Here is an instant messaging exchange from last night which may assist anyone trying to decide between a wide selection of business credit cards with cash back.
[23:53] DoNotBlink: Hi there!
[23:53] DoNotBlink: Was reading your blog and hoped I could ask you a quick q?
[23:54] Flexo CC: hi, what’s up?
[23:54] DoNotBlink: Hi, hope im not bothering you… just has a quick q about this post
[23:55] Flexo CC: ok, i’ll try to answer
[23:56] DoNotBlink: Why is your first choice the discover card? Compared to the AMEX Simply Cash which gives 5% on gas, office supplies and wireless… the discover only gives 5% on office, and only 2% on gas… also it has a higher APR?
[23:58] Flexo CC: That’s a good question. The APR is irrelevant to me since cards are paid off before interest is accrued, so that doesn’t factor. Looking at the details I wrote, it looks like the SimplyCash might be better — I don’t remember if either card has a cash back yearly limit, so that might have been the factor I was considering when I wrote the post. Unfortunately, I didn’t list any limits in the post.
[23:59] DoNotBlink: Right, APR shouldnt matter =) but as you said it does look like AMEX would have been a better choice, right?
[23:59] Flexo CC: Yeah, more options for 5% would make that card better.
[00:01] DoNotBlink: OK then, SimplyCash it is… thanks for your time!
[00:01] Flexo CC: yeah, I was just checking…
[00:01] DoNotBlink: Oh…?
[00:02] Flexo CC: the discover card is limited… 5% of the first $2,000 spent in each category
[00:02] Flexo CC: simplycash does not list any limits
[00:02] Flexo CC: so simplycash it is.
[00:02] DoNotBlink: Then it would seem far and away the better choice…
[00:02] Flexo CC: good catch, thanks!
[00:02] DoNotBlink: no, thank you, for your time!
[00:02] Flexo CC: no problem. have a good night.
[00:03] DoNotBlink: Well, im in Hong Kong for vacation, so its good morning =)
[00:03] Flexo CC: in that case, have a great day!
[00:04] DoNotBlink: =)
I don’t get that many questions via instant messenger, so it was a nice surprise. If you have anything you want to ask me about anything I’ve written, just contact me through email or instant messenger. I don’t really give financial advice as I’m not a professional, but I’m always interested in talking about what I’ve written on Consumerism Commentary. I particularly like when someone brings something to my attention that I might have missed, like last night’s reader did.
Updated March 28, 2010 and originally published January 26, 2007. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the RSS feed or receive daily emails. Follow @flexo on Twitter and visit our Facebook page for more updates.
Rank: Platinum
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
So this may be a stupid question, but I’m gonna ask anyway. Do you need to actually have a business to sign up for this card? (AMEX Simply Cash)
Thanks~
Adam: Good question. You don’t need to have a business. As an individual, you can consider yourself a sole proprietorship.
what kind of instant messenger do you have? aim? google talk? yahoo?
I use the Trillian software over the AOL instant messenger network.
As a cash rebate card, the SimplyCash is probably the better card. But the Discover Business Card (like most Discover Cards) allows you to increase the value of your cash rebates by exchanging them for gift certificates. You can potentially double the value of the cash rebates when you exchange them for certain merchant gift cards.