# Best credit card to pay MFs?



## ejolsen82 (Jun 5, 2013)

My wife and I are brand new to timeshares.  What is the best credit card to use to pay the MFs (and or use when traveling) to earn points/miles (Wyndham, RCI, Venture?...)  We have excellent credit, so we qualify for pretty much anything.  (Thanks in advance!)


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## Ron2 (Jun 6, 2013)

We use a Capital One Venture Card which gives us 2% on all purchases including our maintenance fees. It has a $59 annual fee but the higher percent cash back for travel and gift card items makes it a better deal than their no annual fee card which only gives you 1.25%.  As I’m sure you know most cards only give you 1% on purchases. The Wyndham Rewards Card is fine when used at Wyndham affiliated hotels but the conversion of those points to actual cash is not as good as the Venture Card.


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## Free2Roam (Jun 6, 2013)

And as an added bonus, Capitol One doesn't charge foreign transaction fees.


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## artringwald (Jun 6, 2013)

We pay with Fidelity American Express. It's free, it's a 2% rebate with no minimum purchase, and rebates are automatically deposited into our Fidelity account. :whoopie:


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## 55plus (Jun 6, 2013)

We use a GM Master Card where we get 5% back on everything we purchase applied towards a new GM vehicle, with terms and conditions of course. We have the Wyndham Visa credit card, but we don't use it.


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## AJFLo (Jun 6, 2013)

For traveling and flying I recommend the SPG American Express.  Huge sign up bonus and the ability to convert points to multiple airlines 1:1.  Plus when you transfer 20,000 points to airline miles you get a 25% bonus.


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## x3 skier (Jun 6, 2013)

Depends on which you prefer, miles/points or cash back.

I actually get both by using a miles card via eBates. Get miles from the card(s) and cash from eBates. But that wouldn't work for MF. 

Cheers


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## Timeshare Von (Jun 9, 2013)

We have and use several, based on the rewards offered that meet our various goals.

We just got the Delta AmExp cards (one each for DH and me) due to the 40k sign-on bonus after a $1,000 spend in the first 90 days.  We will use those miles to book our 2014 tickets to Alaska.  The card carries an annual fee so we'll dump at least one of them before the first fee is accessed in April 2014.

Earlier this year, I got the Amtrak CITI Master Card, again due to the nice bonus offer and double points for Amtrak purchases.  (I was getting ready to make a $1,000 purchase so it was worthwhile.)  Recently Sam's Club started accepting M/C so we will continue to use this card, but only at Sam's for the 2:1 points.  No annual fee so we'll keep this one.

Our primary card(s) are issued from Capital One.  We have a business Spark Visa which sees limited use . . . no annual fee.

We also got a M/C World Card (no annual fee) for the express purpose of having our insurance coverage for the rental car in Ireland last year.  It may become expendable, however, since the Amtrak M/C is also a World Card.  I'll need to research if CITI Bank still provides the insurance coverage in places like the UK, Ireland, etc.

The card that ordinarily gets the bulk of our spending is the Capital One Venture Visa that provides us with 2:1 including "travel erase".  Essentially, we use the accrued points to literally erase (pay for) travel expenses charged to the card.  Our typical spending on the card provides enough "erase" to cover our monthly MF on our Wyndham account ($57).  There is a fee for this card but it is minimal (I think $59) and we get far more value due to the 2:1 deal.

Beyond these that are currently "in my wallet" . . . we have also had the occasion to churn the following cards:

American Airlines CITI Visa.  We got two cards (one personal and one in our business name).  With bonuses and our normal spending for about 6 months, we earned enough miles on AA for three of us to fly coach from the USA to Ireland last year.  Canceled the cards after the trip even though there was no annual fee.

British Airways Visa (not even sure what bank was involved).  HUGE bonus (50k/account) with this card, also opened accounts in both personal & business names.    We racked up enough miles for me to fly to Kenya in 2011 in World Traveler Plus (enhanced coach) to Kenya via London . . . and first class home (same route) . . . for just $2,000.  The purchase price of the ticket would have been nearly $10,000!

Soooooo . . . a very long winded response with hopefully some examples of how you can use the credit card offers to your benefit.  I am not particularly loyal to any, and will alter my use of cards based on a more long-range objective (like our 2014 trip to Alaska).

Some may comment about the impact of "churning credit cards" on your credit rating.  I would say that if you have good credit, you will not see any impact at all.  The key for us has been to always pay off the balances every month and not carry over any credit card debt month-to-month.

The folks on FlyerTalk.com frequently share tips and offers.  You may want to check them out.

p.s.  One card on my radar currently is the CITI Bank Sapphire Card with their 40k bonus. This one is of particular interest to me and I will consider it when I get closer to having a major purchase due to the higher spending requirement for the bonus.  The 40k points are transferable to a number of other mileage/points programs, including Amtrak, at even 1:1.  The 40k points on Amtrak will be a nice boost and get me over the hump for a long distance train trip, in a sleeper for two, round-trip.  I have such a trip in mind, but it will take some time to put it together.


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## bjones9942 (Jun 9, 2013)

Yvonne - the Sapphire card is from Chase.  The Sapphire Preferred card is the one you want.


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## Timeshare Von (Jun 9, 2013)

bjones9942 said:


> Yvonne - the Sapphire card is from Chase.  The Sapphire Preferred card is the one you want.



OOPS - right!  Sorry . . . and thanks for the correction.


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## ampaholic (Jun 10, 2013)

We use the Alaska Airlines Signature card from BofA because every year we get a companion fare for just $99 and we can use the miles for first class upgrades.

I like first class but I'm cheap. DW just likes first class


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## benyu2010 (Jun 10, 2013)

morrisjim said:


> We use a GM Master Card where we get 5% back on everything we purchase applied towards a new GM vehicle, with terms and conditions of course. We have the Wyndham Visa credit card, but we don't use it.



Is there a cap?


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## Ron2 (Jun 10, 2013)

benyu2010 said:


> Is there a cap?



The Cap is not on how much you can earn but rather on how much you can apply toward the purchase or lease of a GM vehicle. For most vehicles the cap is $1000 or $1500. More expensive vehicles have the higher cap. If you buy or lease GM vehicles as we do, then you can’t beat the GM Card. We have used or GM Card dollars on 9 vehicles over the years and saved thousands of dollars. I typically run our earnings up to around $1200 and then put the card away until I’m ready to redeem the dollars. Often GM will try to entice me to buy or lease by rounding up the earnings to $1500 or $2000 which I have occasionally taken advantage of. Redemption of the earnings usually covers the down payment. If you have maintenance fees like we do, it doesn’t take long to accumulate a fair amount of cash through the GM Card 5% earnings.


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## Saintsfanfl (Jun 10, 2013)

I use the Amex Business Costco card for gas purchases; 4% on up to $7,000 on all gas purchases. I use the Marriott Visa for all Marriott maintenance fees and resort spending; 5 points per dollar on all Marriott expenses in additional to the normal 10 points + tier bonus per hotel and resort spending. Most of my cards, including both of those, are 2% on all restaurants and travel. I have another card that is 2% on everything but has a cap.


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## Phill12 (Jun 10, 2013)

ejolsen82 said:


> My wife and I are brand new to timeshares.  What is the best credit card to use to pay the MFs (and or use when traveling) to earn points/miles (Wyndham, RCI, Venture?...)  We have excellent credit, so we qualify for pretty much anything.  (Thanks in advance!)



Buying your timeshare or paying your fee's never a good thing if you need to use a credit to do it. This is how so many owners start hating their timeshare because they are always making payments.

 I always tell people if your not paying cash then maybe a timeshare not good idea for your family.  

PHILL12


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## Free2Roam (Jun 10, 2013)

Phill12 said:


> Buying your timeshare or paying your fee's never a good thing if you need to use a credit to do it. This is how so many owners start hating their timeshare because they are always making payments.
> 
> I always tell people if your not paying cash then maybe a timeshare not good idea for your family.
> 
> PHILL12


Unless you pay it off each month. A great way to earn rewards points. I pay anything I can using my rewards cards... Not out of need, probably more like greed!


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## Saintsfanfl (Jun 10, 2013)

Phill12 said:


> Buying your timeshare or paying your fee's never a good thing if you need to use a credit to do it. This is how so many owners start hating their timeshare because they are always making payments.
> 
> I always tell people if your not paying cash then maybe a timeshare not good idea for your family.
> 
> PHILL12



I agree in basic principle but strongly disagree in this case. I receive 5 points per dollar when I use my Marriott card to pay my Marriott maintenance fees. That is over 20,000 reward points just by paying the annual fees that I have to pay anyway. Then I receive a 30-60 float period interest free. At that point I pay the balance due in full. I receive 2% cash back on any non-Marriott maintenance fees. Again I pay the bill when due.

Your financial message is good for the undisciplined, but to pay cash for everything is throwing money away for the those that are maximizing float periods and cash back bonuses.


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## WalnutBaron (Jun 10, 2013)

If your timeshare is affiliated with one of the big hospitality companies that also has a dedicated card, use that one. For example, Starwood has a Starwood AmEx; Marriott has a Chase Visa Preferred; and Hilton has a Citi Visa Signature card. By using these cards to pay your MF's, you'll be able to double up on points earned.

With regard to not using credit to pay for timeshares or MF's, that rule applies only if you're actually using the credit. Paying off the full balance before the penurious credit card interest kicks in is, however, a great way to accrue perks, points, or money back.


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## Timeshare Von (Jun 10, 2013)

Phill12 said:


> Buying your timeshare or paying your fee's never a good thing if you need to use a credit to do it. This is how so many owners start hating their timeshare because they are always making payments.
> 
> I always tell people if your not paying cash then maybe a timeshare not good idea for your family.
> 
> PHILL12



Some people pay for EVERYTHING they can with credit cards in order to rack up the points/miles.  The key is to be sure to pay off the balances every month and never pay interest.


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## AJFLo (Jun 10, 2013)

Timeshare Von said:


> Some people pay for EVERYTHING they can with credit cards in order to rack up the points/miles.  The key is to be sure to pay off the balances every month and never pay interest.



Exactly!  If you're going to pay it anyways why not cash in on the bonus points or cash back


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## x3 skier (Jun 10, 2013)

AJFLo said:


> Exactly!  If you're going to pay it anyways why not cash in on the bonus points or cash back



I do both!

Cheers


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## rclark (Jun 10, 2013)

Most banks offer travel rewards cards; I'd suggest first asking your own bank's options in that area, then comparing it to some of the others that people have recommended in this thread. I have a travel VISA rewards card with a major North American bank and use it for everything...


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## lizap (Jun 11, 2013)

SPG AMEX is our favorite card as well.  Like the fact it can be used for Starwood hotels or airline miles, plus you get that bonus upon conversion...



x3 skier said:


> Depends on which you prefer, miles/points or cash back.
> 
> I actually get both by using a miles card via eBates. Get miles from the card(s) and cash from eBates. But that wouldn't work for MF.
> 
> Cheers


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