I need a new credit card...
 

I work in field service, so I've been spending thousands of dollars a month in hotel stays, rental cars and airfare and writing it all off on expense reports. I very well may end up charging over ten thousand a month pretty soon.

I've always paid off the card in full every month to avoid paying interest, the point of the credit card is to give me enough time to fill out the expense report and get reimbursed for the charges before I actually spend the money. It smooths my cash flow.


What screws my current system is that the due date for my existing credit card is on the same date every month, so if I put any charges on the card a week or two prior to the due-date I'm not reimbursed in time to pay the charges off before they accrue interest. And if I put charges on the card on the due-date or the day before the due-date, then they may accrue interest no matter how quick I pay them off because they get carried over the due-date.



So what's my best course of action? Is there a card out there that has a due date of "30 days since the last time I've paid it off"? Are there any that just don't accrue interest on a charge until it has been on the card for over 30 days?

Currently all I can think of doing is getting two credit cards with due-dates 2 weeks apart, and using each one for two weeks at a time. But that'd be a pain in the neck.

And rewards cards? Are they worth it? I'm racking up hotel nights and frequent flier miles at a respectable pace, do the cards help with that?

I talked to BofA's online support, but no matter how much I flirted with Samantha the Support Girl she wouldn't give me the answers I wanted to hear. :ha:

tow a popup camper around with you and charge the company a rental on the camper each night and profit..... lol I have a american express for business and it is on a every 30 days billing cycle, after 30 days there is interest

i have an American Express Corporate card. NO LIMIT, you pay only what is in the billing statement, mine is from the first day to the last day of the month and is due on the 13th of the following month. had it for 5 years now, i pay no interest but do pay a $35 fee annually. as long as i can get the report in at the first of the month i get a reimbursement check within a week so it always hits the bank before the payment is due.


BTW, are you staying at the Ritz Carlton and renting Mercedes? that is the only way i can imagine spending 10K a month on hotels and rental cars.

I think Bank of America is the problem. I've heard bad stories about B of A.

hook your self up with online bill pay for that card, when you go to pay, pay the current ballance each month, thats what I do and haven't pain a dime interest in several years now, plus on the upside my card has score card rewards........ rack up points and shop their catalog or travel....... sounds like you could rack up quite a nice bit of free stuff in a short time.:pca1:

I stay in the $120 a night places and rent whatever the rental agencies will give a 21-year-old, which is usually a mini-compact with a $50-a-day underage fee.


It's the no-notice air-fare that adds up... My company is contractually obligated to have me anywhere in the country within 24 hours, then we have some contracts that we are obliged to service in-person within 8 hours. Then I use the same card for my personal bills and services in that timespan too.

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So the charge has to be on the card for 30 days for there to be interest, or the interest accrues all at once every 30 days?

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I do pay the card off online at the end of every month, or rather on the 8th of every month.

The problem is that if I get a call on the 6th of the month and have to buy an $800 plane ticket, $400 rental car and $300 hotel stay all on the 6th, then I only have one day to pay that $1500 or else it rolls over to next month and then I am charged interest on it.

Have you talked to your boss about a company credit card? Let them pay it every month and you reconcile a report. I know it's good to have a job and all but I wouldn't subsidize any company I work for. You might be able to afford it but I can't. Just my $.02. Good luck.

As long as I subsidize my company substantially less than it subsidizes me then I'm doing something right. lol


Besides, how could I live my life without climbing smoke stacks?

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And fixing boxes?

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Simple and short, you shouldn't be incurring any intersts on the items charged until after 30 days of the purchase. So, if you charge something 1 day before the billis due, that item will no accumulate interest until the day before the bill is due the following month.

If I were you, I would just pay it off every 2 weeks if you can afford it.

Good Luck!

There is a difference in bill due date and end of billing cycle. You seem to be confusing the two begle.

get a business account :humm:

B of A is not the only one who seemingly screws things up. Under the new Federal Regs RE: ceridit cards the due date must be fixed and the bill must be send to you 27 days in advance of the due date. Or so I've been told. An example: My due date is the 11th and I owe $1600 on this billing cycle wich I will pay. However, I owe @2800 total which will be due the 11th of next month. That total will be reduced by the $1600 I pay this month. In other words, the difference is the accrued charges since a payment has been made during that 27 day period in the billing cycle. Even though I actually owe them money, they cannot charge any interest on that sum unless I do not pay the entire balance.

Call Samantha back and ask her to explain to you more clearly what I just said. :s:

Begle1, is that cellular or what? I see the coax's at the bottom but no duplexer or anything like that. Or is it some kind of carbon analyzing equipment? Sorry didn't mean to de-rail. Just curious.

You: I'd highly recommend Cheeba Hut in the future.

I too travel. Short notice trips with hotels and meals can rack up $2500 to 2800 a week in some places for me.
I do my expenses religously every week, the reimbursement is direct deposit and I end up paying off my credit card every week rather than waiting for the end of the month. I have a corporate CITI bank card with a $7500 limit which can cap fast at the rates above, so I can't really wait and pay once a month. On the other hand, I haven't paid a cent of interest yet.
The frequent flyer/hotel/rental points are racking up fast. The short line at airport security is my fav perk so far.

I have several cards and I have never been charged interest. I just pay off whats billed to me at the end of the month. Like someone said you should have an extra month to pay for your expenses. IE my cycle ends on the 15th so shortly after 7-15 I will get a bill that isn't due until 8-15. You are missing out if you don't have a cash back card I too use my cards for work purchases, but get reimbursed weekly. I have Discover and a Citi Dividend card that I use the most. I get more cash back for specific things on specific cards so I use them accordingly. Last month I got $40 back on a $2500 bill its not much but it adds up and its "free" cash in my pocket. I also have a interest paying checking account so I make another 3% of my expenses in interest. So you might get a new bank account too. Here use www.checkingfinder.com to find a free high interest checking account, but most of the time you have to 1 direct deposit a month. Also if your worried about going over your limit contact you CC company with Discover I could got over my limit as long as I paid it down before my billing cycle ended. Like way over I used it to buy my wifes car they had a $5K cap on CCs where I bough my truck

So the "due date" is the day that they issue a bill for the charges on the card, and those charges won't accrue interest until the next due date one month later? Because that's not what Samantha the Bank Lady said at all...

Coax? You see coax?

They're CEMS, which stands for "Constant Emergency Maintenance", "Career Ending Move" or "Continous Emissions Monitoring Systems" depending on who you talk to... We suck exhaust gas out of stacks, clean it up, and then run it through analyzers so that plants know how much of various pollutants they are emitting. They use them for maintaining their air permits, trading SO2 credits and monitoring process efficiencies.

I have no idea where that picture came from... That's an antique. Chart recorders went obsolete in my industry sometime when I was in elementary school.

I hope your using some type of card that give you Sky Miles or Cash Back.

Those two tan boxes on the lower left looked to have a coax with a 90 degree connector on them. My eyes are not that good. Anyway, I work for a G&T myself but I maintain all radio communications system wide.

If you like to hunt and fish, you might try a Cabela's Club visa. You can rack up some pretty serious free gear with the amount of credit you move each month.

Yea, you need to "graduate" to a real CC, one that has rewards. Airline miles, cash back, or whatever. Those secured cc's are for newbies. Also, you can negotiate due dates and inadvertant finance charges if you call customer service. They WANT your business.

Somehow I dont see you using anything but Monopoly money...

I am glad I have never had to deal with this...It is nice working for a company that covers over 90% of my travel expenses....

platinum american express all the way.

the card allows you access to airport clubs.
they stand behind you on any dispute.
good points program.
first access to events (concerts and other crap).
some restaurants have reserved tables for platinum or higher amex members.

American Express is THE BEST Credit card company out there, IMHO.. My wife and I spend around $3k/month on our Amex, and of course, pay it in full every month. They are very easy to deal with, and customer care seems to be very helpful with any questions you may have.
Scott