Opinions needed – Best large spend sign up bonus

[Anonymous]

I am going to be making a large purchase, over $5K, and I feel like I should use this purchase as an opportunity to get a large sign up bonus. I am thinking of opening the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card for the 60K, (I have both the Freedom and Freedom Unlimited cards), but I don’t know if I would offset the $95 annual fee going forward. Given that I can earn 3% back on travel with my BOA card and 4% on dining with my Savor Card, would the card be worth having after I get the bonus? Is there another card I should consider? I know a lot of people close cards after getting a bonus, but I have never done that so I’ve typically avoided cards with annual fees.

My only card with an annual fee is the Marriott Brilliant Card which I upgraded last year to get 125K Marriott points. I had a trip planned in May that would have more than offset the $450 annual fee, but due to the coronavirus the trip was cancelled. I know AMEX is currently

letting you use the $300 Marriott credit towards dining through August 31st, but I’m not getting much of a benefit from the card this year.

Overall, I am hesitant to open another card with an annual fee, but I feel like I am wasting an opportunity given my upcoming spend. My FICO score is in the 800s and I don’t have to worry about the 5/24 rule.

Thanks for the advice.  

[K-in-Boston]

CSP's 60k is worth at least $750 in travel; that covers almost the entire first 8 years of annual fees, but you could also downgrade it to Freedom or Freedom Unlimited after a year to keep the account open.  I would definitely do the math to make sure CSR would not be a better fit.  You'd get at least 4.5% toward travel on the two categories you mentioned.

If you can make the larger spending requirement, it's hard to beat Amex Business Platinum.  Elevated Amex Platinum offers can also be huge.  Both cards of course have hefty fees.

For a smaller AF of $49, if your timing works with the next NFCU round of SUBs (and you are eligible), Flagship is an easy $500.

[wasCB14]

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@K-in-Boston wrote:

CSP's 60k is worth at least $750 in travel; that covers almost the entire first 8 years of annual fees, but you could also downgrade it to Freedom or Freedom Unlimited after a year to keep the account open.  I would definitely do the math to make sure CSR would not be a better fit.  You'd get at least 4.5% toward travel on the two categories you mentioned.

If you can make the larger spending requirement, it's hard to beat Amex Business Platinum.  Elevated Amex Platinum offers can also be huge.  Both cards of course have hefty fees.

For a smaller AF of $49, if your timing works with the next NFCU round of SUBs (and you are eligible), Flagship is an easy $500.

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BofA Premium Rewards is $500. $95 AF but a $100 airfare extras credit per calendar year.

K, is there a particular feature of the Business Platinum you like beyond the SUB? Or are you thinking of downgrading/closing after a year or two?

You've mentioned having little or no business spend so it doesn't sound like a case of separating expenses...and a lot of the features are available on other cards.

[K-in-Boston]

Since my primary use of MRs is revenue airfare and I was already sitting on a huge pool of MRs, the simple answer is that I have it for the 35% rebate.  (Outsized J/F international awards aside, I'm getting about 2 cpp net due to status so it usually makes sense for me to go revenue via portal instead of a transfer to Delta/Air France-KLM/Virgin Atlantic since I get the MQM credits, which would be 0 on an award ticket.)

The AF after credits is negligible (and actually negative to the tune of a few hundred bucks this year with the recent additional credits!!), and it multiplies my earnings on my Gold Card (worst case scenario 6.16% on restaurants and groceries), Platinum Card (worst case scenario 7.7% back on airfare), and Rakuten Card (worst case scenario 4.62% back on a LOT of online shopping).  Plus it usually has different Amex Offers than the other cards, and things like 10% statement credit at Staples, FedEx, etc.  can add up quickly.

When I started making plans to get the card, it started to become clear that unless I make drastic changes to my rewards strategies, I'm back in the game with MRs as my primary rewards program so I don't see closing or downgrading the card ever as long as it continues to make sense to have it.