What is the latest & greatest for credit card points?

currently carry an AMEX Blue, AMEX biz plat, and a Citi AA Card...

Freq flier programs suck now on AA... so looking maybe at Costco Visa or Fidelity 2% back...

Possibly even AMEX Blue preferred for groceries....

Do research on the Fidelity 2% Visa. I was planning on doing that but a ton of reviews out there about how often thI card gets declined and they have to send you a new one.

I ended up going Chase Reserve + Freedom Unlimited (1.5%)

AMEX Business Platinum is still one of the top points cards out there.

If you apply in a branch, the Chase Sapphire Reserve still has a 100k point sign up bonus. That would be my vote for the top card.

Then the Chase Ink Preferred business card with an 80k point sign up bonus. There are rumors of there being a 100k sign up coming so you may want to wait.

With Chase you can combine reward points across accounts so using their variation card offerings can add up pretty quickly if you maximize across categories/cards.

If interested in any of the Chase cards, you will definitely want to apply for Chase cards first because of their 5/24 rule. I am over the 5/24 limit so I can't get approved for any more Chase cards despite having a pretty large banking relationship with Chase.

Another very valuable credit card perk is the Southwest airlines companion pass if you live near a Southwest hub (assuming you are in Granbury, you are close the main Southwest hub - Love Field). It is basically buy one, get one free for flights for up to 2 years. The easiest way to acquire it is to open a personal Chase Southwest card and Business Southwest card to get 50k sign up bonus for each to reach the 110,000 Southwest points needed to qualify for the pass. But since the cards are offered through Chase, they are subject to the 5/24 rule. There are plenty of articles out there that walk through this scenario.

Depending on your main spending categories and tolerance for annual fees / credit pulls to open new accounts, it can vary from there.

I am a middle of the road churner i.e. I have opened a couple AA cards recently to get the sign up bonuses for an upcoming trip but I will product change them to cards without annual fees after a year. I have no plans to apply for any more cards for a while unless an unexpectedly good offer comes along.

I currently carry in my wallet:

• Chase Sapphire Reserve
• Chase Freedom (for the 5x point categories; currently gas stations)
• Chase Freedom Unlimited (Everything else not the 5x category, groceries, or gas)
• Amex Blue Cash Preferred (Grocery stores except when the category for the Chase Freedom card like in Q2 this year)
• Costco Visa (Gas and Costco purchases)

One more note... You should be able to do a product change on your AA card to be the Costco Visa or Citi Double Cash back. That would prevent you from cancelling to avoid the annual fee and having to apply separately for either one.

how much do you pay in annual fees?!

Ha. Not as much as it seems!

$95 for the Amex Blue Cash Preferred. If you spend over $3200 per year (~$62 per week) on groceries, paying the annual fee for the Preferred to get 6% back over the 3% back on Everyday is worth it. Plus you get 3% on gas and some department stores and Amex offers. The offers alone have probably saved me another $50 per year.

$450 fee on the Chase Sapphire Reserve. But you get a $300 annual travel credit on flights, hotels, ubers, taxi, etc. I travel a decent amount for work and leisure so the annual fee is more like $150. I also spend a good amount of money at restaurants so the 3x adds up. I think The Points Guy has a excel calulator comparing the Reserve vs. Preferred where you can plug in your spending.

All the other cards I have either do not have an annual fee (Freedom cards), have the annual fee waived for the first year (i.e. the AA card, which I will product change to a Costco or some other no annual fee Citi card), or the sign up bonus was worth the annual fee then I will product change / cancel before the next year's fee hits.

So all and all, it is really on the $95 for the Amex Blue and $150 for Sapphire Reserve.

100,000 points

Missed out on the 100,000 point bonus. Looks like its only 50,000 now.

It's still a great card tho!

You can still get the 100k bonus if you apply in a branch by 3/12.

http://thepointsguy.com/2017/01/chase-sapphire-reserve-100k-online-bonus-ending/

Closest branch is 4 hours away.

Out in Left Field said:

---

Closest branch is 4 hours away.

---

and? Still worth it.

I have 130,000 points (of course 100,000 from the bonus) which translates to over $1,900 if I send it through the Ultimate Rewards portal for any travel (air, hotel, car, etc).

Ooo there's a casino nearby.

My wife and I each got cards and are sitting on 270,000 points. over $4000 in travel waiting to be used. It is worth the drive.

Quote:

---

All the other cards I have either do not have an annual fee (Freedom cards), have the annual fee waived for the first year (i.e. the AA card, which I will product change to a Costco or some other no annual fee Citi card), or the sign up bonus was worth the annual fee then I will product change / cancel before the next year's fee hits.

---

I was able to utilize the World Elite hack on Citi's AAdvantage cards last year. A total of 8 between the wife and I. We're starting to roll into the AFs and so far, each have been credited and a retention bonus after $1k in spend.

But, as you mention, no waive or bonus - downgrade or cancel. We're 50+ cards in 5 years and Plat is and CSR will be the only AFs we pay. Although, Plat's just wen to $550, but they added $200 of Uber credit along with the previous $200 in travel credit - we redeem for AA gift cards. The remaining $150 is written off by consuming as many cocktails in Centurion Lounges as possible.

That alone is a good value but the Chase booking portal is definitely NOT the most cost effective way to redeem points. Find the routes you want on partner airlines and transfer points to them.

For flights, I agree. There are better values.

For hotels, I have found their rates to match the travel sites (Expedia, Orbitz, etc) then you get the 1.5 redemption / 33% off.

I just wanted to say that I have been pleasantly surprised at how much I have been able to use the airport lounges.

What locations?

Duncan Idaho said:

---

I just wanted to say that I have been pleasantly surprised at how much I have been able to use the airport lounges.

---

Is it just through Priority Pass? Any additional cost?

Just the included clubs. Primarily PHX, lax, and DFW. They aren't the greatest clubs (certainly not centurion club level )but they tend to have ice tea/coffee, outlets, WiFi, clean toilets and no screaming kids.

Went to LAX KAL lounge this week.

A lot bigger, quieter and better food than Alaska. Plus free self serve beer and liquor

Will try The lax virgin lounge next week.

jake2011 said:

---

Where is DFW one, there on Monday?

---

Download the priority pass app.

There are two in D and one in A. The one in A and one of the d"s are only good for an hour.

I've only been to the one labeled the club in the ap

What is the best cc to get if we are about to make a purchase and want to take advantage of initial low sign up rates and perks? Is it CO Venture with 0% for 12 months?

duck79 said:

---

What is the best cc to get if we are about to make a purchase and want to take advantage of initial low sign up rates and perks? Is it CO Venture with 0% for 12 months?

---

How big a purchase? Are you gonna pay it off that month?

15-20k. Going to pay it off over the year at best

Unsolicited personal finance recommendation... If you are unsure you'll absolutely be able to pay it off in a specific amount of time, don't buy it / wait to save more up.

0% interest rates are great for "float" but if you don't pay it off within the promotional rate timeline, they often carry a big ol ballon interest hit. Not worth the risk, imo.

Thanks. That's the decision we are trying to make, whether perks are worth opening a card and taking a chance we don't pay it off in an allotted amount of time.

Typically, most cards with high rewards / sign up offers are not the zero percent interest cards. They are considered a premium card, often have high interest rates and an annual fee.

Yes which is why we didn't even consider that option until we saw the Venture offer of 0% for 12 months. We then looked a little more and found a couple more that were 0% for 8 and 0% for 15. I can't remember which those were though. I know it's a risk to take but currently we only use an AA rewards card for my work and once I use my miles I want to move to something else. The value on the AA card just isn't there compared to others I hear about.

Gotcha. It looks like both the Chase Freedom and Freedom Unlimited have 0% APR for 15 months plus a sign up bonus.

If you decide to go with one of those, I'll be happy to send you a referral link.

Thx Donald.

Amex Plat.'s Uber/Uber Eats credit went live today. It's $15/mo and resets Saturday.

Today and tomorrow to burn this month's credit on Tacos A Go Go delivered to your face hole.