topic Re: Card for Travel? in Credit Cards

Card for Travel?

keithbward — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 18:50:23 GMT

Now that I'm at a point where applying for anything else is just ridiculous for me, I'm staying engaged by gathering information and planning for the next part of my journey. Extensive gardening and learning about prime lenders and great cards for everyday life, travel, dining, etc. This thread is focused on the travel aspect. Me and my girlfriend do some traveling for work. I travel about 6 times a year for work and her about 10 times. My personal travel is roughly once a month if I can. I drive sometimes, but flying is always a joy for me. What would be a great travel card for us and would even give us more reason to travel?

Re: Card for Travel?

youdontkillmoney — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 18:55:14 GMT

The two travel cards I use are AMEX Platinum NPSL and Cti Prestige. Look into these as they provide admittance into various lounges at airports, reimburse luggae and other air related fees charged to the card, provide rental upgrades and additional premium insurance benefits, for international travel, fasttrak status pass customs, among other benefits. Each of these cards have annual fees in excess of $400 per annum.

It depends on the level of benefits you want and your particular travel lifestyle, low budget, luxurious or somewhere in the middle...there are cards out there for everyone.

Re: Card for Travel?

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 18:56:56 GMT

IMHO a general travel card that you can apply towards multiple rewards programs is probably the most useful if you don't frequent a specific hotel chain or live in a town that is a ___air hub. Go CSP, or Barclay arrival(+) or take a look at your preferred airline/hotels card to see if you can do better. Amex spg has decently favorable miles airline transfer rates as well.

Re: Card for Travel?

Closingracer99 — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 19:09:47 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
IMHO a general travel card that you can apply towards multiple rewards programs is probably the most useful if you don't frequent a specific hotel chain or live in a town that is a ___air hub. Go CSP, or Barclay arrival(+) or take a look at your preferred airline/hotels card to see if you can do better. Amex spg has decently favorable miles airline transfer rates as well.

Eh If you know your traveling with an airline or staying in a hotel that is in the Network with Chase Then the CSP is a great card. IF you just shop for the cheapest price possible the Barclays Arrival or Arrival + card is a better option since they do it as a statement credit

Re: Card for Travel?

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 19:11:04 GMT

@youdontkillmoney wrote:
The two travel cards I use are AMEX Platinum NPSL and Cti Prestige. Look into these as they provide admittance into various lounges at airports, reimburse luggae and other air related fees charged to the card, provide rental upgrades and additional premium insurance benefits, for international travel, fasttrak status pass customs, among other benefits. Each of these cards have annual fees in excess of $400 per annum.

It depends on the level of benefits you want and your particular travel lifestyle, low budget, luxurious or somewhere in the middle...there are cards out there for everyone.

+1 for the amex plat

the af appears steep but you'll more than recover the fee if you travel often

otherwise I agree the csp and barclay+ are more affordable and probably better if you are talking purely from a rewards-earning standpoint (the amex platinum is more of a perks card)

Re: Card for Travel?

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 19:56:04 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@youdontkillmoney wrote:
The two travel cards I use are AMEX Platinum NPSL and Cti Prestige. Look into these as they provide admittance into various lounges at airports, reimburse luggae and other air related fees charged to the card, provide rental upgrades and additional premium insurance benefits, for international travel, fasttrak status pass customs, among other benefits. Each of these cards have annual fees in excess of $400 per annum.

It depends on the level of benefits you want and your particular travel lifestyle, low budget, luxurious or somewhere in the middle...there are cards out there for everyone.

+1 for the amex plat

the af appears steep but you'll more than recover the fee if you travel often

otherwise I agree the csp and barclay+ are more affordable and probably better if you are talking purely from a rewards-earning standpoint (the amex platinum is more of a perks card)

The Amex Plat has lost quite a few of it's perks (which is why you need the Prestige or AA Exec as well!)

And a PSA: Remember the Arrival Plus makes sense, after the bonus, only if you spend more than $40K a year on it, or use it extensively abroad. Otherwise Fidelity Amex gives more total reward and is more flexible.

Re: Card for Travel?

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 20:49:34 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@youdontkillmoney wrote:
The two travel cards I use are AMEX Platinum NPSL and Cti Prestige. Look into these as they provide admittance into various lounges at airports, reimburse luggae and other air related fees charged to the card, provide rental upgrades and additional premium insurance benefits, for international travel, fasttrak status pass customs, among other benefits. Each of these cards have annual fees in excess of $400 per annum.

It depends on the level of benefits you want and your particular travel lifestyle, low budget, luxurious or somewhere in the middle...there are cards out there for everyone.

+1 for the amex plat

the af appears steep but you'll more than recover the fee if you travel often

otherwise I agree the csp and barclay+ are more affordable and probably better if you are talking purely from a rewards-earning standpoint (the amex platinum is more of a perks card)
The Amex Plat has lost quite a few of it's perks (which is why you need the Prestige or AA Exec as well!)

And a PSA: Remember the Arrival Plus makes sense, after the bonus, only if you spend more than $40K a year on it, or use it extensively abroad. Otherwise Fidelity Amex gives more total reward and is more flexible.

Working my way up there, not sure I'm quite ready for two high annual fee cards :-)

Re: Card for Travel?

red259 — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:19:22 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@youdontkillmoney wrote:
The two travel cards I use are AMEX Platinum NPSL and Cti Prestige. Look into these as they provide admittance into various lounges at airports, reimburse luggae and other air related fees charged to the card, provide rental upgrades and additional premium insurance benefits, for international travel, fasttrak status pass customs, among other benefits. Each of these cards have annual fees in excess of $400 per annum.

It depends on the level of benefits you want and your particular travel lifestyle, low budget, luxurious or somewhere in the middle...there are cards out there for everyone.

+1 for the amex plat

the af appears steep but you'll more than recover the fee if you travel often

otherwise I agree the csp and barclay+ are more affordable and probably better if you are talking purely from a rewards-earning standpoint (the amex platinum is more of a perks card)
The Amex Plat has lost quite a few of it's perks (which is why you need the Prestige or AA Exec as well!)

And a PSA: Remember the Arrival Plus makes sense, after the bonus, only if you spend more than $40K a year on it, or use it extensively abroad. Otherwise Fidelity Amex gives more total reward and is more flexible.

I think there is more to the calculation than this. The Barclay card is a world mastercard, so there are a lot of additional benefits over the Fidelity. It really depends if those benefits are something the customer would utilize.

Re: Card for Travel?

Irisa — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:25:31 GMT

@keithbward wrote:
Now that I'm at a point where applying for anything else is just ridiculous for me, I'm staying engaged by gathering information and planning for the next part of my journey. Extensive gardening and learning about prime lenders and great cards for everyday life, travel, dining, etc. This thread is focused on the travel aspect. Me and my girlfriend do some traveling for work. I travel about 6 times a year for work and her about 10 times. My personal travel is roughly once a month if I can. I drive sometimes, but flying is always a joy for me. What would be a great travel card for us and would even give us more reason to travel?

Not sure if you have read it yet, but New Guy created a Travel Guide thread that I think will be helpful in your research:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Guide-to-travel-cards/td-p/2918668/page/2

Re: Card for Travel?

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:28:29 GMT

@red259 wrote:

I think there is more to the calculation than this. The Barclay card is a world mastercard, so there are a lot of additional benefits over the Fidelity. It really depends if those benefits are something the customer would utilize.

OK, maybe I am discounting them beause I never use them. And this assumes that the card is your only World (Elite) MC. Like Visa Sig, one is enough to get most of the benefits (unless you need flexible spending limits on every card). But yes, a valid point, so the next question is, what is a fair value for that.

Re: Card for Travel?

mongstradamus — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:30:39 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@red259 wrote:

I think there is more to the calculation than this. The Barclay card is a world mastercard, so there are a lot of additional benefits over the Fidelity. It really depends if those benefits are something the customer would utilize.
OK, maybe I am discounting them beause I never use them. And this assumes that the card is your only World (Elite) MC. Like Visa Sig, one is enough to get most of the benefits (unless you need flexible spending limits on every card). But yes, a valid point, so the next question is, what is a fair value for that.

I find arrival + is only worth it for signup bonus, i would rather use fidelity amex since you can get it back in real cash if you want to go that direction. If you try to cash out with arrival+ its something like .5 point per cent value not so awesome.

Re: Card for Travel?

red259 — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:31:01 GMT

@keithbward wrote:
Now that I'm at a point where applying for anything else is just ridiculous for me, I'm staying engaged by gathering information and planning for the next part of my journey. Extensive gardening and learning about prime lenders and great cards for everyday life, travel, dining, etc. This thread is focused on the travel aspect. Me and my girlfriend do some traveling for work. I travel about 6 times a year for work and her about 10 times. My personal travel is roughly once a month if I can. I drive sometimes, but flying is always a joy for me. What would be a great travel card for us and would even give us more reason to travel?

Its almost impossible to make a recommendation based on this limited information. There are a ton of travel cards, but which one is best really depends on your specific needs. Is it international or domestic travel? Do you always fly the same airline or stay at the same hotel chain? Are you going to be able to make a larger initial spend? Etc. I saw some recommendations for cards like the Amex Plat. I doubt that based on your limited amount of travel per year the high AFs would be worth it, especially since they took away some of the perks. CSP is a good card if you like chase travel partners, can make the initial spend, and would be able to qualify for the min 5k credit line. Barclay card is good for flexibility if you want to stay with non-chase partners. There are a bunch of hotel/airline cards out there that may or may not be a good fit as well.

Re: Card for Travel?

red259 — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:32:33 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@red259 wrote:

I think there is more to the calculation than this. The Barclay card is a world mastercard, so there are a lot of additional benefits over the Fidelity. It really depends if those benefits are something the customer would utilize.
OK, maybe I am discounting them beause I never use them. And this assumes that the card is your only World (Elite) MC. Like Visa Sig, one is enough to get most of the benefits (unless you need flexible spending limits on every card). But yes, a valid point, so the next question is, what is a fair value for that.

Think the value really depends on the individual and how often they utilize those services.

Re: Card for Travel?

mongstradamus — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:32:58 GMT

@red259 wrote:
@keithbward wrote:
Now that I'm at a point where applying for anything else is just ridiculous for me, I'm staying engaged by gathering information and planning for the next part of my journey. Extensive gardening and learning about prime lenders and great cards for everyday life, travel, dining, etc. This thread is focused on the travel aspect. Me and my girlfriend do some traveling for work. I travel about 6 times a year for work and her about 10 times. My personal travel is roughly once a month if I can. I drive sometimes, but flying is always a joy for me. What would be a great travel card for us and would even give us more reason to travel?
Its almost impossible to make a recommendation based on this limited information. There are a ton of travel cards, but which one is best really depends on your specific needs. Is it international or domestic travel? Do you always fly the same airline or stay at the same hotel chain? Are you going to be able to make a larger initial spend? Etc. I saw some recommendations for cards like the Amex Plat. I doubt that based on your limited amount of travel per year the high AFs would be worth it, especially since they took away some of the perks. CSP is a good card if you like chase travel partners, can make the initial spend, and would be able to qualify for the min 5k credit line. Barclay card is good for flexibility if you want to stay with non-chase partners. There are a bunch of hotel/airline cards out there that may or may not be a good fit as well.

I may be in minority here but i also feel that PRG and ED combo could be good since it should be only one hp. You don't really have to worry about AF since ED is the only card that i know of that doesn't have an AF and can transfer to Airlline partners. You can cancel PRG when AF hits in an year.

Re: Card for Travel?

red259 — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:34:37 GMT

@mongstradamus wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@red259 wrote:

I think there is more to the calculation than this. The Barclay card is a world mastercard, so there are a lot of additional benefits over the Fidelity. It really depends if those benefits are something the customer would utilize.
OK, maybe I am discounting them beause I never use them. And this assumes that the card is your only World (Elite) MC. Like Visa Sig, one is enough to get most of the benefits (unless you need flexible spending limits on every card). But yes, a valid point, so the next question is, what is a fair value for that.
I find arrival + is only worth it for signup bonus, i would rather use fidelity amex since you can get it back in real cash if you want to go that direction. If you try to cash out with arrival+ its something like .5 point per cent value not so awesome.

Valid point. Of course, as was mentioned earlier if the OP wants to use the card for itnernational travel the fidelity would not work well.

Re: Card for Travel?

red259 — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:36:54 GMT

@mongstradamus wrote:
@red259 wrote:
@keithbward wrote:
Now that I'm at a point where applying for anything else is just ridiculous for me, I'm staying engaged by gathering information and planning for the next part of my journey. Extensive gardening and learning about prime lenders and great cards for everyday life, travel, dining, etc. This thread is focused on the travel aspect. Me and my girlfriend do some traveling for work. I travel about 6 times a year for work and her about 10 times. My personal travel is roughly once a month if I can. I drive sometimes, but flying is always a joy for me. What would be a great travel card for us and would even give us more reason to travel?
Its almost impossible to make a recommendation based on this limited information. There are a ton of travel cards, but which one is best really depends on your specific needs. Is it international or domestic travel? Do you always fly the same airline or stay at the same hotel chain? Are you going to be able to make a larger initial spend? Etc. I saw some recommendations for cards like the Amex Plat. I doubt that based on your limited amount of travel per year the high AFs would be worth it, especially since they took away some of the perks. CSP is a good card if you like chase travel partners, can make the initial spend, and would be able to qualify for the min 5k credit line. Barclay card is good for flexibility if you want to stay with non-chase partners. There are a bunch of hotel/airline cards out there that may or may not be a good fit as well.
I may be in minority here but i also feel that PRG and ED combo could be good since it should be only one hp. You don't really have to worry about AF since ED is the only card that i know of that doesn't have an AF and can transfer to Airlline partners. You can cancel PRG when AF hits in an year.

Don't they have FTFs? I think MRs are harder to earn than Chase URs if you do the CSP/Freedom combo. I agree that is a nice pair of cards to get together since you can drop the PRG after first year.

Re: Card for Travel?

mongstradamus — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:36:18 GMT

@red259 wrote:
@mongstradamus wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@red259 wrote:

I think there is more to the calculation than this. The Barclay card is a world mastercard, so there are a lot of additional benefits over the Fidelity. It really depends if those benefits are something the customer would utilize.
OK, maybe I am discounting them beause I never use them. And this assumes that the card is your only World (Elite) MC. Like Visa Sig, one is enough to get most of the benefits (unless you need flexible spending limits on every card). But yes, a valid point, so the next question is, what is a fair value for that.
I find arrival + is only worth it for signup bonus, i would rather use fidelity amex since you can get it back in real cash if you want to go that direction. If you try to cash out with arrival+ its something like .5 point per cent value not so awesome.
Valid point. Of course, as was mentioned earlier if the OP wants to use the card for itnernational travel the fidelity would not work well.

That is true but i was using it as an example on accumulation for redemptions, if you have another travel card, which i think most people have, but its an valid point !!

Re: Card for Travel?

jamesdwi — Thu, 14 Aug 2014 02:45:06 GMT

AMEX platinum for prestidge and lounge entries and benefits

CSP to earn the trip, cash is king, sure you may be able to travel with less points, but then you have to limit your self and choices, and possibly dates, if you have the cash rewards to use. The power is yours.

Both Amex Plat and CSP have affects when handed over to pay the bill

(I don't have a Platinum card, and don't plan on getting one unless I find someone else is going to pay my AF and travel bills).

Re: Card for Travel?

Anonymous — Thu, 14 Aug 2014 03:09:58 GMT

@jamesdwi wrote:
AMEX platinum for prestidge and lounge entries and benefits

CSP to earn the trip, cash is king, sure you may be able to travel with less points, but then you have to limit your self and choices, and possibly dates, if you have the cash rewards to use. The power is yours.

Both Amex Plat and CSP have affects when handed over to pay the bill

(I don't have a Platinum card, and don't plan on getting one unless I find someone else is going to pay my AF and travel bills).

I really don't get your cash is king point. If you aren't going to transfer the points, the CSP isn't a great earner of cash.

The Platinum lounge perks have been cut as well, so not so compelling.

Re: Card for Travel?

red259 — Thu, 14 Aug 2014 05:04:20 GMT

@jamesdwi wrote:
AMEX platinum for prestidge and lounge entries and benefits

CSP to earn the trip, cash is king, sure you may be able to travel with less points, but then you have to limit your self and choices, and possibly dates, if you have the cash rewards to use. The power is yours.

Both Amex Plat and CSP have affects when handed over to pay the bill

(I don't have a Platinum card, and don't plan on getting one unless I find someone else is going to pay my AF and travel bills).

No they don't. Most cashiers/servers could care less and barely look at them. I see an amex plat and all I think is that I sure hope that person uses the benefits otherwise its a waste of money. Its not like its an invitation only card, anyone who wants to pay for it can get it with decent credit. It is true with cash back cards you have more flexibility in making bookings, but you will tend to get much better redemption rates with the CSP (assuming you have access to their travel partners). If your talking about premium travel then cash back cards can't compete at all. Depends on who and what you want to redeem on.