Best credit card for Interval fees?

[iftravel]

I am using Wells Fargo Autograph Journey for 3x. Any better choice?

 

[CericRushmore]

Technically, probably Chase Sapphire Reserve is the easiest (which has a $550 AF) which should give 3x points on Travel and then transfer to Hyatt or United (for business class seats). If you are just cashing out though, then your card it as good as it gets. Your card does have a $95 AF with only a $50 airline credit, so you also need to take that into account.

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frequentmiler.com

Sort of hard to give a firm answer since it depends on how much you use a CC's benefits and what other spend you would put on the card, if any.

 

[andre10056]

So you're saying you get 3 points for every Interval dollar spent? Is that JUST Interval expenses or all travel expenses?

I've never heard of a card tied to Interval in that manner. I and I think most people don't spend that much on strictly Interval fees to make such a card worthwhile.

If it's all travel expenses, on the other hand, and they somehow know that "Interval International" is a travel-related expense, that's pretty good. Assuming those points get you something good.

Just to make mention of other cards that might be good travel cards in general, the Chase World of Hyatt card gives you 4 World of Hyatt points for every Hyatt dollar spent. Also, 2 points for "local travel" and 2 points for airline travel. And 2 points for a few other categories but one point for everything else (the vast majority of monthly purchases). Good if you use Hyatt more than a little bit.

As to the latter, I paid a $2000 plus Hyatt maintenance fee and got only the 1 point per dollar spent. But then I fought like heck (which means I talked to person after person and finally got to a senior supervisor) and finally got the other 3 points per dollar added to my account two months later (!!!). So I got one free night at a Hyatt hotel (a $200 to $400 value) for paying my maintenance fee.

I've got a credit card offer which will give me 80,000 American Airlines travel miles if I use the card to charge $4000 during the first four months. I haven't looked into the precise details of the offer but that sounds pretty good to me as well.

But points for just Interval? Never heard of it.

 

[iftravel]

So you're saying you get 3 points for every Interval dollar spent? Is that JUST Interval expenses or all travel expenses?

I've never heard of a card tied to Interval in that manner. I and I think most people don't spend that much on strictly Interval fees to make such a card worthwhile.

If it's all travel expenses, on the other hand, and they somehow know that "Interval International" is a travel-related expense, that's pretty good. Assuming those points get you something good.

Just to make mention of other cards that might be good travel cards in general, the Chase World of Hyatt card gives you 4 World of Hyatt points for every Hyatt dollar spent. Also, 2 points for "local travel" and 2 points for airline travel. And 2 points for a few other categories but one point for everything else (the vast majority of monthly purchases). Good if you use Hyatt more than a little bit.

As to the latter, I paid a $2000 plus Hyatt maintenance fee and got only the 1 point per dollar spent. But then I fought like heck (which means I talked to person after person and finally got to a senior supervisor) and finally got the other 3 points per dollar added to my account two months later (!!!). So I got one free night at a Hyatt hotel (a $200 to $300 value) for paying my maintenance fee.

I've got a credit card offer which will give me 80,000 American Airlines travel miles if I use the card to charge $4000 during the first four months. I haven't looked into the precise details of the offer but that sounds pretty good to me as well.

But points for just Interval? Never heard of it.

There is an Interval co-branded credit card but only offers 3x, not worth it. Many cards can do 3x on travel including Interval expenses, just hoping better.

 

[dioxide45]

I'm not sure it would make sense to get another card just for II fees. I suspect there may be better cards for travel spend in general though. II does have its own branded credit card, though I wouldn't bother with it as you can do just as good, or better, with the card you are currently holding or the multitude of other cards out there.

 

[CericRushmore]

There is an Interval co-branded credit card but only offers 3x, not worth it. Many cards can do 3x on travel including Interval expenses, just hoping better.

If you look into that link above, you can see some other options. BOA customized rewards can do 5.25% cash back if you have BOA Platinum Honors Preferred. The trick with this is to see how many hoops you are going to jump through to get an incremental difference and/or pay the AF.

How much are you actually putting on Travel a year. Even at $10,000, a 2% difference is just $200 more. Personally, I'd rather just get a new credit card signup bonus each year as that would be easier.

 

[iftravel]

If you look into that link above, you can see some other options. BOA customized rewards can do 5.25% cash back if you have BOA Platinum Honors Preferred. The trick with this is to see how many hoops you are going to jump through to get an incremental difference and/or pay the AF.

How much are you actually putting on Travel a year. Even at $10,000, a 2% difference is just $200 more. Personally, I'd rather just get a new credit card signup bonus each year as that would be easier.

Yeah but why not do both! It's just "set and forget" and won't take more than 5 mins.

 

[dioxide45]

Yeah but why not do both! It's just "set and forget" and won't take more than 5 mins.

I've found the whole strategy behind credit cards and the different hotel and airline programs can become another full time job. Understanding which card to use for a spending category when standing in line at the store or switch to this other card for a few months because they offer 5% cash back is daunting. Then you have to track certain spending each month or quarter so you can get certain credits for spending in certain categories. There are even entire blogs and YouTube channels setup to help people navigate the maze of offerings. I don't know that the extra 5%-10% in points or cash back is worth the effort for me. It's great that people are able and willing to squeeze every extra mile from these programs but I don't think it is necessarily "set and forget".

 

[Huskerpaul]

For me the most lucrative answer to the question "what card should I use" is almost always "the card I'm earning a sign up bonus on". Makes the decisions around card usuage easy. In the end I treat it like a game, where "winning" means getting things I would not otherwise pay cash for - like RT business class seats to London last summer.