Traveling out of the country = need a new card?

[mongstradamus]

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@dearppl wrote:

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@takeshi74 wrote:

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@dearppl wrote:

So any advice please?

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Definitely look at redemption for the cards you're considering.  With programs like Ultimate Rewards best value is generally obtained by transferring.  Make sure the transfer partners would be useful to you with such programs.

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Honestly, I fly Delta most of the time, and they are not partners with CSP. That makes me wonder whether I should get an Amex Delta. LOL... Besides that, I think UR and the CSP are extremely flexible. 

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Remember that you can buy delta through Korean air skypass since they are in same alliance. There is something weird with their alliance though like can't book first class or something like that.you should do some research on all of UR flight partners I think its like 70 different airlines not just five you can directly transfer to.

[celluloid17]

One card you might consider, which isn't as exciting as say CSP, is the Bank of America Travel Rewards.  There's no annual fee, no FTF, it comes with the EMV chip.  You earn 1.5 points for every purchase you make, which can then be redeemed towards any and all travel expenses (I believe as a statement credit?).  If you sign up online, you'd get 10,000 bonus points if you spend $500 in the first 90 days (an EASY $100 credit towards travel expenses!).  They also state this in the fine print, "You will earn 3 points per dollar (consisting of 1.5 base points and 1.5 bonus points) for the first $6,000 in airline purchases (up to 9,000 bonus points) made at the Bank of America Travel Center (“Travel Center”) each calendar year."   I also suggest this card for you because if you aren't satisfied with your initial credit limit, perhaps you could move some of your BOA BBR CL over to this new Travel Rewards card if you have the credit to spare.

[Dw4250]

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@celluloid17 wrote:

One card you might consider, which isn't as exciting as say CSP, is the Bank of America Travel Rewards.  There's no annual fee, no FTF, it comes with the EMV chip.  You earn 1.5 points for every purchase you make, which can then be redeemed towards any and all travel expenses (I believe as a statement credit?).  If you sign up online, you'd get 10,000 bonus points if you spend $500 in the first 90 days (an EASY $100 credit towards travel expenses!).  They also state this in the fine print, "You will earn 3 points per dollar (consisting of 1.5 base points and 1.5 bonus points) for the first $6,000 in airline purchases (up to 9,000 bonus points) made at the Bank of America Travel Center (“Travel Center”) each calendar year."   I also suggest this card for you because if you aren't satisfied with your initial credit limit, perhaps you could move some of your BOA BBR CL over to this new Travel Rewards card if you have the credit to spare.

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+1

I have the BOA Travel Rewards and yes it is not as glitzy as CSP or Arrival +.   But it is a good bread and butter travel card with decent rewards, no FTF and no annual fee.

[keratella]

I would make sure to have 2 or 3 cards that have no FTF. That way if one is lost/compromized then it won't ruin your week. Also a Visa and MasterCard so no need to worry about acceptance from smaller merchants.

For signup bonus either CSP or Barclarcard Arrival. UR points can stretch further but you're more limited in what you can redeem them for.

Depending on where you're going in Asia maybe a Discover, pratically useless in Europe but accepted widely in some Asian countries.

I would steer clear from Amex if you want to avoid being told that it is not accepted more often than it is.

[dearppl]

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@Dw4250 wrote:

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@celluloid17 wrote:

One card you might consider, which isn't as exciting as say CSP, is the Bank of America Travel Rewards.  There's no annual fee, no FTF, it comes with the EMV chip.  You earn 1.5 points for every purchase you make, which can then be redeemed towards any and all travel expenses (I believe as a statement credit?).  If you sign up online, you'd get 10,000 bonus points if you spend $500 in the first 90 days (an EASY $100 credit towards travel expenses!).  They also state this in the fine print, "You will earn 3 points per dollar (consisting of 1.5 base points and 1.5 bonus points) for the first $6,000 in airline purchases (up to 9,000 bonus points) made at the Bank of America Travel Center (“Travel Center”) each calendar year."   I also suggest this card for you because if you aren't satisfied with your initial credit limit, perhaps you could move some of your BOA BBR CL over to this new Travel Rewards card if you have the credit to spare.

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+1

I have the BOA Travel Rewards and yes it is not as glitzy as CSP or Arrival +.   But it is a good bread and butter travel card with decent rewards, no FTF and no annual fee.

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Thanks for the input. I thought about the BoA travel card. I like it doesn't have the AF and FTF; however, I find the Amex Fidelity card more attractive in terms of getting 2% cash back and I can designate the cash reward as my "travel fund".

Honestly, I am at the point where I just want to use one card instead of juggling through different reward programs. Where I can just put all my expense on there and see the reward/points add up and force myself to take a vacation instead of 25$ here and there. What I found with my cash reward cashs is that I tend to cash them out and spend it on stuff that I won't even remember after a week. Hence, I think a card like Amex Delta, CSP, or Marriott would be nice.

[mongstradamus]

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@dearppl wrote:

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@Dw4250 wrote:

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@celluloid17 wrote:

One card you might consider, which isn't as exciting as say CSP, is the Bank of America Travel Rewards.  There's no annual fee, no FTF, it comes with the EMV chip.  You earn 1.5 points for every purchase you make, which can then be redeemed towards any and all travel expenses (I believe as a statement credit?).  If you sign up online, you'd get 10,000 bonus points if you spend $500 in the first 90 days (an EASY $100 credit towards travel expenses!).  They also state this in the fine print, "You will earn 3 points per dollar (consisting of 1.5 base points and 1.5 bonus points) for the first $6,000 in airline purchases (up to 9,000 bonus points) made at the Bank of America Travel Center (“Travel Center”) each calendar year."   I also suggest this card for you because if you aren't satisfied with your initial credit limit, perhaps you could move some of your BOA BBR CL over to this new Travel Rewards card if you have the credit to spare.

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+1

I have the BOA Travel Rewards and yes it is not as glitzy as CSP or Arrival +.   But it is a good bread and butter travel card with decent rewards, no FTF and no annual fee.

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Thanks for the input. I thought about the BoA travel card. I like it doesn't have the AF and FTF; however, I find the Amex Fidelity card more attractive in terms of getting 2% cash back and I can designate the cash reward as my "travel fund".

Honestly, I am at the point where I just want to use one card instead of juggling through different reward programs. Where I can just put all my expense on there and see the reward/points add up and force myself to take a vacation instead of 25$ here and there. What I found with my cash reward cashs is that I tend to cash them out and spend it on stuff that I won't even remember after a week. Hence, I think a card like Amex Delta, CSP, or Marriott would be nice.

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The only thing to keep in mind about fidelity amex if you are traveling outside US, you will get hit with FTF. Another card i would suggest is barclay Arrival + you get 2% back I beleive it has 89 AF , no ftf , emv chip. 

Fidelity Amex is a nice flat rate card no doubt, but just don't like paying any FTF when i am traveling outside the country. 

Also forgot to mention has 40000 miles sign up bonus for spending 3000 in first three months. Also I think first year has no annual fee 

[MrCollector]

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@dearppl wrote:

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@Dw4250 wrote:

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@celluloid17 wrote:

One card you might consider, which isn't as exciting as say CSP, is the Bank of America Travel Rewards.  There's no annual fee, no FTF, it comes with the EMV chip.  You earn 1.5 points for every purchase you make, which can then be redeemed towards any and all travel expenses (I believe as a statement credit?).  If you sign up online, you'd get 10,000 bonus points if you spend $500 in the first 90 days (an EASY $100 credit towards travel expenses!).  They also state this in the fine print, "You will earn 3 points per dollar (consisting of 1.5 base points and 1.5 bonus points) for the first $6,000 in airline purchases (up to 9,000 bonus points) made at the Bank of America Travel Center (“Travel Center”) each calendar year."   I also suggest this card for you because if you aren't satisfied with your initial credit limit, perhaps you could move some of your BOA BBR CL over to this new Travel Rewards card if you have the credit to spare.

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+1

I have the BOA Travel Rewards and yes it is not as glitzy as CSP or Arrival +.   But it is a good bread and butter travel card with decent rewards, no FTF and no annual fee.

---

Thanks for the input. I thought about the BoA travel card. I like it doesn't have the AF and FTF; however, I find the Amex Fidelity card more attractive in terms of getting 2% cash back and I can designate the cash reward as my "travel fund".

Honestly, I am at the point where I just want to use one card instead of juggling through different reward programs. Where I can just put all my expense on there and see the reward/points add up and force myself to take a vacation instead of 25$ here and there. What I found with my cash reward cashs is that I tend to cash them out and spend it on stuff that I won't even remember after a week. Hence, I think a card like Amex Delta, CSP, or Marriott would be nice.

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Amex Delta and Fidelity Amex aren't accepted everywhere in Europe and Asia. CSP is your best bet. If you want to go for two cards, pick up the CSP first and then get the Marriot.  If you want to, you could feasibly have 90K Marriot points by the end of your trip.

[sillykitty1]

I'd recomend the Marriott only for the sign up bonus and for Marriott charges.  Marriott points are worht less than $0.01, so earning 1-2 points on non-Marriott transactions doesn't make a lot of sense.  You'd be better off with a CSP, where you could transfer them to Marriott if you wanted, but you'd have the flexibility to transfer else where or get cash back etc..