We’ve been asked from time to time what we’ve got going on in our wallets. I’d be able to answer that without even looking because no less than six times a week, Sally rifles through everything my little leather (maybe pleather) billfold holds and then proceeds to empty it all around the house. Such a fun game — actually, it’s not. Anyway, we wanted to share a little info about the Priceline Visa Rewards credit card and how it affects our feels.
But before we get into that, you should probably know how much we love Priceline. A lot. A lot a lot. Nine trips out of ten, we use Priceline to book our hotel and, if needed, rental car. I’ve also used them for a few business flights. We’re all about the Name Your Own Price feature on their site which, if you’re not familiar, allows you to snag “mystery” hotel, air, and rental car reservations at a price you set. We wrote all about how to snag the very best travel deals with Priceline, so check that out if you’re interested. Needless to say, we’re pretty tight with Priceline. Pound it, Negotiator… I guess websites haven’t learned how to fistbump yet.
All that being said, it was a no-brainer for us to look into the Priceline Rewards Visa to see if we could maximize our spending on their site while cashing in on rewards. Here’s our take on the pros and cons of this credit card.
The Pros
- No annual fee. This is usually the first thing we look for. In this case, it means we can hold onto it as long as we please without ever paying a dime (because we never ever carry a balance).
- 10,000 bonus points = $100 Priceline credit. Most cards offer some sort of bonus perk for joining up and this card is no different. While it’s not as awesome as other intro offers out there, we’ll take $100 in free Priceline credit any day of the week. In order to qualify, you need to spend $1,000 on the card in the first 90 days. Just use it for your normal, everyday expenses (hint: don’t go out of your way to spend more money… just don’t) and you should be able to snag those points easy peasy.
- 5x points on most Priceline.com purchases. As mentioned before, since we’re already giving them our money on a semi-regular basis, now we can get more bang for our buck. Five times the points certainly sweetens the money-saving pot.
- William Shatner is doing a freaking karate chop thing on the card! I mean, he’s no LeVar Burton, but William Shatner, guys! On your card! What, you guys don’t choose your cards based on what they look like? Weirdos. And FYI, I think there’s an option to get it without his mug on it.
The Cons
- Muddy terms on 5x bonus points. The T&C conditions state that Pay As You Stay, non-Name Your Own Price car rentals, and cruise bookings are NOT eligible for the 5x bonus rate. That doesn’t really bother us since we’re all about the Name Your Own Price feature, but it’s still worth looking into.
- Intro bonus is so-so. Like we said above, there are better intro bonuses out there. But given that the card is free (remember, because we never ever carry a balance) and that we’re planning on using it for the long haul, it’s still enough to score us a night or two free on our next getaway.
The Nitty Gritty
Finally, it goes without saying that we have some very strict rules when it comes to credit cards. You can read about them here, but if your finger is feeling less than ambitious in clicking another link, here they are in a nutshell: 1) never carry a balance, 2) use it like a debit card, 3) if you don’t trust yourself, don’t get one. And that’s it.
Without our Priceline.com love affair, we might pass this card up. But given how often we frequent and book on their site and the no annual fee, the Priceline Rewards Visa credit card is a keeper. That is until Sally decides to empty my wallet again.
2 Comments
I haven’t seen this one yet – thanks for the info!
Here’s a question…does it concern you guys how many credit cards you have? I have 3 with Bank of America, a citicard, then several rewards cards with Loft, Victoria’s Secret, Express, etc. I pay them off in full several times a month so they all have zero balances.
It never really concerned me–and thanks to University of Delaware, who had the reps on campus offering free gifts to signup–I have several! It seems my credit score and such are excellent… Just wondering your thoughts on the “how many credit cards” topic.