Current Events > Is this even a good Credit Card?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Got this letter from my work with an "exclusive offer" for a Kroger Credit Card yesterday... I'm not getting a CC but I was curious what the CC people here thought about it and if it was a good deal or just bullshit my company is throwing at me...

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/1/1967c89a.jpg

I don't know anything about CCs so curious what you all think about it

I've definitely seen worse cards. If I shopped exclusively at Kroger I'd probably get it. I currently have:

• BJ's One+ Mastercard (5% back on most BJ's purchases, 15c off/gal on their gas, 2% on other purchases)
• Chase Freedom Unlimited (for most other purchases)
• Chase Sapphire Preferred (restaurants/travel/hotels/etc, free TSA Precheck)

It's definitely decent, but what i consider good probably doesn't exist anymore.
Definitely check the fine print. You earn points one way, but sometimes they change value how you spend them.
Earlier this year, visa dramatically changed the value of their points unless you put it straight into your bank in amounts of $25. I used to be able to apply points to any purchase over $10, but now those points are valued 25% less.

Why is credit card capitalized?

Anyway you should get a card if you're getting offers. Follow the golden rule of paying it off on time every month and you usually get nothing but free shit. I've gotten 4 figures worth of free shit on Amazon over the years with my Quicksilver card, 1.5% back on everything.

Glad to hear the company I work for isn't trying to completely fuck me over with a bad card... That's good at least

Possibly stupid question, wtf does this section mean?

"Zero Intro APR* for 15 Billing Cycles on purchases AND balance transfers, thereafter a variable APR, currently 16.24% to 25.24%"

voldothegr8 posted...

Why is credit card capitalized?

I don't know why I did that honestly

Treat a credit card like cash (don't spend more money than you actually have) and pay it off every month. If you do those two things, credit cards can't harm you in any way, and are only a benefit in that they build credit, and give you free cash back via the points system.

As for this specific card, broadly I'd say to avoid mail offers, but it totally depends on your habits. My question would be what is Kroger Pay? Is it easy to use/something you use a lot? 5% back is fantastic, but that implies to me that maybe there's a catch or it's hard to use consistently. 2% back in Kroger stores is good, but of course only good if you spend a lot at Kroger.

Personally I'd do some research to find a card that will give you 2% back on everything, and see if you can get that. That way there's no catches/gotchas, and very little to think about for how you best need to optimize your spending habits in order to get points. Points aren't something you should base your spending around, spending more on things than you would otherwise just to get them; you should optimize your cards to your spending habits, if you even want to optimize at all. Again, that's why the Kroger Pay bit has me wondering, and why a simple card that works equally well on everything is pretty hard to go wrong with. Citi Doublecash was one 2% back card a couple years back that probably still exists.

Once you have a good "everyday" card and get the feel for it, if you have particular stores or things you spend money on (say, travel) then you could get different cards that do more for you in those areas. The two Chase cards mentioned earlier in this thread do that: The Freedom Unlimited is a flat 1.5% back on everything, but the Sapphire Reserve then lets you spend those points on travel at a 1.5x multiplier, i.e. 2.25% back on travel in total. If you travel a lot, this is great; otherwise it's just unnecessarily complicated and you'd be better off with just a straight 2% back card.

tldr:

• 2% back is about the best you'll get "on all purchases" with any one card. Grab one of those first if you can get approved.
• Pay it off every month, don't spend more than you have, and you will never get into credit card debt. Don't let yourself slip on this, that's how you get into debt.
• If you find yourself liking having a card and want more optimized points earning to match your spending, then do some research on the best cards available to you.

Meh card. Not even offering 5% at Kroger makes it not worth it. Citi double cash has 2% everywhere. Citi custom cash gives 5% back in your most used category so you could use it exclusively at grocery stores and get 5% back at all of them (not just Kroger).

Sign up bonus is weak too.

Apodyopsist posted...

* Chase Sapphire Preferred (restaurants/travel/hotels/etc, free TSA Precheck)

The Preferred does not have free TSA precheck. The Reserve which now has a $795 annual fee does.

I think it seems like a solid card. 1% cash back and no annual fee is decent. The other perks can probably be ignored. You could do better, but this one does not seem predatory.

Also, worth noting that any card offering >2% may very well change their terms at some point. The Sapphire Reserve, which I mentioned effectively gave 2.25% back on travel, changed their terms this year to mae that 1.5x redemption multiplier harder to use. My other card, Alliant Cash Back, gave a 2.5% back on all purchases if you kept a certain amount in an account with them. Guess what, they just got rid of that feature and now it's 1.5% back on everything.

Yet another reason to just get a 2% back card if you can. 2% is the sweet spot where CC companies can actually afford to give you that benefit, and it's still a pretty substantial benefit to you. That way you're not searching for a new card every year.

Yes if you shop almost exclusively at Kroger and utilize its 5% category most of the time. The $100 in statement credit also is really good.

Beyond that though not much. As 1 or even 2% back on category's isnt very good anymore.

voldothegr8 posted...

Why is credit card capitalized?

People love capitalizing words unnecessarily like that here for whatever reason lol.

AlienDestroyer4 posted...

As for this specific card, broadly I'd say to avoid mail offers, but it totally depends on your habits. My question would be what is Kroger Pay? Is it easy to use/something you use a lot? 5% back is fantastic, but that implies to me that maybe there's a catch or it's hard to use consistently. 2% back in Kroger stores is good, but of course only good if you spend a lot at Kroger.

I had to look this up... Even though I worked there over a decade now and probably would've heard about it at some point

Kroger Pay is linking your credit card to the Kroger app and using the app to pay at the register instead of pulling out the card... So it doesnt seem too bad

rexcrk posted...

People love capitalizing words unnecessarily like that here for whatever reason lol.

Definitely guilty of that... And then once I do it even once, my phone likes to memorize it keep capitalizing things

random_man9119 posted...

Definitely guilty of that... And then once I do it even once, my phone likes to memorize it keep capitalizing things

You weren't wrong Kroger Credit Card is a specific named thing, and therefore a proper noun and meant to be all capitalized.

AlienDestroyer4 posted...

Also, worth noting that any card offering >2% may very well change their terms at some point. The Sapphire Reserve, which I mentioned effectively gave 2.25% back on travel, changed their terms this year to mae that 1.5x redemption multiplier harder to use. My other card, Alliant Cash Back, gave a 2.5% back on all purchases if you kept a certain amount in an account with them. Guess what, they just got rid of that feature and now it's 1.5% back on everything.

Yet another reason to just get a 2% back card if you can. 2% is the sweet spot where CC companies can actually afford to give you that benefit, and it's still a pretty substantial benefit to you. That way you're not searching for a new card every year.

They dont always screw you over. I have the Capital one Savor card. Signed up when it first started. No annual fee and 4% on entertainment & dining. They discontinued that card but left me grandfathered in.

For my groceries I personally use the Amex Blue Cash Preferred. It does have an annual fee of $95. It gives $10 back each month if you charge your Disney+ bundle to it. And it gives 6% back at grocery stores & select streaming services. Plus 3% back on transit & gas. I spend enough that the annual fee gets negated by cashback.

random_man9119 posted...

I had to look this up... Even though I worked there over a decade now and probably would've heard about it at some point

Kroger Pay is linking your credit card to the Kroger app and using the app to pay at the register instead of pulling out the card... So it doesnt seem too bad

Ah, got it. I take it that only works at Kroger/their owned stores then?

If so, you're getting 5% back at Kroger and 1% back everywhere else. If your primary spending is at Kroger on groceries, that's quite good, but consider how much money you spend on Amazon, restaurants, gas, travel, gifts for family, games... There's a lot of spending out there. Personally, I would still say to get a 2% back card for daily life, and if you really spend that much at Kroger, then this would be a good second card.

But I also don't think it's worth it to think about an 2 card setup right now :) Ultimately, I agree with other folks though that this doesn't seem predatory or anything. It's just that 1% back is the bare minimum for a CC these days, and so it depends on how worth it to you the other point-earning mechanisms are. If you don't care that much about any of this and just want to dive into getting a credit card, this doesn't seem like a particularly special one, nor a particularly bad one, so you'd be fine with it.

(Incidentally, it becomes a lot easier to track where you're spending your money once you have a credit card - most will have an online portal where they categorize your spending or you can search transactions, so you could really dig into what categories of spending you could in theory optimize for if you ever get a second card)

It doesn't seem predatory, and as others said, with discipline, it can be a helpful tool in building credit.

Wow I though New Zealand credit card APRs were bad but it's nice to see American ones are even worse. 25% lol.

0% apr will be nice while it lasts, hopefully when it expires you can get another 0% one from them or someone else. As others said just use it when you don't feel like draining your bank account with big purchases right away, and pay it off before the end of the billing cycle.

There are much better $0 AF cards that get you at least 3% for groceries and restaurants.

The Kroger card could be worse to be honest. At least it's not issued by Synchrony or other predatory firms.

bruh in todays thrift and wages?

credit card is any credit card IMO

People aren't reading the second half of the 5%...

5% back on mobile wallet purchases is pretty incredible. This means that you can get 5% back on basically ANYTHING as long as you use mobile wallet (which is not hard to do in 2025, just tap your phone to the scanner instead of a credit card).

It is one of the best cards you can get, alongside things like the citi custom cash.

I personally have a few credit cards so i can get 5% back on pretty much anything.

Citi custom for dining
Sams club for gas and sams club
Amazon for amazon
Wells Fargo 2% and this kroger card for everything else

With this combo i get 5% back on basically everything i buy. If you don't go to sams club, get the AAA daily advantage for groceries instead and maybe another card for 5% gas

And for those saying that credit cards don't really matter...

Lets say your expenses are $2,000 month outside of your mortgage/rent. 5% back on everything is $40/month saved.

If you invest that $40/month and make the average return of 6%, then that's over $18,400 in 20 years ($40k in 30 years). Not a whole lot, but i can't think of an easier way to make $18k by just signing up for 4 different cards.

6% return on investment is pretty generous too. If you go by the standard 8% return on investment that's $23k over 20 years ($60k over 30 years)

xTreefiddy350x posted...

And for those saying that credit cards don't really matter...

Lets say your expenses are $2,000 month outside of your mortgage/rent. 5% back on everything is $40/month saved.

If you invest that $40/month and make the average return of 6%, then that's over $18,400 in 20 years ($40k in 30 years). Not a whole lot, but i can't think of an easier way to make $18k by just signing up for 4 different cards.

6% return on investment is pretty generous too. If you go by the standard 8% return on investment that's $23k over 20 years ($60k over 30 years)

...or, free shit on Amazon!

If you're disciplined enough, no annual fee cards with sign up bonuses are free money. With careful timing and planning I've racked up close to two grand for stuff I was gonna pay for regardless.

This is not financial advice.

xTreefiddy350x posted...

5% back on mobile wallet purchases is pretty incredible. This means that you can get 5% back on basically ANYTHING as long as you use mobile wallet (which is not hard to do in 2025, just tap your phone to the scanner instead of a credit card).

Only on up to $3,000 in purchases.

Any card that had unrestricted mobile wallet category has been nerfed to hell and back over the past year or so.

xTreefiddy350x posted...

And for those saying that credit cards don't really matter...

Lets say your expenses are $2,000 month outside of your mortgage/rent. 5% back on everything is $40/month saved.

If you invest that $40/month and make the average return of 6%, then that's over $18,400 in 20 years ($40k in 30 years). Not a whole lot, but i can't think of an easier way to make $18k by just signing up for 4 different cards.

6% return on investment is pretty generous too. If you go by the standard 8% return on investment that's $23k over 20 years ($60k over 30 years)

yeeeah: still doesnt apply to me. Moms a smoker and pricey tobacco is SO damn expensive. We arent quitting in the future either

I sure slowed down but kinda planning to

Starks posted...

Only on up to $3,000 in purchases.

Any card that had unrestricted mobile wallet category has been nerfed to hell and back over the past year or so.

Which is easy to stay under if you have other cards that are 5% back to take some of the load. There are tons of cards that give 5% back on groceries, gas, dining. Use the kroger for random things

xTreefiddy350x posted...

Which is easy to stay under if you have other cards that are 5% back to take some of the load. There are tons of cards that give 5% back on groceries, gas, dining. Use the kroger for random things

But many people just have 1 credit card. So for those, its best to get a better catch all card rather than this one.

My husband is one of those that doesnt want to think about which card to use for what. So I have him on 2 cards - Citi double cash for most things and Chase Sapphire Reserve for personal & work travel.

sfcalimari posted...

Wow I though New Zealand credit card APRs were bad but it's nice to see American ones are even worse. 25% lol.

0% apr will be nice while it lasts, hopefully when it expires you can get another 0% one from them or someone else. As others said just use it when you don't feel like draining your bank account with big purchases right away, and pay it off before the end of the billing cycle.

The APR should never even matter if you're using credit cards correctly anyway.

it's a pretty decent card if you shop at Kroger (and maybe only use it at Kroger stores) for sure.

there's definitely better everyday cards out there.