@Citylights18 wrote:As a Chase holder for the past 18 months or so I've been taken aback by some of the changes they've made to their credit card lineup. For example I had considered upgrading from the CSP to the CSR but with the Freedom line now 3x dine there doesn't seem a point to it.
International dining would be subject to FTFs on Freedom cards. For the target demographic of CSP/CSR, that is an important disntinction between the cards. If you are paying cash for airlines, the Chase Travel portal is fine with the Freedom cards. If using URs, you lose that multiplier. If using Chase Travel for hotels either with cash or URs, it's always key to remember that no major hotel loyalty program will count the stays/nights toward elite status, and with very rare exceptions the hotel will not honor any status benefits or perks unless booked directly.
@Citylights18 wrote:Yeah the travel portal purchasing is most effective for airfare where the airline loyalty points still count vs. hotel purchasing. That is why I believe a hotel card is an under valued investment because of the co-existence with the loyaty programs, high points per brand spend and perks at the hotel.
But I think having 2 hotel cards might be overkill. First the chains usually have at least one hotel at each destination so 90% there is overlap. Secondly its much easier to redeem free nights when you can stack them together in one program. I like the idea of having a secondary hotel option though just in case you are somewhere your chain isn't available. Citi Premier with the $100 travel credit through their portal w/ $500 spend or buying hotel rooms through an OTA and collecting loyalty stays.
With airlines price comes before loyalty when people buy so there is something to be said for having cards with all the big 3 airlines and go with whomever has the best deal (or wherever you have the most miles).
2 (or more) hotel cards with the same chain can be great, though! And for the right person, multiple hotel cards can be good for the light traveler or the very heavy business traveler who might frequently use two or more chains. I haven't been in a non-Marriott hotel for over 4 years, and one of the primary reasons I chose Marriott over Hilton was footprint. They are everyone I go or have even semi-reasonable plans to go in the coming years.
Don't discount airline loyalty. While the average consumer is usually looking for the best deal, those of us with airline status (and particularly higher levels of airline status) can be loyal to a fault. I'll happily pay more to a reasonable extent to fly Delta/SkyTeam and its partners (even with my completely unused lower United/Star Alliance status) for perks, experience, and continuation of my status. In fact, since dropping Southwest for Delta a few years ago, the sole non-Delta-operated flight I have taken (other than partners KLM and Virgin Atlantic) was a mixed American and Alaska one-way that I only did because it was a super cheap F award fare I could use my orphan Virgin America miles on and even Delta Main Cabin tickets were very expensive that day for that route (BOS-LAX). Even convenience usually isn't much of a game changer; I'll also probably choose SkyTeam over anyone else even if it means connecting in Switzerland to get from Boston to Chicago! (An obviously exaggerated and unlikely situation since it's prohibited by cabotage laws, but in all seriousness I would pick BOS-MSP-DFW on Delta over a direct American BOS-DFW flight unless it were hundreds cheaper.)
@Citylights18 wrote:How many times do you fly a year? Ten times a year plus? At that level its worth riding a loyalty program.
Yes, that's me the past few years. It's been a slow year obviously, but I should end up somewhere between 21 and 25 segments by the end of the year. Delta is of course extending my Platinum status through 2021, but I still would have hit Gold this year via the normal rules from MQMs and MQDs.
@notmyrealname23 wrote:
@Citylights18 wrote:
With airlines price comes before loyalty when people buy so there is something to be said for having cards with all the big 3 airlines and go with whomever has the best deal (or wherever you have the most miles).
I don't really understand the logic for that- are you saying you should pay $300 or so a year for cards with lousy earning structures (really, they're all garbage earning compared to Chase/AMEX/etc.) because you don't want to pay a checked luggage fee?
I can understand wanting to hold the Delta AMEX cards if you're a Delta elite (because waiving MQD is nice, the companion cert could make sense), or United, etc., but if you're a casually attached flyer playing the field on Expedia, just get a ubiquitous travel card. I'll take 4x MR earn on dining for AMEX Gold (which is really 4x SkyMiles, or Avios, or...) over 2x SkyMiles earn every day of the week. That and fly Southwest and pay $0 for checked bags.
Speaking of... Southwest is actually a thing. Arguably as influential in the US as "the big 3".
The cards with $250-$550 fees come with more than checked bag fee waiver, though. For those the selling point is the companion certificate that should more than cover the annual fee as well as the big signup bonuses. (And for elites, additional perks and/or opportunities to earn higher status.) Certainly for category spending, there are better cards. But for the average consumer, particularly those in hub cities for a specific airline or those in smaller markets where it's their sole airline choice to get to a larger airport, it can certainly make sense to pick up a sub-$100 AF card for the waived bag fees.
Southwest is definitely a massive player in the US, and I flew them fairly often prior to becoming a SkyFanboy. However, sometimes people need to fly to places outside of the US, Caribbean, and a small list of destinations in Mexico, Belize, and Costa Rica. The unique "take whatever's empty" seating process certainly isn't for everyone.