My Credit Card

I don't get any free stuff with my credit card. I know it's sub-optimal, but I haven't had the time to do a good job researching all my options, making sure I'm not getting scammed or about to get slammed with some hidden fees (a herculean task in and of itself), and selecting, applying for, and getting a new credit card. I am giving more money to the credit card industry than I should be, essentially rewarding their establishment of what Scott Adams once called a "confusopoly" (that is, an industry that makes money off the confusion of its customers--airlines and their frequent flyer programs, cell phone service providers, and most of the insurance industry works this way as well).

I suspect others may be in the same boat I am. So I suggest we pool our resources. I'm opening the comment thread on this post for discussion on credit cards we're considering, credit cards we're using and are happy or unhappy with, and complaints about companies and banks whose credit card divisions will surely be among the first up against the wall when the revolution comes.

Right now I'm looking at a simple Capital One MasterCard that gives 1% cash back on everything. It's not a ton, but it's flexible in case my lifestyle or consumption habits ever change. It also comes with no yearly fee (which, until I'm making and spending a lot more money than I currently am, would all but negate, if not wipe out and then some, the benefits). I personally don't care about the interest rate, because I'm a big fan of "Don't Buy Stuff You Can't Afford" (I know some others, Groucho in particular, are with me on that). And it's a good fallback, if they accept my application, because I know for sure I'd be about 1% better than I am now.

That's currently winning out over the Wawa Credit Card (in case the only Wawa near me closes and all my accumulated rewards become useless), the Hilton Credit Card (I could leverage my Harrisburg trips, but I don't know how much use I'm going to have for Hilton points), and the Amazon.com card (might be good, but in the limited time I've had to look at it, I've yet to be able to understand the rewards policy well enough to do simple breakeven analysis, even with the help of my good friend Excel). I still may wind up being sub-optimal, but at least I'll be getting something, and 1% cash back is easy enough to understand (though I'm sure it'll come in the form of 25 dollar pre-loaded gift/debit cards every 2500 dollars I spend or something like that).