[Credit Cards]Stop Offers, Picking the Best, etc.

If you want to stop receiving all of those annoying credit card offers in the mail, there are a few ways you can do it:

Phone - Call (888) 5-OPT-OUT to notify all three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) that you wish to opt-out of pre-screen offers. Telephone requests last for two years.

Online - Opt out of pre-approved offers of credit or insurance at www.optoutprescreen.com. The level of opt-out permanence can be chosen on the site.

Mail - Opt out of pre-approved offers of credit or insurance via written request using the following address:

TransUnion Name Removal Option
P.O. Box 505
Woodlyn, PA 19094

Written requests are permanent.



Which card is right for me?

There are a few ways to look at this. Presently I use 3 cards. The Chase Freedom for the 5% rewards that alternate every 3 months, the Citi Forward card for 5% back at restaurants and Amazon (also gives 5% at other places, but I only use it at those places), and the Fidelity Investment Reward card for 2% back on everything else.

Here is a great place to go to see which card(s) would be best for you, click the link below if you're a college student.

Link for college students

You can also look at specific things that you spend money on, and use that to determine which card(s) would benefit you the most. A good example of this would be the Chase Ink card, which gives 3% back on gas, restaurants, home improvement stores, and office supply stores. So if you do a lot of home repairs, this would be a good card for you.


You can also use this (highly complex) spreadsheet to try and figure things out, but it was a little too much for me.


We all want to save money (some more than others....points at self), and even if you're getting back an average of 3% on your purchases, that can add up fast. If you're not good at paying off your cards in full each month, then this may not be for you. Also, keep in mind that when you apply for a credit card, there is a hard inquiry toward your credit score that remains there for 2 years, but only counts against your score for 1 year. After about 6 months you usually start regaining points. Having 1-4 hard inquries can drop your score about 10-12 points for that first year, and having 5+ can drop it up to 20 points. Also remember that some cards charge annual fees, such as the American Express Blue Cash. These usually give the greatest rewards, but the fee quite often negates them. Keep all of this in mind when applying for a credit card.

Don't forget to also keep in mind that a lot of cards have rewards when you sign up, and specials that last for the first 3-6 months.

Yeah, I'm at work, bored, and thought I'd waste some time. So there's 30 minutes wasted. Only 5 hours to go!

Pugs