Credit Card Discussion

a href=’https://www.highya.com/’\>highya is a goldmine for all sorts of that kinda stuff.

Best cards of 2019, best cash-back cards, best card-perqs, you name it.

Go crazy…

Good B’harni, 300, 400, 550bux annual fee?!?

I dumped one card when they were gonna nick me for 20bux instead of waiving it entirely.

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.

That’s just it, I’m Johnny Cash and only use “plastic” online. Don’t fly or travel much, no need for CCs as I hardly ever use one.

Those who do travel, buy everything on credit, etc., would probably benefit from the perqs more, but still…

For 500bux, I’d want… well, I’m not gonna say it… :smiling_imp:

nquinn knows his stuff.

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?

I recommend you the following websites:

www.flyertalk.com/forum

www.frequentmiler.boardingarea.com

I like your avatar, lotrbfme.

I hope it was chosen ironically.

my card is mostly amazon prime visa
it is free and ok if you spend a lot on amazon
the wife and kids do

anyway, the weird thing is, i buy stuff from aliexpress
and it would NOT work there

you cannot figure out why

no one can tell you

so i had to start using a card i didn;t plan to use, a kroger master card, which for some reason works with ali

weird

usually i just throw $50 on the account and don;t have to pay again for 2-3 months

latest $2.50 watch

Thank you! it sure is.

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.

Spam away man! I appreciate the info :+1:

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.

The reserve is not superior to the Preferred, they are just different products. At launch the Reserve offer was 100k points. If that one ever comes back it is a really good offer. But 50k points for a $450 annual fee is not worth it.

As of lounges, there are no restaurant lounges in ATL, only minute suites and The Club. There are delta sky clubs that you could access with the Platinum card when travelling on delta which actually makes the card worth it for you IMHO.

I figured I’m going to pay $95 a year for the Preferred, if I utilize the $300 a year travel credit on the Reserve (which I definitely will), it would only cost me $150 a year. Extra $55 bucks and I get a couple extra benefits. Sounds like an OK deal if the sign on bonus was better than it currently is (50k).

I travel mainly on Delta, so the Delta Sky Clubs would be nice (never been in one). Although having the Platinum and Reserve would kinda overlap a few things like Global Entry perk, Uber/travel credits, and Priority Pass.

Too many variables!

You dont need the reserve. You can only get a sign up bonus on a sapphire credit card every 4 years so you did the right thing by applying for the better offer. I would personally focus on amex cards on the long run, they offer better rewards overall. Chase UR is only specially good for hyatt and ok for united. Since you are in a Delta hub, the amex plat/gold is a better combo

So for those interested in airline miles which is a far better deal than other cashback cards, the general rule is usually something like this:

1. Chase is the most strict for personal cards, so most people start with them. They only limit applying if you’re under 5 cc applications in the last 24 months. Note that business cards, however, don’t count towards this.

2. After that you have to decide if you want to focus on international flights, or if you want to try to get the southwest companion pass for lots of cheap/free domestic flights.

A good order of applying for cards might look something like this:

If you’re willing to do business cards - you can treat a small side biz as a sole proprietorship:

1. Chase ink preferred business
2. Chase southwest business + a chase southwest personal (to get the companion pass)
3. Chase united business or any other business card like Amex since they don’t count towards 5/24
4. Chase sapphire preferred (or reserve)… can only do this every 4 years, check offer
5. Other chase airline cards like United MileagePlus Personal
6+ All other personal or business cards like Amex personal, Amex business, Citi AA, Citi business, etc

If you’d like a referral for chase ink preferred let me know to get started let me know - that one is a nice 80,000 points

Good point! I really wish the AMEX Gold card you can get when you get the Platinum had the same rewards as a regular Gold card.

What card line up are you using?

I’ve stuck with a BOA VISA since most of my other accounts are there and paying it off is dirt simple.

I’ve started flying every other month or so, so I got a Delta Gold Amex. Flying from Atlanta and almost exclusively on Delta, the free checked bag and priority boarding is a nice perk. My first year is up in November, and I’m looking to see up upgrading to a Delta Platinum or Reserve would get me any real benefits after considering the fee increases. Will they give you the standard bonuses if you’re moving up their food chain?

Amishbill - I’m not sure about the Delta Amex, but all the cards I’ve been looking at only give you the bonus when you sign up for a new account/card. Unless they specifically send you an invite to upgrade with a bonus, which seems to be pretty rare.