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Credit cards can be a hot topic in the financial world, but we believe they can be used as a a wealth building tool, when used correctly. In this highlight, Brian tells us what some of his favorite credit cards are, the benefits that you can earn from using them, and Clark Howard’s favorite credit cards.
For more information on how to use credit cards the smart way, check out this blog post called, “How to Use Credit Cards Like a Pro.”
“It’s Brian Preston, The Money Guy. We got a question from Warren W. to kick us off. He says, ‘What is the best credit card out there, rewards, etc. What should he be looking for? He pays it off every month without question, so what do you think?'”
“So this is subjective. I think this is very much experiential. In my opinion, there is not a best credit card for most financial mutants. There is a credit card suite or a stable that might be really useful depending on the way that you consume and your behavior.”
“I personally, Brian, I’ll be curious to get your take on this. I really like cashback cards because we don’t travel a ton. I don’t necessarily need the travel rewards or the miles as much. So I love that whenever I get a card or select a card, I really like to either get a discount on my purchase price or physically get cash back. Do you agree, or would you do more of the travels?”
“No, I think it is very much a personal decision. And first, I also want to get a disclaimer. A lot of influencers get some type of money for recognition recommending credit cards. We don’t get into that. We don’t get into that game. I’m only speaking as Brian, the user of credit cards. Bo is speaking as Bo, the user credit cards.”
“I do agree that I think for the lion’s share of folks out there, like that Fidelity Visa credit card that doesn’t have an annual fee and will pay you two percent back with no caps is a really good foundational thing.”
“I will tell you, though, for those financial mutants that have reached a level, and it is that’s a good core one, but I will tell you my mind was blown when we had Clark Howard on, who I consider just a huge inspiration in my financial life, and I know how tight Clark is. For anybody who’s from the southeast, specifically Atlanta, you know Clark can make a dollar dance. I mean, it’s an amazing thing to see what he can do with his wealth-building journey and how he shared that in a very abundant cycle type of way. And when he shared his credit cards with us, and I saw that Amex Platinum, I was like, ‘What, Clark? How are you, Clark Howard, and have an Amex Platinum? That card has like a six or seven hundred dollar annual fee. My wife has been asking for that for years, but there’s no way I want to pay six or seven hundred dollars.’ When I saw that Clark had it, and then I really went a deep dive into the rewards for somebody who’s reached a level of success that you are traveling a lot, and that’s kind of now that the world has opened back up, I will tell you I immediately after we recorded that show went and opened an Amex platinum, and it is incredible. Don’t do this, do not speed this decision up if you’re in the beginning of your financial journey. This might even be if we were putting a Financial Order of Operations, maybe the AmEx Platinum is step eight of the Financial Order of Operations because it’s not something you should not do early on.
The big take away is that credit card use is okay, credit card debt is no way. If you can’t pay them off in full every month, then you shouldn’t have them.
For more information on our Financial Order of Operations course, check out the deep dive here.
