Originally Posted by
hindukid
LPR,
You are using 2 cents as your baseline because you argue that you can easily get cashback at 2%. I question your assumption as most 2% cards I know of have some catches like requiring money to be spent on travel. I googled some and found a link for the top 2% cards but none are a straight 2% cashback. Do you have a card that is still available and offers 2% cashback?
I am currently receiving 3 hilton points which I value at 1.5 cents because I do not know of somewhere I will actually net 2%. Granted I am also willing to pay a little more for an Amex so that might tack on another quarter cent or so.
http://creditcardforum.com/blog/2-ca...k-credit-card/
I have an HSBC--now owned by Capital One--card that pays 2% on everything. The only restriction is that I have to have $25 before redemption. I have two different PenFed gas cards--one that pays 5% cash back on each statement and one that gives 5 points per dollar spent. They are basically the same since the points can be redeemed for gift cards (5,000 points for a $50 card). I have the Citi Forward card that pays 5 points per dollar for dining which can be redeemed for gift cards also. I use my Discover cards only when there is a 5% return which can return 6.25 percent with certain gift cards.
But I always carry the 2% HSBC card and make most decisions based on the 2% return that I get with that card--if higher returns are not available with another card.
Like most on here, I rarely use cash.