topic Re: What's the best Amex suite of cards? in Credit Cards

What's the best Amex suite of cards?

CornfedSUV — Tue, 20 Dec 2022 20:55:12 GMT

Hi all,

I currently have:

-Personal Platinum

-Business Platinum (will downgrade in 12 mo, got the 140k upgrade offer)

-BBP #1

-BBP #2

-EDP (opened <1 mo)

I'm still pre-approved for everything on Amex's site.

What's the best set of Amex cards to have?

Re: What's the best Amex suite of cards?

coldfusion — Tue, 20 Dec 2022 21:02:50 GMT

That depends entirely on what your individual goals and usage patterns are.

air+hotel vs gas and grocery

Marriott vs. Hilton

MR vs cashback vs Delta miles vs Marriott points

6 round trips per year to Seoul vs. 1 round trip every 2 years on Southwest to Chicago Midway.

What's your use case and what rewards and perks do you value the most?

Re: What's the best Amex suite of cards?

CornfedSUV — Tue, 20 Dec 2022 21:33:39 GMT

My biggest spend is typically gas, food, and online miscellaneous things (lots of car + bike parts, subscriptions, etc). My employer makes me pay for business expenses using a corporate card, so hotel and airfare are less common on personal cards (at least 1/4 if not less than gas + food).

I typically redeem MR for int'l business class or occasionally domestic short hops (flights that would otherwise be super pricy, like STS-SNA). Usually 1-2 int'l trips per year on points. 3-5 short domestic hops per year with points. Other domestic travel I'll search for good deals on. Usually pay for hotels out of pocket - it seems like a lot of points are needed for good hotel redemptions.

Just not sure if a hotel card or another core revolver makes the most sense. There is also the Green card for the 40k SUB, but it's kinda useless after getting the SUB. Delta SkyMiles are almost worthless to me since I can transfer from MR and can never find availability I want anyways.

Re: What's the best Amex suite of cards?

wasCB14 — Tue, 20 Dec 2022 22:18:29 GMT

Business Platinum + personal Gold get a lot of my spend. 35% of points back on any Delta flight makes a nice floor for point value.
BBP is for a different business without much spend.

EDP I'll downgrade in a month or two. I got 40k to upgrade.

Along with these I use a BofA Premium Rewards (2.625%) and two Cash Rewards (5.25%), both set to Online Shopping.

Gas goes on the Costco Visa.

Re: What's the best Amex suite of cards?

isik — Wed, 21 Dec 2022 09:07:08 GMT

It really depends on your needs. I rarely (but not never) travel so Platinum is not useful to me. I order food from restaurants often, and I obviously buy groceries. I spend a decent amount on streaming services too.

BCP is great for goceries, streaming and transit when I travel.

Gold is great for restaurants, groceries if I exceed BCP's 6k and, and airfare if/when I travel. I'll try to get a gold card soon.

CB is more useful to me than MR so BCP will get the grocery priority, but if I didn't have the Bofa CCR I'd pick BCE over BCP because of the online spending category. I buy almost everything online.

Re: What's the best Amex suite of cards?

unsungivy — Wed, 21 Dec 2022 13:23:41 GMT

I feel like when you included miscellaneous online shopping in your list of your most common expenses, that you are a good fit for the BCE. It's cashback instead of MR which you seem to have focused on to this point, but it has all 3 of your most common expenses... gas, groceries, and online shopping at 3%. None of the other cards have that category. There is still a RESY offer for this card as well with 10% cashback on restaurants for the first 6 months (up to $150 back).

Re: What's the best Amex suite of cards?

Citylights18 — Thu, 22 Dec 2022 10:34:24 GMT

The best part about AMEX is once you are in the soft pull you for additional cards. Taking the SUB you like while getting in the door is normally the best option.

My three favorites on the business side pertain to more cash rewards that points. I find the use case of MR to be limited compared to other ecosystems unless you are near a Delta Hub.

1) Amazon card. 5% cash back and you don't have to waste a 5/24 slot for it.

2) Lowe's. Great for house project financing.

3) Business Blue Cash. The 2% cash back up to 50,000 is a nice feature as is no AF and 0% APR for 12.

Other ones I have that I'm not as keen on.

1) Marriott. Their points are really devalued and free night hardly covers the AF.

2) Business Blue Plus. At least its no AF but the SUB and points are not great.

3) AMEX Green (Personal). This is a good card if its your only card but doesn't give the value of travel specific cards.

Chase/Citi/Discover I feel are better for AMEX for day to day spending because of the low AFs. Chase and Citi points I find more valuable than MR.

I also believe the Chase IHG cards are better than AMEX Hilton or Marriot for non-brand travel. IHG gives you 5 points on general travel while Hilton is 3 and Marriott is 2. Granted all the points are worth half but that is 2.5x IHG. 1.5 Hilton and 1 Marriott. Hilton at least has priority pass select. IHG has a 26x point earning rate in property compared to 12x Hilton and 6x Marriott. I think if I had to do it again I would have picked up Hilton over Marriott because it has Priority Pass Select. If I want to get a Marriott room getting it with Chase Points would be a better deal than buying with the 7% discount online.