Typhoonpilot

So back to the original question.

I would say the card(s) you want are ones with the possibility of transfer to multiple different hotels and airlines. The main players in that arena are Chase Ultimate Rewards points, American Express Membership Rewards, and Citi for TYP. There are others, but let's stick with the major players.

I might recommend UR for your purposes initially. If you are new to the credit card points game then it is the logical place to start based on a rule known as 5/24. That is a Chase rule designed to stop credit card "churning". It limits anyone from getting approved for many of the Chase cards if you have applied for, and been successful, in obtaining 5 or more credit cards (from any bank) in the last 24 months.

The reason that is important is that there quite a large number of good Chase cards to get. URs are a very versatile currency. The list of transfer partners can be found with a simple search. There are 9 airline partners and 4 hotel partners. Hyatt was mentioned above and is a good value for hotel bookings.

UR earning cards include:

Chase Sapphire Reserve
Chase Sapphire Preferred
Chase Freedom
Chase Freedom Unlimited
Chase Ink Business Preferred

What I might suggest is getting the Chase Sapphire Preferred primarily because the initial bonus of 50,000 points is reasonable right now and because it is a lower annual fee (waived the first year). At the one year point downgrade it to a no annual fee Freedom or Freedom Unlimited then wait for a good sign on bonus for the Sapphire Reserve (greater than 60,000 points). In the meantime you can also get a Chase Ink Business Preferred for another 80,000 points bonus if you want to build points quickly.

The Freedom has a good rotating points bonus system that allows one to earn in various categories each quarter. The Freedom Unlimited is a straight 1.5 points/$ spent or 1.5% cash back.

The advantage of the CSR over the CSP is a higher value for points when booing through the Chase travel portal. 1.5 cents/point versus 1.25 cents/point. Also the other benefits previously mentioned for a slightly higher effective annual fee of $150 versus $9

Other good Chase cards are the Chase IHG (mentioned above) and the Chase Marriott for their annual free night certificates.

Mesabah

The Amazon visa has 5% back at amz.com, and wholefoods.

AirBear

I've had an ALPA Mastercard for over 15 years. It was originally issued by Household Bank, then they were acquired by Capital One. No annual fee and 1.5% cash back on everything from day one. I charge everything and pay it in full each month. Can't remember the last time I had to get cash from an ATM.

I think the cash back beats most hotel/airline cards. The wife and I do about $50K/year on the card which gives us $750 cash back.

I've seen some posts on this thread about 2% cash back cards. Do those have annual fees and how widely accepted are they?

If anyone uses a debit card, you need to watch this video by Frank Abagnale (Catch Me if You Can). It was made just last year. The first half is him talking about his life (funny stories when he starting impersonating a Pam Am pilot), the 2nd half is Q&A where he gives out some good info. Short version is never use a debit card, and use credit cards to pay for everything. He says passwords will be obsolete in 5 years. He still works for the FBI, has over 40 years with them now.

https://youtu.be/vsMydMDi3rI

Fordmun

Citi Double Cash - 2% on every purchase - no restrictions , no annual fee, 100 dollar sign up bonus

It’s a mastercard and accepted everywhere

AirBear

I read the info, sounds good except I don't see anywhere that it's a Mastercard. May have to call them and see which credit bureau I'd have to unfreeze my credit with. Equifax is incompetent, nearly impossible to deal with but the other two are easy, one phone call and I can lift the credit freeze for a period of time.

ShyGuy

CSR $450 annual fee. You get $300 back for travel credits. What about the other $150/yr? Don't say that global pass thing, that's about a $100 for 5 yrs. So what are you wasting $150/yr for?

Burton78

I don't know, just thousands of dollars worth of Ultimate Rewards points earned every year just for using the card to pay for things I would have spent money on either way. The card more than pays for itself.


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ChecklistMonkey

Example:

https://www.thesimpledollar.com/cred...-fee-worth-it/

Since we travel ALL the time, you will spend more than $5000 a year on travel (to include restaurants). For the Reserve, for an extra $50, It also comes with the Priority Pass membership which, in many airports, is a statement credit at restaurants, up to $30 per person. You get 3x points vs 2x points and an extra 25% bonus upon redemption.

ShyGuy

But what's that math work out to? Earning points, well it seems like you get 1 pt on the "everything else" category, 3% on travel type. As opposed to some other cards out there like the one that's just 2% cash with no annual fee. So how does it even compare, considering you first have to 'pay' the $150 annual fee remaining before winning over a cash back 2% card?


I plugged in my values, I still don't see how it's worth it over a 1.5-2% cash back with no annual fee:

Burton78

I guess it just depends on what fits for you personally. As many others have mentioned on a another thread on topic, there are multitudes of ways that the card makes up for the measly $150 fee (after the $300 for travel compensation) per year that you feel you may be shorted. I average crediting at least 9000-10000 points per month on points in which the vast majority is accrued at 3x what I paid. Add that up and if you redeem that on other travel expenses, it's an extra 1.5. Not to mention if you use priority pass just 3 times over the course of a year at restaurants with your wife at various airports while you travel, that's another $168 you saved that more than covers the $150 you're so concerned about.

Also, if you just want cash back, guess what? You can do that as well. Check it out on The Points Guy or other similar websites and I think you'll find that the benefits are vast.