topic Re: Best Card for Travel points? in Credit Cards

Best Card for Travel points?

TheFate — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 05:42:39 GMT

I've been trying to narrow down the searches on a travel card that I can rack up points towards future vaca's and was wondering which card is best in your opinion? As I know choices may vary from person to person

Re: Best Card for Travel points?

H14 — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 06:28:51 GMT

The AMEX Starwood Preferred Guest card, or the Chase Sapphire Preferred [optionally combined with Freedom] are excellent options, if you favor cards with transfer partners.

Re: Best Card for Travel points?

CreditPacMan — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 07:54:11 GMT

The Arrival+ from Barclay's sounds like a good travel option too.

Re: Best Card for Travel points?

coldnmn — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 09:01:38 GMT

NewGuys guide to travel cards may help. Link below.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Guide-to-travel-cards/m-p/2918668

Re: Best Card for Travel points?

takeshi74 — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 13:06:43 GMT

@TheFate wrote:
I've been trying to narrow down the searches on a travel card that I can rack up points towards future vaca's and was wondering which card is best in your opinion? As I know choices may vary from person to person

If you know that then you should provide us with info to help narrow down the options for you. What are your major spend categories? How do you intend to redeem travel rewards and with which companies? Give us something to work with. Generally speaking travel cards are better suited to higher amounts of spend., If your spend is lower then a cash back card may actually be better suited to you.

You can't just on what others determine to be best. I use the CSP but that's because I live in a United hub city and 99% of my air travel is on United. As a result, MR points aren't very useful to me. If that doesn't apply to you then what I think of as best may not be relevant to you.

Re: Best Card for Travel points?

mongstradamus — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 16:21:41 GMT

@takeshi74 wrote:
@TheFate wrote:
I've been trying to narrow down the searches on a travel card that I can rack up points towards future vaca's and was wondering which card is best in your opinion? As I know choices may vary from person to person
If you know that then you should provide us with info to help narrow down the options for you. What are your major spend categories? How do you intend to redeem travel rewards and with which companies? Give us something to work with. Generally speaking travel cards are better suited to higher amounts of spend., If your spend is lower then a cash back card may actually be better suited to you.

You can't just on what others determine to be best. I use the CSP but that's because I live in a United hub city and 99% of my air travel is on United. As a result, MR points aren't very useful to me. If that doesn't apply to you then what I think of as best may not be relevant to you.

+1 , what you need to look at it what airline you want to fly and see if its one of the partners that MR or UR have. My case isn't the same as everybody else because i have access to JFK, LGA, and EWR, which basically has almost every airline out there.

Re: Best Card for Travel points?

Open123 — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 17:19:04 GMT

@TheFate wrote:
I've been trying to narrow down the searches on a travel card that I can rack up points towards future vaca's and was wondering which card is best in your opinion? As I know choices may vary from person to person

For cash redemptions, it's pretty simple: (1) if you don't spend abroad and less than $40k per year, the Fid amex; (2) need the no-forex fee feature, Arrival or Venture, depending on your level of spending. That's it.

For travel rewards, it gets more complex and depends on your air & hotel preferences, along with your location. Start with considering cards in the UR, MR and SPG programs, and work from there.

Re: Best Card for Travel points?

mongstradamus — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 18:01:46 GMT

@Open123 wrote:
@TheFate wrote:
I've been trying to narrow down the searches on a travel card that I can rack up points towards future vaca's and was wondering which card is best in your opinion? As I know choices may vary from person to person
For cash redemptions, it's pretty simple: (1) if you don't spend abroad and less than $40k per year, the Fid amex; (2) need the no-forex fee feature, Arrival or Venture, depending on your level of spending. That's it.

For travel rewards, it gets more complex and depends on your air & hotel preferences, along with your location. Start with considering cards in the UR, MR and SPG programs, and work from there.

The one thing i would add about cash redemptions. I think if you can get arrival+ the 40k signup bonus is worth it since af for first year is waived. Then drop it before AF is charged the next year.

Re: Best Card for Travel points?

Open123 — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 18:13:50 GMT

@mongstradamus wrote:
The one thing i would add about cash redemptions. I think if you can get arrival+ the 40k signup bonus is worth it since af for first year is waived. Then drop it before AF is charged the next year.

Right, glad you clarified that point. Absolutely get all the sign-up bonuses first! Then, pare as necessary.

Re: Best Card for Travel points?

nachoslibres — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 18:24:49 GMT

@takeshi74 wrote:
@TheFate wrote:
I've been trying to narrow down the searches on a travel card that I can rack up points towards future vaca's and was wondering which card is best in your opinion? As I know choices may vary from person to person
If you know that then you should provide us with info to help narrow down the options for you. What are your major spend categories? How do you intend to redeem travel rewards and with which companies? Give us something to work with. Generally speaking travel cards are better suited to higher amounts of spend., If your spend is lower then a cash back card may actually be better suited to you.

You can't just on what others determine to be best. I use the CSP but that's because I live in a United hub city and 99% of my air travel is on United. As a result, MR points aren't very useful to me. If that doesn't apply to you then what I think of as best may not be relevant to you.

^^ This. There are way too many "travel point" cards to name off the ones that are best for you without knowing your annual spend and the categories that spend is in, plus what you want to redeem your points or rewards with.

I use my Ink Bold and Freedom, which are part of Chase's Ultimate Rewards system, for any bonused spending, and use my Arrival + for every thing else but that's not to say that this is the best combination for you, especially since I'm paying $184 a year in AF's.

Re: Best Card for Travel points?

TheFate — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 03:52:56 GMT

@takeshi74 wrote:
@TheFate wrote:
I've been trying to narrow down the searches on a travel card that I can rack up points towards future vaca's and was wondering which card is best in your opinion? As I know choices may vary from person to person
If you know that then you should provide us with info to help narrow down the options for you. What are your major spend categories? How do you intend to redeem travel rewards and with which companies? Give us something to work with. Generally speaking travel cards are better suited to higher amounts of spend., If your spend is lower then a cash back card may actually be better suited to you.

You can't just on what others determine to be best. I use the CSP but that's because I live in a United hub city and 99% of my air travel is on United. As a result, MR points aren't very useful to me. If that doesn't apply to you then what I think of as best may not be relevant to you.

You're absolutely right

I'm contemplating now that you mentioned travel cards are best suited for heavy spending. My annual income when I finish school next year will be roughly 95k but since I'm saving as much as I can to try and make the 20% down on a house It restricts my usual spending.

I roughly only spend 4k a year on groceries and 2,500 on Gas. I shop often in department stores but other than that rent/utilities and savings. So maybe a travel card isin't a good idea for my situation?

I was just thinking it would be nice to rack up points for future vacations

Re: Best Card for Travel points?

mongstradamus — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 03:54:44 GMT

@TheFate wrote:
@takeshi74 wrote:
@TheFate wrote:
I've been trying to narrow down the searches on a travel card that I can rack up points towards future vaca's and was wondering which card is best in your opinion? As I know choices may vary from person to person
If you know that then you should provide us with info to help narrow down the options for you. What are your major spend categories? How do you intend to redeem travel rewards and with which companies? Give us something to work with. Generally speaking travel cards are better suited to higher amounts of spend., If your spend is lower then a cash back card may actually be better suited to you.

You can't just on what others determine to be best. I use the CSP but that's because I live in a United hub city and 99% of my air travel is on United. As a result, MR points aren't very useful to me. If that doesn't apply to you then what I think of as best may not be relevant to you.
You're absolutely right

I'm contemplating now that you mentioned travel cards are best suited for heavy spending. My annual income when I finish school next year will be roughly 95k but since I'm saving as much as I can to try and make the 20% down on a house It restricts my usual spending.

I roughly only spend 4k a year on groceries and 2,500 on Gas. I shop often in department stores but other than that rent/utilities and savings. So maybe a travel card isin't a good idea for my situation?

I was just thinking it would be nice to rack up points for future vacations

what can you do if you want to do something for future vacation is signup for some cards with nice signup bonuses. like there was an citi executive card i think it was. It had something like 100k miles if you were able to spend 10k .

Re: Best Card for Travel points?

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 04:29:11 GMT

@TheFate wrote:
@takeshi74 wrote:
@TheFate wrote:
I've been trying to narrow down the searches on a travel card that I can rack up points towards future vaca's and was wondering which card is best in your opinion? As I know choices may vary from person to person
If you know that then you should provide us with info to help narrow down the options for you. What are your major spend categories? How do you intend to redeem travel rewards and with which companies? Give us something to work with. Generally speaking travel cards are better suited to higher amounts of spend., If your spend is lower then a cash back card may actually be better suited to you.

You can't just on what others determine to be best. I use the CSP but that's because I live in a United hub city and 99% of my air travel is on United. As a result, MR points aren't very useful to me. If that doesn't apply to you then what I think of as best may not be relevant to you.
You're absolutely right

I'm contemplating now that you mentioned travel cards are best suited for heavy spending. My annual income when I finish school next year will be roughly 95k but since I'm saving as much as I can to try and make the 20% down on a house It restricts my usual spending.

I roughly only spend 4k a year on groceries and 2,500 on Gas. I shop often in department stores but other than that rent/utilities and savings. So maybe a travel card isin't a good idea for my situation?

I was just thinking it would be nice to rack up points for future vacations

Right, the point is that most "good" travel cards have an annual fee, at least after the first year. If you are not spending a lot, the rewards gained are often going to worth less than the annual fee. But it's certainly worthwhile (if qualified) getting things like the CSP for the first year, so you can get the large sign up bonus, and if needed, cancel or downgrade before the fee becomes due.

Re: Best Card for Travel points?

H14 — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 18:20:09 GMT

@TheFate wrote:
@takeshi74 wrote:
@TheFate wrote:
I've been trying to narrow down the searches on a travel card that I can rack up points towards future vaca's and was wondering which card is best in your opinion? As I know choices may vary from person to person
If you know that then you should provide us with info to help narrow down the options for you. What are your major spend categories? How do you intend to redeem travel rewards and with which companies? Give us something to work with. Generally speaking travel cards are better suited to higher amounts of spend., If your spend is lower then a cash back card may actually be better suited to you.

You can't just on what others determine to be best. I use the CSP but that's because I live in a United hub city and 99% of my air travel is on United. As a result, MR points aren't very useful to me. If that doesn't apply to you then what I think of as best may not be relevant to you.
You're absolutely right

I'm contemplating now that you mentioned travel cards are best suited for heavy spending. My annual income when I finish school next year will be roughly 95k but since I'm saving as much as I can to try and make the 20% down on a house It restricts my usual spending.

I roughly only spend 4k a year on groceries and 2,500 on Gas. I shop often in department stores but other than that rent/utilities and savings. So maybe a travel card isin't a good idea for my situation?

I was just thinking it would be nice to rack up points for future vacations

I would suggest the Sallie Mae WMC then. You'll get 5% cashback on the groceries and gas which would probably be more valuable than any travel card you could get now, especially with no annual fee.

It has limits, the 5% will only apply for the first 250 a month spent on gas and groceries, and you'll exceed the groceries cap by a little but I'd say thats not a big deal, or you can pick up another card like the Blue cash everyday for when you do go over.

Re: Best Card for Travel points?

TheFate — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 18:29:21 GMT

@H14 wrote:
@TheFate wrote:
@takeshi74 wrote:
@TheFate wrote:
I've been trying to narrow down the searches on a travel card that I can rack up points towards future vaca's and was wondering which card is best in your opinion? As I know choices may vary from person to person
If you know that then you should provide us with info to help narrow down the options for you. What are your major spend categories? How do you intend to redeem travel rewards and with which companies? Give us something to work with. Generally speaking travel cards are better suited to higher amounts of spend., If your spend is lower then a cash back card may actually be better suited to you.

You can't just on what others determine to be best. I use the CSP but that's because I live in a United hub city and 99% of my air travel is on United. As a result, MR points aren't very useful to me. If that doesn't apply to you then what I think of as best may not be relevant to you.
You're absolutely right

I'm contemplating now that you mentioned travel cards are best suited for heavy spending. My annual income when I finish school next year will be roughly 95k but since I'm saving as much as I can to try and make the 20% down on a house It restricts my usual spending.

I roughly only spend 4k a year on groceries and 2,500 on Gas. I shop often in department stores but other than that rent/utilities and savings. So maybe a travel card isin't a good idea for my situation?

I was just thinking it would be nice to rack up points for future vacations
I would suggest the Sallie Mae WMC then. You'll get 5% cashback on the groceries and gas which would probably be more valuable than any travel card you could get now, especially with no annual fee.

It has limits, the 5% will only apply for the first 250 a month spent on gas and groceries, and you'll exceed the groceries cap by a little but I'd say thats not a big deal, or you can pick up another card like the Blue cash everyday for when you do go over.

I was actually considering getting the Sallie Mae Upromise then also getting the chase freedom to use as a combination. Sallie Mae wmc is a great card but with that card I would have no use for really any other card.. which I plan on getting 3 or 4 this new year so I want to cover every aspect of rewards spread out as best as possible if that makes sense.

Re: Best Card for Travel points?

H14 — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 21:12:53 GMT

The Sallie Mae and the Upromise card are two different things, can't tell if you're confusing them or if you actually want the Upromise. People have apped for the wrong one before.

And yeah, pretty much what I've got going on too, as far as covering all reward aspects, see sig:

Re: Best Card for Travel points?

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 21:26:04 GMT

@H14 wrote:
The Sallie Mae and the Upromise card are two different things, can't tell if you're confusing them or if you actually want the Upromise. People have apped for the wrong one before.

And yeah, pretty much what I've got going on too, as far as covering all reward aspects, see sig:

TheFate is pretty clear about the distinction on other threads, and uses Sallie Mae WMC to indicate what others are call Sallie Mae.

Re: Best Card for Travel points?

TheFate — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 23:55:14 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@H14 wrote:
The Sallie Mae and the Upromise card are two different things, can't tell if you're confusing them or if you actually want the Upromise. People have apped for the wrong one before.

And yeah, pretty much what I've got going on too, as far as covering all reward aspects, see sig:
TheFate is pretty clear about the distinction on other threads, and uses Sallie Mae WMC to indicate what others are call Sallie Mae.

Yes, I thought I was pretty clear as I know the WMC and Upromise often get confused but are both in fact by Sallie Mae.

Re: Best Card for Travel points?

Anonymous — Sun, 21 Dec 2014 11:09:29 GMT

@H14 wrote:
The AMEX Starwood Preferred Guest card, or the Chase Sapphire Preferred [optionally combined with Freedom] are excellent options, if you favor cards with transfer partners.

Can someone ( lovely soul ) clarify the Amex SPG ''2 stay / 5nights credit''?

Does that mean, you have to stay 2 stays or 5 nights to get gold / platinum status or .......

Is Amex SPG giving away free 2 stays / 5 nights for AMEX SPG cardholders???

What does the ''elite status'' mean then?

I have the SPG card........Thanks in advance, no easy find elsewhere.

Re: Best Card for Travel points?

dilettante — Sun, 21 Dec 2014 13:46:27 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@H14 wrote:
The AMEX Starwood Preferred Guest card, or the Chase Sapphire Preferred [optionally combined with Freedom] are excellent options, if you favor cards with transfer partners.
Can someone ( lovely soul ) clarify the Amex SPG ''2 stay / 5nights credit''?
Does that mean, you have to stay 2 stays or 5 nights to get gold / platinum status or .......

Is Amex SPG giving away free 2 stays / 5 nights for AMEX SPG cardholders???
What does the ''elite status'' mean then?

I have the SPG card........Thanks in advance, no easy find elsewhere.

It means if you sign up for the SPG card, SPG will add 2 stay/5 nights to your reward account (though you didn't stay those 2 stays/5 nights) and these "credits" will count toward how many stays/nights you need to reach an elite status. To reach Gold, you need 10 stays/25 nights reflected on your reward account within a year, Platinum 25 stays/50 nights. With the 2 stays/5 nights credits from signing up for the card, you only need 8 stays/ 20 nights more within a year to at least reach Gold.

Elite status with any program usually means added benefits. With SPG, if you are Gold, they will give 3 points per dollar spent at SPG properties (versus 2 for non-elites), possible upgrades, welcome gifts when you stay at SPG, possible late check-outs, etc.

If you sign up for the Amex Plat, they give complimentary Gold status with SPG, meaning you don't even have to have ever stayed at their property to have status. And that status will be good as long as you hold the Amex Plat card.