> Otherwise, you're giving up 1-3% discount.

I would be curious what percentage of people actually qualifies for a card with over 2% cashback especially without a monthly fee. My guess is that that percentage is very low.

High earner/spender, sure but that's not most people

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svpk 16 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I know that Discover has a card with a 5% discount category that changes once a quarter. Everything not in the category gets 1%. It's not hard to get the card (or at least wasn't) and was frequently advertised to college students.

If you combine that with a card that gives 2% on everything than it wouldn't be hard to average over 2% cashback as long as you were mindful about using the discover card for qualifying purchases and the 2% card for everything else.

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greenavocado 16 hours ago | parent [-]

> as long as you were mindful about using the discover card for qualifying purchases and the 2% card for everything else.

And that's the rub. Credit card companies know most people won't be too mindful most of the time about their spending habits.

	▲	bluGill 15 hours ago \| parent [-]
		There is one other rub - because I use my bank's card I get better interest rates. How does a .25-.5 % on my various loans and checking account compare to 2% on groceries - this is a complex question that it not easy to answer.

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sokoloff 15 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

If you have Amazon Prime, I recommend getting the no-fee Chase Amazon card. 5% on Amazon and Whole Foods; 6% on some Amazon “no rush” deliveries.

No affiliation; just a happy user.

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ixwt 16 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I have a 2% cash back credit card from my bank, with no monthly fee. It started as a 1% cash back card around a decade ago, and slowly crept up to 2%. It's a nation wide credit union that has certain requirements to join though.

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Xirdus 16 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

My first US credit card was a 4-3-2-1% rewards program and I had literally zero income at the time. I was told by the banker, "oh you can't do that right away, you must first get a secured card to build your credit score, after a year you can try applying for real", but I told them I don't care and to send the application anyway, and I've got it.

Ever since then, I wondered how much of the "not qualifying" is due to misinformation like this.

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bitmasher9 15 hours ago | parent [-]

Most true not qualifying are either

1. People with proven bad credit.

2. People asking for a lot of money without proven good credit.

3. People asking for more specialized credit, such as lines for businesses or lines for high earners.

	▲	Xirdus 14 hours ago \| parent [-]
		The question is what percentage of overall population are 1, 2 and 3 combined, and is it big enough to warrant the perception that high reward cards are only for high earners/spenders. My instinct says hell no, not even close.