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You and I are on very much the same page. I was an AA customer for almost 20 years and dumped them because of quality declines. I've switched to Delta and am quite happy with them. I'm really lucky, though. I live in Boston, where there are three airlines with 20% market share each. Delta is also building out Boston as a focus city.

The Hilton Ascend (Amex) is a great card. Several members of my family have it. $40,000 to Diamond status is, as far as I'm concerned, the easiest way to get top-tier status. I like the free weekend night after $15,000 in spending.

It also has a limited-time 125,000 point signup bonus, which is ridiculous. For $95? Yes, please.

Mike

Now that I"m retired, I try and keep everything running on the KISS system (Keep it simple, stupid!)

That being said, the answer to the first question is I want a simple card that I can use every day...sort of be on  "auto pilot".

And regarding the second question, yes cash is my primary reward goal.

Perfect. Fortunately, you've made it pretty easy.

You'll want the Citi Double Cash Card. You earn 2% on every purchase. There are no bonus categories, no restrictions and no annual fee. I don't know of any other card that is this simple. The only downside to it is that there is no sign-up bonus.

The only other card that you might consider is the Discover It Miles card (on the same page through the link above). They use the term "miles," but that's just a marketing term. It's actually cash. In only pays 1.5%, but everything that you earn in the first year is doubled at the end of the year, so it's 3% for the first 12 months. After that, you're back to 1.5%.

Final note: We're trying to start this site off on the right note, so we're going a bit overboard about repeating our disclosures. In particular:

(Affiliate Disclosure: The posts in the forum may contain links to credit cards. Some links may pay us referral fees.. But please keep two things in mind: First, we will never post a card simply because of the opportunity to earn money. And second, if we see a better offer for the same card than we can give you, we will direct you to it. We promise.)

That's about it. I don't know of anything more straightforward than the Citi Double Cash card.

In any case, I hope that those help. Let me know if you have any more questions. Thanks!

Mike

Discover Card. Safeway card. ID theft.⇓

5% cash back at grocery stores through March 2020.

Used my Disco Card today at Safeway and with that Safeway card,get fuel discounts,too.There is a Chevron across the street!

My Disco cash back has been applied to my Amazon purchases as well...AUTOMATICALLY.

It's always a few bucks,every time.

No annual fee and excellent customer service,too.  My Discover Card account was somehow JACKED when I was in Las Vegas a few years back. Disco froze my account and waived any fees and charges + I got a new card in the mail 3 days later. Fantastic. 

 My Debit card was also JACKED and that issue took a LOT longer to fix.Small bank called GBC.I had to go to the bank (IN PERSON) to sign off on some documents that stated that I did not use my card to buy some dating services in California! Gee whiz.

One of the things that I always bring up when talking about Discover is their customer service. It's really, really good. Customer service is one of those things that you don't think about until you need it.

Mike

REAL customer service people that speak good Engrish,too!

Disco rocks!

Hey Michael....I'm now fully engaged in the credit card cash back game. Got the Chase Sapphire bonuses, but now using Discover to get the double cash back after a year. But my question is about payment.

I'm retired and have sufficient time to keep up with my spending and points. So what I've been doing is using the card daily, then paying it off online when the charges post. This leads to making online payments 15-20 times a month. It's easier for me to control and track spending that way.

But is there a downside to the frequent payments? Will it trigger Discover to cancel my card, reduce the creidit limit or restrict the availability of online payments?

Thanks for all the info!

Also: don't know if you've seen this, but Chase Sapphire now allows a 90-day window on purchases made to retroactively pay with points and get a credit for the amount paid. And the points are valued at 125% of standard.

Paying off your Discover card multiple time during the month SHOULD improve your credit score. One of the factors in determining your score is the monthly balances.Low balances should get you a better score.

  My Amazon purchases includes my Disco points automatically.

Hi! Welcome aboard!

As long as Discover doesn't think that you are manufacturing spend ( usually involves buying gift cards solely for the sake of earning points), you shoul be fine.

Dave is right about your credit score. One of the major factors is "utilization," or the percentage of your total credit available that you actually use. Lower is better, so paying the balance will keep the numerator low.

Mike

These are already an old post but I still read it , I can get knowledge and learning somemthing new for me . Thanks for sharing guys.