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Hey CB just checking in because it's been a while.Thought I'd share a story on how I *finally* was able to realize the power of rewards after getting out of subprime mode about 3yrs ago (thanks mostly to advice on CB ) Caution - Long read! I got a telemarketing call from the dealer I leased my last car from telling me how they want to buy my current car for bluebook price to get me into a new car. I've been wanting to downsize and simplify since having a new kid over the past year, and the lease payment of my car was $1400/mo with 23 payments left. Yes, that's $32,200 + 1 more registration fee of $800 = $33k left on a LEASE, so I figured why not try and save some $$ and see what they do for me. Get to the dealership expecting a load of BS and leaving, but they actually came through. Of course, by "bluebook value", I quickly realized they meant "wholesale bluebook / trade-in value". My car appraised for a couple thousand $$ less than payoff, but given the high lease payment it was totally worth it to eat a relatively small negative. And, the new car they discounted $5k which is $1400 less than invoice and about $1000 less than the Edmunds TMV for my area. My new payment for 60mo @ 2.9% APR (went with MBFS dealer captive bank) on a PURCHASE would be $600, which saved me $800/mo off the bat, plus with the low rate most of my payment was going straight to the loan balance, which ultimately would be worth something since it isn't a lease. After all negotiations, we agreed on the vehicle and price and down payment. Then they asked how I was going to pay the down payment ($7500). Post-dated check I guess? NOPE! That's when I remembered - I have a Platinum Amex Mercedes Benz charge! HOW I SAVED So I realized, I can get 5x points for any and all MB purchases. That's 5.8% cash back based on rewards2cash values. SAVINGS = $435 Then, it dawned on me: I have a $1000 certificate that I received a few months ago from Amex towards the lease or purchase of a new MB! I'm glad that I remembered after the whole deal was made, because it was a straight $1k off the top. They took this certificate (had my brother bring it down from home) same as cash, reducing my down payment to $6500, though while also reducing my cashback to $377 due to reduced amount charged to card. SAVINGS = $1,000 - $58 cashback reduction = $942 Then, to top it off, my brother got confused and brought 2 envelopes, 1 of which was the $1k cert and 1 of which was a $100 accessory coupon for MB accessories that Amex also mailed me! I ended up buying about $100 worth of stupid stuff from the parts department (admit - I wouldn't have bought unless it was free, but nonetheless counts as savings!) SAVINGS = $100 Ok, so I wasn't done yet. After making my wife go through all of this at the dealership for 4 hours, I had to take her to dinner. We went to Flemmings, where I had an Amex "My offer" for $50 off $100 that was applied to my Platinum card. SAVINGS = $50 TOTAL SAVED = $1527 Even if you don't count the last two items, that's a solid $1,377.00 that I otherwise would not have saved. And to think, just 2 months ago went through FR with Amex, not to mention the $475 annual fee, was about to close the card. Good thing I didn't! I know it's a tough road out of subprime for all of us, but after my long struggle with it, this weekend really made things all the sweeter.

Hey all, I was recently approved for Navy Federal's Platinum card with a $14K limit. I transferred about $11,600 from my BOA MasterCard. I was concerned about high utilization on the card but I really wanted to take advantage of the 0% . At any rate, on the second call to customer service, I got a nice rep and explained my concern and she submitted a CLI request to the lending department with all the comments I had mentioned. I asked for 20K just to be safe. So, I check my account this AM and my credit line had been increased to 20K!!! This brings my available credit to $90K. And now my utilitization overall is about 11-12% now. Whew! I can stop sweating now lol