Tag Archives: US Bank

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Ask Me Anything (AMA): Credit Card Edition

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Good morning everyone, I hope your weekend is off to a great start.  I love talking about credit cards and recently wrote I Paid $4,588 in Credit Card Annual Fees in 2019 & Was it Worth it? and Why Do We Keep 16 No Annual Fee Credit Cards?  I also do a series called “Keep, Cancel, or Convert?” where I explain why a credit card is worth keeping or why it should be converted or closed.

Today, I want to answer your reader questions.  If they are short and simple questions, I can answer them directly in the comments section.  If they are longer and more complicated questions, I might write a blog post about that topic. So without further ado, what questions do you have about credit cards?  Have a great weekend everyone!

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Why Do We Keep 16 No Annual Fee Credit Cards?

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your weekend is off to a great start.  A few days ago, I wrote a post titled I Paid $4,588 in Credit Card Annual Fees in 2019 – Was it Worth it?  In that post, I shared the 21 credit cards that I plan on keeping and how I justify paying the annual fees on those credit cards.  I felt bad for the 16 no annual fee cards that Laura and I have and decided to write a post about them too.  Roughly half of the no annual fee credit cards were downgraded / converted from a credit card with an annual fee.  Besides the rewards that some of the no annual fee credit cards provide, keeping no annual fee credit cards open long term is good for your credit score.  It improves the length of credit history (average age of accounts), which represents 15% of your total credit score.  It also helps with the amounts owed (your credit utilization ratio), which represents 30% of your total credit score.  Lastly, it helps with payment history (paying your credit card bills on time), which represents 35% of your total credit score.  For more info, check out this Doctor of Credit page.

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Image source: https://www.kiplinger.com/article/credit/T017-C000-S002-how-your-credit-score-is-calculated.html

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I Paid $4,588 in Credit Card Annual Fees in 2019 – Was it Worth it?

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Good morning everyone.  As we approach the end of the year, I decided to take a look at my credit card spreadsheet and see how much my wife and I paid in annual fees this year.  I removed all the no annual fee credit cards and here are the 26 credit cards that have annual fees (sorted alphabetically).  I will break down this list into cards that I am 99% sure that I will cancel, 99% sure that I will keep, and the 50/50 cards that I might keep or cancel.  Read through this post and let me know if you agree or disagree with my thinking.

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US Bank Radisson Rewards Credit Card 20,000 Bonus Points Posting from May Targeted Spending Offer

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Good afternoon everyone.  Back in May, US Bank sent out emails to US Bank Radisson Rewards Credit Card members regarding a targeted spending offer.  Spend $500 or more each month of May, June, and July and earn 20,000 bonus Radisson Rewards Points.  20,000 Radisson Rewards points are worth ~$100 to me, so I decided to complete the spending requirements.  Fast forward to this week and the 20,000 bonus points just posted to my Radisson Rewards account.

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Keep, Cancel or Convert? US Bank Radisson Rewards Business Credit Card ($60 Annual Fee)

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Good morning everyone, I hope you had a great weekend.  As part of my “Keep, Cancel or Convert?” series, I like to evaluate and reevaluate credit cards to make sure they still deserve a spot in my wallet (or credit card drawer). For today’s post, I will review my US Bank Radisson Rewards Business Credit Card (no longer available to new cardholders) which just charged me the $60 annual fee.  The only reason I keep this credit card year after year is the 40,000 anniversary Radisson Rewards Points.  I am basically buying 40,000 Radisson Rewards Points for $60, which is 0.15 cents per point (CPP).  I probably value Radisson Rewards Points at 0.4-0.5 CPP, so I have no problem paying the annual fee every year.

Even though I planned on keeping this credit card, I called US Bank to ask if there were any retention offers available.  After reviewing my account, the rep first said she could cut my interest rate in half.  I politely declined that offer and said last year I was offered Radisson Rewards Points to keep the credit card open – was that offer still available?  The rep said yes, but it was only for 2,500 Radisson Rewards Points.  I told her that was better than nothing and accepted the offer.  The rep said I should see the 2,500 Radisson Rewards Points on my next statement.

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