Credit Cards

[logan_720]

So recently I was approved for two of the cards I have been trying to get for some time, Chase Freedom, and Discover More. Since I have the major cash back cards I need, I was hoping to possibly add a travel rewards card, but I have been more interested in a co-branded card rather than a points card, i.e. Amex Blue Sky.

Any suggestions for a really awesome travel rewards card? There seem to be a million of them out there. Its hard trying to find the right one, nonetheless, the one I will be approved for. 

Thanks, 

Logan.

[SanjeevR]

IMHO, this would be the Chase Sapphire Preferred. Great rewards, great benefits, great service.

See my earlier post where I loosely compare this card to my other go to cards, the Amex Premier Rewards Gold and Hilton Surpass:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/I-don-t-get-the-Amex-thing/m-p/1367541#M379620

Hope this helps!

[laboi_22]

That's a tough one but if I had to really recommend a good travel card I'd say go for one that you will get the best bang for your buck. In other words most travel cards work in the form of points and you usually redeem for travel rewards at a standard rate of .01 cents a point. There exists only 3 cards on the market that allow you to accumulate points and transfer them to frequent flyer programs effectively earning you anywhere from 2-3.5 cents per mile. These cards are:

Amex charge cards green and above (carry an AF of $95 or greater)
AMEX Starwood Preferred Guest ($65 AF)
Chase Sapphire Preferred ($95 AF)

Some of these have promo offers and the first year free. This in my opinion are the best options. That's not to say that the Venture is not good or even the Blue Sky/Blue Sky Preferred. Also take a look at BofA they have a new set of travel cards some with a chip.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

[Cdnewmanpac]

This is a question where the answer really depends on where, when, how and how often you travel. Are you looking for perks (lounge, early board, free bag, room upgrades), miles, or both. Do you fly one airline all the time or split among a bunch. Do you fly weekly, monthly, yearly? Do you want hotel stays, flights, upgrades or some combo? How much do you spend a year? If "travel" is something you do once a year on vacation, you are way better off with something like blue cash from Amex then a miles based card. A cobranded card only makes sense if you fly that airline/stay at that hotel chain almost exclusively (unless you are a road warrior, in which case you should head over to flyer talk). Otherwise, something more flexible like the csp, venture or spg (which, while branded, is very flexible) make more sense.

[logan_720]

I most exclusively stay at the Hyatt locations, and my fallback is the Hilton. I have been eyeing the Hyatt Visa Signature offered by Chase, but have just been approved for the Freedom. I have also been looking at the new Hilton HHonors Surpass offered by Citi. However, since that card is fairly new, I have not been able to find any details of applicants and their credit file so I am not sure if I want to app for it quite yet. I think its safe to say I will keep looking/researching. 

Thanks for all the input and fell free to suggest more! 

Logan.

[Cdnewmanpac]

1. To clarify: hilton surpass is Amex, hilton reserve is Citi.

2. If you mostly stay at Hyatt and don't have a preferred airline, I'd agree with others about the Chase Sapphire Preferred. You can transfer UR points 1:1 to Hyatt, you get 2 pts/dollar on restaurants (which most of us use whether we travel or not) and the points can be pushed to multiple airline programs.

3. Since you just got the Freedom, I'd give it 6 months to a year, then go for CSP