perks I have on my Capital One Platinum?

@IndexCreditCards: They're buried in your cardholder agreement but they're really there.

American Express still has some pretty good perks, although there is a charge for the card. They have extended warranty coverage, merchant dispute resolution, concierge service, some interesting cardholder offers (like concert tickets). I've used them a long time and they've always been a good resource. One other "downside" is that you can't carry a balance on the basic card. It has to be paid in full each month (other than the Blue Card and the Optima Card which function like Visa).

@katstermonster: Out of curiosity more than anything else, I try to get on this blog maybe twice a day. It seems like some posters are on 24/7. When does everyone work/sleep/eat?

@H3ion: We dont watch the posts/comments in real time with our hands on the trigger :P

I generally manage quick comments between switching tasks, or during the "Stragegic Breaks" (thats what i call them).

Very few people are actually active 24/7, but since everyone is on different time zones and on different schedules, you see something or the other going on all the time.

Stats from Bunedoggle tell me that I hardly ever comment during the weekends (still have to master sleep-typing without getting banned) or late at nights (this is about as late as i get).

I am not sure about others, but I use Bunedoggle to get notified of replies to my posts by email. [Its slightly flaky, but mostly works]

And I visit the site hourly during my daytime (sometimes more if I am doing boring work).

The only time I tried to use the "lost, stolen or damaged within 90 days" clause many years ago the phone call went something like this:

Citibank: Thank you for calling the Shitibank Platinum Perks line, how may I help you?

Me: I purchased a new refrigerator one month ago with my card. Yesterday, while changing a light bulb in the kitchen, a ladder fell over and knocked a dent in the refrigerator door.

Citibank: Did you file a police report?

Me: No, the refrigerator wasn't stolen - it was damaged when a ladder fell against it.

After about twenty minutes of this bullshit, I hung up and placed a large magnet over the gash on the refrigerator door.

@audiochick: FYI, not all people have rewards on their Capital One cards. For me, it appears as a tab on the main screen called "Rewards", but my roommate, who got the card waaay before I did has the exact same screen, except that one tab is missing.

He'd probably have to cancel the card and then re-apply a few months later but he doesn't want to risk getting a smaller limit than what he has now.

@gman863: So you damaged your own refrigerator then tried to invoke that clause from your credit card? I don't think that situation is what was envisioned for that particular protection plan and frankly, I think it's wrong to try to use the protection plan to get reimbursement for something you did with your own hand.

@H3ion: I'm a grad research assistant with a part-time job that requires little to no time/attention/brain power (I work in IT...HA!). My research job is largely simulation-based, meaning I struggle with MatLab, then sit around while it runs for 10 minutes, then rinse and repeat. Nothing better to do while it runs. :)

@SonicPhoenix: The 90-day coverage was almost certainly for accidental damage, which is exactly what happened. If, frustrated with life, you took a hammer to the refrigerator and threw it out a window, then yes, you shouldn't be covered.