couldn't find anything on this here and started looking into this today after talking to one of my managers. What are the best rewards programs? what does your card do for you? My main card is amex gold which doesn't really do shit. I have a ton of points but nothing is really worth buying as everything cost so damn much. i get first chance at buying concert tickets before its released to the public but i take advantage of that like once a year. If i can't use my amex then it goes on my visa which doesn't do shit either. With the little bit of research the city thank you preferred card visa/mastercard sounds good
the one you don't use.... I have had good experience and rewards with Chase Freedom and Preferred Something. Nice signup bonuses right now. I use an Amazon card for Amazon purchases 3% back. No personal experience, but I hear the Starwoods Amex Cards are good along with the Fidelity Rewards Amex..2% to your investment/retirement account. I like to use my chase points for cash back in my account.
If you travel A LOT - Amex platinum. Expensive but if you use all the perks it's a bargain. Really, it comes down to what you want. I really like my Chase since it gives me airline miles. There are some great cards out there, you just need to figure out what you want your card to do.
Chase Slate had some good double and triple rewards stuff when I signed up. plus 0% one year for balance transfer. Every year, I put all of my debt on one of those 0% balance transfer cards and pay it all off in twelve equal payments. I use a different card for any credit charges for that year, then do the same with that card after a year. There are a lot less of those 0% transfer cards being offered now, but when I get one in the mail I save it. When I went to buy a new car in August, the F&I guy said I had one of the highest credit scores he had ever seen. Go figure.
This AMEX Gold is my primary card and a United Mileage Chase Visa is my backup since I fly primarily United. I also have an AA MasterCard but since I never fly with them I never use it.
Damn, that site sure does know pretty much everything about you! Kinda bummed that my credit score was only 770 WTF no 827 score for me. As to cards, Amex gold, and United Mileage plus work for me, United and US Airways Rack up miles really quick, plus you get premier access to first class check in and TSA, and a few other perks.
Amex blue cash is great. Last two years I racked up about $3000 in cash back and paid $0 interest. Now I have a PenFed Visa, which is even better than the Amex blue cash.
I've been using Discover for several years that pays a 1% cash return on everything all the time plus every three months there are special returns up to 10% or so for specific vendors.
www.milenerd.com He ranks the top 25 rewards cards: Ink Bold and/or Ink Plus (Chase) Yes, United's devaluation sucks but these are the best sign-up bonuses for now. Spend $5,000 in 3 months. Get 50,000 points. The points transfer to United, Southwest, British, Hyatt, etc. 5 times the points on purchases at office stores. Sapphire (Chase) Spend $3,000 in 3 months. Get 40,000 points. Still very valuable points. See Ink cards above. My personal favorite card to use when I don't have any spends to meet. American Airlines cards (Citibank) Spend $3,000 in 3 months. Get 50,000 miles. Read the Flyertalk wiki post for the latest updates. There's also a 60,000 mile card, but the spend is crazy. US Airways (Barclays) Spend $1. Get 35,000 miles. This is the time to grab your American and US Airways miles. Southwest (Chase) Spend $2,000 in 3 months. Get 50,000 points. It's a great time to start the Companion Pass process. Starwood Preferred Guest (American Express) Spend $5,000 in 6 months. Get 25,000 points. Incredible card. I love cash + points for hotel stays. Marriott (Chase) Spend $1,000 in 3 months. Get 70,000 points and a free night. This one is freshly back working again. Hilton Honors Reserve (Citibank) Spend $2,500 in 4 months. Get 2 weekend nights. Best Hilton card. Gold status as long as you have the card. Upgrades, breakfast, internet, etc. British Airways (Chase) Spend $2,000 in 3 months. Get 50,000 points. Big spenders can earn 100,000 points. Club Carlson Premier (US Bank) Spend $2,500 in 90 days. Get 85,000 points. Great hotel card and not from the usual issuers. Priority Club aka InterContinental (Chase) Spend $1,000. Get 80,000 points. One of the most underrated hotel cards out there. Hyatt (Chase) Spend $1,000 in 3 months. Get 2 nights at any Hyatt. Annual fee now waived, but Platinum status is gone. Even more valuable after the recent devaluation. Fairmont Hotel (Chase) Spend $1,000 in 3 months. Get 2 nights and breakfast at any Fairmont. Again, some of these hotels are very expensive. Alaska Airlines (Bank of America) Spend $1. Get 30,000 miles. HUGE 50,000 mile targeted offer might work for you here. Bank of America cards can be more "churnable" than most. Barclay Arrival (Barclays) Spend $1,000 in 3 months. Get 40,000 miles. One of the best cards for actual spending, as discussed here. Mercedes Benz Platinum (American Express) Spend $3,000 in 3 months. Get 50,000 Amex Membership Rewards points. Giant $475 fee but benefits like global entry credit and $200 airline fee credit. A no-fee Platinum card without the big bonus is here. United Airlines (Chase) See if you are targeted for the 50,000-mile offer here. Business version is here. If not, go to your local Chase bank for the best offer. Good post here. Lufthansa (Barclays) Spend $5,000 in 3 months. Get 50,000 miles. This offer ends this week. Virgin Atlantic (Bank of America) 50,000 miles for spending $2,500 and adding users. Again, Bank of America is more churnable than most. AirTran (Chase) Spend $2,000 in 3 months. Get 32 AirTran credits. Works well hand-in-hand with Southwest points for domestic travel. FlexPerks (US Bank) Spend $3,500. Get 20,000 FlexPoints. Thanks to Christopher F. for getting me to add this card to the list. Frontier Airlines (Barclays) Spend $500 in 3 months. Get 40,000 miles. Frontier miles aren't for everyone. Thank You (Citibank) Weird offer. 20,000 points for spending $2,000 in 3 months. Then 30,000 more points for spending $3,000 in first 3 months of 2nd year. Bonuses on this card go up/down often. Ritz Carlton (Chase) Spend $2,000 in 3 months. Get a free night. Huge $395 annual fee, but nice benefits including $200 airline credit. 2 MUCH better possible offers here. One with no fee and the other for 140,000 points. Delta (American Express) See if you're targeted for a 50,000 mile offer. Delta Skymiles are weak. Hilton Honors (American Express) Spend $750 in 3 months. Get 40,000 points. Hilton points are definitely on the downswing. Hilton Honors Surpass (American Express) Spend $3,000 in 3 months. Get 60,000 points. Get the previous card, and you'll get tons of offers to upgrade to this one. Hilton Honors (Citibank) Between the 4 cards, you have LOTS of Hilton options. Hilton points don't go as far as other hotel points, but they're easy to earn. LAN (US Bank) 20,000 miles for opening. Down from a 40,000 mile offer. Wyndham (Barclays) Spend $1,000 in 3 months. Get 45,000 miles. Recently increased offer. Choice Hotel (Barclays) You're truly running out of cards if you're still reading this far.
Dumb question: How do the miles work? Do you literally get to fly 50,000 miles for free if you have 50,000 miles saved up.
both my cards give cash back. i don't want no miles, or chia-pet gift stuff.. gimmie cash. Every few months i call them up and get a check sent out. One is a personal card (Ameriprise), other is my business card (bank of america business.. even though i don't bank with them, this one gets used A LOT). Well, 3rd is another business card but we just buy injector supplies, shop towels, etc. on it.
Anything over a 760 is in the excellent category. A 760 gets the same treatment as a perfect 850. Don't sweat the gap. An "A" is an "A" and an "F" is an "F" no matter where it falls on the scale
