Looking ahead to when my points cards turn a year old, I’ve got some decisions to make about what my points earning scheme should be long term.
Currently I have a Citi Premier, Amex PRG and Amex EDP for my main points earners. I also have some hotel cards with decent earnings for those programs in some categories. I’m not counting Amex green since I only got it for the bonus and don’t intend to keep it past a year.
The Citi Premier is a decent points card by itself. The categories are broad and the points are valuable. There is a bit of overlap with Amex on the transfer partners so combining with Amex points can work in some situations though it’s not perfect. Unlike Amex points however Citi points actually have some value beyond airline transfers. AF is $95 and if I stick it out a second year I can go for another signup bonus. Redemptions on the ThankYou travel portal are 1.25 cpp. However the search results on the portal are often incomplete. There’s also Price Rewind and Private Pass which are nice but I also get those with my DC.
The PRG earning is similar to the Citi Premier but the categories aren’t as broad. Gas is 2x vs. 3x from Citi. The PRG 3x category is only on flights while the Citi returns 3x on all travel. There's the $100 airline credit but it’s too specific to really count it as an AF offset. The $195 AF is a bit steep especially since the Citi card seems to mostly outperform it on earning. However Amex transfer partners are more in line with who I’m likely to fly with (I live near ATL). The Amex travel portal seems to be a lot better than Citi even though their points are worthless. Purchasing with money through the Amex portal returns extra points though.
The EDP obviously excels at earning points at grocery stores and on noncategory spend. AF is $95 which seems worth it for this card’s earning potential. However I’d want to complement this with one of the above two for earning at restaurants which is where I swipe the most.
My original plan was to ditch the PRG and keep the Premier and EDP. However their points programs are different enough that I can see potential for problems splitting my earning between the two. I’m realizing that I’d only really use the points for airline transfers since I can mostly outdo point value on travel portals with my cash back cards.
I’d thought about focusing on Amex and keeping the PRG and EDP and using them in tandem for maximum earning in one program but $290 is more than I’d like to spend on AF for my points cards. Especially since I’d likely only use them to earn free flights and then switch to cash back.
One option may be to downgrade to (or app) an Amex ED. That would reduce the fee while still getting better earning on groceries and noncategory spend than the PRG.
Or since my points would most likely be transferred to Delta anyway I could get a SkyMiles blue card for the 2x restaurant earning which is the main category I’d use the PRG or Premier cards for anyway. That card is free. Combined with the EDP would be $95 or with the ED would be $0!
I don’t actually spend a lot on travel. I don’t travel often, and spending as little as possible when I do is kinda the point of this whole endeavor. So earning lots of points on travel purchases is not really the goal (although earning extra on small travel purchases like short hotel stays or parking can be useful). I’m mainly trying to maximize rewards on spending on everything else. This is why I haven’t bothered with super premium cards like Plat or CSR or Prestige.
What do you guys think I should do? Anything I missed?
Currently I have a Citi Premier, Amex PRG and Amex EDP for my main points earners. I also have some hotel cards with decent earnings for those programs in some categories. I’m not counting Amex green since I only got it for the bonus and don’t intend to keep it past a year.
The Citi Premier is a decent points card by itself. The categories are broad and the points are valuable. There is a bit of overlap with Amex on the transfer partners so combining with Amex points can work in some situations though it’s not perfect. Unlike Amex points however Citi points actually have some value beyond airline transfers. AF is $95 and if I stick it out a second year I can go for another signup bonus. Redemptions on the ThankYou travel portal are 1.25 cpp. However the search results on the portal are often incomplete. There’s also Price Rewind and Private Pass which are nice but I also get those with my DC.
The PRG earning is similar to the Citi Premier but the categories aren’t as broad. Gas is 2x vs. 3x from Citi. The PRG 3x category is only on flights while the Citi returns 3x on all travel. There's the $100 airline credit but it’s too specific to really count it as an AF offset. The $195 AF is a bit steep especially since the Citi card seems to mostly outperform it on earning. However Amex transfer partners are more in line with who I’m likely to fly with (I live near ATL). The Amex travel portal seems to be a lot better than Citi even though their points are worthless. Purchasing with money through the Amex portal returns extra points though.
The EDP obviously excels at earning points at grocery stores and on noncategory spend. AF is $95 which seems worth it for this card’s earning potential. However I’d want to complement this with one of the above two for earning at restaurants which is where I swipe the most.
My original plan was to ditch the PRG and keep the Premier and EDP. However their points programs are different enough that I can see potential for problems splitting my earning between the two. I’m realizing that I’d only really use the points for airline transfers since I can mostly outdo point value on travel portals with my cash back cards.
I’d thought about focusing on Amex and keeping the PRG and EDP and using them in tandem for maximum earning in one program but $290 is more than I’d like to spend on AF for my points cards. Especially since I’d likely only use them to earn free flights and then switch to cash back.
One option may be to downgrade to (or app) an Amex ED. That would reduce the fee while still getting better earning on groceries and noncategory spend than the PRG.
Or since my points would most likely be transferred to Delta anyway I could get a SkyMiles blue card for the 2x restaurant earning which is the main category I’d use the PRG or Premier cards for anyway. That card is free. Combined with the EDP would be $95 or with the ED would be $0!
I don’t actually spend a lot on travel. I don’t travel often, and spending as little as possible when I do is kinda the point of this whole endeavor. So earning lots of points on travel purchases is not really the goal (although earning extra on small travel purchases like short hotel stays or parking can be useful). I’m mainly trying to maximize rewards on spending on everything else. This is why I haven’t bothered with super premium cards like Plat or CSR or Prestige.
What do you guys think I should do? Anything I missed?
Because points are a much quicker way to get free flights.
It’s not that I don’t travel. I love to travel! I just do it infrequently. I’d do it a lot more if I could do it for free. Hence the points.
It’s not that I don’t travel. I love to travel! I just do it infrequently. I’d do it a lot more if I could do it for free. Hence the points.
Well yeah I’d love it if I could get a Sapphire and rack up on points with my Freedom cards but I’m LOL/24. Even living in Atlanta I could still make use of UR points, though not as easily as with MRs.
As for the types of flights I’d want, mainly international coach. Premium class would be great but I don’t know if I have the patience for that. If I want to go anywhere east of the Mississippi in North America I don’t mind driving since airports are such a hassle these days. Kinda don’t have a choice but to deal with that if I want to leave the continent though.
I just did an award redemption for transatlantic flights next year, outbound with SkyMiles and return with FlyingBlue. Based on the cash price of the same flights (booked as round trip) and the surcharges I paid it came out to 1.91 cpp. That means the 4.5x I was getting on groceries was almost 9%. None of my cash back cards beats that. And I could’ve done even better but I was picky about dates and flight times.
I’m definitely seeing the benefit to sticking to one program rather than spreading my spend between Citi and Amex. Maybe once their year is up I’ll have a better idea of what my spend is like and how to optimize it.
As for the types of flights I’d want, mainly international coach. Premium class would be great but I don’t know if I have the patience for that. If I want to go anywhere east of the Mississippi in North America I don’t mind driving since airports are such a hassle these days. Kinda don’t have a choice but to deal with that if I want to leave the continent though.
I just did an award redemption for transatlantic flights next year, outbound with SkyMiles and return with FlyingBlue. Based on the cash price of the same flights (booked as round trip) and the surcharges I paid it came out to 1.91 cpp. That means the 4.5x I was getting on groceries was almost 9%. None of my cash back cards beats that. And I could’ve done even better but I was picky about dates and flight times.
I’m definitely seeing the benefit to sticking to one program rather than spreading my spend between Citi and Amex. Maybe once their year is up I’ll have a better idea of what my spend is like and how to optimize it.
@MrDisco99 wrote:
Well yeah I’d love it if I could get a Sapphire and rack up on points with my Freedom cards but I’m LOL/24. Even living in Atlanta I could still make use of UR points, though not as easily as with MRs.
As for the types of flights I’d want, mainly international coach. Premium class would be great but I don’t know if I have the patience for that. If I want to go anywhere east of the Mississippi in North America I don’t mind driving since airports are such a hassle these days. Kinda don’t have a choice but to deal with that if I want to leave the continent though.
I just did an award redemption for transatlantic flights next year, outbound with SkyMiles and return with FlyingBlue. Based on the cash price of the same flights (booked as round trip) and the surcharges I paid it came out to 1.91 cpp. That means the 4.5x I was getting on groceries was almost 9%. None of my cash back cards beats that. And I could’ve done even better but I was picky about dates and flight times.
I’m definitely seeing the benefit to sticking to one program rather than spreading my spend between Citi and Amex. Maybe once their year is up I’ll have a better idea of what my spend is like and how to optimize it.
I'm LOL/24
You totally maded me LOL, thanks!
