$0 AF Card for Travel

[VanderSnoot]

UPDATE: She went with Citi Costco. Wanted a Visa, was not swayed by travel protections of AF cards, does not use Uber/Merrill, and wasn't interested in adding a 2% flat rate card. She could have made more cash back with NFCU Flagship but she has a strong aversion to AFs. It's a good decision, given those parameters.

A friend is looking for a Travel Card with no annual fee, preferrably redeemable for cash back/statement credit. She's not into bells and whistles, and most of her travel is cheap domestic up and down the east coast to visit family. She's also not a churner, so SUBs are nice but not particularly important to her decisionmaking.

I put together a spreadsheet for her with the usual suspects and included a few low AF (<$100) for comparison. Her current lineup has some holes, but I stuck to task at hand and recommended either the WF Propel or the Citi Costco (I know she shops at Costco often, but I don't know who in the family has the membership).

Did I miss anything? I'm going light on details but am happy to answer questions.

Wells Fargo Propel

Capital One VentureOne

Discover it Miles

BOA Travel Rewards

Citibank Costco Go Anywhere

Barclays Uber

PenFed Pathfinder

NFCU Flagship

SunTrust Travel Rewards

Chase Sapphire Preferred

Chase Business Ink Preferred

[Anonymous]

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When she travels, what are her actual expense types? Airfare (and which airline?), restaurants, hotels, gas?

[VanderSnoot]

Airfare and an occaisional luggage fee. She only travels to visit family (BOS, NYC, DC), so no hotels, gas, or restaurant spending when traveling. Minimal gas and restaurant when home (lives in a large city with excellent public transportation, but uses a car on the weekend; eats at home).

[Anonymous]

At a glance, propel is the best choice. But then, it depends on how much she plan to put on the card and if she has a loyalty airlines. In the end, question is if the value gained from card is enough to offset luggage fees and still beat a 2%er.

[simplynoir]

I think the choices you selected here are good. Assuming she's a Costco member then Citi, if not then WF Propel if we're talking strictly cashback

[coldfusion]

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@simplynoir wrote:

I think the choices you selected here are good. Assuming she's a Costco member then Citi, if not then WF Propel if we're talking strictly cashback

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This.  Make sure she understands Costco's redemption practices if she decides to go down that path. 

Also, scratch the Uber card off the list entirely unless she's a frequent user of the service as the card is about to be nerfed.

[VanderSnoot]

Thanks, all. Noir got the calculus right: Citi if Costco, WF if not. Uber is staying on the list because it's an inclusive list, and ultimately her decision. There may be info that I don't have that makes it the right card for her, despite the changes that have so many people upset.

That said, if there's another $0 AF travel card out there, even if rare/hard to get/geoblocked, please let me know.

[Gmood1]

Here's two more for you
https://www.citi.com/credit-cards/credit-card-details/citi.action?ID=citi-rewards-plus-credit-card&c...

https://www.usbank.com/credit-cards/flexperks-travel-rewards-visa-signature-credit-card.html

Only deal breaker with me and the WF Propel or any Amex on the list. Is the acceptance.
No one has ever told me they don't take the ones I've listed above.

I don't even carry the WF Propel anymore. After not being able to use it at certain chain restaurants locally.

[Anonymous]

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@VanderSnoot wrote:

Thanks, all. Noir got the calculus right: Citi if Costco, WF if not. Uber is staying on the list because it's an inclusive list, and ultimately her decision. There may be info that I don't have that makes it the right card for her, despite the changes that have so many people upset.

That said, if there's another $0 AF travel card out there, even if rare/hard to get/geoblocked, please let me know.

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Re Uber: just make sure she understands that it will no longer a cashback card, so only makes sense if she has uber expenses (Uber or Uber eats) that she can cover by these redemptions

[Adkins]

My husband has the Costco card and I'm an authorized user on it, but I'm the primary person who has the Costco membership and he has authorized addition to it.