topic Re: Best Mid-Tier Travel Rewards Card in Credit Cards

Best Mid-Tier Travel Rewards Card

Reithe — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 13:47:24 GMT

Hi, everyone! I'm hoping to travel to Europe this summer and next spring (for a few weeks each season, provided there are no travel restrictions in place) and I'm looking to add a card or two to take with me so I don't incur any foreign transaction fees. I was curious what everyone's thoughts were on the following mid-tier travel cards, since these are the ones I'm considering:

• BofA Travel Rewards -or- Premium Rewards

• Capital One VentureOne -or- Venture

• Chase Sapphire Preferred

• Navy Federal Flagship Rewards

Re: Best Mid-Tier Travel Rewards Card

SouthernCredit — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 15:16:17 GMT

Since you already have accounts with BofA and Chase, I would definitely look at CSP and BofA PR. While the SUB on the Venture is nice, I don;t think it's worth the triple pull. I've never had access to any NFCU products, so I'm not sure about their rewards, but I can't imagine them being more valuable than Chase UR.

Re: Best Mid-Tier Travel Rewards Card

Hoben02 — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 15:28:26 GMT

The csp is a good option to start out with there are a good number of transfer partners and you can build out with the chase trifecta combo to maximize points. I do have the bofa premium card and the main benefit is to offset my tsa pre fee which is a godsend to get thru tsa checkpoints without long waits

Re: Best Mid-Tier Travel Rewards Card

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 15:50:04 GMT

@Reithe wrote:
Hi, everyone! I'm hoping to travel to Europe this summer and next spring (for a few weeks each season, provided there are no travel restrictions in place) and I'm looking to add a card or two to take with me so I don't incur any foreign transaction fees. I was curious what everyone's thoughts were on the following mid-tier travel cards, since these are the ones I'm considering:

• BofA Travel Rewards -or- Premium Rewards
• Capital One VentureOne -or- Venture
• Chase Sapphire Preferred
• Navy Federal Flagship Rewards

What is your goal, e.g. do you want points you can transfer to partners, or just a no FTF card? If the latter, there are a few 2+% flat rate cards with no FTF and no AF. If transferable points are wanted, then certainly the CSP will work well with your existing Chase cards.

Re: Best Mid-Tier Travel Rewards Card

coldfusion — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 16:29:06 GMT

CSP, with the BoA Preferred Rewards card a reasonable alternate option.

Re: Best Mid-Tier Travel Rewards Card

FormerCollegeDJ — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 18:32:26 GMT

If you're interested in no annual fee travel cards, the Truist Enjoy Travel Visa could be an option.

*2x miles on airlines, hotels, car rentals

*1x miles on everything else

*No annual fee

*No foreign transaction fee

*$85 credit for TSA Pre-Check or Global Entry every four years

I think there may be some negatives with the card when it comes to transferring points, but I don't know that for sure.

Re: Best Mid-Tier Travel Rewards Card

Aim_High — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 19:34:19 GMT

Given your existing bi-fecta Chase cards (Freedom and Freedom Unlimited), I would err towards the Chase Sapphire Preferred. Consolidating UR points between them on your CSP will give you a 25% bonus if you choose to book travel through the portal. CSP also gives you the ability to transfer to partners for potentially even more value. Although the AF is $95, you get a lot for your money including a $50 statement credit for hotel stays booked through Chase which lowers the effective AF to $45. No FTF, of course. The travel and shopping benefits are good (although not quite as complete as the Sapphire Reserve).

The Bank of America Premium Rewards works best if you woo them with larger deposits to qualify for Preferred Rewards status. With Gold ($20K+), Platinum ($50K+), or Platinum Honors ($100K+), you can enrich your earnings on both the PR and CCR cards by 25%, 50%, or 75% respectively. And those deposit amounts include investments with Merrill Lynch. Some qualify by moving investment or IRA accounts. The $95 AF on the Premium Rewards is completely offset by the $100 airline fee credit and the $100/4 year ($25 effective annual) TSA Global Entry credit, leaving you with a positve $5 in your pocket.

If you're serious about Capital One's travel cards and plan to use them primarily, I'd recommend the Venture X, even if the SUB declines before you apply. Venture X is a much better card than Venture or Venture One, even with the AF, if you plan to use it often. The $395 AF can be completely offset with a $300 annual travel credit as well as the 100K annual miles bonus (worth $100 in travel), and that's even before the $200 vacation rental credit in year one and the TSA Global Entry reimbursement worth $25 per year ($100 every 4 years.) While the travel protections somewhat lag the Chase Sapphire Reserve, I'm pretty sure they beat the Chase Sapphire Preferred. You also get elevated earnings for booking through their travel portal (10x on hotel; 10x on rental car; 5x on flights). And the 2x miles is a good deal if you plan to use the miles for travel, although cash value is much less.

Re: Best Mid-Tier Travel Rewards Card

Reithe — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 22:07:13 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Reithe wrote:
Hi, everyone! I'm hoping to travel to Europe this summer and next spring (for a few weeks each season, provided there are no travel restrictions in place) and I'm looking to add a card or two to take with me so I don't incur any foreign transaction fees. I was curious what everyone's thoughts were on the following mid-tier travel cards, since these are the ones I'm considering:

• BofA Travel Rewards -or- Premium Rewards
• Capital One VentureOne -or- Venture
• Chase Sapphire Preferred
• Navy Federal Flagship Rewards
What is your goal, e.g. do you want points you can transfer to partners, or just a no FTF card? If the latter, there are a few 2+% flat rate cards with no FTF and no AF. If transferable points are wanted, then certainly the CSP will work well with your existing Chase cards.

Ideally, I'd want to use points for travel. But I'm not loyal to any specific airline/hotel chain.

Re: Best Mid-Tier Travel Rewards Card

Reithe — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 22:13:41 GMT

@Aim_High wrote:
Given your existing bi-fecta Chase cards (Freedom and Freedom Unlimited), I would err towards the Chase Sapphire Preferred. Consolidating UR points between them on your CSP will give you a 25% bonus if you choose to book travel through the portal. CSP also gives you the ability to transfer to partners for potentially even more value.   Although the AF is $95, you get a lot for your money including a $50 statement credit for hotel stays booked through Chase which lowers the effective AF to $45.   No FTF, of course. The travel and shopping benefits are good (although not quite as complete as the Sapphire Reserve).

The Bank of America Premium Rewards works best if you woo them with larger deposits to qualify for Preferred Rewards status. With Gold ($20K+), Platinum ($50K+), or Platinum Honors ($100K+), you can enrich your earnings on both the PR and CCR cards by 25%, 50%, or 75% respectively. And those deposit amounts include investments with Merrill Lynch. Some qualify by moving investment or IRA accounts.    The $95 AF on the Premium Rewards is completely offset by the $100 airline fee credit and the $100/4 year ($25 effective annual) TSA Global Entry credit, leaving you with a positve $5 in your pocket.

If you're serious about Capital One's travel cards and plan to use them primarily, I'd recommend the Venture X, even if the SUB declines before you apply. Venture X is a much better card than Venture or Venture One, even with the AF, if you plan to use it often. The $395 AF can be completely offset with a $300 annual travel credit as well as the 100K annual miles bonus (worth $100 in travel), and that's even before the $200 vacation rental credit in year one and the TSA Global Entry reimbursement worth $25 per year ($100 every 4 years.)   While the travel protections somewhat lag the Chase Sapphire Reserve, I'm pretty sure they beat the Chase Sapphire Preferred. You also get elevated earnings for booking through their travel portal (10x on hotel; 10x on rental car; 5x on flights). And the 2x miles is a good deal if you plan to use the miles for travel, although cash value is much less.

That's a really great breakdown of BofA vs. Capital One vs. Chase. I'm leaning toward the CSP just to complete the trifecta, but I'm not sure about their travel portal. I'd rather just book directly with an airline/hotel chain.

Re: Best Mid-Tier Travel Rewards Card

EAJuggalo — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 22:47:19 GMT

@Reithe wrote:
@Aim_High wrote:
Given your existing bi-fecta Chase cards (Freedom and Freedom Unlimited), I would err towards the Chase Sapphire Preferred. Consolidating UR points between them on your CSP will give you a 25% bonus if you choose to book travel through the portal. CSP also gives you the ability to transfer to partners for potentially even more value.   Although the AF is $95, you get a lot for your money including a $50 statement credit for hotel stays booked through Chase which lowers the effective AF to $45.   No FTF, of course. The travel and shopping benefits are good (although not quite as complete as the Sapphire Reserve).

The Bank of America Premium Rewards works best if you woo them with larger deposits to qualify for Preferred Rewards status. With Gold ($20K+), Platinum ($50K+), or Platinum Honors ($100K+), you can enrich your earnings on both the PR and CCR cards by 25%, 50%, or 75% respectively. And those deposit amounts include investments with Merrill Lynch. Some qualify by moving investment or IRA accounts.    The $95 AF on the Premium Rewards is completely offset by the $100 airline fee credit and the $100/4 year ($25 effective annual) TSA Global Entry credit, leaving you with a positve $5 in your pocket.

If you're serious about Capital One's travel cards and plan to use them primarily, I'd recommend the Venture X, even if the SUB declines before you apply. Venture X is a much better card than Venture or Venture One, even with the AF, if you plan to use it often. The $395 AF can be completely offset with a $300 annual travel credit as well as the 100K annual miles bonus (worth $100 in travel), and that's even before the $200 vacation rental credit in year one and the TSA Global Entry reimbursement worth $25 per year ($100 every 4 years.)   While the travel protections somewhat lag the Chase Sapphire Reserve, I'm pretty sure they beat the Chase Sapphire Preferred. You also get elevated earnings for booking through their travel portal (10x on hotel; 10x on rental car; 5x on flights). And the 2x miles is a good deal if you plan to use the miles for travel, although cash value is much less.
That's a really great breakdown of BofA vs. Capital One vs. Chase. I'm leaning toward the CSP just to complete the trifecta, but I'm not sure about their travel portal. I'd rather just book directly with an airline/hotel chain.

I've had the CSP for four years and never booked anything through their travel portal. I've always found better value in transferring points to the airline/hotel program and using those to book rather than booking using points through the portal. Primary rental car insurance and the ability to transfer points to Southwest and Hyatt are the reasons I will not let mine go. I also hold the Navy Flagship, while it can be a useful card I would pick the CSP in a heartbeat over it. It does have a little wider view of what "travel" charges are, but the redemption limitations make it not as useful.