REI Credit Card

My climbing partner swears by it and recommends it to me. I am not that familiar with credit card shopping. Does anyone else use this?

I have the REI mastercard. It's nice if you buy stuff at REI regularly as you get an extra 5% back on top of the 10% dividend. The card also has no annual fee, so it's not bad to get and hold on to forever.

However, the card is backed by USBank, which has a virtually unusable online interface, so you'll probably have to call to make payments. Not too big of a deal, but kind of a pain in the ass.

If you are an REI member/shopper, it's a solid card with nice perks.

If not, there's little about it to stand out from other cards.

I have one, and suspect quite a lot of people on MP do.

Maybe if you spend a crazy amount at REI every year. Otherwise just get a Chase Freedom.

Like others said, not the best unless used for purchases at REI (5% back). When you sign up and use it, you get a $100 REI gift card which is a great bonus. Then all purchases at grocery stores give 2% back and everything else is 1%. The website is super easy to use. REImastercard.com. Helped me bump up my dividend a ton.

i use my rei card for all purchases and bills i have since in addition to the dividend you get for REI purchases, you also get 1% on everything (2% on groceries) you buy anywhere.

i pay my card off in full every month and have made every payment online. its extremely easy to do, despite what the previous poster mentioned. you can also see what your dividend is running up to on each statement, if that matters to you.

having a house, a kid and an expensive outdoor hobby means i spend a lot of money on this card. my dividend for 2016 is going to be $376 as i last checked.

also, as i side note, you have the ability to take your dividends as cash from REI. so if you dont want to be forced to spend your money there, you have the option.

this sounds like a huge sales pitch, but i have no connection to REI or mastercard. it has just served me well in the past so id like to pass on my experience.

Because of your other thread: if you wind up working for REI, it's stupid not to get one. Refer yourself for the referral bonus, get the $100 gift card, and the 5% back stacks with your employee discount. As long as you're paying it off, you come out way ahead.

I don't actually "buy" much at REI, but we use the REI card on other things (groceries, plus miscellaneous). That nets us about $200 of a dividend a year. So, effectively, we get $200 a year of free gear from REI.

Fidelity Rewards. 2% back on everything. period.

Redyns wrote:Fidelity Rewards. 2% back on everything. period.

which card is more valuable is dependent on how much you spend each month at both REI and other places

for example if you spend $1000 in a month on your Fidelity card you get $20 back.

but if you spend $600 at non rei non grocery, $300 on grocery and $100 at REI (which totals $1000 as the scenario above) you would get $27 back from the REI card.

so yeah, different scenarios dictate which is better i guess.

Jake wander wrote:i use my rei card for all purchases and bills i have since in addition to the dividend you get for REI purchases, you also get 1% on everything (2% on groceries) you buy anywhere. i pay my card off in full every month and have made every payment online. its extremely easy to do, despite what the previous poster mentioned. you can also see what your dividend is running up to on each statement, if that matters to you. having a house, a kid and an expensive outdoor hobby means i spend a lot of money on this card. my dividend for 2016 is going to be $376 as i last checked. also, as i side note, you have the ability to take your dividends as cash from REI. so if you dont want to be forced to spend your money there, you have the option. this sounds like a huge sales pitch, but i have no connection to REI or mastercard. it has just served me well in the past so id like to pass on my experience.

+1

Citi Double Cash Card - beats Fidelity because you don't have to a checking account with them

Dave T wrote:Citi Double Cash Card - beats Fidelity because you don't have to a checking account with them

Agree with this.

Citi Double Cash for everything.
Chase freedom for the 5% categories.
BoA Travel Rewards for no yearly fee and no foreign transaction fees (if you go international). I also believe it is the only chip and pin card with no fee, basically a requirement in most places outside the US now.

If you get a REI card it only makes sense to use it at REI. The 2% straight cash back from Citi is a better and easier deal for everything else.

Jake wander wrote: which card is more valuable is dependent on how much you spend each month at both REI and other places for example if you spend $1000 in a month on your Fidelity card you get $20 back. but if you spend $600 at non rei non grocery, $300 on grocery and $100 at REI (which totals $1000 as the scenario above) you would get $27 back from the REI card. so yeah, different scenarios dictate which is better i guess.

How are you getting $27? You know you get the 10% dividend by being a member no matter what card you use...

$600 @ 1% = $6
$300 @ 2% = $6
$100 @ 5% = $5

So only $17 which is worse.

Unless I am missing something and you get your 10% + 10% + 5% which I don't think is the case. You don't get a dividend on purchases outside of REI. And they can't be sale items, etc.

The best thing to do in your scenario is:

$900 on double cash card = $18
$100 on REI Card = $5

Total of $23 back. Not bad.

Parker Wrozek wrote: How are you getting $27? You know you get the 10% dividend by being a member no matter what card you use... $600 @ 1% = $6 $300 @ 2% = $6 $100 @ 5% = $5 So only $17 which is worse. Unless I am missing something and you get your 10% + 10% + 5% which I don't think is the case. You don't get a dividend on purchases outside of REI. And they can't be sale items, etc. The best thing to do in your scenario is: $900 on double cash card = $18 $100 on REI Card = $5 Total of $23 back. Not bad.

for the $100 spent at REI i calculated the dividend as 15% (which is what you get with the credit card and membership). although maybe i shouldnt have included the 10% you get for REI purchases just for having a membership. wasnt trying to trick anyone, just an oversight.

plus you only get 10% on regular priced items

Y'all are forgetting about interest rate differences between cards as well. For any given credit rating, there is up to a 10 point variation in APR, so credit card X at 17.9% APR that rebates 5% may not be as good a deal for you as credit card Y that only rebates 2%, but has your APR at 13.5%

On top of this are the promotional rates, like 0% APR for the first 12 months.

Marc801 wrote:Y'all are forgetting about interest rate differences between cards as well. For any given credit rating, there is up to a 10 point variation in APR, so credit card X at 17.9% APR that rebates 5% may not be as good a deal for you as credit card Y that only rebates 2%, but has your APR at 13.5%

Moot point if you pay the card balance every month. And, at the risk of being flamed, if someone is debating 1% vs 2% on purchases but they are paying 13-18% APR on a revolving credit card balance... well that just strikes me as focusing on the wrong problem.

It's all about that Chase Sapphire.

Jake wander wrote:i use my rei card for all purchases and bills i have since in addition to the dividend you get for REI purchases, you also get 1% on everything (2% on groceries) you buy anywhere. i pay my card off in full every month and have made every payment online. its extremely easy to do, despite what the previous poster mentioned. you can also see what your dividend is running up to on each statement, if that matters to you. having a house, a kid and an expensive outdoor hobby means i spend a lot of money on this card. my dividend for 2016 is going to be $376 as i last checked. also, as i side note, you have the ability to take your dividends as cash from REI. so if you dont want to be forced to spend your money there, you have the option. this sounds like a huge sales pitch, but i have no connection to REI or mastercard. it has just served me well in the past so id like to pass on my experience.

Agree with this 100%.

I use mine for almost all spending, including airfares, car rentals, etc. when on climbing trips, and I get a dividend of around $500 each year.

I pay my bill in full online each month, and the website is easy to use.

Marc801 wrote:Y'all are forgetting about interest rate differences between cards as well. For any given credit rating, there is up to a 10 point variation in APR, so credit card X at 17.9% APR that rebates 5% may not be as good a deal for you as credit card Y that only rebates 2%, but has your APR at 13.5% On top of this are the promotional rates, like 0% APR for the first 12 months.

If my interest rate was 200% I wouldn't care. Pay it off every month and never pay interest ever.