No credit card required
Browse credit cards from a variety of issuers to see if there's a better card for you.
@MT936 wrote:@iced I want to get some ideas based on other people's usage. How about yourself?
I don't see how this is going to help you since you aren't me and don't fly out of my airport or have my exact same spend pattern, but ok:
I'm in both the UR/UA and MR/DL ecosystem, though my MR/DL accrual is mostly from flying and my UR/UA accrual is mostly from spend. This makes sense for me because I'm in a pseudo-hub for DL (side rant: I don't care what DL says, they just don't have the nonstops out of BOS to call it a full hub - if they want that moniker they need to up their regional flights) but I'm also a former UA 1K with a ton of miles from that program and BOS is a heavy *A hub for international.
- I have an American Express Platinum that I use only for airfare purchases at 5x or the occasional side purchase with a promotion (aka right now I'm getting 6x on Amazon). These supplement my DL pool.
- I have a Chase Sapphire Reserve I use only for dining/travel at 3x (10x for Lyft) and the occasional side purchase with a promotion (aka right now I'm getting 5x on groceries and DoorDash, though I think I've already capped DoorDash). These supplement my UA pool.
- I just got a Chase Freedom Unlimited (the SO relented, go 1/24?) that I use for 1.5x on whatever other spend doesn't fit elsewhere plus the occasional side purchase with a promotion (aka 5x on DoorDash since my Reserve limit was hit). These supplement my UA pool.
Back in my UA days, I used the MP Club instead of the Freedom Unlimited for the same earning plus UC access, but now I'm relying on the Platinum for SC access instead.
And...that's it. 3 cards get 99% of my spend.
@iced wrote:
@MT936 wrote:Hello All,
Before the pandemic hit I was starting to look for travel cards (travel points, airlines, hotels, etc.) to apply for next. What are some of your favorites and recommendations? I was looking into the Chase sapphire reserve, delta gold, and amex platinum among others.
You gotta provide a little more context. As-is, this is like asking what cuisine is people's recommendations: you're going to get 100 opinions and 100 of them don't know your specific tastes or dislikes.
What would help people answer:
1. Your travel habits. Are you a flyer or driver? International travel? How often do you travel? Any particular recurring locations or just wherever sounds good?
2. Airline information (if appicable). Is your home airport a fortress hub for one airline or do you have several viable options? Do you have a preferred airline?
3. Hotel information: preferred hotel chain, existing status, etc.
4. Your spend patterns. How much dining/travel spend do you have monthly? If not much, what other categories do you spend the most on?
Mods: there really needs to be a sticky similar to the "info that is needed" post over on auto loans for questions like this.
Also if you are in the market for business vs. personal.
I like the Sapphire Reserve since the 3x categories work best while traveling. I can charge everything from meals to flight/hotel and all the random stuff inbetween on one card to get a solid return on my spend.
The question is are travel prices going up or down? My guess is they are going down.
When prices are up hotel redemptions with fixed category pricing will save you a lot of money. However with hotel prices trending down a travel card with a 1.25 or 1.5 redemption can take advantage of lower prices with a further discount. The cards which have that capability are the Chase Sapphire Reserve, US Bank Altitude Reserve and the duo of Wells Fargo Propel/Signature have that 1.5 redemption (amounting to a 33% discount) on points in their systems. Instad of paying $200 in a normal economy for a hotel night, that hotel might go for $100 and then you can get the night for 6600 points which is the same as $66 dollars.
One thing to keep in mind is how tight the pricing is on those portals. Chase is reliable powered by Expedia. Others show some degree of price slippage. US Bank has real time rewards where you can by directly from hotel and airlines then redeem what was spent at 1.5. However one of the limitations is that you need 50,000 points/$500 dollars to reedem hotels real time so it doesn't accomodate flash sale pricing for a couple of nights.
World of Hyatt is a powerful card. First you start with a free night in a Cat 1-4 property. Cat 4 is 15,000 points to redeem but can be with resort fees and taxes included cost as much as $400. If one was to put all of their spend onto this card by the time they hit 15,000 points its a second free night of $400. The earning structure is the same as the CSP, aside from the hotel earn being 1x on Hyatt but (you get 9x on Hyatt properties which its assumed you use) so you could switch off from flexible rewards to hotel rewards. But if you spent that same 15,000 on the CSP with assumed average earn rate of 1.5 ccp that would give you 22,500 points, $450 in value.
If just going with the World of Hyatt then you'll get $400 value on anniversary, $450 value on the 22,500 points and then another $400 when you hit 15,000 spend. That's an earning structure that keeps giving long after you earn the SUB.
If you want a good no af card, there is the wf propel card. 3x on hotel, planes, trains, rentsl cars, restaurants ect. If you pair it with the wf vida signatur account, you cab get 1.5x on airfare redemption.
@Andypanda wrote:If you want a good no af card, there is the wf propel card. 3x on hotel, planes, trains, rentsl cars, restaurants ect. If you pair it with the wf vida signatur account, you cab get 1.5x on airfare redemption.
It is a good card, and I have the WF Cash Wise Visa also, I should use it more.
Here is what works for me. I fly two to three times per year on either Delta or SW, hoping to get international next year. I have the AMEX Gold and Chase CSP that you will never get out of my wallet. 4x dining and groceries with the Gold, and 2x travel with CSP. I would pay the $95 AF for the CSP just to have primary rental car insurance and be able to transfer points to SWA. I use the points accumulated on the Gold to transfer to Delta for flights that way. I currently hold the Delta Gold but will be PCing it to a no AF Blue when the AF hits, the changes AMEX and Delta made to the card make it not even close to being worth the new higher AF. I have the Hilton No-AF card that I use to pay for my stays in Hilton hotels and sometimes gas. I am considering upgrading that to the Aspire for the Diamond benefit and free weekend night. My wife and I do a lot of weekend driving trips.
<not trolling I swear>Since I live in a Delta hub (BOS) with lots of other SkyTeam airlines operating here, SkyMiles is hands-down the best frequent flyer program</not trolling>, and I stay exclusively in Marriott properties, I am heavily invested in Amex with Business Platinum, Platinum, Gold, 2x Delta Reserve, 2x Delta Platinum, Delta Platinum Business, and a Marriott card in the household. If you counted up $3795 of annual fees paid to Amex, you missed the $175 AU fee on Platinum!
I also have the Chase trifecta (Sapphire Reserve, Freedom, and Freedom Unlimited), Citi Premier, US Bank Altitude Reserve, BOA Premium Rewards and Travel Rewards, and FNBO China Airlines Gold card. Chase Ritz-Carlton, BOA Air France/KLM, and BOA Virgin Atlantic cards are in my plans.
All of that works for me, but as mentioned several times, what works for you is likely drastically different.
@K-in-Boston wrote:... I am heavily invested in Amex with Business Platinum, Platinum, Gold, 2x Delta Reserve, 2x Delta Platinum, Delta Platinum Business, and a Marriott card in the household. If you counted up $3795 of annual fees paid to Amex, you missed the $175 AU fee on Platinum! ... All of that works for me, but as mentioned several times, what works for you is likely drastically different.
Ouch! Double Ouch, even!!
Definitely would not work for me but glad it does for some!
But my business travel is not paid out-of-pocket so completely different scenario.
Enjoy all those points, K!
@K-in-Boston wrote:<not trolling I swear>Since I live in a Delta hub (BOS) with lots of other SkyTeam airlines operating here, SkyMiles is hands-down the best frequent flyer program</not trolling>, and I stay exclusively in Marriott properties, I am heavily invested in Amex with Business Platinum, Platinum, Gold, 2x Delta Reserve, 2x Delta Platinum, Delta Platinum Business, and a Marriott card in the household. If you counted up $3795 of annual fees paid to Amex, you missed the $175 AU fee on Platinum!
I also have the Chase trifecta (Sapphire Reserve, Freedom, and Freedom Unlimited), Citi Premier, US Bank Altitude Reserve, BOA Premium Rewards and Travel Rewards, and FNBO China Airlines Gold card. Chase Ritz-Carlton, BOA Air France/KLM, and BOA Virgin Atlantic cards are in my plans.
All of that works for me, but as mentioned several times, what works for you is likely drastically different.
@K-in-Boston Curious as to how you're planning to use Air France/KLM and Virgin Atlantic credit cards.
I'd been thinking about the Virgin Atlantic card a few months ago when they had an elevated SUB, but ended up not pulling the trigger because I wasn't too convinced that I'd be using it after getting the SUB.