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Cash back rebate from credit card, question

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debtstinker

Joined: 03 Nov 2007
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Posts: 303

97 Magic Points

Subject: Cash back rebate from credit card, question

Wed Nov 07, 2007 2:34 pm

I put this question under this forum because I supposedly earned some cash back rebate from one of my credit cards. has anyone ever earned cash back from their cards and if so how long does it take to receive it? If I get a check (which i'm thinking in this case on my anniversary date it's a credit to my account) I would like to invest it in a checking account that ican open up locally that earns interest! this is the first i've heard of checking accounts that earn interest. i do know of savings that does that as well....i'm just wondering.

CreditGrantor

Joined: 01 Sep 2007
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Thu Nov 08, 2007 1:07 am

My discover card has "cash back". THey give options like 1) I could have them send me a check, 2) I could use it as payment on my credit card account, 3) they've got partners like Amazon.com and if I go shopping through a partner then they "double" my cash-back amount.

I always go to the website, and there is a section where you choose how to redeem your cash-back bonus. I've never had them cut me a check, so I don't know how long it take, but I'd imagine 10-14 days processing.

Second part of your question ... I've seen checking accounts that earn interest. BUT the interest is always very miniscule, like .045% or something like that. Checking accounts will never earn as much interest as a savings account.

debtstinker

Joined: 03 Nov 2007
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Thu Nov 08, 2007 1:47 am

Hi Credit, thanks so much for your response. I thought about that just before reading your post here. Rethinking this I think I will stay with my current institution and begin a savings account. WAMU doesn't give options as to how to redeem the cash back option. They only say on their website that to redeem the cash back I have to be current on my anniversary date. Gosh, I think my anniversary date is July of next year. oh well...i was wondering. thanks again!

Laura

Joined: 21 Jun 2007
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Thu Nov 08, 2007 4:33 am

HI Creditgrantor,

Could you please elaborate on the cash back thing?

Hi debtstinker could you please tell me what offer had you heard of from WaMu?
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Laura.

CreditGrantor

Joined: 01 Sep 2007
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Thu Nov 08, 2007 11:08 am

How the cash back works, is that they usually give you back a percentage of how much you charge up every month. For example Discover gives like 2% cashback on gas/food purchases, and 1% cashback on everything else. Just for easy calculation, suppose I charge $500 in a month at various retail stores. Then Discover will give me 1% cashback on those purchases (1% X $500 = $5.00).

Then they 'hold' that cashback amount as a separate balance, kind of like a savings account. Every time I spend money on the credit card, that little 1 or 2% keeps getting added to my cashback balance. It will keep adding up until I tell Discover to do something with it, like send me a check for the amount or use it to shop at online 'partners'.

I think they have certain rules when you can spend your cashback, like I think I had to wait until I had the card for a year before they let me use it. And they only let you use it in $20 increments -- maybe I have $42.66 in my cashback balance, I can only use $40 of it. (These are Discover's rules, I'm sure they vary for the different credit cards).

In my opinion, it's just a way to get people to use their credit card more versus paying cash for things, because your getting this 1-2% bonus for using the card. Now I pay my balance off every month, so this cashack bonus is actually a little extra spending money for me. But it wouldn't make sense to consider this as a 'good deal' if you carry a balance from month-to-month, because the interest they end up charging is a lot more than the cashback they give you.

CreditGrantor

Joined: 01 Sep 2007
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Thu Nov 08, 2007 11:20 am

I forgot to add too, I have a BestBuy card that has similar incentives. Every time I use the card to buy something, they give 'points'. (How they calculate the points though, I have no idea.) But I know that 250 points is worth $5, and when I reach 250 they will send me a $5 Best Buy voucher to spend in their store.

But that's not a good deal, for me. When I got the card, I didn't read the fine print -- they charge a $59 annual fee. I put charges on the card before I realized their fee, and so it was too late for me to cancel. I think I've received about $50 in Best Buy vouchers this last year so I'm still in the hole $9.

I didn't cancel the card right away, because I figured "I already paid the darn $59 - I may as well get a year of good credit from them on my credit report." Now that my year is up, I am cancelling it this month before they charge their annual fee again.

debtstinker

Joined: 03 Nov 2007
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Thu Nov 08, 2007 12:42 pm

Morning everyone...Credit, you have a bit of a sweeter deal with your Discover card as it seems you get more options than WAMU cards give their customers.
Laura...I was given a WAMU card sometime last year, July I think, and after my credit history and problems i was shocked that they would take a chance on me giving me a $1500 credit limit wiht NO ANNUAL FEES! oh i was so thrilled, then recently they gave me the option of getting a 1% cash back on my purchases there was another option too but don't remember it now, wasn't appealing to me. So...I chose the cash back option and like Credit said in his previous posts, you get a 1% cash back on your purchases. Unlike Discover though there wasn't fluctuation on what you could spend on. there's a flat 1% amount that you get back on every purchase.
Of course the catch is you have to be current, make your monthly payments on time, and according to WAMU on the date of your anniversary you will get the money you've accumulated. after reading reviews, you don't get a check i don't think, rather it is put as a credit on your account, same deal I guess. Recently I had a huge car repair and i put that on the card, got $20 plus dollars back in rebate. it's pretty nice if you're a responsible card holder and have the ability to pay your bills. we pay 2 if not more times a month. I put EVERYTHING on there and never approach my 50% of my credit limit as that lowers your credit score.
hope this helps. Credit thanks for the details!

Laura

Joined: 21 Jun 2007
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Fri Nov 09, 2007 5:33 am

Thanks a lot Creditgrantor and Debtstinker for the information. We can talk a lot more about it I hope Smile

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Laura.

goodnatured

Joined: 03 Nov 2007
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Sat Nov 10, 2007 1:55 am

Wow, I never had a card with these types of incentives, probably never will, don't plan on applying for another card. This has been a great read though.

debtstinker

Joined: 03 Nov 2007
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Sat Nov 10, 2007 2:34 am

well good you're a very smart person for not. It's too tempting to use those things and despite our best disciplined efforts we have a small balance that we can't pay in full this month, and that's scary to us after going through the consolidation and credit collections era before we married. there's some pretty sweet deals through these cards, they're enticing but they're counting on us not being responsible. ok you get $30 rebate but ify ou have a high balance they'll get that and more out of ya with the interest.

Laura

Joined: 21 Jun 2007
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Sat Nov 10, 2007 5:07 am

Credit cards can be pretty bothersome if not handled properly. I am still waiting on the posts that need to come across for me to decide whether I should take a card with 6 months of another. Any suggestion would be really appreciated Smile

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Laura.

goodnatured

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Sat Nov 10, 2007 5:37 pm

The word card is a four letter word to me, I got too careless and made some really bad financial decisions with cards. I have my mess about cleaned up and don't plan on revisiting that nightmare any time soon. They take discipline that I just don't have at this time.

debtstinker

Joined: 03 Nov 2007
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Sun Nov 11, 2007 3:14 am

they sure do take discipline! that's for sure. so tempting. I charged our car repair, 1k on our card and hubby said that we just have to pay that off. I almost fainted when that wiped our checking account out. but he explained to me that at the interest rate we currently have 19.99%, that we would accumulate more interest in one cycle than we pay for 2 weeks worth of groceries!! well that did it. we sucked it up and eat lots of ground beef Smile

amazing how many recipes out there for that stuff! i mean it took lots of gazungas for us to shell tha tkind of money out, but the benefit far outweighed the cons. we're surviving. we'll be ok and are grateful we had the resources to take care of it. also, it's better to invest money in a vehicle that's all paid for than to go out and buy another making payments. so i just had to look at it differently. good...it's great that you have the discipline, you say you don't have it but you do..by not getting involved with them!

goodnatured

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Sun Nov 11, 2007 4:22 am

I would have to be slapping my own fingers all the time, no thanks.

Morningstar

Joined: 17 Apr 2007
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Mon Nov 12, 2007 3:25 am

Interesting, CG.

I have a BB card (issued through HSBC), and I don't have an annual fee. I joined BB's rewards program independently and 2 years later, and recieve the same (at least, I assume) vouchers you do.
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