Best Credit Cards

[kdm31091]

A hotel card can make sense to hold just for the annual perks etc (again, assuming you'd be going on a trip anyway, since even with a free night, trips cost money), but for actually spending on, there are generally better options that are less restrictive on what you can do with the points. That's not to say a hotel card wouldn't make sense, but I think they are more of a supplement than a card that one would use as a daily driver. It takes a ton of spend to get enough points for a room, even for one night, and with cash back or a Venture even, you are not tied to one hotel chain like you are with the cobranded cards. Many IHG rooms cost 15k or 20k points per night, so you're talking about many, many thousands of dollars in spend to get one or two free nights. With cash back, you could spend that same amount, shop around and use your cash for whichever hotel you want/best deal, not just IHG. I actually think the IHG card is worth having for many people, so I'm not knocking it. Just that it's more a card to have than a card to use IMO. The same can be applied to many cobranded hotel cards, unless you are a huge spender.

OP has a good set of cards (as of course I would say), and with the Venture giving 2% on everything albeit restricted to travel, I'd probably just enjoy that approval and sit tight for a bit.

[NRB525]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@NRB525 wrote:

While y'all were trying to count the angels on the pin head, OP went and got a Venture and is happy as can be.

Sometimes the best things are the simplest.

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No angels, no pinheads. I never got the impression from his posts that he was done apping, just that he's happy he got a Venture. If he is, great. If he feels still like he wants another to complement his spending, I suggest he read my post above.

 EDIT: Yeah, just as confused as you are, XTERROR. I have no idea what he is talking about.

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OP original post is "one card" then clarified for a Travel card, which Venture is a valid travel card. Given the other comments by OP about barely being able to keep other cards alive with charges, and being quite happy with the AMEX, I'm guessing OP is done (or should be done) apping for quite some time. Done if only to allow OP time to round up enough charges over the next three months to find $3k on the Venture.

This thread continues to parse the finer points of available cards, when the OP is, for the next several months anyway, tapped out with bonus spend obligations. Not that my comment is going to change anything subsequently posted here; all someone has to do is post "I can't decide" and everyone weighs in with the usual opinions

[NRB525]

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@Anonymous wrote:
i dint count anything.

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"Counting the angels on the head of a pin" is a reference to philosophers in the middle ages theorizing about religious topics. Endless hours were spent trying to decipher arcane questions such as "how many angels could stand on the head of a pin?"

[Anonymous]

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@NRB525 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@NRB525 wrote:

While y'all were trying to count the angels on the pin head, OP went and got a Venture and is happy as can be.

Sometimes the best things are the simplest.

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No angels, no pinheads. I never got the impression from his posts that he was done apping, just that he's happy he got a Venture. If he is, great. If he feels still like he wants another to complement his spending, I suggest he read my post above.

 EDIT: Yeah, just as confused as you are, XTERROR. I have no idea what he is talking about.

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OP original post is "one card" then clarified for a Travel card, which Venture is a valid travel card. Given the other comments by OP about barely being able to keep other cards alive with charges, and being quite happy with the AMEX, I'm guessing OP is done (or should be done) apping for quite some time. Done if only to allow OP time to round up enough charges over the next three months to find $3k on the Venture.

This thread continues to parse the finer points of available cards, when the OP is, for the next several months anyway, tapped out with bonus spend obligations. Not that my comment is going to change anything subsequently posted here; all someone has to do is post "I can't decide" and everyone weighs in with the usual opinions

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For the record, I agree the Venture will probably occupy the OP. I personally think the OP is good on cards, which I think could be easily inferred from my original post.

Perhaps I was mislead by the OP's unambiguously pluralized thread title, which happens to be "Best Credit Cards."

[NRB525]

Yes, well, OP set you up to think OP was going to seriously consider all opinions...

then just went the easy route with Venture.

[lessonslearned]

To clear some things up, yes, I'm done apping for awhile. I need to garden these cards for awhile. Extremely happy with the Venture, but will reevaulate in a year or so to see if the Barclay's/others are still useful. I'll probably end up closing Target and Walmart because of limits. I just won't use them, so no sense having them. The Venture will more than make up for the loss of $800. Thanks for all your suggestions. Maybe next year I'll look for a hotel card or airlines card if I don't feel the Venture is living up to my needs.