I've had the Chase Sapphire Reserve for about 3 months, and I really like it. I'm a commuter and frequent pass traveler, so I hit the $300 travel credit in the first month. The 3x points are nice, too. I've earned 3x at my commuter airport's parking office, as well as when reloading my Starbucks and Caribou cards. As for the lounge access, I haven't tried it, but the fine print does say one needs to have a boarding pass for a confirmed seat, or something to that effect. Like everyone else said, YMMV.

My local bank debit card which gives 3% on all purchases...for a total monthly purchase amount of $500 ($15 cashback max).

When I bust that, capital one @ 1.5% or my Amazon prime card (varies depending on category).

No annual fees on any of them. The Prime one is a Visa Signature, if that means anything. The credit cards have no international fees.

I also use Samsung Pay whenever possible. Redeem later for "gift" cash cards that I spend using Samsung Pay.

Tempted to get a 2% cashback on everything card, but those all seems to have international transaction fees.

Amex blue cash preferred.

You get all the benefits of Amex plus 2% cash back.

In the end that's all you really need.

Depending on the card, Membership to respective airline premium lounges are included, without requiring a seat assignment. AMEX platinum and other generic lounges do require a seat assignment to enter.

Civvies are a requirement for entry (and company ID not visible), however no restrictions on luggage...

NOT recommended while on duty (might even be prohibited but folks should do their own research on the terms of the card/club membership), but not an issue changing in the crew room after a trip and heading over to the airline premium lounge while you wait to commute home, or while you're non-revving if you've got a card that has a membership included.

Outside of my airline lounge pass card, the card I use most is the Fidelity rewards card which gives you 2% into a fidelity account (IRA or brokerage etc.). I use it to help fund my IRA yearly.

Far from all Amex benefits. You don't get half the insurance, lounge access, Global Entry reimbursement etc benefits.

It's a good card, but won't replace an Amex Platinum or Centurion.

Amex does not require a seat assignment to enter.
Not for the Amex Centurion lounges, or Skyclub, or Priority Pass via Amex.

Apparently, “metal escalation” has rendered a mere gold card the mark of a peasant. I must obtain a plutonium card! :p

I'm also a fan of the Chase Sapphire Reserve. I got in on the deal when they were offering 100,000 chase ultimate points. Both my wife and I signed up for it and with just one sign up bonus, we got a free Mediterranean cruise with a balcony out of the deal. Still have the points from the other sign up bonus. Chase points are very valuable because you can transfer them to a couple of other companies. One of the best uses for them is through Hyatt. We don't stay at hotels too oftern (usually do VRBO) but we have used them in Fort Lauderdale where hotels are a little pricey. Got a room that they wanted $250 plus tax for only 8,000 points (cash value of $80). There was no tax either.

The Sapphire Preferred is also a good card if the $450 annual fee scares you away. I usually keep a card for 1 year and then cancel it if it has an annual fee. Everyone believes your credit score tanks when you do that but I sign up for about 2 cards a year and my credit score is well above 800. Yes, it goes down about 10 points after you cancel but it goes back up after a few months.

One of the great hotel cards out there is the IHG card. A few months ago it was one of my favorite cards but they recently changed it. It's still a good card but no where what it was before. I never use it besides for one purchase a year (to keep my IHG points from expiring) but you get an annual hotel stay up to 40,000 points for free (minus the annual fee of $89). It's a nice perk when you travel internationally where the IHG hotels are usually better.

With the old IHG card, you got a stay at any IHG property for only a $49 annual fee. Both my wife and I have these cards so we get a free weekend every year. We stayed at the Intercontinental Paris next to the opera house. It was a 450 euro per night and for the $49 annual fee, we got to stay there.

Another decent card is the AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite. Most cards you need to spend $3000-4000 dollars in the first 3 months to get the promotion sign up bonus. With this card, you just need to purchase 1 thing of any value and pay the $95 annual fee and then you get 50,000 miles. If you work with AA or one of their regionals, you also get 20% off flights when booking with points.

As you can probably tell, I'm mostly into sign up bonuses with cards. Yes, getting 3-4% is nice for certain categories but you can get a lot of points very quickly with the sign up bonuses.

Nice thing about plutonium cards. If you have enough of them, they will keep your behind warm and will even nicely glow in the dark.

What if a hard landing butt-compressed them to a critical density? :eek: