In my personal opinion, for those who are interested in rewards but not necessarily looking to maximize every possible benefit and reward, there are some cards that are better for certain income levels. I say this because I am one of those people who does not have the time nor the desire to spend a significant amount of time trying to maximize each benefit of every card. In my case, I spend a lot of money each year on travel and dining (mostly work, but some personal). I like cards that give me rewards for those items, therefore, I tend to put most of my spending on Amex Plat, Amex Delta and Merril Accolades. Those 3 cards alone total over $1000 in annual fees. I get many thousands (if not tens of thousands) over that in rewards every year, either in cash, miles or upgrades at hotels/airlines just for having and using the cards.
In comparison, someone who is making 50-60k a year and putting all of their normal spending through any of those cards will recoup the annual fees, but in the end, will not be getting 5k back in rewards. Of course you can get any card you want or any card that you think fits your needs best, but I dont agree with the premise that all cards are created equal for all income levels. You'll get rewards, but whether or not theyre worth it in the long run is dependent on the spending multiplier.
Again, in my opinion, for someone who doesnt travel, doesnt have a desire to travel and makes 50-60k a year, use a card that offers a flat % back or several that give you a higher % on certain categories. I think that is a better way of going after rewards for the average user. If you have the extra time and want to maximize every possible benefit, than jsucool's advice is vaild and valuable. Its all about personal preference and how much effort you want to put into reaping the rewards of each card.
those were the last 2 things I said. so all your post means to me is "I read your entire thing and loved it except the two hash tags at the end, thanks"
@Lyythine wrote:In my personal opinion, for those who are interested in rewards but not necessarily looking to maximize every possible benefit and reward, there are some cards that are better for certain income levels. I say this because I am one of those people who does not have the time nor the desire to spend a significant amount of time trying to maximize each benefit of every card. In my case, I spend a lot of money each year on travel and dining (mostly work, but some personal). I like cards that give me rewards for those items, therefore, I tend to put most of my spending on Amex Plat, Amex Delta and Merril Accolades. Those 3 cards alone total over $1000 in annual fees. I get many thousands (if not tens of thousands) over that in rewards every year, either in cash, miles or upgrades at hotels/airlines just for having and using the cards.
In comparison, someone who is making 50-60k a year and putting all of their normal spending through any of those cards will recoup the annual fees, but in the end, will not be getting 5k back in rewards. Of course you can get any card you want or any card that you think fits your needs best, but I dont agree with the premise that all cards are created equal for all income levels. You'll get rewards, but whether or not theyre worth it in the long run is dependent on the spending multiplier.
Again, in my opinion, for someone who doesnt travel, doesnt have a desire to travel and makes 50-60k a year, use a card that offers a flat % back or several that give you a higher % on certain categories. I think that is a better way of going after rewards for the average user. If you have the extra time and want to maximize every possible benefit, than jsucool's advice is vaild and valuable. Its all about personal preference and how much effort you want to put into reaping the rewards of each card.
Couldn't agree more 
@jsucool76 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:If you can justify it, by all means. I'm still debating over a couple of them since the AF's are all about 500. I can't see giving someone 500 just for the card.
You're not giving them $500 for a card. You're giving them between $400-$500 for more money back
Ritz gave me what I estimate at about $1800-$2000 in value on the signup bonus alone. Breakfast at my first hotel as a gold elite (from the ritz card) was $40 per person, there was 3 of us, and we were there for breakfast 5 days. That's $600 on just ONE STAY savings in breakfast since we got free breakfast in the executive lounge. Then there was the $600 in airline gift cards I bought and was reimbursed for. All in all (not counting any points earned through spend, or the 10% bonus on points earned through spend) thats between $3000 and $3200 in value for $395 my first year (which I then got waived). Gold status alone is enough for me to keep this card. Don't forget PRIMARY rental insurance.
Prestige is $450 (a bit more expensive) but you get the $250 airline credit (twice in each cardmember year if you time it right), so $500 there. 4th night free on any hotel booking through CWT (cant even put a price on that one), 3 free rounds of golf a year (Some of the trump courses here are priced at $450 when looking at the golfswitch portal), 50,000 thank you points (worth $800 when redeemed for american airlines/us air flights), elite status with sixt, national, and avis....list goes on. Just on the airline credit and signup bonus you've got $1300
@Anonymous plat gets the signup bonus (normally 40k but if you get the 100k offer you're even better off), the $200 airline credit, amex centurion lounges ($50 a visit if you don't have a plat card), SPG gold status, some car rental elite status as well (I wanna say national, avis, and enterprise, but I could be wrong), Signup bonus conservatively valued at $400, (or $1000 @ the 100k offer), plus $400 in airline credits is $800 (or $1400 with the 100k offer). Add in the FHR program and once again, set with only a few of the benefits.
That's only a couple of benefits of each card easily giving you the value of the annual fee.
Thank you for writing that out, very informative.
