AmEx Blue Cash Everyday VS. AmEx Starwood Preferred Guest?

[grigorexxxcore]

Hello everyone!

I can never seem to make up my mind, I plan on applying for an AmEx card again (I've had the Zync since Feb. of 2011), and I can't seem to decide between the American Express Blue Cash Everyday or the American Express Starwood Preferred Guest card?

I plan  to use it for everday purchases, gas, groceries, shopaholicism, you name it. I've never had a "travel" card before, I always thought that they could be useful since I'm in high hopes of traveling soon. I've stayed at Starwood Hotels before like the Westin and so on and enjoyed the expierence there.

I've also had some cash back cards (I've never really touched them, I always try to use my AmEx, and the only time I use cash back cards is if the merchant does not accept AmEx), so I can't say that I've ever really expierenced the "full-potential" of a cash back card.

Here is my current credit info, 

I.  AAoA: 2.5 years

II. No Baddies whatsoever

III. INQs (1 year span):

(EQ) 2 *8 months old.*

(EX) 0

(TU) 2 *8 months old.*

IV. 20% UTL rate

V. Fako scores;

(EQ) 685

(EX) 698

(TU) 710

Thank you all again, you guys are all amazing help!

[bichonmom]

I don't think there's a lot of difference in qualifying. It's more a choice of which card you want. You might want to get your util down a little, though, to under 9%, before you app. That might raise your FICO a little, too.

[Anonymous]

For groceries and gas I'd recommend the Blue Cash Preferred.

As far as traveling, I know the PR Gold is good, as well as the Reg Gold Charge card.

Your EX with 0 inq's is good because AmEx uses EX almost exclusively for their revolvers, but AmEx will sometimes pull EX and TU when apping for one of their Charge Cards.

You say you have 20% util, is that on one card or spread out across several cards, I ask is because AmEx will decline a good percentage of the time with a reason of denial of **Too Many Accounts With Balances**

If the 20% util is just one one card, you're better off, but  (I'd still try to get that down to around 9% or less like BM has suggested) on just one card, rather than apping with AmEx with several cards with balances.

Hope this helps and I'm Wishing you the Best of Luck!

ETA: Those Fakos you provided are worthless, so please pay no attention to them.

[Anonymous]

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@grigorexxxcore wrote:

I plan  to use it for everday purchases, gas, groceries, shopaholicism, you name it. I've never had a "travel" card before, I always thought that they could be useful since I'm in high hopes of traveling soon. I've stayed at Starwood Hotels before like the Westin and so on and enjoyed the expierence there.

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I think the BCE would be a great 2nd Amex for you. It has no annual fee and the bonus categories (3% groceries, 2% gas, 2% department stores, 1% everything else) align well with your intended spending. It's also a straitforward reward system as you just go to online banking and claim a statement credit everytime you reach $25 in cash back. I'm not sure someone in your situation would benefit the most from a Starwood card, but I can definitely see the benefit of BCE (and if your spending warrants it BCP).

[Anonymous]

You are comparing two EXCELLENT cards. They are just so different. I went through this whole analysis not too long ago myself. 

The Starwood card is loved by many travelers. It is arguably one of the best travel cards. You can get a lot of value from a Starwood point. Although you only earn 1 point per dollar, depending on how your points are redeemed they can be valued anywhere between an estimated 2-4 cents per point. They have a great cash and points system too.  This is only my opinion, but I think the best value comes out of it if you are a frequent traveller who puts a lot of spend through the card. Frequent flyers love it because the points also transfer to airlines. 5K bonus points when you transfer 20K points (25K points gets you a RT domestic ticket). I don't fall into the FF catagory so I personally decided against the card. It will be something I may reconsider down the road. For now, I get better value from other cards.

If you are considering BCE, I think you should do the math to see if the Preferred card is going to give you more value. Yes, the PR card has a $75 AF, but if you have a lot of spend in the bonus catagories, you may still end up earning MORE cash even with the AF. I will admit my BCE is not getting used. I spend $300 per month on groceries, my gas goes on my business card, and I really don't shop department stores. If I put a lot of spend through those catagories, I would not hesitate to get BCP.It just doesn't work for me. This may be a very good card choice for you.

There are other cards you may want to consider for travel (now or even down the road). I decided after the fact that I really wanted a travel card.  I went with the AMEX Hilton card and Chase Sapphire preferred. Both cards work well for my spend. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

You are comparing two EXCELLENT cards. They are just so different. I went through this whole analysis not too long ago myself. 

The Starwood card is loved by many travelers. It is arguably one of the best travel cards. You can get a lot of value from a Starwood point. Although you only earn 1 point per dollar, depending on how your points are redeemed they can be valued anywhere between an estimated 2-4 cents per point. They have a great cash and points system too.  This is only my opinion, but I think the best value comes out of it if you are a frequent traveller who puts a lot of spend through the card. Frequent flyers love it because the points also transfer to airlines. 5K bonus points when you transfer 20K points (25K points gets you a RT domestic ticket). I don't fall into the FF catagory so I personally decided against the card. It will be something I may reconsider down the road. For now, I get better value from other cards.

If you are considering BCE, I think you should do the math to see if the Preferred card is going to give you more value. Yes, the PR card has a $75 AF, but if you have a lot of spend in the bonus catagories, you may still end up earning MORE cash even with the AF. I will admit my BCE is not getting used. I spend $300 per month on groceries, my gas goes on my business card, and I really don't shop department stores. If I put a lot of spend through those catagories, I would not hesitate to get BCP.It just doesn't work for me. This may be a very good card choice for you.

There are other cards you may want to consider for travel (now or even down the road). I decided after the fact that I really wanted a travel card.  I went with the AMEX Hilton card and Chase Sapphire preferred. Both cards work well for my spend. 

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Those are excellent points. Which rewards card you get should really depend on your spending/travel habits. Plastic IQ did a spending analysis and found the cut-off point at which BCE rewards = BCP rewards is $210/month at grocery stores. Anything below that you get more rewards with BCE b/c of the Preferred's upfront $75 AF. If you have a big family $210/month in groceries is probably nothing but as a single guy I find myself not meeting that minimum most months. It's harder to calculate the spending threshold required to break even for SPG since the value of Starpoints varies depending on what you redeem them for but in general its worth 2.3 cents/point. However there are non-cash benefits such as the flexibility of transferring points into over 30 FF programs and paying for hotel stays with $ + points. You also get a minimum of 4 points/dollar spent at their hotels, which at the highest redemption rate is equivalent to 16% cash back.