Question
I am a realtively new user of this site; has there ever been a survey re: which is the most popular credit card held by flyertalk users and if so, how would I find it? We currently have a Capital One and a blue American Express (getting points not cash back) but based on the forum discussions on this site, these do not seem to be good choices. We spend 5-10K month and would use our points mostly for domestic air travel although I would like to save for a big trip to New Zealand. Also, we spend a lot on gas and groceries so double miles there would be great. Any recommendations for a different set of cards? Thanks!
Answer
I am a realtively new user of this site; has there ever been a survey re: which is the most popular credit card held by flyertalk users and if so, how would I find it? We currently have a Capital One and a blue American Express (getting points not cash back) but based on the forum discussions on this site, these do not seem to be good choices. We spend 5-10K month and would use our points mostly for domestic air travel although I would like to save for a big trip to New Zealand. Also, we spend a lot on gas and groceries so double miles there would be great. Any recommendations for a different set of cards? Thanks!
For airline tickets, I believe UA's award begin at 60K miles but I'm sure other will fill in. :)
For you gas and grocery charges, Chase Rewards Plus card (http://www.chase.com/ccp/index.jsp?pg_name=ccpmapp/card_acquisitions/unsolicited/page/PFSCreditCardDetails&sourcecode=5P76) gives you 5% cash rebates which may be better than double miles. Citi has similar card but has $300 annual limit but Chase Rewards Plus has $750 limit. BTW Chase Cash Plus Rewards card (http://www.chase.com/ccp/index.jsp?pg_name=ccpmapp/card_acquisitions/unsolicited/page/PFSCreditCardDetails&sourcecode=4X2G) has $300 annual limit too.
Answer
For airline miles the way to go in most situations is Amex SPG.
1:1 ratio. You also get 25% bonus when transferring in chunks of 20K.
The one exception is United where the transfer ratio is 2:1. The way around that is to transfer to Air Canada at 1:1.
For gas/groceries/pharmacy I also carry the Citi and Chase cards that give 5% cash back. They're also useful for places that don't take Amex.
Special purchases:
airline tickets: Citi Premier Pass (2% effective cash back)
foreign transactions: cards that charge 0 or 1% at most, especially if you're paying the bill yourself (Merrill+ for me at the moment, may change to a Pentagon credit union card, per Gary's website)
Answer
Since this is the "other" credit card section, what is the best Visa/Mastercard to get for purchases other then everyday spending? I charge anywhere from 10-20K a month at a wholesale house that does not take American Express. I am looking for the best card that will earn me either flights or hotel rooms for family vacations.
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I am looking for the best card that will earn me either flights or hotel rooms for family vacations.
Do you have preferences as to airline or hotel chains? Where are you planning to go? US? Caribbean? Europe?
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Since you posted it here without AE included: it seems that Chase is taking over many cc companies-so one way or an other you may end up with Chase.
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Based on your input, we intend to go from Amex Blue to Amex Starwood and from CapitalOne to Citibank Premier Plus ELite. Two last questions: (1) Should we just sign up online or would we miss any special promotions/sign-up bonuses and (2) If my husband and I sign up separately to get double sign up bonuses, would we be able to merge accounts later? (We have different last names if that matters)
Answer
You would not be able to "merge" your American Express Starwood credit card accounts, but Starwood will allow you to transfer points to another member at the same address. The points are not held by American Express, they are held by Starwood. After a year when all the introductory bonus offers expire you could cancel one credit card, request a free supplementary card on the remaining account, transfer the point balance to the other Starwood account, and let the other Starwood account go dormant.
dennis
Answer
Thanks so much for the info re: Amex; does anyone know the answers for Citibank Premier Plus ELite: (1) Should we just sign up online or would we miss any special promotions/sign-up bonuses and (2) If my husband and I sign up separately to get double sign up bonuses, would we be able to merge accounts later? (We have different last names if that matters)
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Just tried to combine my thank you points with my spouse's. Citi only combines the thankyou points if the name of the primary card holder is the same on both cards. Otherwise, even if you are both signers on each card, the points must remain in separate accounts and cannot be combined.
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I think for PP Elite the sign up bonus is always 15k points. for the regular PP, bonus points vary from 5k to 15k depending on where you sign up.
Thanks so much for the info re: Amex; does anyone know the answers for Citibank Premier Plus ELite: (1) Should we just sign up online or would we miss any special promotions/sign-up bonuses and (2) If my husband and I sign up separately to get double sign up bonuses, would we be able to merge accounts later? (We have different last names if that matters)
Answer
For airline miles the way to go in most situations is Amex SPG.
1:1 ratio. You also get 25% bonus when transferring in chunks of 20K.
The one exception is United where the transfer ratio is 2:1. The way around that is to transfer to Air Canada at 1:1.
For gas/groceries/pharmacy I also carry the Citi and Chase cards that give 5% cash back. They're also useful for places that don't take Amex.
Special purchases:
airline tickets: Citi Premier Pass (2% effective cash back)
foreign transactions: cards that charge 0 or 1% at most, especially if you're paying the bill yourself (Merrill+ for me at the moment, may change to a Pentagon credit union card, per Gary's website)
What is Amex SPG?
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What is Amex SPG?
It's Starwood affiliated credit card which is the favorite card among FTers.
Starwood Preferred Guest (http://www.spg.com/)
P.S. Welcome to FT!
Answer
You would not be able to "merge" your American Express Starwood credit card accounts, but Starwood will allow you to transfer points to another member at the same address. The points are not held by American Express, they are held by Starwood. After a year when all the introductory bonus offers expire you could cancel one credit card, request a free supplementary card on the remaining account, transfer the point balance to the other Starwood account, and let the other Starwood account go dormant.
dennis
Does Starwood charge anything for this kind of "transfer"??
Answer
Does Starwood charge anything for this kind of "transfer"??
No.