The best ones that aren't slimy that I've found are through Credit Unions. I have a MC through Navy Federal Credit Union. So you might want to find out what CUs are available for you to join.

Whenever I get a privacy policy with one of my new accounts I tell them I don't authorize them to share my info within their company or with other companies. That seems to cut way down on the insane marketing; I don't recall getting anything like you describe from Citi, and I have two of their cards.

If you don't find anyone better than Citi, perhaps you could switch to one of their cash back cards so they would pay you a bit for the inconvenience of using them?

The other place I currently have accounts is Bank One (for the 3% back on Amazon purchases). I don't recall them being particularly different than Citi.

When I last had to speak with a customer service rep to activate a card, they kept trying to give me offers, and I said "is the card activated now?" the second time they said "yes, but" I said "then don't let me waste any more of your time, goodbye" and hung up on them.

I already have the cash back card with them. When we asked them if the card was activated, they said no and kept schpeeling.

I also ditched Citibank when they wouldn't stop sending me tides of junk mail and "special offers". I have had good luck with MBNA, actually, even though they're a big behemoth. But they don't send me junk mail, and although they did send those annoying blank checks you can write out on your credit account (ewww), they stopped sending them promptly when I asked, and they've never reappeared.

MBNA specializes in affinity cards of various kinds - various groups, various bonus-mile-earning-things, etc. So you can probably find one that gives you little bonuses back.

You got one? Me too, at about the same time this morning. I guess they've discovered most of their mortgage spams via regular mail get trashed immediately.

The thing is, from the sample numbers on their mailer...It looks like a pretty good deal. I'm torn.

Please don't reward them for bad behavoir. And if you do decide to go with them remember they're slimy and ready everyhitng carefully.

That's why I'm torn. The numbers look good, but they look like sleaze.

I've been reasonably happy with my BankONE Amazon card...
(3% back for Amazon purchases, 1% back on everything else,
no annual fee. Cash back is in the form of amazon gift
certificates every $25-back-worth, which is as good
as cash to me. ;-)

Citibank sends me an insane amount of junk mail
even though I don't have any cards with them. Grrrr.

I just got a new credit card through MITFCU. You should be eligible for one, I think. It's got good rates, no annual fee, all that. Plus it's shiny! And silver! And it has the great dome!

I love my MITFCU credit card. :) I concur.

amen -- go with the credit union if you're eligable, they're not going to screw you over and they're big enough to have reasonable customer service but small enough not to be annoying about it.

www.credit-land.com is a good resource. It lists and sorts and compares many credit cards.

The one I ended up with after looking through that was the Chase PerfectCard: 3% back on gas everywhere, 1% back on everything else, and that goes to 6% & 3% respectively for the first 90 days. I've had it for a month now, and so far the junk mail from them is nil. (They include some stupid stuff with the statement, but who cares.) Also, no annual fee.

I've been really happy with it. I was with Fleet earlier, and that was okay too.

Both Fleet and Capital One have been good to me and well behaved. Fleet bought out my Citi card account; the one I had for 20 years.
But Discover has been the best. Too bad we need a Visa or MC for the few places that don't take Discover.

I also have a Capital One card and I really like it. I've been with them for six years and haven't been bothered at all.

I get them through my own credit union. I've never gotten slimy anything from them.