Question
I am having a problem deciding which TY rewards card is best for maxing the points per dollar spent. I have searched this forum and hope that I am missing something. I plan to use the card for supermarkets, drugstores and gas. I feel that *wood points are more valuable when the ratio is 1:1. I will always have more than enough air miles to offset purchase miles and my primary interest is TY points-other benefits are a bonus. In a 12 month period I will spend $10,000 on groceries,drugs and gas.
If i use the Chairman card, after 12 months I will have 60,000 points.
3 x 10,000 on purchases and 30,000 from flights. $400 annual fee.
http://www.smithbarney.com/products_services/credit_cards/chairman_features.html?11a
http://www.smithbarney.com/pdf/chairmanbook.pdf
If I use the premier pass elite, after 12 months I will have 55,000 points.
2 x 10,000 on purchases, 20,000 from flights and 15,000 bonus. $75 annual fee
https://www.accountonline.com/ACQ/Chooser/LearnMore?siteId=CB&CARD_KEYS=4WNIW376-A
Last and what seems to be the best offer is Diamond preferred Mastercard OR American express card. After 12 months I will have 60,000 points.
5 x 10,000 on purchases and 10,000 sign up bonus. NO annual fee.
http://www.citibank.com/us/cards/cardserv/diamond/index.jsp
http://www.citibank.com/us/cards/cardserv/amex/diamond-amex.jsp
There is also the AT&T Universal rewards that appears to have the same Ty benefits as the diamond cards. The AT&T card 5TY per $1 may also be longer than 12 months.
http://citi.bridgetrack.com/usc/att/ucs/rewards/default.htm?BTData=C021278756061775B5C4A41B7A1A1AB A79D9D9F85FFFEF8F3F4CA4E500A9&app=UNSOL&sc=6UDZG2R6&m=3ATT9E4SN0W&langId=EN&siteId=AC&B=M&BT_TX=1&ProspectID=282C925017DF4557A1FC71CC5C23961D
What use are airline points if I can earn the same amount of TY points without paying an annual fee of $75 or $400. I hope I am missing something. :confused:
Answer
I am having a problem deciding which TY rewards card is best for maxing the points per dollar spent. I have searched this forum and hope that I am missing something. I plan to use the card for supermarkets, drugstores and gas. I feel that *wood points are more valuable when the ratio is 1:1. I will always have more than enough air miles to offset purchase miles and my primary interest is TY points-other benefits are a bonus. In a 12 month period I will spend $10,000 on groceries,drugs and gas.
If i use the Chairman card, after 12 months I will have 60,000 points.
3 x 10,000 on purchases and 30,000 from flights. $400 annual fee.
http://www.smithbarney.com/products_services/credit_cards/chairman_features.html?11a
http://www.smithbarney.com/pdf/chairmanbook.pdf
If I use the premier pass elite, after 12 months I will have 55,000 points.
2 x 10,000 on purchases, 20,000 from flights and 15,000 bonus. $75 annual fee
https://www.accountonline.com/ACQ/Chooser/LearnMore?siteId=CB&CARD_KEYS=4WNIW376-A
Last and what seems to be the best offer is Diamond preferred Mastercard OR American express card. After 12 months I will have 60,000 points.
5 x 10,000 on purchases and 10,000 sign up bonus. NO annual fee.
http://www.citibank.com/us/cards/cardserv/diamond/index.jsp
http://www.citibank.com/us/cards/cardserv/amex/diamond-amex.jsp
There is also the AT&T Universal rewards that appears to have the same Ty benefits as the diamond cards. The AT&T card 5TY per $1 may also be longer than 12 months.
http://citi.bridgetrack.com/usc/att/ucs/rewards/default.htm?BTData=C021278756061775B5C4A41B7A1A1AB A79D9D9F85FFFEF8F3F4CA4E500A9&app=UNSOL&sc=6UDZG2R6&m=3ATT9E4SN0W&langId=EN&siteId=AC&B=M&BT_TX=1&ProspectID=282C925017DF4557A1FC71CC5C23961D
What use are airline points if I can earn the same amount of TY points without paying an annual fee of $75 or $400. I hope I am missing something. :confused:
There are a several of factors that may make a fee worth it
1. If you keep your card longer than a year, Chairman and PP Elite will continue to earn at a higher rate
2. Frankly you pay for benefits...
- Chairman Card comes with Concierge, Priority Pass membership, HHonors Gold membership, companion ticket benefit (not so valuable) and some other premium benefits
- PP Elite comes with the Concierge and companion ticket benefit (not so valuable)
3. The Chairman Card can earn unlimited points. The PP Elite can earn 200,000 per year. Diamond Preferred can only earn 75,000 per year.
If you are a big spender or want the benefits then get the go with Chairman or PP Elite. If not, go with one of the free cards.
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I feel that *wood points are more valuable when the ratio is 1:1. I will always have more than enough air miles to offset purchase miles and my primary interest is TY points-other benefits are a bonus.
But if you have a lot of flight points, your TY points are never at a 1:1 ratio. You still get two points for every dollar you spend on other things.
For example, with Starwood you have to charge $20K to get 25K miles, which is probably the minimum you would need for a free domestic ticket.
With Chairman, you can charge $12,500, get 12.5K Purchase points + 12.5K flight points = 25K TY points, which gives you a round-trip domestic ticket.
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Also keep in mind with the PP Elite that the 15k sign-up points get matched with flight points too. So that's 70k after the first year.
But realistically speaking, if all you're charging is groceries/gas, of course the card that gives you 5x on those purchases is going to give you the most points. AT&T Univ Rewards is a no-brainer for groceries/gas. The benefit of a PP Elite or Chairman card vs AT&T Universal Rewards lies in the rewards rate you'll earn on regular spending.
Question really then is SPG vs PP/PP Elite for regular spending (note regular PremierPass is attractive for this--no annual fee, 1/3 flight point per mile flown). As ftweb says, this depends on how much you value 1 SPG point vs 2 TY points as you'll be earning TY points at twice the rate. This in turn depends on what you intend to use the points for.
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your best offer is one of the last 2. if they cancel the 5x points after the first year, get a different Citi TY card with the same offer; there are many.
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Does Chairman include everything that PPE has plus some, or is it largely a different package?
Likely I will do either PPE+Amex plat. or Chairman+Amex RPG once the changes are sorted.
Or maybe I will cash my paychecks at the liquor store and buy money orders. I dunno.
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What's wrong with two cards or more?
I've got a Citi Diamond card that I use for Gas/grocery/drugstore. I've got a PP that I use for flights and just about everything else. And my finace has a Citi MtvU were we get 5x for restaurants and bookstores (but on a different account).
What card do you plan on using for Non-gas/grocery/drugstore purchases?
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Does Chairman include everything that PPE has plus some, or is it largely a different package?
Likely I will do either PPE+Amex plat. or Chairman+Amex RPG once the changes are sorted.
Or maybe I will cash my paychecks at the liquor store and buy money orders. I dunno.
Chairman Card has slightly different benefits from AMEX Platinum:
1. Chairman includes Priority Pass membership. Which gets you into a lounge at most airports.
2. Chairman includes HHonors Gold Status. AMEX Platinum offers SPG Gold Status.
3. Chairman offers more points per $, but has less redemption options than AMEX
4. Chairman does not offer true roadside assistance like AMEX Platinum
5. Chairman Concierge is FANTASTIC.
AMEX Platinum + PP Elite is a good combination. Especially if you get a discount on AMEX through Fidelity or a free PP Elite through Citigold. You can avoid a AAA membership. If you travel 90% on DL/NW/CO this may be a good option.
Chairman + AMEX Gold is also a good combination. If you travel on other airlines besides DL/NW/CO it may be more valuable to you.
I have a Chairman and cancelled my AMEX. However, Chairman only gets me into 2 lounges in ATL. Since DL charges for lounges now and I fly 90% DL, it makes sense for me to get a AMEX through Fidelity for $320 per year. After cancelling my AAA Plus membership (at $90/yr), I will only have to fork over a net increase of $230/yr for the AMEX. That is cheaper than buying a DL lounge membership for a DL Platinum. (Next year I would owe DL $125 after that it goes to $250.)
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Chairman Card has slightly different benefits from AMEX Platinum:
1. Chairman includes Priority Pass membership. Which gets you into a lounge at most airports.
2. Chairman includes HHonors Gold Status. AMEX Platinum offers SPG Gold Status.
3. Chairman offers more points per $, but has less redemption options than AMEX
4. Chairman does not offer true roadside assistance like AMEX Platinum
5. Chairman Concierge is FANTASTIC.
AMEX Platinum + PP Elite is a good combination. Especially if you get a discount on AMEX through Fidelity or a free PP Elite through Citigold. You can avoid a AAA membership. If you travel 90% on DL/NW/CO this may be a good option.
Chairman + AMEX Gold is also a good combination. If you travel on other airlines besides DL/NW/CO it may be more valuable to you.
I have a Chairman and cancelled my AMEX. However, Chairman only gets me into 2 lounges in ATL. Since DL charges for lounges now and I fly 90% DL, it makes sense for me to get a AMEX through Fidelity for $320 per year. After cancelling my AAA Plus membership (at $90/yr), I will only have to fork over a net increase of $230/yr for the AMEX. That is cheaper than buying a DL lounge membership for a DL Platinum. (Next year I would owe DL $125 after that it goes to $250.)
Ok, let's do some lightning calculus:
24 trips/year with a drink or two at each airport (24*2*$15=$720)
1 AAA family membership ($90?)
A few companion tix ($1000)
....
I shouldn't even go any further. I can justify both Amex Plat. and Chairman.
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Ok, let's do some lightning calculus:
24 trips/year with a drink or two at each airport (24*2*$15=$720)
1 AAA family membership ($90?)
A few companion tix ($1000)
....
I shouldn't even go any further. I can justify both Amex Plat. and Chairman.
You are correct. Its just hard to accept (on the surface) that paying $700-800/yr for credit card fees makes sense. (Try to convince your wife/husband/etc.) However, the free club access and points more than cover it. (I've earned 50k points since getting my Chairman Card in April. By the end of the year, points alone will more than cover the cost.)
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But realistically speaking, if all you're charging is groceries/gas, of course the card that gives you 5x on those purchases is going to give you the most points. AT&T Univ Rewards is a no-brainer for groceries/gas.
So are you saying you can match these 5 points with flight points? My (admittedly limited) understanding was that you could pool points from various cards to get a reward, but that you had to match flight points to purchase points for that particular card. Would be good to know if you can match across cards.
Otherwise, I don't see why the choice should be a no-brainer. If I get 3 purchase points per dollar for groceries and gas on my Chairman card and combine them with 3 flight points, that's 6 points total, or one more than the 5x AT&T Univ or Diamond rewards rate.
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Thanks for all the information. The bottom line is that I can earn 6 or 2 points per $1 spent (incl. flt miles) with the Chairman card and the Priority pass means almost always having lounge access. The online merchants like drugstore.com are also great value. I already have the priority pass-elite and just bought toothpaste and razor blades at 7 purchase points + 7 flight points per $1 spent. Spent $26-Got 364 points and shipping was free. Also bought some gift cards for self. Great value! Watch someone rain on my parade. :)
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You can earn 5 points per dollar at supermarkets drugstore and gas with the AT&T universal mastercard. Limited to first 75k points per year. No yearly fee though.
http://www.universalcard.com/us/cards/ucs/compare_01.htm
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So are you saying you can match these 5 points with flight points?
Not sure how I said anything of the sort. 5x for free vs 6x for $400/yr (when the OP stated that the benefits on the card were secondary) on $10k of grocery/gas spending.
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Sorry for my naivete - but I am trying to figure out what TY points are vs just getting miles for $$ spent. I know they are "Thank You" points - but are they better than cards that offer miles for every dollar spent?
I currently have Citi AAdvantage MC and an AMEX Delta Skymiles which I am thinking of cancelling because of high annual fee (even though I love their baggage and flight cancellation protection - used it and it was great).
Any suggestions? Or just point me to the appropriate thread for my questions....Thanks!
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Welcome to flyertalk. :)
Start here
https://www.thankyounetwork.com
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=390111
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Sorry for my naivete - but I am trying to figure out what TY points are vs just getting miles for $$ spent. I know they are "Thank You" points - but are they better than cards that offer miles for every dollar spent?
1. Thank you points can be used for more than just travel.
2. They are airline independent.
I like them because when I fly I get TY points AND the miles flown directly from the Airline program. Get one of the PremierPass cards and you get points for miles flown from ANY ticket purchased.
Ex. My GF and I fly to Mexico. We both get 4000+ miles in our Onepass account, AND I get 8000+ flight points in my TY card. I purchase the tickets for her parents to come and visit, I get another 8000+ flight points on my TY card.
By matching bonus and purchase points, I get 16,000 flight points + 16,000 purchase/bonus points transfered to my TY account. With 30,000 TY points I have enough points for a free flight to Mexico.
Pretty good deal in my book.