Best Travel Rewards Card

Anonymous · ‎02-01-2017

Hi all,

I am posting this message to ask a few questions for my mother's wife. My mother passed away in December and her wife has no clue about bills let alone credit cards. I am handling all of the finances and luckily over the year's my mother's wife has developed a 780 credit score. She was only on car loans that ended up paid off with no lates and was an authorized user on all of my mother's cards but no financial obligation to them. She hasn't had her own credit card since the early 90s and now with my mother's passing, she has none, not even as an authorized user. I suggested she get a travel card so that she can earn points on everyday purchases plus use it when she actually travels. She is traveling out of the US to England and Scotland this year so I was hoping a card with no foreign transaction fees.

Hoping all of you have some suggestions. To recap her credit, right around 780 credit score, just purchased a car in October so she does have about 8 pulls on her report from that purchase. Over 10 car loans paid off with no lates in the last 20 years. No collections. No credit cards other than AU in the last 20+ years. $70k annual income.

JustBPatient · ‎02-01-2017

Easy travel cards with no annual fees would be, BOA travel rewards, Arrival from Barclays, Venture1 from CAP1. If she is willing to pay an annual fee there are quite a few to chose from including Chase Saphirre Reserve/Preferred, Venture and Arrival plus. Definitely some options and Im sure others will chime in with excellent suggestions.

Amex Gold =Amex ED 20k = Amex BCP 14k = Amex SPG Lux 2k = Arrival 2k = Ring 14k = BOA 321 30k = BOA BBR 10k = CSR 25k = Freedom 10k = Citi Simplicity 9k = Citi DC 5k = Citi DP 3k = DCVR IT 16k = DCVR IT(2) 10k = CAP1 QS 15k = NFCU CR24k/AE25k/CLOC 15k = BBVA 14k = Wells Plat. 5k = (2) US Bank Cash+ 13k, 18k = PenFed 17k

FICO scores TU 764 EX 739 EQ 745

yfan · ‎02-01-2017

There are lots of "travel" cards, but the card best for her depends on her spending pattern. Does she plan on spending a lot of her time traveling? Does she prefer to fly one airline and/or stay with a preferred hotel chain? If so, she may wish to go with a loyalty card that will help her earn points from everyday spending for that specific program. If not, and she doesn't on traveling a lot other than her upcoming trip, a cashback card with no FTF may be better suited.

adelphi_sky · ‎02-01-2017

I would suggest the Amex Gold. Amex is a familiar name. It's a charge card so she would simply pay the entire balance. No guessing game. And they have excellent travel services. Other rewards cards have sometimes difficult rewards structures, etc. that I don't think she would be bothered with anyway. I'm not sure if the green card would get the same travel benefits as Gold, but if it does, I'd even go with that.

Anonymous · ‎02-01-2017

I would pick the Amex Platinum for 5x points on airline purchases and for the lounge access. $450 annual fee. The chase sapphire reserve is the best overall travel card in my opinion because it gets you the most points from overall spending. $450 annual fee. Last the chase sapphire preferred if you want a lower annual fee. Much like the reserve but downgraded. $95 Annual fee.

adelphi_sky · ‎02-01-2017

@Anonymous wrote:
I would pick the Amex Platinum for 5x points on airline purchases and for the lounge access. $450 annual fee. The chase sapphire reserve is the best overall travel card in my opinion because it gets you the most points from overall spending. $450 annual fee. Last the chase sapphire preferred if you want a lower annual fee. Much like the reserve but downgraded. $95 Annual fee.

I thought about the higher tier cards and the Amex Plat. But I figure if she's a senior citizen, anything more than a few hundred dollars for a fee may be a bit much if they don't know how to use all of the benefits to get the most value from those high fee cards. So, I agree that the Chase Sapphire Preferred may also be a good fit.

Anonymous · ‎02-01-2017

Most definitely. You can't go wrong with the CSP. Good luck to you and her.

Anonymous · ‎02-01-2017

She doesn't plan on flying a lot but she will be using her card a lot for everyday purchases as I would rather her use her card everyday earning miles or points than her debit card which earns nothing. As of right now she uses her debit card everyday for EVERYTHING, she could just use a credit card and PIF every month or carry a balance. She'll be staying with friends when she goes overseas so no need for hotels. I'm guessing maybe a cashback card might be better.

Anonymous · ‎02-01-2017

I think she had an AMEX yearrrrrrs ago in the early 90s but I can't remember why she closed the account. Maybe this is an option.

Anonymous · ‎02-01-2017

She's not a senior citizen by any means. My mother passed away from cancer, her wife will be turning 50 in April. She has plenty of money to pay annual fees, just don't know if it's worth it. Could she qualify for a Chase card right now? She definitely has more than 5 credit pulls in the last 12 months.