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Altitude Reserve

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Altitude Reserve


@digitek wrote:

I've had it for a few months now and I really like it.  I switched from CSR + Freedom, both of which I closed out.  I went with Alt Reserve + Uber.  Lower AF by $50 and lower effective AF by $75 ($400 AF with $325 credit as opposed to $450 AF with $300 credit), almost exact same insurance except for lower amount on trip cancellation ($10k vs $2k), many more opportunities to use it with mobile payments as opposed to just restaurants, I don't really care much about airport lounges, US Bank is solid all around.

 

If you also have a Samsung product with MST then you can use the card practically anywhere you have to swipe even if it doesn't support typical NFC mobile payments.  Samsung Pay even gives some rewards for using it, but they aren't worth much and not sure you can redeem for actual cash, only towards Samsung products.

 

Of all the major AF (Amex Plat, Citi Prestige, CSR, Alt Reserve) cards it made the most sense to me.  I don't travel a whole lot, 3-4 times a year, and value lounge access at $0, just wanted a card with good travel insurance, Visa network, dedicated 'good' customer service, no FTF, and I really like the mobile wallet increased cashback category.  Personally, I like the Real-Time-Redemption style of using points over any of the others, too.


I noticed you also have the Gold as well. I’m interesting in how you use that with the Alt reserve since you mentioned you use the Uber as well. 

 

Anyways yeah I was just approved for this card and so far I’m liking it! I am thinking I will just drop my Gold in October when the 2nd fee hits. I don’t like the idea of paying for multiple 200+ annual fee cards. Ill still have the BBP for 2 MRs for all purchases regardless. I’ll then use the Altitude Reserve+Savor for essentially all purchases. Reserve will handle all mobile payments/travel/non cat spend while Savor will take care of restaurants/entertainment that don’t take Apple Pay.

Message 11 of 24
Shadowfactor
Valued Contributor

Re: Altitude Reserve

I was referring to redeeming your points for giftcards through RTR. It’s quite easy to redeem them for AA giftcards as AA lets you enter any dollar amount up to $1500.
It gives you additional flexibility to book flights Without the portal or more complicated bookings that the portal may not have.

Don’t buy giftcards using Mobile wallet to earn 3X points, USB will shut you down. I’ve done in twice not thinking about it but it was only $25 restaurant giftcards as gifts.




Total Revolving Limits $254,800

Message 12 of 24
NRB525
Super Contributor

Re: Altitude Reserve

The RTR method would work on the actual AA flight, whether $150 or $500 for a particular flight. The Altitude points don’t expire as long as the card remains open, so it is not the same “use it or lose it” as the AMEX airline credits.

Yes, setting up a large AA gift card may make it easier in booking with AA, but keep in mind, those Altitude points are now committed to AA.

There are annoyances in the RTR as well, such as booking flights. If you buy two airline tickets on the same itinerary, or two upgrades to seats, you may get two separate charges, one for each seat, within seconds of each other. Because RTR really is Real Time, that means you get two texts, back to back, but only the last text can be “Redeem” responded.

So RTR maintains flexibility, but there may be cases when one cannot get as much redeemed as one would like.

Congrats on getting the card OP. I like mine, although my access to ApplePay merchants seems to be declining. I plan to keep it open, because those GoGo passes are nice.
High Bal Jan 2009 $116k on $146k limits 80% Util.
Oct 2014 $46k on $127k 36% util EQ 722 TU 727 EX 727
April 2018 $18k on $344k 5% util EQ 806 TU 810 EX 812
Jan 2019 $7.6k on $360k EQ 832 TU 839 EX 831
March 2021 $33k on $312k EQ 796 TU 798 EX 801
May 2021 Paid all Installments and Mortgages, one new Mortgage EQ 761 TY 774 EX 777
April 2022 EQ=811 TU=807 EX=805 - TU VS 3.0 765
Message 13 of 24
Anonymous
Not applicable

Altitude Reserve is Awesome!

So I was literally at the dentist getting ready to pay with my BBP then I discovered that the terminal said Apple Pay. I was in shock because the dentist would be the last place I would expect to take mobile pay. I asked the lady if they took mobile pay because it said it on the machine. She was like “I don’t think it works, someone else has tried it”. I’m like “cool do you mind if I try it”. Of course, she was like sure and to my surprise it worked!

 

I have around a 2k dental expense coming up next week so that’s an easy 6k points! I am also planning on moving the expense over to my Discover, which has a 18 month/0%/3% fee. Despite the fee, I’m still coming out ahead which is nice. My BBP has around 8 months left on its 0% APR so I’ll gladly take that trade off for an extra 10 months!

Message 14 of 24
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Altitude Reserve is Awesome!

Just keep rubbing in how great the card is to those of us who were denied....

I kid. That's awesome you can use it at your dentist. I'm hoping to get the card in December and am waiting to have some major work done on my car until I get it.
Message 15 of 24
longtimelurker
Epic Contributor

Re: Altitude Reserve is Awesome!

I mainly got it for use abroad (as my most common expenses, groceries, have other cards offering more than 3x/4.5 travel)   But like OP, I was pleasantly surprised yesterday at my auto repair place, took SP (via NFC), $1495 triple points, good process towards SUB (and hopefully insurance will pay most of it anyway!)

 

But wish travel was as broad as CSR, have to pull that out for parking and tolls!

Message 16 of 24
JR_TX
Valued Contributor

Re: Altitude Reserve is Awesome!

I’m sure it’s awesome if you travel enough to justify the $500 AF.
New cc TLs : 0/6 ; 0/12 ; 0/24 | HPs EX 3 EQ 3 TU 4 | AAoA 7y10m | UTIL 1% - 4% | $300K+ Total Limits

Message 17 of 24
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Altitude Reserve is Awesome!


@JR_TX wrote:
I’m sure it’s awesome if you travel enough to justify the $500 AF.

It’s 400$ AF and it’s an effective 75$ annual fee after the 325$ credit. You really don’t even have to travel much to justify it. Travel and mobile pay both earn 3 points.

Message 18 of 24
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Altitude Reserve is Awesome!


@longtimelurker wrote:

I mainly got it for use abroad (as my most common expenses, groceries, have other cards offering more than 3x/4.5 travel)   But like OP, I was pleasantly surprised yesterday at my auto repair place, took SP (via NFC), $1495 triple points, good process towards SUB (and hopefully insurance will pay most of it anyway!)

 

But wish travel was as broad as CSR, have to pull that out for parking and tolls!


True! It’s nice discovering places that you least expect would accept Apple Pay. That alone makes the card a keeper! 

Message 19 of 24
practical1
Regular Contributor

Re: Altitude Reserve

I've had this card for about a year and a half.  Since I'm accumulating Marriott and AMEX points, I don't use it very often.  The one place I do is COSTCO, since they switched to VISA only for credit cards.

 

Haven't tried using the mobile payments feature (since I don't have a phone with working fingerprint scanner) but expect, if you do and use it frequently at places like COSTCO, the 3 X points would be attractive.

 

So far, I've kept all the accumulated points banked -- between those and the $325 annual travel credit, it seems like a good deal to keep this card alive.  Plus, it's satisyingly solid metal -- just wish it also could do tap to pay (but then it would need to have the sandwich construction of AMEX metal cards).

 

Message 20 of 24
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