I’m toying with the idea of getting a AMEX Platinum card due to the incredible benefits that come with it. But at $550 a year membership, and not the best rewards program out there, it’s a difficult decision.
The Chase Preferred card looks pretty nice as well. I’ve already got a Chase Slate card and asked about swapping over to the Preferred card. They said I could, but I wouldn’t get the welcome bonus unless I started a new account with them.
I’ve got some old cards I used when they were 0% APR. Now I use them instead of handing out my debit card everywhere because it’s safer, IMO. But I’m getting zero reward points. I figured I might as well get some kind of reward for spending money I was going to spend anyways!
Citibank Costco Visa card. 4% on gas, 3% travel and dining, 2% on everything at Costco, 1 % on everything else. Very good card IF you are a Costco member. Benefits come as a Costco rebate to be spent there. If you are a Costco shopper, you already know that isn’t hard to do.
I recommending checking for a nearby local credit union to see what they provide.
Not quite as likely to be a target for a massive data theft as, say, Capital One. or other big national targets.
The most valuable credit cards are those that issue airline points, but you have to play the game properly.
Here’s a typical situation: A card will give you 60,000 to 80,000 points that either are flexible and you can transfer to airlines (chase or amex partners), or go directly to the airline (united, southwest, aa, etc). The catch is you have to spend $3000 within 3 months to qualify for the bonus. Main goal here is to use your normal spending, NOT spend more than normal.
How much are those points worth? 80,000 points can get you a round trip flight to new zealand which is worth around $1500. Even more valuable if you want to fly business class, but i prefer to do more economy flights.
The key here is you want to apply in a certain order because some card companies are much pickier than others. (Chase for example has a rule that you can’t apply if you’ve done more than 5 cards in 2 years).
It’s incredibly valuable, you just have to set reminders on when to downgrade the cards (to no-fee versions) and make sure you hit the minimum spend bonus targets.
If anyone is interested PM me and I can point you in the right direction / refer you to some good cards, but I don’t want to spam the thread with the topic.
If you do it right you easily get that back and can cancel the first year. Here’s a sample of a card I did with $450 fee:
Chase Sapphire Reserve first year: $450 got me:
- 100,000 miles (worth roughly $1800 in flights)
- $300 free to spend towards transport
- $100 towards global entry
other perks
You can see that if you cancel the next year, I just got $2200 worth of value for $450. That was a particularly good deal, but most card offers you can get around $800 worth of value for a $100 fee or less.
Credit cards are my field of expertise. Like you said, there is no “one card fits all”. You need to have a plan. What do you want? Travel to europe? Travel to asia? Get cashback to buy more flashlight? Get good insurance? Get good travel benefits such as lounge access and hotel status?
My Chase/Amazon card is a winner
I dumped every other account at Chase though.
Costco/Citibank rewards can be redeemed for cash at a store. (done it many times)
I don’t fly much, butt the Choice Hotel card is offering 50,000 points for 1st $1000 spent in 90 days.
(made it in 45) My credit rating took a small hit butt it’s rebounding now.
I think I found a solid pair of cards to cover most of my bases. I travel for work, and stay in a combination of Hilton’s and Marriott’s. But recently I have been just a few nights short of becoming Gold with either of these chains. I travel internationally sometimes weekly so I really need a card that has zero foreign transaction fees, wont get denied if I’m in a pinch (like trying to use a AMEX in San Pedro Sula, Honduras) and something that will rack up points/cash back.
I just got approved for the Chase Sapphire Preferred which I plan to use for:
2x points on dinning: I always pay for dinner for my crew and then they Venmo me. It’s easier than trying to split a check 4 ways. So free points for me!
2x points for Uber/Lyft: I use them a lot
2x points on airfare
60,000 bonus points (which is currently higher than the more expensive Reserve card)
No foreign transaction fees
I’ll pretty much use this in lieu of my debit card and set up automatic payments
My next card (I think) is going to be the AMEX Platinum just for the benefits; primarily these ones:
Airport lounges (best card for this, and I will definitely use it)
$200 a year towards Uber
$200 airline fee credit annually
Global Entry/TSA PreCheck Credit
Gold status with Hilton and Marriott (means free breakfast every morning)
Status upgrade on Avis, National, Hertz (I rent a car at least once a month)
I only wish the Platinum had better rewards. It seems like I’m paying for a subscription service and the card is sort of a “proof of purchase.”
Platinum has excellent rewards if you travel a lot. 5x points on Airfare is really nice, and amex offers all the time with really good return, like there is almost always 3x points on amazon etc, pair it with the amex gold and get 4x on gas and dining.
You did good, just remember to get the better offers when signing up for a credit card. Sapphire preferred minimum good is 60k and no AF first year. Amex Platinum it is super easy to get targeted to the 100k points with $3k spent. Never settle for less. And Btw Marriott Gold no longer gives free breakfast.
What is your primary airport? If there is not a Centurion lounge in there then I would stay away from Amex priority pass, its the worst of all since August 1st because they took out the option to eat at restaurants lounges.
lotrbfme - I was surprised that the 60k bonus for the Preferred was higher than the 50k for the Reserve. I’m already second guessing myself wondering if I should have just gotten the Reserve regardless of the sign on bonus. I called and asked if I could upgrade it to Reserve, but they said I have to wait a year.
I’m in the Atlanta area and we don’t have a Centurion lounge yet. I heard something about AMEX dropping the food option on the lounges but I wasn’t sure what that applied to. I’ve only gone into “The Club” once so I’m not very familiar with how the lounge access works with the AMEX.
I’m definitely waiting to apply for the next card (maybe AMEX Platinum) until I get a targeted 100k bonus. Its currently at 60k now, so I’ll have to keep an eye out for it.