Bank of the West sounds like something out of early American history when caravans of covered wagons pushed west and small banks were set up in western settlement towns. Well, I guess it makes sense since the Bank of the West Platinum Rewards MasterCard Credit Card seems to be stuck in the past. The current excellent credit credit card market is characterized by extremely attractive offers, such as hundreds of dollars in initial bonuses, long 0% intro terms and lucrative base rewards structures. So what do you get with the Bank of the West Platinum Rewards MasterCard Credit Card? Oh just one point per $1 spent and 0% on purchases for the first 6 months, which is the base earning rate most points credit cards have (usually accompanied by 2-5 points for certain spending categfories; points are already less straightforward than cash back) and a 0% term that’s 15 months shorter than the longest on the market. Needless to say you should leave the Bank of the West Platinum Rewards MasterCard to the guys on Hell on Wheels or Deadwood or whatever.

Since youre not going to get the Bank of the West Platinum Rewards Card you need some alternatives. If you want an initial bonus, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is a good choice since it gives you either $500 cash or $625 in travel. The Capital One Venture Rewards Card and the Blue Cash Everyday from Amex are my favorite rewards cards because the Venture is basically 2% cash back as long as you redeem miles for travel related purchases and the Everday Card offers 3% cash back at supermarkets, 2% at gas stations and department stores and 1% cash back on everything else. For 0% go with the Citi Simplicity or Platinum Select Cards because both offer 0% on purchases ad balance transfers for 21 months.