Travel rewards card worth it?

[Anonymous]

I highly reccomend the Chase IHG rewards for a hotel card. The AF is low enough, you get a free night at ANY IHG hotel (have you seen the intercontinental) and gas, groceries and restaurants are 2 points per dollar. I highly disagree with the whole spend crap and AF cards. If I added my fiancée and I yearly salaeiws together and put it on a points card, I come out ahead than if used a cashback card. Travel cards help people who don't travel a lot. You can always use the points for a staycation especially if you live around tourist traps like I do. Not everyone has a goal of staying at the St. Regis in Bora Bora every year.

There is also the BOA travel rewards. I feel like I don't spend a ton of money and I've did my math. Most of my cards will still be of equal value to me after the bonus (other than our Hawaiian airlines card).

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I highly reccomend the Chase IHG rewards for a hotel card. The AF is low enough, you get a free night at ANY IHG hotel (have you seen the intercontinental) and gas, groceries and restaurants are 2 points per dollar. I highly disagree with the whole spend crap and AF cards. If I added my fiancée and I yearly salaeiws together and put it on a points card, I come out ahead than if used a cashback card. Travel cards help people who don't travel a lot. You can always use the points for a staycation especially if you live around tourist traps like I do. Not everyone has a goal of staying at the St. Regis in Bora Bora every year.

There is also the BOA travel rewards. I feel like I don't spend a ton of money and I've did my math. Most of my cards will still be of equal value to me after the bonus (other than our Hawaiian airlines card).

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Totally agree with the IHG, been eyeing it myself. Its a no brainer from the getgo as every year its a savings even with no spend (free night every year).

I think if a person is not a frequent traveler, they should still consider a travel card. If you would like to take a vacation in the next year, overseas or not, you can get some great deals and sign on bonuses.  I would say unless you are the type that is carrying a balance (in that case go for the Amex ED) ...I dunno. Unless you know for a fact you aren't going anywhere decent in the next 6-18 months, flight or not, then don't get rewards.

Don't redeem the rewards unless they are worth it. If you are not in a financial position to just ignore the temptation to redeem for a low amount then don't get one. 

I am no travel points expert. But if you spend a little time each week browsing at TPG and flyer talk, you can see what crazy specials there are.  It would be slightly foolish of me to waste any points right now on say, a flight to paris, as its been selling for under $500 round trip (if you fly from US, connect in paris, to helsinki, and just skip the last leg).  Wouldn't do that too often as some folks get banned from miles or airline (rare). Using the points to upgrade would probably be the best in this case.

I don't agree with 5000 IHG points a night. I have read many many times that those rooms are really hard to find.  I do know that out of all the hotels I have stayed at, hampton inn has consistently given me the most comps and upgrades at no charge....

[Anonymous]

I just think people assume everyone wants first class, five star hotel, upgrades, concierge level. That's not the case at all. Yes, obviously for my free night at the IHG I'll be staying at the highest level room that I can, that's s no brainer because it's free. But if I have 100,000 points I'm not gonna spend it one two fancy rooms versus five standard rooms. I'm just happy that I have them paid for.

Like I said, if it's you and your spouse I can understand the want for luxury but if you've got 3 kids..is your 4 year old really gonna remember that upgrade on a 5 hour flight? If I sang luxury I'll probably just pay for it and not rely on points. I'm all about getting more bang for my buck.

[red259]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I just think people assume everyone wants first class, five star hotel, upgrades, concierge level. That's not the case at all. Yes, obviously for my free night at the IHG I'll be staying at the highest level room that I can, that's s no brainer because it's free. But if I have 100,000 points I'm not gonna spend it one two fancy rooms versus five standard rooms. I'm just happy that I have them paid for.

Like I said, if it's you and your spouse I can understand the want for luxury but if you've got 3 kids..is your 4 year old really gonna remember that upgrade on a 5 hour flight? If I sang luxury I'll probably just pay for it and not rely on points. I'm all about getting more bang for my buck.

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I don't think anyone is assuming anything. Not sure why someone would really upgrade to premium on a fiove hour flight anyway as its really better to do so on long hall. Also multiple hotel cards give out free nights as a signup bonus. So you are not using points at all., in which case why not go for the top end property. Also, one person mentioned wanting to go to NYC for the weekend. A quick glance at the marriott website for example shows rooms cost 40k points for a room you can get at $109. So if travelling during a slow time you wouldn't want to use points anyway and that 100k points isn't going to get you more than two nights in a lower level hotel like a fairfield. In that situation cashback is king, but during peak travel times in NYC your not going to have the option of those prices and its going to be either spend a ton of money or use a ton of poiints unless you have free night certs. Hence why I think those free nights are valuable, but this is all based on the time of year someone wants to travel. 

[Anonymous]

From what I've been reading since I've been lurking, the general consensus seems to be AF cards are a waste unless you have a decent income. Which okay, I do..but I think there are ways to work around that. I mean if your in college working part time making 6k a year it would be stupid to get a citi prestige. But like I said IHG, great example. Great card, easy to rack up points. Marriott would be a little harder to justify because you like posted above..sometimes it's smarter to pay then use your points. I'm hardly ever in my hotel room on vacation so idc about luxury. I remember paying 300 a night for some swanky hotel in South beach years ago I was in the hotel for exactly 5 hours..to sleep.

[red259]

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@Anonymous wrote:
From what I've been reading since I've been lurking, the general consensus seems to be AF cards are a waste unless you have a decent income. Which okay, I do..but I think there are ways to work around that. I mean if your in college working part time making 6k a year it would be stupid to get a citi prestige. But like I said IHG, great example. Great card, easy to rack up points. Marriott would be a little harder to justify because you like posted above..sometimes it's smarter to pay then use your points. I'm hardly ever in my hotel room on vacation so idc about luxury. I remember paying 300 a night for some swanky hotel in South beach years ago I was in the hotel for exactly 5 hours..to sleep.

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I'm not sure where you are getting this is the general consensus. I have another thread where I went into detail how I used all my cards and I got more than my AF back from the citi prestige card, Its not really a question of income. Its a question of if you are going to be able to utilize the card benefits. Some college students will need to fly home and they have pretty significant expenses for books that could go to min spend.  If you can't make min spend then yes the card isn't worth it, but some cards don't have super high min spend requirements. I think luxury hotels are more valuable in foreign destinations. In those situations you will know what you are getting and if you can't speak the language you WILL lean heavily on the concierge. For domestic travel I usually stay in courtyards but that is because they are consistent here in the US and a solid product. In other countries they may not be so and you do not want to be staying in some dive in a foreign country where stuff can get stolen out of your room etc. Also things like status can come into play where you can get lounge access at higher end properties and get nice breakfasts for free. Again the lounges in the US aren't usually all that, but it depends on where you travelling to. So domestically I kind of agree with you luxury hotels are not worth it, but sometimes they can have value based upon their location to your destination alone.  

[Anonymous]

Maybe not you specifically but others have stated those things about AF cards. I'm talking about the forum as a whole, not people in general. I've been outside the U.S. And I agree luxury is a better value when outside of the U.S. but outside of the U.S. Is not everyone's dream vacation. Plenty of things to do right here inside the good ole USA. I'm really not here to argue just something I see stated over and over about AF cards.

[red259]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Maybe not you specifically but others have stated those things about AF cards. I'm talking about the forum as a whole, not people in general. I've been outside the U.S. And I agree luxury is a better value when outside of the U.S. but outside of the U.S. Is not everyone's dream vacation. Plenty of things to do right here inside the good ole USA. I'm really not here to argue just something I see stated over and over about AF cards.

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Some people state that over and over, but it doesn't make it true. It really comes down to how the individual would use the card and benefits. Can't generalize something like this because each individual's situation is different. The only time the AF is likely not worth it is when someone will not meet the min spend. Beyond that it really depends on what their plans are. Also some cards waive the AF for the first year which can also be factored in. 

[Anonymous]

100% agree.

[yfan]

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@red259 wrote:

I don't think anyone is assuming anything. Not sure why someone would really upgrade to premium on a fiove hour flight anyway as its really better to do so on long hall. Also multiple hotel cards give out free nights as a signup bonus. So you are not using points at all., in which case why not go for the top end property. Also, one person mentioned wanting to go to NYC for the weekend. A quick glance at the marriott website for example shows rooms cost 40k points for a room you can get at $109. So if travelling during a slow time you wouldn't want to use points anyway and that 100k points isn't going to get you more than two nights in a lower level hotel like a fairfield. In that situation cashback is king, but during peak travel times in NYC your not going to have the option of those prices and its going to be either spend a ton of money or use a ton of poiints unless you have free night certs. Hence why I think those free nights are valuable, but this is all based on the time of year someone wants to travel. 

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But free nights from credit cards are usually only one night a year, for a standard room, and the length of the validity of the certificate is anywhere from 6 months (Marriott) to a year (IHG). Which is only possibly good for a sigle person or couple's travel. Standard rooms will often restrict occupancy to 2, which means no family travel. And if you are traveling with family - or even by yourself - are you really staying just one night? IHG is also notorious for very limited free nights redemption (or even point redemption) availability at high end properties during busy travel times.

Because these redemptions are restricted in this manner, it warrants the quesiton of not simply should you be able to redeem points or a free night, what direct value you got but your opportunity cost as well. I might like to go to New York in the Spring, but I don't have to. There are plenty of other places I can go to that I may like just as well - and probably better since they will be new and I have already been to NY a few times - where rooms are less expensive, and I may well have the option of going at a time that isn't peak season. I go back to the example of family vacations, since if the free night redemptions are usually not available for a whole family anyway (standard room restriction), then it makes sense to make these - and thus the comparison - about single or couple's travel. Which in turn means a great deal more flexibility on the timing and location of a vacation, meaning that a cash deal is pretty much always available at an alternate time and/or location. Judged against this opportunity cost, points lose value even more.

At least, this is the way I look at travel. I actually do travel a bit. Mostly domestic, but my bf and I like taking short trips rather than long vacations to see new places and explore new people. There has not been a time when I wasn't able to find a better cash deal given our flexibility on time and location. Which makes my Orbitz Visa - while technically a "travel" card - invaluable because it earns 5% cashback (on top of the Orbitz rewards program's cashback, which is another 3-5% on hotels) on prepaid hotel stays and flights and 2% on everyday spend with the only restriction being that this "cashback" has to be redeemed on a prepaid hotel stay but can be redeemed in any amount.