topic Re: For those of us into travel rewards in Credit Cards

For those of us into travel rewards

red259 — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 02:32:45 GMT

I posted on some frequent traveler sites and am waiting to hear back but I thought I would try here as well. I am looking for advice on which FF/hotel programs I should join. I am based in NYC so have access to a number of airlines. I currently have a Chase Freedom card and intend to obtain a Sapphire Preferred in Jan, so I know there are some good conversion rates from UR to specific mileage programs. I tend to rent from avis. My goals for future trips are mostly international Turkey/Greece, China, Japan, Argentina/Brazil. Through avis when I rent I can have points put into specific FF programs but I am not sure which ones would be ideal for my future needs. Also, I have some domestic hotel stays coming up and I am wondering what hotels may be best to focus on in order to build up accounts. I am trying to plan out my strategy so that all my points are going in the same direction. Any advice on which programs are best would be appreciated.

Re: For those of us into travel rewards

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 02:37:45 GMT

It really depends on what airlines you want to fly, and what hotels you stay at.

Hyatts have nice redemption rates for example, but Hyatts in general do cost more than say, Holiday Inn or Marriots.

Are you restricted to a budget for example?

Most of the co-branded cards require quite a bit of spending at their own establishments in order to really reap substantial amounts of rewards. So if Hyatts are out of your pricepoint for example, there's no use getting a hyatt card even if they have the best redemption value because you will not be spending much on their premises to start with.

Re: For those of us into travel rewards

red259 — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 02:57:36 GMT

For airlines I am just wondering which would be best for FF programs. I don't have loyalty to a specific airline, but if there was a program that in the longrun has a better payoff then I would focus my attention on them. Based on some of the locations I wish to visit it looks like United might be a good fit but I have no idea about their FF program. I won't be flying that often, but when I do it will be for significant distances. For the hotels I'm not someone who needs a resort setting all the time, but it should be a chain when they have US and international locations. I don't have any immediate plans to get any specific hotel cards except maybe the amex spg in a year and a half to 2 years (and by then there will probably be some better card deal out there).

Re: For those of us into travel rewards

CreditScholar — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 03:02:08 GMT

@red259 wrote:
For airlines I am just wondering which would be best for FF programs. I don't have loyalty to a specific airline, but if there was a program that in the longrun has a better payoff then I would focus my attention on them. Based on some of the locations I wish to visit it looks like United might be a good fit but I have no idea about their FF program. I won't be flying that often, but when I do it will be for significant distances. For the hotels I'm not someone who needs a resort setting all the time, but it should be a chain when they have US and international locations. I don't have any immediate plans to get any specific hotel cards except maybe the amex spg in a year and a half to 2 years (and by then there will probably be some better card deal out there).

What's your annual spend like? And also what level of hotels are you looking for? There is a huge difference between luxury (Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons, etc.), upper-upscale (FS Hyatt hotels, JW Marriott, Westin, etc.), mid-scale (Holiday Inn, Best Western, etc.)

United has a strong presence in Asia due to their numerous Star Alliance partners, while AA would be better for South America. I can't speak much for DL since I try never to fly with them.

Re: For those of us into travel rewards

red259 — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 03:05:20 GMT

Hotel range would probably be mid to upper scale. Not really into paying for the luxury places. Have stayed in best westerns and JW marriots. Would United work well for european destinations as well?

Re: For those of us into travel rewards

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 03:06:40 GMT

For airlines, you should first check if there's specific airline(s) that fly the routes that you usually take. For example, there's no point getting a southwest card regardless of how good their program is if you fly international most of the time. Besides United, are there any airlines you can choose from? If not, then you're pretty much stuck with United. Their FF program is good though.

If you don't plan to stick to a specific chain / airline for now, it's best to consider American Express charge cards (MR points) or CSP (UR points). Those 2 programs however seem to favor a spend-centric clientele though, and people who fly business / first class international routes seem to benefit the most from it. In my opinion, the redemption rates for economy international tickets and business / first domestic tickets are still pretty decent as well.

You can also consider travel cashback cards, such as Barclay's Arrival, CapitalOne Venture, which is a 2% everything card if you redeem for travel. Those cards can provide better rewards than CSP/Amex for some people. It really boils down to your spending and travel habits.

Re: For those of us into travel rewards

CreditScholar — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 03:12:11 GMT

@red259 wrote:
Hotel range would probably be mid to upper scale. Not really into paying for the luxury places. Have stayed in best westerns and JW marriots. Would United work well for european destinations as well?

I can't speak too much about Europe since I rarely travel there, but maybe others can chime in on this.

SPG has a strong European presence, while Hyatt is strong in Asia. If you only want to have one hotel chain I'd avoid Hyatt because even though they have some very nice properties (I'm a Hyatt fan), their footprint is very limited. Marriott and Hilton both have a huge worldwide presence, and both have easy status via CCs.

Re: For those of us into travel rewards

red259 — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 03:14:10 GMT

Yea, Soutwest isn't really ideal for someone based in NY anyway. Other choices would be British Airways. I am drawing a blank on which other airlines can get transfers from CSP UR account. Delta/American also have some flights to the destinations, but it looks like the big two would be BA and United.

Re: For those of us into travel rewards

red259 — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 03:15:22 GMT

@CreditScholar wrote:
@red259 wrote:
Hotel range would probably be mid to upper scale. Not really into paying for the luxury places. Have stayed in best westerns and JW marriots. Would United work well for european destinations as well?
I can't speak too much about Europe since I rarely travel there, but maybe others can chime in on this.

SPG has a strong European presence, while Hyatt is strong in Asia. If you only want to have one hotel chain I'd avoid Hyatt because even though they have some very nice properties (I'm a Hyatt fan), their footprint is very limited. Marriott and Hilton both have a huge worldwide presence, and both have easy status via CCs.

Between Hilton and Marriot which one do you think has a better program?

Re: For those of us into travel rewards

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 03:16:28 GMT

If you are not too concerned about elite statuses in hotels and airlines, then, as enharu says, go with UR/MR type programs, where you accumulate points and only transfer them to partners when you need to redeem them. Then you can put most of your spend on that card, rather than thinking "Oh, I need to increase my Hyatt points this week so I will use this card at the supermarket type stuff"

You do lose some specific perks by not holding the hotel/airline cards, but IMO flexibility makes up for this.

And as it isn't mentioned enough on this forum, if most of the travel is coach, consider Citi's TY Premier card and associated "feeder" cards as that has good benefits. No partner transfer though, so not good for premium cabin stuff.

Re: For those of us into travel rewards

Open123 — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 03:41:28 GMT

@red259 wrote:
Between Hilton and Marriot which one do you think has a better program?

I've been pondering this as well.

While I prefer Mariotts in general, Hilton has a better program with the Citi Hilton Reserve and Amex cards. From my perspective, the Mariott cards just don't offer the same value as the Citi and Amex ones. Also, there are more ways to harvest Hilton points than there are Mariott points, which will result in better value with Hilton, even with their devaluation.

All things being equal, I'd have to go for Hilton, if between the two, when it comes to value.

Re: For those of us into travel rewards

red259 — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 04:36:23 GMT

Yes, from what I read Hilton is better if your going to get your points through cards. Marriot comes out better if your going to earn status through actual stays etc.

Re: For those of us into travel rewards

scenery_guy — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 04:43:02 GMT

Because you have the Freedom and plan on CSP you are started on the UR path. That's fine so stick with it. Transfer partners (direct from Chase) include British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and United as well as Korean Air and Southwest but the last two should not interest you for your travels. Out of the interesting ones Chase offers cards for British Airways and United. Both of those fly out of NYC area. Both have some decent sign up bonuses. Pick one, I would lean for United as they can cover your domestic travels as well. The United cards have some special offers if you walk in a branch, better than you can find online at the moment.

The other option to consider is to NOT get a co-branded airline card and just focus spend on CSP and Freedom. Transfer out of the UR account when needed for travel but bank points with Chase.

But wait, I just read your post again, you are looking for programs to join not cards to get. Solid advice is join all of them (airline and hotel) and worry about which one to use later. They will not close your account over next 12 months even of you never use it. I joined all hotel and airline programs. I use some of them and I don't care if they close the inactive ones. You just need to keep the ones you eventually pick to use active by moving a few miles into it once a year (or once every 6 months to be safe).

Re: For those of us into travel rewards

CreditScholar — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 07:26:09 GMT

@Open123 wrote:
@red259 wrote:
Between Hilton and Marriot which one do you think has a better program?
I've been pondering this as well.

While I prefer Mariotts in general, Hilton has a better program with the Citi Hilton Reserve and Amex cards. From my perspective, the Mariott cards just don't offer the same value as the Citi and Amex ones. Also, there are more ways to harvest Hilton points than there are Mariott points, which will result in better value with Hilton, even with their devaluation.

All things being equal, I'd have to go for Hilton, if between the two, when it comes to value.

You're not alone in pondering this question. I'm in the same boat, and although I prefer Marriotts they offer a horrible return from CC spending. Hilton points and status are much easier to achieve via spend, even after the recent devaluation.

You can also earn diamond after only 40k in annual spend, whereas you'd need to push through 180k for Marriott platinum (in addition to the value loss of earning 1cpp return).

Marriott does offer better quaterly promos, but I don't think it's enough to compensate. As someone who only spends 30-40 nights per year in hotels but has a large annual spend, I'm wondering if it'd be better to just swap to Hilton.

Anyone can go with the higher value option simply because it's cheaper/better, but I guess this is what true "loyalty" is about - staying with a particular brand even when (at times) it puts you at a financial disadvantage.

Re: For those of us into travel rewards

lg8302ch — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 07:45:20 GMT

StarAlliance has also a good presence in Europe...but when it comes to redeem miles it is a complete different story. Not sure if UA out of the US is better but from Central Europe on LH or LX I do not recommend it. I have still 400K points that I have tried to use for CCL or FCL tickets but it has been a mission impossible. Sub booking classes for airmiles are constantly not available and waitlist never gets confirmed. As a former Senator member I have given up and will try to switch to Oneworld as this cannot possibly be any worse here. I could have used my points on LOT and fly via Warsaw to the US which means flying like 4 hrs longer! I am done with StarAlliance.

Re: For those of us into travel rewards

HiLine — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 07:49:53 GMT

lg8302ch, have you ever tried an award booking service? There are many complicated rules and loopholes in award booking that the "normal" people like us have trouble following sometimes lol

Re: For those of us into travel rewards

CreditScholar — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 08:11:21 GMT

@HiLine wrote:
@lg8302ch, have you ever tried an award booking service? There are many complicated rules and loopholes in award booking that the "normal" people like us have trouble following sometimes lol

Preimum cabin space on LH is virtually impossible to find. They do release space in extremely limited quantities, usually 2 weeks in advance but not more.

Some *A partners block access altogether (such as US), so redeeming for F on LH is impossible

Re: For those of us into travel rewards

HiLine — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 03:28:56 GMT

I get dizzy from all those European airlines' abbreviations lol

Re: For those of us into travel rewards

red259 — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 03:39:59 GMT

I've spent the last few days looking at credit card/airline/hotel/rental car programs and its making my head spin. I bought the film Up in the Air today to help put things into perspective. My favorite quote "There is nothing cheap about loyalty."

Re: For those of us into travel rewards

lg8302ch — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 07:32:57 GMT

@HiLine wrote:
@lg8302ch, have you ever tried an award booking service? There are many complicated rules and loopholes in award booking that the "normal" people like us have trouble following sometimes lol

No, never heard of. I am very curious. Can you recommend anything that would allow award bookings Europe - USA - Europe and use Miles & More miles ? My preference was Swiss but I gave up and every once in a while I had some luck with Lufthansa but not in the past 2 years.