Question
Hello,
I have, United mileage visa/citi AA/Citi PP Elite/Spg Amx, Credit Cards,each for my personal and business use.I spend around $2000 for personal and $2000 for my business.since i just want to use air miles and i travel 3-4 times per year domestic,which credit card do you think is the best for me .is it better use one type(for example spg amx/citi pp elite)for personal and business.I really appreciate your help and thank you in advance.
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I assume you mean that you spend about $4000 per month, half personal and half business, is that correct? Which airline(s) do you typically fly?
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Sigh, new year, same old questions.
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thank you mia for your reply.yes i spend around $4000,and i fly United and American Airline.
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I think four cards is probably too many for $50,000 annual purchases. How are you dividing your transactions between them? Do you have the SPG card because you stay at Starwood hotels or primarily to earn airline miles?
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I have spg to earn airline miles.also i don,t use all of them at this time and want to put all transactions in one or two.mostly i use citi pp elite recently .
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At the top of this screen is a drop down that says "forums" on that drop down you will find one that says "search". Select it and type in your title and use it. You will find that this has been covered OHHH so many times and run into the ground. It would be appreciated if you did the research instead of starting a new thread. Thanks.
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I will try to help you as much as I can but first answer the two questions:
1) Do you have elite status with the airlines or are trying to go for elite status
or
2) Do you only care about price and will take the airline that is offering the cheapest fare that day and this is the same with hotels also.....
This will help me....
Answer
Hello,
I have, United mileage visa/citi AA/Citi PP Elite/Spg Amx, Credit Cards,each for my personal and business use.I spend around $2000 for personal and $2000 for my business.since i just want to use air miles and i travel 3-4 times per year domestic,which credit card do you think is the best for me .is it better use one type(for example spg amx/citi pp elite)for personal and business.I really appreciate your help and thank you in advance.
If I were you. I will use: Citi Premier Pass Elite Level and American Express Starwood card.
1,Citi Premier Pass Elite:
You can order air tickets. And purchase same amount.
2,SPG:
when your purchase points will exceed flight points.
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I have spg to earn airline miles.also i don,t use all of them at this time and want to put all transactions in one or two.mostly i use citi pp elite recently .
To begin I would close the AAdvantage Mastercard account. SPG points can be converted to AAdvantage miles when you need them, the annual fee is lower, if you spend enough on the SPG card to accumulate 20,000 points you can receive a 5,000 mile bonus, and you can use the Starpoints for hotel redemptions if you decide to use Thank You Points for airline tickets.
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I am not yet convinced on TYP so I would stay with AA or SPG.
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SCENARIO 1: UA will be your primary airline
SPG AMEX will not help much. The point conversion is 2 SPG:1 UA. Get a personal UA Visa and one for business.
SCENARIO 2: AA will be your primary airline
Get a personal SPG AMEX and one for business. Use these as your primary cards.
Sometimes you cannot use an AMEX? How big of an issue is this, i.e. how much spending cannot go on an AMEX? If you will spend more than $3300 on a personal AA MC/Visa, then get the AA World MC Gold Level $50/year. If you will not spend more than $3300, then get a personal MC/Visa that does not have an annual fee and offers rewards for low levels of spending, e.g. Citi PP (not elite), Citi Diamond Preferred, etc. (Some credit unions offer a Visa/MC that pays 1% cash back monthly.)
Apply the same logic to the business Visa/MC. However, in this case consider the Citi ThankYou Professional Card. It offers 3 pts/$ in several spending categories and has no annual fee.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Choose Citi Diners Club MC instead of Citi AA MC/Visa.
2. Get a Citigold account if possible. You will get your Citi AA cards or Citi PP Elite for free.
3. If you have a Fidelity account, choose the Fidelity Visa Signature for 1.5% cash back.
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here is another scenario:
if you do not have/care about elite status then use the PP Elite for personal use and use the PP Business to keep your charges separate....you pt earing is way better than any other mileage program out there.....no blackout dates and they gaurantee a ticket at the fixed point option.....
for example:
I did a redemption a couple of weeks agao...4 tickets to India from the USA for 240,000 pts on the dates I wanted and you can earn FF miles for these tickets....all coach seats....this was at the end of DEC and I made the call on the 14th of DEC, leaving on the 29th of DEC on AA.....these tickets earn 100% of mileage
On AA/DL/UA with the dates listed above-- Good luck....
now to calculate the amount of pts you can earn:
PP ELITE -- 1pt for every $ + 1pt for everyday spending + 1 flight point = 3pts/$ spent
SPG AMEX -- 1 pt per $ spent
so, for a ticket to Hawaii (based on spending alone and assuming the tickets are available...if not then just recalculate the AANytime awards)
ON AA -- 35,000 miles which can be transferred to AA from SPG Amex in the following manner: 25,000 miles including the 25% bonus equals to $20,000 in spending--and then another 10,000 in spending...
ticket to Hawaii on a SAAVER award -- $30,000 in spending
On TY Network -- 40,000 pts /3 which equals to 13,333.33 in spending...and tickets are available as long as the following rules are met:
1) 14 day advance purchase
2) Saturday night stay
I think that the TY program is the best out there -- but on this forum, it is very hard to teach an "old dog new tricks" and everyone still believes that SPG amex is better...
You decide...if you need anymore info....ask
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I am not yet convinced on TYP so I would stay with AA or SPG.
why are you not convinced? read my post before this one...
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Great anaggie, now you and I are friends I think,:cool: so, I will point this out and you can show me the error of my ways. And I won't be offended, unless you get nasty:p
I fly DL and AA and never UA. I fly out of ATL primarily international except for MR's domestically. I rarely stay over a Saturday night. I have a DL AX that I regularly manage triple points on. Ok, I'll be honest I have 5 DL AX cards and I rotate based on the one with the triple on it. I deposit all to the same SM#. I can see your point about the travel earning miles but wouldn't I still be earning miles that would need to be used. Yes I have a Chairman and it earns TYP but I just have not been able to break the habit of playing the DL AX Triple game. Oh, I have to spend 25k on each to get 10k MQM's on each every year. Maybe that is the killer, I need that spending to ensure forever Platinum.:D
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I think that the TY program is the best out there -- but on this forum, it is very hard to teach an "old dog new tricks" and everyone still believes that SPG amex is better...
You are absolutely right but the problem is that TY program is still a new kid in town (relatively speaking) and every now and then you see new changes/enhacements. No body knows what will be the final shape so people will remain skeptical till that time as compared to time tested programs like spg.
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TY is a good program. However it does not allow for transfers to airline programs. If you are a moderate traveller (say 15-35k) per year on one airline it would be nice to get an extra 40-50k in miles on that airline.
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Great anaggie, now you and I are friends I think,:cool: so, I will point this out and you can show me the error of my ways. And I won't be offended, unless you get nasty:p
I fly DL and AA and never UA. I fly out of ATL primarily international except for MR's domestically. I rarely stay over a Saturday night. I have a DL AX that I regularly manage triple points on. Ok, I'll be honest I have 5 DL AX cards and I rotate based on the one with the triple on it. I deposit all to the same SM#. I can see your point about the travel earning miles but wouldn't I still be earning miles that would need to be used. Yes I have a Chairman and it earns TYP but I just have not been able to break the habit of playing the DL AX Triple game. Oh, I have to spend 25k on each to get 10k MQM's on each every year. Maybe that is the killer, I need that spending to ensure forever Platinum.:D
Sine you are getting 3x miles on DL AX card, it is great...but we are comparing the SPG AMEX to the PP ELITE...no triple point available....and you want status....but on your vacations...do you stay SAT nights?
I like your system..though...NICE !!
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TY is a good program. However it does not allow for transfers to airline programs. If you are a moderate traveller (say 15-35k) per year on one airline it would be nice to get an extra 40-50k in miles on that airline.
I am a moderate travler...but since I churn AA, I have enough miles....I got PLAT thru the challnege and will renem it this yr...
I like to fly J, but dont want to pay for it...for me TY works best....and if you read my recent thread on the DL page about the new "enhancements" .... I am now pretty going to stick to the TYP...
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Thank you every body for great help,as i am a moderate traveler and the elite status is not important for me i will go with the anaggie recommendations and will use citi pp elite for personal and citi pp business ,also i got citi gold account so the annual fee will be waived .again thank you all for great help^
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Thank you every body for great help,as i am a moderate traveler and the elite status is not important for me i will go with the anaggie recommendations and will use citi pp elite for personal and citi pp business ,also i got citi gold account so the annual fee will be waived .again thank you all for great help^
Just a thought.... If you are spending $40-50k per year and only flying 20-40k per year, you will only be able to match half of your purchase points with flight points. This means that you will earn approximately 1.5 points per $ on a PP Business. Consider TY Professional. It earns 3 pts per $ in some spending categories.
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Interesting .... what would you recommend for someone who does not fly for business but only for vacations BUT does spend >$500,000 on credit card?
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Interesting .... what would you recommend for someone who does not fly for business but only for vacations BUT does spend >$500,000 on credit card?
not enough info....need the following:
1) How do you prefer to fly for vacations
2) Do you status with airlines
3) What type of tickets do you normally buy/
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Interesting .... what would you recommend for someone who does not fly for business but only for vacations BUT does spend >$500,000 on credit card?
I would choose cards that have unlimited points earning potential. My ranking opinions are below
High Fee/High Benefits/Unlimited Points:
1. AMEX Centurion - Broadest Airline and Hotel Benefits. High reward rate.
2*. Citi Chairman - High reward rate. HH Gold Status. Priority Pass airline club access. Not available right now.
3*. AMEX Platinum - Normal reward rate. SPG Gold Status. DL/CO/NW airline club access.
4. Carte Blanche - Broadest reward program. Normal reward rate. Benefits do not appear as strong as 1-3.
Moderate Fee/Moderate Benefits/Unlimited Points:
1*. Merrill+ - No Fee. Normal reward rate. AA status match with $20k spend. AA or DL club membership with $50k spend.
2*. AMEX HH - High reward rate. Automatic silver status. Gold status with $20k spend.
3. AMEX SPG - Gold status with $20-30k spend (check the website). 125% point earnings rate when you consider point transfer bonuses.
4. AMEX DL Platinum - High earning rate on select spending categories. Up to 20,000 qualifying miles per year. This will almost guarantee status.
5*. Diners Club - Broadest reward program. Normal reward rate. Primary rental car insurance.
If it is high rate of rewards that you want most. Pick from AMEX Centurion, Citi Chairman, and AMEX SPG. If you want certain status or benefits, pick from the other cards above. If AA is your favorite airline. You should consider AMEX SPG (highest reward rate), Diners or Carte Blanche. They are the only ones that transfer (other than Citi AA MC).
I chose the cards above marked by (*) because:
a. I live near a DL hub. I travel 90% on DL. Citi Chairman and AMEX Platinum give me access to all DL clubs and some other airline clubs.
b. Citi Chairman has a high rewards rate (which I use for gift cards since I have enough airline and hotel points). (The rate is the highest in my opinion among all of these cards. I think that Anaggie will agree.)
c. AMEX HH has an awesome reward rate for Hilton stays. I use Hilton 100 nights a year.
d. Diners Club gives me primary rental car insurance
e. Merrill+ gives me status matching on AA.
I only spend on Citi Chairman, AMEX HH, and Merrill+. The other cards are for benefits only.
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b. Citi Chairman has a high rewards rate (which I use for gift cards since I have enough airline and hotel points). (The rate is the highest in my opinion among all of these cards. I think that Anaggie will agree.)
By my calculations this would not hold true for "someone who does not fly for business but only for vacations BUT does spend >$500,000 on credit card". The program doesn't scale up well, as I tried to explain here...
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showpost.php?p=6910193&postcount=10
...and even buying airline tickets for companions it would surely be difficult to generate 500,000 flight points per year. I expect the average points per dollar would drop well below two.
dennis
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How about this then?
1) buy all plane tickets using Citi PP or Chairman. Spend just enough to match the points from flying (best here is gas/grocery/pharmacy charges)
2) spend 50K using Merrill+ to get AA status match (at 20K actually) and then the AA or DL lounge access
3) spend enough on DL to get max EQM (no personal experience there)
4) put rest on Amex SPG, which has no points limit (I can usually get 3 to 5 cents value per point)
I wish I could put through that many charges through my cards...
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By my calculations this would not hold true for "someone who does not fly for business but only for vacations BUT does spend >$500,000 on credit card". The program doesn't scale up well, as I tried to explain here...
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showpost.php?p=6910193&postcount=10
...and even buying airline tickets for companions it would surely be difficult to generate 500,000 flight points per year. I expect the average points per dollar would drop well below two.
dennis
Dennis... I agree. It would be very unlikely to achieve 500,000 flight points. However, you still have the following point earning potential on Chairman. PP Elite is in parenthesis. However, given the $500k spend, PP Elite is not recommended (by me) because the card has a cap on points.
3 pts (2 pts) - Select spend on grocery, gas, drug and commuter travel
N pts (same) - Thankyou Merchants (which can be substantial)
1 pt (1 pt) - Elsewhere
Plus matching flight points when you do travel.
This is still superior to most of the cards that are listed. The only issues with TY is the lack of point transfers and lack of efficient cash rewards. I looked at merchandise rewards between ML, TY, MR and DC yesterday. TY has increased the available products and the reward prices are better.
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I would choose cards that have unlimited points earning potential. My ranking opinions are below
High Fee/High Benefits/Unlimited Points:
1. AMEX Centurion - Broadest Airline and Hotel Benefits. High reward rate.
2*. Citi Chairman - High reward rate. HH Gold Status. Priority Pass airline club access. Not available right now.
3*. AMEX Platinum - Normal reward rate. SPG Gold Status. DL/CO/NW airline club access.
4. Carte Blanche - Broadest reward program. Normal reward rate. Benefits do not appear as strong as 1-3.
Moderate Fee/Moderate Benefits/Unlimited Points:
1*. Merrill+ - No Fee. Normal reward rate. AA status match with $20k spend. AA or DL club membership with $50k spend.
2*. AMEX HH - High reward rate. Automatic silver status. Gold status with $20k spend.
3. AMEX SPG - Gold status with $20-30k spend (check the website). 125% point earnings rate when you consider point transfer bonuses.
4. AMEX DL Platinum - High earning rate on select spending categories. Up to 20,000 qualifying miles per year. This will almost guarantee status.
5*. Diners Club - Broadest reward program. Normal reward rate. Primary rental car insurance.
If it is high rate of rewards that you want most. Pick from AMEX Centurion, Citi Chairman, and AMEX SPG. If you want certain status or benefits, pick from the other cards above. If AA is your favorite airline. You should consider AMEX SPG (highest reward rate), Diners or Carte Blanche. They are the only ones that transfer (other than Citi AA MC).
I chose the cards above marked by (*) because:
a. I live near a DL hub. I travel 90% on DL. Citi Chairman and AMEX Platinum give me access to all DL clubs and some other airline clubs.
b. Citi Chairman has a high rewards rate (which I use for gift cards since I have enough airline and hotel points). (The rate is the highest in my opinion among all of these cards. I think that Anaggie will agree.)
c. AMEX HH has an awesome reward rate for Hilton stays. I use Hilton 100 nights a year.
d. Diners Club gives me primary rental car insurance
e. Merrill+ gives me status matching on AA.
I only spend on Citi Chairman, AMEX HH, and Merrill+. The other cards are for benefits only.
awake at midnight, you should be ashamed of yourself. You just recommended Amex Centurion and Citi Chairman, both of which you know he can not apply for. Especially the Chairman which there is no way he is going to get one, he will get his hopes and get all frustrated and disappointed. You might even be responsible for clinical depression, loss of appetite, divorce and unemployment.:D
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awake at midnight, you should be ashamed of yourself. You just recommended Amex Centurion and Citi Chairman, both of which you know he can not apply for. Especially the Chairman which there is no way he is going to get one, he will get his hopes and get all frustrated and disappointed. You might even be responsible for clinical depression, loss of appetite, divorce and unemployment.:D
At least I mentioned that Chairman was currently unavailable. He can earn Centurion pretty quickly with a $500k annual spend. As for clinical depression, loss of appetite, divorce and unemployment... at least I can share my own pain. (Except for unemployment...I wish. I need a vacation.)
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Thanks for the advise but I still have some questions....
Why the TY points when they are 1:$1? If it is merchandise or cash you would want then it's a better deal with Fidelity Cash Rewards or AMEX Blue Cash as they pay 1 1/2% cash. The merchandise exchange rate for points looks like it is 1% or less. And the cash back cards have NO limit.
If it is 3 pts per $1 then the Chase Business card gives 3% cash back on Restaurants, Gas, Office Supplies, and Home Improvements.
Even Starwood Amex seems better for airline tickets as they give you the 25% bonus.
If it is Airline Club membership with the Merrill+ you want then the cash back cards still beat it as Merrill+ is a 1:$1 in points and the merchandise and cash exchange rate seems to be at 1% or less. That extra 1/2% would pay for the club access at over $50,000 spend.
I understand that the Citi PP Elite is great BUT that is if you fly alot and can match up the miles with the spend. But I don't fly.
Even if I could get Chairman card why is it better.
Please advise?
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Thanks for the advise but I still have some questions....
Why the TY points when they are 1:$1? If it is merchandise or cash you would want then it's a better deal with Fidelity Cash Rewards or AMEX Blue Cash as they pay 1 1/2% cash. The merchandise exchange rate for points looks like it is 1% or less. And the cash back cards have NO limit.
If it is 3 pts per $1 then the Chase Business card gives 3% cash back on Restaurants, Gas, Office Supplies, and Home Improvements.
Even Starwood Amex seems better for airline tickets as they give you the 25% bonus.
If it is Airline Club membership with the Merrill+ you want then the cash back cards still beat it as Merrill+ is a 1:$1 in points and the merchandise and cash exchange rate seems to be at 1% or less. That extra 1/2% would pay for the club access at over $50,000 spend.
I understand that the Citi PP Elite is great BUT that is if you fly alot and can match up the miles with the spend. But I don't fly.
Even if I could get Chairman card why is it better.
Please advise?
If you don't fly, the Premier Pass isn't for you, although even an occassional flight would give you a decent amount of flight points to convert.
I have a Citi Diamond Preferred Rewards card that pays 5 TY points per dollar at gas, grocery, drugstores and 1:1 everywhere else. I average 3-4 pts/dollar with it as I use it almost exclusively at those places and have other cards I use at restaurants and for travel. I actually just got the Premier Pass Amex (which only gives you 1 flight point/3 miles flown) so I can make 2% back at Costco (pairing a purchas pt with a flight pt) instead of the 1% I get with my current Amex.
In addition, if you shop online with Thank You Merchants, you can get 3-10 pts per dollar spent.
But where the real benefit comes in is the fixed price flight options. There are no blackout dates, so during a busy travel season when most airlines have no award availability, you can call TY network and get a flight, no matter how much the cost. If you want to book a domestic flight that would cost you $500, Thank You will book it for 25,000 points. So upon redeeming the points, you get 2:1, and that's on top of the earning ratio I described above.
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Thanks for the advise but I still have some questions....
Why the TY points when they are 1:$1? If it is merchandise or cash you would want then it's a better deal with Fidelity Cash Rewards or AMEX Blue Cash as they pay 1 1/2% cash. The merchandise exchange rate for points looks like it is 1% or less. And the cash back cards have NO limit.
If it is 3 pts per $1 then the Chase Business card gives 3% cash back on Restaurants, Gas, Office Supplies, and Home Improvements.
Even Starwood Amex seems better for airline tickets as they give you the 25% bonus.
If it is Airline Club membership with the Merrill+ you want then the cash back cards still beat it as Merrill+ is a 1:$1 in points and the merchandise and cash exchange rate seems to be at 1% or less. That extra 1/2% would pay for the club access at over $50,000 spend.
I understand that the Citi PP Elite is great BUT that is if you fly alot and can match up the miles with the spend. But I don't fly.
Even if I could get Chairman card why is it better.
Please advise?
ON - Why the TY points when they are 1:$1?
- They are not 1:1 on Chairman or PP Elite.
- Its 3:1 on Chairman for select spending
- Its 2:1 of PP Elite for select spending
- Its N:1 on both cards for TY Merchant purchases depending on the
merchant rate
- This is a better return rate than most cards that just offer 1 point per $.
- When comparing to a cash card the evaluation depends upon how you value reward airline ticket versus cash rewards. Some people value airline tickets at 0.015 cents per point or higher.
- This valuation would make both Chairman and PP Elite superior to many 1 pt/$ or cash cards
ON - If it is Airline Club membership with the Merrill+ you want....
- Use the Merrill Card for the first $50k. Then use the cash card.
- If you value the club membership at $350 and the points at 1.5 cents/pt you get a return of 0.022 cents per $ spent for the first $50k.
ON - I understand that the Citi PP Elite is great BUT that is if you fly alot and can match up the miles with the spend. But I don't fly.
- Consider the AMEX HH card. If you stay at premium hotels for your vacations, you can achieve nearly 4% return.
- Consider a cash card.
ON - Even if I could get Chairman card why is it better (than PP Elite)
- Priority Pass membership
- Extra point per $ on select spending
- Unlimited point accumulation each year
- Excellent personal assistant service
- HH Gold Status
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If you don't fly, the Premier Pass isn't for you, although even an occassional flight would give you a decent amount of flight points to convert.
I have a Citi Diamond Preferred Rewards card that pays 5 TY points per dollar at gas, grocery, drugstores and 1:1 everywhere else. I average 3-4 pts/dollar with it as I use it almost exclusively at those places and have other cards I use at restaurants and for travel. I actually just got the Premier Pass Amex (which only gives you 1 flight point/3 miles flown) so I can make 2% back at Costco (pairing a purchas pt with a flight pt) instead of the 1% I get with my current Amex.
In addition, if you shop online with Thank You Merchants, you can get 3-10 pts per dollar spent.
But where the real benefit comes in is the fixed price flight options. There are no blackout dates, so during a busy travel season when most airlines have no award availability, you can call TY network and get a flight, no matter how much the cost. If you want to book a domestic flight that would cost you $500, Thank You will book it for 25,000 points. So upon redeeming the points, you get 2:1, and that's on top of the earning ratio I described above.
I agree with the assessment of the TY program here. There are many cards that could be helpful:
Citi Professional Card - 3pts per $ of gas, car rental, restaurants, and office supplies
Citi Diamond Preferred - 5pts per $ for the 1st year on gas, grocery
However, if convienence is important, then a single card may be better for a $500k annual spend.
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Interesting .... what would you recommend for someone who does not fly for business but only for vacations BUT does spend >$500,000 on credit card?
centurion + starwood
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I have to agree with Dennis on the fact that since he is a "vacation" flyer, there is no way he will fly 500,000pts....to match the 500k spend...
But at that level spend, he will need a card with unlimited earning potential....
What service level is the OP asking for? Does he PIF (deadbeat)?
The $400 chairman will be back out in Q1 07 right drbond...so he could apply for that then, spend as much as he wants up to the limit of flight miles with no earning limit....so that he gets the Priority Pass and HH Gold...and excellent service and Personal Assistants...for $400/yr....He can keep spending on this if he wants but the point/$ will seriously decrease after his vacation flights are over....
so, then he can go with the SPG AMEX -- which I am only recommending since his spend vs flight is so different -- and he can transfer those points to miles and earn SPG GOLD at the same time...I do not knwo if there is a cap on the transferring *points or not...someone who has an SPG can help here...but if there are, then he should do the following:
1) Get an airline branded card to max out the annual miles on that airline...like with AA -- I think he can earn only 60,000miles/yr if he does not status....
2) If he still has spend left over, then he should get another airline branded card....and max that out...
and if still has spend left over, he can mail me a check for the rest....:cool:
I would not recommend Centurion....since it will cost him $2500/yr without any meaningful benefits...and there are no flight points...
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...need to decide what rewards and benefits you are interested in. Once you do that you can pick between cash, general rewards, airline miles, or hotel points. Just pick an unlimited rewards card.
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centurion + starwood
not being a smart a** -- but is this your standard answer to anyone who asks what type of card they want....how are you helping them?
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Thanks so much ...here is my spend patterns...
The $500,000 is not spent on gas, grocery, restaurant, or home impvmt. It is spent on equipment purchases. So, extra points for gas etc. are not valuable.
It would be great to have Elite Status upgrades, or access to Airline clubs for the vacations.
All credit card bills are paid on time.
Seems to me that unless the Airline cards offer double points then the Starwood is better.
How does Centurion or Chairman or Merrill+ offer benefits more than Starwood Amex?
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I would choose cards that have unlimited points earning potential. My ranking opinions are below
If it is high rate of rewards that you want most. Pick from AMEX Centurion, Citi Chairman, and AMEX SPG. If you want certain status or benefits, pick from the other cards above. If AA is your favorite airline. You should consider AMEX SPG (highest reward rate), Diners or Carte Blanche. They are the only ones that transfer (other than Citi AA MC).
Awake:
I reread your excellent post...
1. I would like High Rate of Rewards
2. I live in Los Angeles
3. I would like Status and Benefits as long as I do not have to give up High Rate of Rewards.
Thanks,
DUKE
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Awake:
I reread your excellent post...
1. I would like High Rate of Rewards
2. I live in Los Angeles
3. I would like Status and Benefits as long as I do not have to give up High Rate of Rewards.
Thanks,
DUKE
Hi Duke,
After thinking a bit about your situation. I would probably choose an unlimited reward card for SPENDING. I might chose other cards just for BENEFITS. I juggled cards for a few years to earn bonuses. That is a bit painful to me. I have much more important things to do (like FlyerTalk).
For you primary SPENDING card, I would choose an unlimited cash card (incl. Fidelity Visa Signature) OR a general reward card like
AMEX SPG
AMEX Platinum/Centurion
Citigroup Chairman
Carte Blanche
Diners Club
Merrill+
I do not think that an airline card is good choice because (a) most of them do not offer unlimited miles for travellers without status, and (b) I doubt that you would spend 500,0000 miles per year. SPG is included in this list because it can be used for hotel stays or mile transfers, so I consider it general rewards.
You should choose a primary airline, as well. In LA, I would choose between AA and United. I have to admit that I am biased towards AA. You can earn lifetime status by transferring miles to the AA program. (If you chose a United credit card, your miles would be limited annually to 60k. Also, transfers to United from SPG are not at an advantageous rate.)
You need to decide how you will use your rewards:
Airline FirstClass
Airline Coach
Hotel
Cash
If you want first class airline tickets, I recommend using SPG AMEX as your primary SPENDING card and transferring to AA.
If you want coach airline tickets, consider Citigroup Chairman (when available). AA shows up pretty often in the thankyou travel program. You will also earn miles for your flights on thankyou reward tickets.
Frankly at $500k annual spending, I would expect the earnings rate between AMEX SPG and Citigroup Chairman to be similar. (Citi may be higher depending upon your spending pattern.) Citi ThankYou program may offer better coach rewards because you can earn airline miles when you use the rewards ticket. The downside is that Citi ThankYou does not offer good rates for first class. Also, Chairman is not available right now.
If you want cash go with an unlimited cashback card. However, I think that first class airline tickets offer a higher value of rewards per $ spent.
I would go with AMEX SPG. I would not choose AMEX Platinum, Diners Club, Carte Blanche, or Merrill+ as my primary spending card because the reward rate is lower than AMEX SPG. Centurion may be higher. I do not have experience with that card.
BENEFITS are a different story. You may consider carrying cards just for the benefits and perhaps spending on those cards to get certain benefits that you want. Pick the benefits/cards that have appropriate value for you. Here is the menu:
HIGH FEE
a. AMEX Platinum - DL/CO/NW club access, Fine Hotels program, SPG Gold Status (which you would earn with $30k spend on AMEX SPG), AAA-like benefits, restaurant access, special events, concierge.
b. Citigroup Chairman - Currently Priority Pass Airline Club Access, HH Gold Status, personal assistant. (In the future this card may offer AA club access when it is available again.)
c. AMEX Centurion - See other threads
d. Diners Club Carte Blanche MC - Concierge/Personal Assistant, plus Diners Club benefits, similar program to AMEX FHR (research this), AA mileage transfers
MODERATE FEE
e. Diners Club MC- Primary rental insurance, AA mileage transfers
f. Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Visa - Silver Marriott Status
g. Citi AA MC - Reduced mileage awards
NO FEE
h. HH Amex - Automatic Silver Status; Gold Status with $20k spend
g. ML+ Visa- AA or DL club membership with $50k spend
Remember, you will need a Mastercard/Visa as well. Get one with benefits.
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The $500,000 is not spent on gas, grocery, restaurant, or home impvmt. It is spent on equipment purchases.
Ah, this is business rather than personal spending. Regardless which card(s) you decided to use for your primary spending here are benefits you could receive if you allocate $100,000 to three specific cards during, say, the first quarter of each calendar year:
1. If you spend $20,000 in a calendar year on American Express Hilton HHonors credit card (Fee = $0) you qualify for Gold status in the HHonors program. Reports indicate that if you time it correctly you need use the HHonors card only in alternate years because Hilton actually makes the status effective as soon as you satisfy the spending requirement, and it runs to April of the year after next. $20,000 spending would also generate at least 60,000 HHonors points.
2. If you spend $30,000 in a calendar year on American Express Starwood Preferred Guest credit card (fee = $30) you qualify for Gold Status for the following year. This is a new benefit, no indication that SPG will make the status effective early.
3. If you spend $50,000 in a calendar year on Merrill+ VISA (fee = $0) you would have 50,000 rewards points which could be redeemed for 50,000 British Airways miles or about $500 in gift cards. You would also earn Merrill +3 status which includes benefits such as a one year membership in American Airlines Admirals Club (or Delta Crown Room), and a personal concierge as described here...
https://cards.ml.com/MLRewardsCenter/View-Cards/MERRILL-Plus/ML-Cards-Merrill-Plus-Benefits.htm
However, Merrill has not yet published the 2007 program and the qualification thresholds, benefits or rewards could change. Also, the Terms and Conditions include these statements: Business-related expenses are not eligible for Merrill Points earnings. and purchases made by or for a business or for a business purpose ... will not qualify for achievement of +2 or +3 status. I do not know if Merrill monitors spending or enforces these provisions, but if these benefits appeal to you it may be prudent to use the Merrill+ card for $50,000 of personal spending.
Another possibility ...
4. If you spend $50,000 in a calendar year on American Express Platinum Delta SkyMiles Credit Card you earn 20,000 Elite Qualifying Miles. There is also a Business Platinum Skymiles card. I believe, but do not know for certain, that you could earn 40,000 EQM per year by spending $50,000 on each card. 40,000 is 80% of the amount required for Delta Gold (mid-tier) status. I would not devote $100,000 spending to earn Skymiles or go out of my way to obtain status on Delta until they emerge from bankruptcy, unless I lived in Atlanta, but your judgement may differ.
dennis
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double post
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Lets keep this as simple as possible:
1) Get the SPG AMEX now since Chairman is not available.....this way you can transfer you points to AA miles earn lifetime PLAT status in 2 yrs without even flying once...giving you the status you want.....and SPG GOLD
2) Get the Chairman when it is available --- just put enough charges on it for the "vacation" flying you do...then match it with spending....giving you the cheap coach tickets in AA which is always on the list of coach flights avaialbe at 25000pts which you can upgrade being the AA LIFE PLAT that you are....
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I saw a couple of references to Citi PremierPass card in this and other forums and have to say, before anyone seriously considers carrying this card, read the fine print. I got one of those "you're pre-approved!" mailers with an offer for 0% APR on balance transfers till 1/2008 which is a really good deal; I was actually considering transferring some off of a moderate interest card just for the 0% (I already earn a ton of miles and points so the interest was the only attraction for me)... till I read the back of the offer letter.
Default interest rate (which is what your payments will jump to if you're late even once) is a ghastly 33% today and set at prime+29% variable! That's quite possibly the highest credit card interest rate I have ever seen!
While I am a firm believer in automated payments to safeguard against missed payments (I always have the money but can't always remember what day of the month it is), even these aren't 100% guaranteed as I've had automated payments to other companies black-holed due to computer glitches (their end, not mine). And while I am generally happy with Citi (I carry the card with the TY network), and rarely if ever miss payments to anyone, I just can't in good faith carry this card.
So on whatever offer you go with, read the fine print... free miles on purchases are not worth 33% interest!!!
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Lets keep this as simple as possible:
1) Get the SPG AMEX now since Chairman is not available.....this way you can transfer you points to AA miles earn lifetime PLAT status in 2 yrs without even flying once...giving you the status you want....
..
Interesting approach.....I thought it takes 2 million miles for Lifetime Plat on AA. That's alot of airline vacation flying. Is it worth it? OR, as AWAKE advised get a cash back card at 1 1/2%?
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Interesting approach.....I thought it takes 2 million miles for Lifetime Plat on AA. That's alot of airline vacation flying. Is it worth it? OR, as AWAKE advised get a cash back card at 1 1/2%?
with AA you do not need to fly 2 million miles...you just need 2 million miles...the way to do it is the following:
transfer your starpoints from SPG AMEX to AA and you will earn status.....less than 2 yrs since you get a 25% bonus for every 20,000pts transferred...
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I saw a couple of references to Citi PremierPass card in this and other forums and have to say, before anyone seriously considers carrying this card, read the fine print. I got one of those "you're pre-approved!" mailers with an offer for 0% APR on balance transfers till 1/2008 which is a really good deal; I was actually considering transferring some off of a moderate interest card just for the 0% (I already earn a ton of miles and points so the interest was the only attraction for me)... till I read the back of the offer letter.
Default interest rate (which is what your payments will jump to if you're late even once) is a ghastly 33% today and set at prime+29% variable! That's quite possibly the highest credit card interest rate I have ever seen!
While I am a firm believer in automated payments to safeguard against missed payments (I always have the money but can't always remember what day of the month it is), even these aren't 100% guaranteed as I've had automated payments to other companies black-holed due to computer glitches (their end, not mine). And while I am generally happy with Citi (I carry the card with the TY network), and rarely if ever miss payments to anyone, I just can't in good faith carry this card.
So on whatever offer you go with, read the fine print... free miles on purchases are not worth 33% interest!!!
sorry to be so up front -- but if one are paying interest on a a rewards card...one is not too bright....
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duplicate
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What I found to be the easiest way to make sure you don't get ratejacked to a very high interest rate (esp. with Citi) is:
1. Sign up on their site for email alerts. You'll get an email when a new statement is printed. You get another one warning you when your payment is due in a few days.
2. When you get the email alert, schedule the payment through Citi's site.
Since you get 2 emails in advance of the due date AND the paper statement in the mail, and schedule the payment through Citi directly, it's almost impossible to forget to pay it, and if the payment doesn't go through it's clearly Citi's reponsibility.
I do not fear the 33% interest rate - if I end up getting ratejacked, it's my own fault.
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What I found to be the easiest way to make sure you don't get ratejacked to a very high interest rate (esp. with Citi) is:
1. Sign up on their site for email alerts. You'll get an email when a new statement is printed. You get another one warning you when your payment is due in a few days.
2. When you get the email alert, schedule the payment through Citi's site.
Since you get 2 emails in advance of the due date AND the paper statement in the mail, and schedule the payment through Citi directly, it's almost impossible to forget to pay it, and if the payment doesn't go through it's clearly Citi's reponsibility.
I do not fear the 33% interest rate - if I end up getting ratejacked, it's my own fault.
I agree completely.
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transfer your starpoints from SPG AMEX to AA and you will earn status.....less than 2 yrs since you get a 25% bonus for every 20,000pts transferred...
1. $500,000 annual purchases all on SPG credit card would generate 625,000 AA miles per year. It would take 3+ years to generate 2,000,000 miles. I do not see how you are calculating two years.
2. Duke5150's point may have been that it would take a lot of vacation flying to redeem 2,000,000 AAdvantage miles, and it may not be worthwhile to chase status for someone who does not fly on business.
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1. $500,000 annual purchases all on SPG credit card would generate 625,000 AA miles per year. It would take 3+ years to generate 2,000,000 miles. I do not see how you are calculating two years.
2. Duke5150's point may have been that it would take a lot of vacation flying to redeem 2,000,000 AAdvantage miles, and it may not be worthwhile to chase status for someone who does not fly on business.
Agreed. Unless you are planning a trip to the sea of tranquility, 625,000 AA miles per year is a bit excessive. I suggested SPG AMEX because Duke could use his points for miles and premium SPG stays at a reasonable reward rate.
Maybe Duke should spend $350,000 on SPG AMEX to cover first class vacations and put the rest on an unlimited cash card. He could get a Citi Chairman,AMEX Platinum/Centurion, Diners/Carte Blanche or ML+3 for the benefits if he needs them.
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1. $500,000 annual purchases all on SPG credit card would generate 625,000 AA miles per year. It would take 3+ years to generate 2,000,000 miles. I do not see how you are calculating two years.
Sorry -- miscalculated...was on vacation...brain shut down...
2. Duke5150's point may have been that it would take a lot of vacation flying to redeem 2,000,000 AAdvantage miles, and it may not be worthwhile to chase status for someone who does not fly on business.
correct...but maybe he wants status or maybe he wants all of his "vacation" flights to be free....all he has to is some activity on the AA acct so that they do not expire...
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What I found to be the easiest way to make sure you don't get ratejacked to a very high interest rate (esp. with Citi) is:
1. Sign up on their site for email alerts. You'll get an email when a new statement is printed. You get another one warning you when your payment is due in a few days.
2. When you get the email alert, schedule the payment through Citi's site.
Since you get 2 emails in advance of the due date AND the paper statement in the mail, and schedule the payment through Citi directly, it's almost impossible to forget to pay it, and if the payment doesn't go through it's clearly Citi's reponsibility.
I do not fear the 33% interest rate - if I end up getting ratejacked, it's my own fault.
This is my system...works good since I have not had a late payment since 1999
1) I ask CITI to close the statement on the 20-23rd every month -- this way it gets to me by the end of month...
2) I get paid once a month -- end of every month...
3) All my bills are paid either on the 15th or the EOM.....
So, Citi is always paid at EOM....thereby never late-- no late fee...no 33% intrests...
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correct...but maybe he wants status or maybe he wants all of his "vacation" flights to be free....all he has to is some activity on the AA acct so that they do not expire...
Agreed, and you don't need to wait until 2,000,000 accumulated to start redeeming, you just need to run 2,000,000 miles through the account (assuming AA does not get their IT act together to fix this loophole and base status strictly on flown paid miles). Plus, each year 150,000 of those miles could be reexported to Hilton and become 300,000 HHonors points.
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I am not yet convinced on TYP so I would stay with AA or SPG.
care to expand what is it your not convinced on? curious.