My Solution to the end of 5% cash rebate (Citibank Dividend Rewards)

In continuation of my last post, the end of a 5% cash back rebate credit card has had major discussion among different forums. The easiest card to use was the Citibank Dividend Rewards card... it was simply 5% on gas, supermarket, drugstore and 1% cashback on everything else. Many have received "the letter" indicating that Citibank will no longer offer this generous 5% rebate. This caused quite a bit of anxiety on my part as I was comfortable in my routines of using the Citibank card as my primary. I've finally come to the final solution which I think will work for me.

1. HSBC Direct Rewards Credit card. 5% back on all gas, supermarket, drugstore purchases, 0.5% cash back on the first $3000 spent on everything else. 1% cash back on purchases greater than the first $3000 on everything else. This essentially is the same deal as the Citibank Dividend Rewards card. OK.... the website looks somewhat suspect... and I was very reluctant to apply as it looked very amateurish and potentially like a "phishing" scam. But after I read about this card in Time magazine, I decided to bite the bullet and apply. I was approved but it has taken about 2 weeks since that application before I finally received a letter from HSBC indicating that my application was approved. So despite the crappy looking website and card, it appears to be for real.

2. American Express True Earning. 3% on restaurants, 2% on travelling, 1% on everything else.

3. I've essentially retired all my other cards including the citibank.

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