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credit card awards

Lloydwa1

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I have been a member of TUG for may years but have been away for some time.
Seems so much different to find my way around.
I'm sure the subject of value in credit card perks have been discussed many times.
I'm in the process of getting out of my small business and have used Bank of America Alaska cards for some time.
We mostly travel with Alaska Air but disappointed in having to pay for the use of the small business cards. Is there a most favored option on this subject?
Is it better to use a cash awards card over the Alaska, Bank of America FF card?
We have enjoyed using the free luggage perk and even taken advantage of the companion fare.
Thank you, Lloyd
 

Talent312

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
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HGVC & GTS
I recommend a visit to https://www.nerdwallet.com
There you can see a list of the better cards by category - rewards, cash-back & travel.
Click on the little round (?) by the rate listing for details. [Citi's 2x Cash-Back should be 2%.]

What I have:
Cash Rewards... CitiBank Double Cash Back
For Travel... Chase Sapphire Reserve (may switch to Preferred for lower fee).
For Hotels... American Express Hilton Honors
.
 

Sunshine10

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
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I've read articles on The Points Guy website that discuss different credit cards. In Canada, I like the Rewards Canada website for recommendations.
 

breezez

TUG Member
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Dover, FL
Resorts Owned
WorldMark 39K
Wyndham 406K
RCI Points 196K
Hyatt Pinon Pointe
Hyatt Coconut Plantation
I recommend Chase Sapphire Reserve or Prefered the points can be used with a multitude of Airlines and Hotels. You get 3 points for travel or 2 respectively.

One thing to keep in mind reward card points are like currency, the value of one is not equal to another when you see 2% cash back you have to compare that to another card that offers say 3 points that can be used at many airlines with average value of 1.7 cents per point. This makes chase Sapphire reserve value for travel, including MF on TS, on average worth 5.1% in points if used for airfare.

I use my chase Sapphire for everything except purchases that only get 1 point for them I use Amex SPG or Chase Hyatt Card. Points guy values each of these at over 2 cents per point.
 

GetawaysRus

TUG Review Crew
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Marriott Desert Springs Villas 2
Marriott Grand Chateau
This spreadsheet shows which of the flexible credit card points programs transfer to each airline program. Make sure you are on the tab titled "Convert bank points to airlines" along the bottom of the screen.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1M8qx5Y2OTr44R8T0smSEgy3Zsy6E7MMQdtg0hxTzoWU/edit#gid=0

So your preferred airline is Alaska. According to the spreadsheet, only Diner's Club and Starwood points transfer to Alaska Airlines. I don't think Diner's Club is available for new sign-ups. If you want to earn points that could go directly to Alaska, your choice would be either to retain an Alaska credit card (which has an annual fee) or get a Starwood credit card (which has an annual fee). (I haven't verified that the spreadsheet is correct. If you plan to use Starwood points, you'd want to verify that Alaska is a partner.)

Both the Alaska credit card (from B of A) and the Starwood credit card (from American Express) come as personal and business credit cards. AmEx only allows one sign-up bonus per person in their lifetime. But with B of A, you can often get the sign-up bonus over and over by canceling and then later reopening a credit card account. If you don't have a personal Alaska credit card now, try making a booking on the Alaska Air website. Before completing the booking, see if an offer comes up for an Alaska credit card with a 30,000 mile sign-up bonus, $0 companion certificate for the first year (plus taxes), and $100 statement credit (which essentially negates the annual fee). You and your partner can both do this.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred (mentioned above) has no annual fee in the first year. However, those points cannot be transferred directly to Alaska Air. Instead, you'd have to use them like cash and make your booking through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel agency. It's up to you to decide which is more beneficial, earning Alaska miles directly using an Alaska credit card OR transferring Starwood points to Alaska OR using Chase Ultimate Reward points to make an Alaska reservation.

One more caveat: when transferring Starwood points to airline programs, usually you would transfer 20,000 SPG points and get 25,000 airline miles. So that's a small boost.

By the way, if you run a business, might the annual fee on your business credit card be a business tax deduction? Hmm....
 

WalnutBaron

TUG Review Crew: Expert
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Hyatt Highlands Inn, Hyatt Pinon Pointe
I recommend Chase Sapphire Reserve or Prefered the points can be used with a multitude of Airlines and Hotels. You get 3 points for travel or 2 respectively.

One thing to keep in mind reward card points are like currency, the value of one is not equal to another when you see 2% cash back you have to compare that to another card that offers say 3 points that can be used at many airlines with average value of 1.7 cents per point. This makes chase Sapphire reserve value for travel, including MF on TS, on average worth 5.1% in points if used for airfare.

I use my chase Sapphire for everything except purchases that only get 1 point for them I use Amex SPG or Chase Hyatt Card. Points guy values each of these at over 2 cents per point.
I'll second the motion on the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. Don't let the $450/year charge discourage you. You get a $300/year travel credit, effectively taking the fee down to $150/year. From there, additional perks like free airport lounge membership and full reimbursement of your TSA Precheck application bring the cost down further.

One other important feature which breezez did not mention: when you book travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards website, you get an automatic 20% discount as compared to paying cash on another site. You have complete flexibility to choose your airline, hotels, rental cars, and even cruises through the CUR site.

Chase Sapphire Reserve is a fantastic option with outstanding perks.
 

mdurette

Sighting Expert & TUG Review Crew: Expert
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I too have switched over the bulk of our credit card usage to Chase Sapphire Reserve. We try to be loyal to Southwest and Marriott - Chase offers 1 to 1 transfers and when we need to swap airlines...then we have the UR points to book.

That $450 annual fee is nothing. $300 back in travel, easy. First year we took advantage of Global Entry paid for by them, that was another $100. travel insurance, car insurance, lounge access, etc, etc, etc all great perks to have.
 

PStreet1

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Chase Sapphire Reserve also gives you travel insurance if any part of the trip is paid for with the card--we haven't purchased cruise insurance since we got the card, and that alone has saved us money quite a bit beyond the cost of the card.
 

Sandy VDH

TUG Review Crew: Elite
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Wynd VIP Plat GF, HGVC Elite, WM, HICV, +
This is my go to card for nearly all purchases. Any Amazon purchases go to my Amazon Prime card which gets 5% cash back.
 

rboesl

TUG Review Crew: Expert
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Divi Village Beach & Golf Resort
Vidanta Grand Mayan
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The latest edition of Consumer Reports has an article on credit cards and rewards. It has some interesting strategies based on your current situation (retired, single, business owner, etc.). Might be worth checking it out.
 
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