I was shocked. I likely think its outdated information and used her information pre to her being married to me.

FrankN wrote: Agreed. My wife and I were both looking at the same card, and were offered completely different terms and bonuses. I was shocked at the different offerings.

I didn't realize the offerings varied to that extent. That's really crazy! What do they use to determine what to offer each person and where do they get the information?

To compare apples to apples ... there are rewards such as points or cash and then there are benefits (in some cases with the higher tier cards you could equate them to some form of rewards such as TSA/Global reimbursement or Airport Lounge Access or WiFi or complimentary second tickets etc). The benefits used to be more standardized and then Visa and MasterCard relaxed the requirements. Further, it used to be that to qualify for the higher tier benefited cards you need to qualify for a credit limit of $5,000 (Visa Infinite supposedly $10,000). The credit limit/line requirement has also been greatly relaxed. To really entice card issuers used to offer "Flexible Spending Limits" which allowed you to exceed your established credit line (similar to American Express) and August 1, 2015 that mandate by Visa and MasterCard was eliminated and some issuers First National Bank of Omaha went in and removed them from all cardholders. Today Citi Bank does not seem to offer flexible limits except on their Annual Fee Cards (note as soon as I say this it will change). Everything seems flexible with card rewards and benefits today and what used to have standards are only casual guidelines at best. As one poster mentioned offerings can be different on the same cards between people ... so the potential cardholder needs to research for the terms and conditions of each card.

Curry wrote: The skeptic in me wonders what was raised in order for them to "give away" money in this fashion. It might be a legitimate "gimme", but I doubt it.

True, but I think the rewards are mostly used as bait to reel people in. I bet the vast majority let their rewards expire either because they forget, think it's some sort of a scam, or think it's not worthwhile. Plus, think of all the interest that's racking up in the meantime.

Agreed. My wife and I were both looking at the same card, and were offered completely different terms and bonuses. I was shocked at the different offerings.

The USAA American Express and Visa Signature Cards have the benefits offered to many Visa Signature and AX Cards but through USAA. Today each lender has some flexibility on what they will offer for rewards and at what level they choose. The benefits are not the same across many cards anymore. That seems to have changed around 2015. The moral of the story is the card applicant would be wise to check out what the details of the card rewards are since there are may variations. What I am saying is that a Visa SIgnature, World MasterCard, World Elite MasterCard and Visa Infinite does not mean exactly the same benefits as the issuer today can adjust benefits as they feel appropriate.

I wouldn't join a card just for points necessarily, but points and money back gimmicks are worthwhile if it's something you're already going to buy.
Wanderer, I bet your USAA card is useful and came with nice perks. I don't have a veteran in my family or I'd use that bank myself.

Follow your post. Suspect that American Express had to expand their card holder base to stay viable. To do that they opened it up to the masses. In my mind it is just another network and one that is not accepted everywhere so I don't even have one per se ... obtained a co-branded one from USAA.

I see AmEx having to revamp in the next few years if they want to keep up. Less and less people carry their card and it's not even accepted at a lot of places. When I was growing up, my dad was the VP of a large company and he used AmEx for everything. He probably averaged about $100,000 a year on it, so he reaped the benefits, but more than that, it was the prestige factor back then. If he had used Visa in front of a multi million dollar client, it wouldn't have been the same. Now I see people use AmEx and I think, "The 70s called and they want their credit card back."

The big draw of having an AMMEX card is that it includes a free yearly subscription to Shoprunner which I use fairly often. I'm a fan of points/cash back and use my cards on purchases that will maximize the value. I pay them off every month which takes discipline, of course. Sometimes it's a bit of a gamble too when chasing a a high dollar deal. I have to be certain to understand the rules and the exact timeline that is in place. Even then I sometimes have to follow up to be sure everything has credited. So far, it's been worth the extra effort.

I agree with both your points on Amex as well. I don't see why the consumer would care about the prestige. The younger generation is focused on ease of use, functionality, and cost.

I have heard/read the same thing Wanderer. The only thing American express has is high fees and "prestige." Our younger generation is looking for the most inexpensive way to have a card that works. Heads up AmEx.

One thing going way back that I noticed about American Express ... high Annual Fees and high Aprs (when it is a revolving card) and all for the prestige of carrying American Express. As to prestige, that was gone when they tried to appeal to the masses. When reading a post on another site, the younger posters said it was time for American Express to leave the "old person" image and appeal to the younger ages.

FrugalFran wrote: I just got an AmEx offer in the mail and the annual fee was $195, so I scrapped it. That's just way too high for me to justify taking on another card, even with the rewards taken into consideration.

Isn't that the problem with rewards schemes? The companies wouldn't offer them if they didn't think they would make the money back another way, so they normally relay on most people not earning enough rewards so their fees cover the high 'earners'.

I agree with you Tishbel. 80% of my cards are cash back.