What are some of your go-to travel cards?

[wasCB14]

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@Aim_High wrote:

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@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.

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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!

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I don't think K has a lot of business travel...

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@imaximous wrote:

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. 

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I've thought about a Virgin Atlantic card, but instead went with the 40% 30% MR transfer bonus. And with Platinum Honors, I figured Premium Rewards and WWF CR VIsa made more sense as the first two BofA cards to get. But I will probably get a Virgin Atlantic card for the SUB sometime before I become eligible for a SUB on a regular CR MC in 22 months.

[imaximous]

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@wasCB14 wrote:

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@imaximous wrote:

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. 

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I've thought about a Virgin Atlantic card, but instead went with the 40% MR transfer bonus. And with Platinum Honors, I figured Premium Rewards and WWF CR VIsa made more sense as the first two BofA cards to get. But I will probably get a Virgin Atlantic card for the SUB sometime before I become eligible for a SUB on a regular CR MC in 22 months.

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So, for you, it's basically just getting a SUB? You wouldn't see any other reason to use the card? 

I tend to avoid getting cards that don't have any purpose other than a SUB unless they also have a benefit(s) that make the card valuable, like Alaska Airlines for the companion fare and free bags, Hyatt for free nights and status from spending, etc. 

I know that with Virgin you can achieve status from spending and get an award companion fare based on your tier, but man, those fees and surcharges make me wanna throw up and just buy both tickets outright. 

Like you, I can transfer from MR, TY or even UR (Although I save URs for Hyatt and they never do bonus transfers). A few months ago, I transferred like 125k points. I forget but I think it was MRs + 25% bonus? That kinda sucked because I had to cancel flights due to coronavirus. 

Anyway, maybe there's a way to make either card useful besides the SUB? 

[wasCB14]

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@imaximous wrote:

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@wasCB14 wrote:

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@imaximous wrote:

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. 

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I've thought about a Virgin Atlantic card, but instead went with the 40% MR transfer bonus. And with Platinum Honors, I figured Premium Rewards and WWF CR VIsa made more sense as the first two BofA cards to get. But I will probably get a Virgin Atlantic card for the SUB sometime before I become eligible for a SUB on a regular CR MC in 22 months.

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So, for you, it's basically just getting a SUB? You wouldn't see any other reason to use the card? 

I tend to avoid getting cards that don't have any purpose other than a SUB unless they also have a benefit(s) that make the card valuable, like Alaska Airlines for the companion fare and free bags, Hyatt for free nights and status from spending, etc. 

I know that with Virgin you can achieve status from spending and get an award companion fare based on your tier, but man, those fees and surcharges make me wanna throw up and just buy both tickets outright. 

Like you, I can transfer from MR, TY or even UR (Although I save URs for Hyatt and they never do bonus transfers). A few months ago, I transferred like 125k points. I forget but I think it was MRs + 25% bonus? That kinda sucked because I had to cancel flights due to coronavirus. 

Anyway, maybe there's a way to make either card useful besides the SUB? 

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I have a weak loyalty to Delta, so it works for partner flights. I do plan to fly to the UK a few times over the next few years as covid diminishes.

I don't use Plastiq for anything. I technically rent a house that I'll soon be inheriting debt-free, so I don't need a MC for mortgage payments. I'm renting from a family business and don't want to upset lenders over what they might consider manufactured spend disguised as a related-party transaction (though I do have the documents to provide if necessary).

For off-category cards I have BBP and a Premium Rewards. 2x MRs can become 2.8x Atlantic miles with a 40% transfer promo. That's a pretty good earn rate for Atlantic miles without having to worry about exact $15k or $25k thresholds (just the big $50k one).

I have a lot of miles in general (Atlantic included, after a 30% 40% promo not too long ago).

[imaximous]

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@wasCB14 wrote:
 

I have a weak loyalty to Delta, so it works for partner flights. I do plan to fly to the UK a few times over the next few years as covid diminishes.

I don't use Plastiq for anything. I technically rent a house that I'll soon be inheriting debt-free, so I don't need a MC for mortgage payments. I'm renting from a family business and don't want to upset lenders over what they might consider manufactured spend disguised as a related-party transaction (though I do have the documents to provide if necessary).

For off-category cards I have BBP and a Premium Rewards. 2x MRs can become 2.8x Atlantic miles with a 40% transfer promo. That's a pretty good earn rate for Atlantic miles without having to worry about exact $15k or $25k thresholds (just the big $50k one).

I have a lot of miles in general (Atlantic included, after a 40% promo not too long ago).

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You can use your Virgin miles for Delta, but it'll cost you a ton of money in fees if you're planning to go to the UK. It can be great for Delta as long as you're redeeming for other destinations. The award fees to UK are so bad, it almost seems like you're paying for the ticket out of pocket on top of the miles. Depending on the dates or flash sales, you may be better off transferring to Delta and booking your UK trip that way.

Also, the last couple of MR transfer bonuses were 30%. I just re-checked and that's what I got -- not 25% I'd said earlier. I got confused with the Lifemiles bonus Citi had around the same time. Still not bad, but I hope 40% bonuses come back, of course.

For me, Plastiq has worked out great -- more so in the last couple of months. BofA Biz Cash Rewards codes my mortgage payment on Plastiq as travel, so I'm beating the standard 2.5% fee by a lot with 5.25% in cashback. It works even better when/if they run promos. But I'd definitely love to be in your shoes completely mortgage-free 😁

Earning points is not hard for me because of the large amount of biz spend I put on several cards, so I'm always looking for cards that offer additional value from spending on them. I thought there was something with those two cards I'd missed.

[K-in-Boston]

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@imaximous wrote:

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@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. 

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SUBs.  Virgin status wouldn't make sense to me since I get almost everything a top-tier VS elite gets as a DL Platinum anyway, and it's unlikely I would move $25k+ of spend to it for the companion ticket since you need to be VS Gold to use it on an Upper Class ticket.  I've done the math before, and there's no way that FlyingBlue status is happening instead of Delta.  Because their earnings chart is based on fare class and international vs domestic, a hypothetical grueling flight from Hawaii to Puerto Rico earns only 1/3 as much as a 30 minute flight from Brussels to Amsterdam.  Or a $500 Y flight from Boston to LA earns 1/15th of the XP needed for elite status as a $500 J flight from London to Paris.    So yeah, SUB again.

[K-in-Boston]

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@wasCB14 wrote:
I don't think K has a lot of business travel...

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Correct.  None; these are all (frequent) leisure travel and card-spending MQMs and MQDs.

[K-in-Boston]

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@imaximous wrote:

...The award fees to UK are so bad, it almost seems like you're paying for the ticket out of pocket on top of the miles. Depending on the dates or flash sales, you may be better off transferring to Delta and booking your UK trip that way.

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UK fees are difficult to avoid.  Keep in mind that LHR charges an even higher additional fee for First/Upper Class.  Even booking through Delta you'll still likely see a few hundred dollars in fees per passenger.  If you're budget-conscious and have some flexibility, it's always possible to fly into CDG or AMS instead and take the Eurostar (or a cheap flight) to London.  (RER from CDG to Gare du Nord is about 30 minutes; Eurostar from Gare du Nord in Paris to St Pancras in London is about 2 hours.)

[wasCB14]

You're right about recent Atlantic promos. I got +30%, not +40%.

Most of my travel is domestic. I would definitely avoid (or at least keep in mind) the punitive award fees on US-UK flights.

I'll think about getting a BofA Business card. As of now I don't have direct control over $100k of liquid business assets, and my understanding is that personal Platinum Honors status doesn't cross over to business cards. And even if I did move someplace else and get a mortgage, I'm not sure I'd want to use a true business card (for the real estate rental business which has real liabilities) for personal spend. It's a bit different with BBP where a "corporate veil" isn't a concern.

[iced]

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@K-in-Boston wrote:

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@imaximous wrote:

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@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. 

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SUBs.  Virgin status wouldn't make sense to me since I get almost everything a top-tier VS elite gets as a DL Platinum anyway, and it's unlikely I would move $25k+ of spend to it for the companion ticket since you need to be VS Gold to use it on an Upper Class ticket.  I've done the math before, and there's no way that FlyingBlue status is happening instead of Delta.  Because their earnings chart is based on fare class and international vs domestic, a hypothetical grueling flight from Hawaii to Puerto Rico earns only 1/3 as much as a 30 minute flight from Brussels to Amsterdam.  Or a $500 Y flight from Boston to LA earns 1/15th of the XP needed for elite status as a $500 J flight from London to Paris.    So yeah, SUB again.

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There's a lot of reasons to not bother with JetBlue, this among them. I tried them once and I won't again unless it's my only option or there's a Mint option on my route. Even then, I've found Mint is hard to schedule for - BOS-LAS for instance, only the very first flight in the morning (besides, I hate the breakfast offerings typically offered on flights) or the red-eye are Mint. I'll just take the DL barcolounger on that route and leave at a reasonable time.

Also, hypothetical or otherwise, I'd love to see a $500 J to CDG (or anything translatlanitc that isn't some trainwreck with a connection in KEF or DUB).

[iced]

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@K-in-Boston wrote:

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@imaximous wrote:

...The award fees to UK are so bad, it almost seems like you're paying for the ticket out of pocket on top of the miles. Depending on the dates or flash sales, you may be better off transferring to Delta and booking your UK trip that way.

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UK fees are difficult to avoid.  Keep in mind that LHR charges an even higher additional fee for First/Upper Class.  Even booking through Delta you'll still likely see a few hundred dollars in fees per passenger.  If you're budget-conscious and have some flexibility, it's always possible to fly into CDG or AMS instead and take the Eurostar (or a cheap flight) to London.  (RER from CDG to Gare du Nord is about 30 minutes; Eurostar from Gare du Nord in Paris to St Pancras in London is about 2 hours.)

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Slight side-rant here, but infant-in-seat fees say hi to all this whining about LHR landing fees. I tried booking a pair of Upper Class/Delta One/Polaris award tickets for my March flight to LHR. Award doesn't do anything for infant-in-seat fees, and the usual is 10% of full-fare pricing, so VS was asking for ~$2,400 in fees on my ticket and ~$400 for my SO's. UA wasn't much better at $1,500.

I just booked premium economy for $3,000 for 2 adults and one infant since it was the same amount of cash and kept the 200k or so points. It's a short enough flight that I can suffer in that cabin and, honestly, VS's premium isn't half-bad. Seats are the old-school thick-and-wide barcoloungers; Premium Select and LH's premium are those narrower new barcoloungers with the useless footrest.