The Citibank Dividend MasterCard is a better choice as far as reward credit cards are concerned. With this one, you earn 2% on “everyday” purchases, and 1% on everything else. They send you a check when you have more than $50 saved up.

I had an American Express Optima card that I canceled because I didn’t think the reward program was very good, and AmEx is accepted in fewer places than Visa or MasterCard. If you want cash, you earn the equivalent of only 0.5% on purchases. I chose a BananaRepublic gift card once, but had trouble finding anything I liked in the store.

There are a couple of high points for the American Express cards, though. They offer purchase protection if an item you bought is lost or stolen within 90 days. And, it is the only credit card that Costco takes.