Question
I realize accumulating credit card points/miles using one card and one program is probably the most efficient.
At present I have affinity credit cards with both American and Marriott. Should I keep both (at double yearly cost) or dump one? If so, which one? Why?
Answer
Julie:
Efficient? Our goal is to maximize mileage earning opportunities! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif So, from that perspective we try to be very efficient.
How much do you travel and where do you stay when you travel? Do you try to fly AA exclusively?
I think it depends .. do you stay at Marriott's (or their other branded hotels) at all? I know that from the Marriott forum you had tons of MR points, so you must do a lot of Marriott stays. If you do, you should keep the MR Visa. If you travel a lot, you should keep these cards and maybe get one or two additional ones. You might also want to consider a Diners Club card.
I have the MR Visa which I use exclusively for paying for stays at Marriott, since it provides a 50% boost on the 10 points per dollar I get on eligible charges. You get 3 MR points per dollar for eligible Marriott charges on the card plus 2 bonus points per dollar from Marriott for being "silver elite", which is a benefit of the card. If you make just a few Marriott stays per year, it's probably worth the $30 fee. Though, for non-Marriott charges (unless you need a few thousand points towards an award goal) the 1 MR point per dollar is not worth very much relative to AA miles, so I wouldn't use that card for non-Marriott charges.
The AA Citibank card is supposed to be a good deal, especially with a signup bonus, but you might also want to consider the Amex/Starwood card, since you can earn 1 SPG point per dollar spent and you get a 5k mile bonus when you transfer 20k SPG points into 25k ff miles. So, on this card, you actually earn 1.25 miles per dollar spent. The Amex/Starwood card has changed recently to include a fee, but the fee is around $30, I believe. There's some additional benefits if you actually stay at any Starwood properties (bonuses and some coupons and a some very low level elite benefits, I think.)
So, assuming you travel a reasonable amount, in your case, you might want to keep the MR Visa and use it at Marriott, Courtyard, etc. Get the SPG/Amex card and use it as your all around charge card and keep the AA M/C and use it where Amex is not accepted. This is assuming your goal is to maximize points earned.
My own current mix consists of the MR Visa, the UA Visa, the Delta/Amex and Diners Club. When the Delta/Amex comes up for renewal, I plan on replacing it with the SPG/Amex card.
I use the MR Visa at Marriott brands only. I use the Diners Club card whenever I can. I use the Amex card at supermarkets (double points, where accepted) and at Hyatt for co-branded promotions with Amex (I try to stay exclusively at Hyatt hotels, because they treat me very well and I like the product), but I try to use my DC card the most, and use the UA Visa if DC isn't accepted. My companies preferred air carrier is UA, so I also end up flying almost exclusively on UA because of the company discount, so that tends to be where I have most of my miles.
Diners Club is worthwhile for personal car rentals, since their car rental insurance is primary insurance. All the other cards provide secondary insurance, not primary insurance. They also have an excellent rewards program .. you earn 2 DC points per dollar spent which can be transferred to 1 ff mile, but they often run specials like they are now, where 2 DC pts transfers to 2 BA points. You can use those promotions to transfer UA, AA, DL, etc miles into DC points and then into BA points without loss during those promotions. (Normally they would transfer at 2:1). DC also gives you 60 days to pay, which is a great benefit. They also are known for great customer service. Since they are the underdog in premium cards, they tend to appreciate their business more than the others.
As for the AA card, there are several variants, some of which may be better for you than others with your new lifetime status on AA. If you don't get any help on that one here, you should ask about it in the AA forum.
If my assumptions are incorrect, then you'll need a different kind of card makeover.
If you decide to add a Diners Club card to the mix, you might consider using an FT-er to get a referral bonus for the existing card member and a sign-up bonus for yourself. Just contact one of us by email and we'll give you a referral code to use when/if you sign up.
-David
[This message has been edited by LIH Prem (edited 07-19-2001).]
[This message has been edited by LIH Prem (edited 07-19-2001).]
Answer
I guess I should also say that you have to balance the annual fee on these cards against the benefits (in miles, points, or other tangible benefits). There's tons of threads on the value of an ff mile, but if it costs you less than 1 cent per mile to earn them you are doing good. For a real traveler, or somebody that just uses the cards for lots of charges around town, you can do much better than that.
I'm also assuming you pay off the balances each month. Most affinity cards have very high interest charges. If you don't pay them off every month, there are better ways to go.
-David
Answer
I would just keep both of them and charge till I drop. And then when you find a real good deal, ditch the worst one outta your collection and get more miles!
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Al