What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
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Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
I'm finishing a Citi Premier bonus and won't have much use for it after that. Does anyone know if I can convert that to a Citi Costco Visa? I believe there is a slight benefit for your credit report and possibly when trying to get new bonuses converting rather than closing/opening. But I am not sure.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
You should be able to convert it as Citi is pretty flexible in product conversions. That said make sure you have an exit plan for your TYP before you do the conversion else you will lose them. There is a small chance the CC number changes and that might reset the clock on getting another TYP bonus as Citi terms looks at both when you opened and when you closed a card. A product conversion generally doesn't count as a closure but can if the converted card as a new number. This might not be a big deal anyway since it sounds like you are just finishing up you SUB spend anyway.michaeljc70 wrote: ↑Sun Nov 06, 2022 11:50 am I'm finishing a Citi Premier bonus and won't have much use for it after that. Does anyone know if I can convert that to a Citi Costco Visa? I believe there is a slight benefit for your credit report and possibly when trying to get new bonuses converting rather than closing/opening. But I am not sure.
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Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Isn’t it 100% certain that the number will change, given that the Premier card is a MC and the Costco card a Visa?
Also, according to https://awardwallet.com/blog/citi-product-change-rules/ the account has to be open for at least 12 months to be eligible for product change. No personal experience with that.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Just got a notice that my Sam’s Club Mastercard will pay a $50 bonus if you spend $1000 from now thru Dec 6th outside of Sam’s Club. That’s 5%. And that appears to be on top of the normal rebate. I don't remember what that is except I know it's 5% on gasoline (which is mainly what I use the card for).
Last edited by Leesbro63 on Mon Nov 07, 2022 3:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Q for the group:
My 23 y.o. daughter just started her full time, post-college job this summer and is making good money (West Coast big tech). She should have a good credit score. I think the card she's currently using is a college holdover - probably no/minimal rewards. In the mail today, she got a Cap One Quicksilver offer.
I like QS - it's my primary - 1.5% cashback on ~everything, minimal hassle. It's probably a good idea for her to get one too. I think the offer in the mail does not have any special rewards/rebate/sign-up attached to it. Should she wait for an offer that has that, or is there a way to consciously apply for that with QS?
Also, my 21 y.o. son will graduate and start his full time job in ~2 months. I'd like to guide him to a good CC, too.
My 23 y.o. daughter just started her full time, post-college job this summer and is making good money (West Coast big tech). She should have a good credit score. I think the card she's currently using is a college holdover - probably no/minimal rewards. In the mail today, she got a Cap One Quicksilver offer.
I like QS - it's my primary - 1.5% cashback on ~everything, minimal hassle. It's probably a good idea for her to get one too. I think the offer in the mail does not have any special rewards/rebate/sign-up attached to it. Should she wait for an offer that has that, or is there a way to consciously apply for that with QS?
Also, my 21 y.o. son will graduate and start his full time job in ~2 months. I'd like to guide him to a good CC, too.
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Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
My 23 year old recent college grad has the Wells Fargo Active Cash. It is 2% cash back on everything, no fee, and it gives a $200 bonus if you spend $1000 in 3 months. You don't need to get a targeted offer to get the bonus, just go to a Wells Fargo website, or google Wells Fargo Active Cash.psteinx wrote: ↑Mon Nov 07, 2022 2:26 pm Q for the group:
My 23 y.o. daughter just started her full time, post-college job this summer and is making good money (West Coast big tech). She should have a good credit score. I think the card she's currently using is a college holdover - probably no/minimal rewards. In the mail today, she got a Cap One Quicksilver offer.
I like QS - it's my primary - 1.5% cashback on ~everything, minimal hassle. It's probably a good idea for her to get one too. I think the offer in the mail does not have any special rewards/rebate/sign-up attached to it. Should she wait for an offer that has that, or is there a way to consciously apply for that with QS?
Also, my 21 y.o. son will graduate and start his full time job in ~2 months. I'd like to guide him to a good CC, too.
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Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
I agree that it's probably simplest if she got a flat 2% CB card. I would look for a signup bonus (user above said WF Active Cash currently has one).psteinx wrote: ↑Mon Nov 07, 2022 2:26 pm Q for the group:
My 23 y.o. daughter just started her full time, post-college job this summer and is making good money (West Coast big tech). She should have a good credit score. I think the card she's currently using is a college holdover - probably no/minimal rewards. In the mail today, she got a Cap One Quicksilver offer.
I like QS - it's my primary - 1.5% cashback on ~everything, minimal hassle. It's probably a good idea for her to get one too. I think the offer in the mail does not have any special rewards/rebate/sign-up attached to it. Should she wait for an offer that has that, or is there a way to consciously apply for that with QS?
Also, my 21 y.o. son will graduate and start his full time job in ~2 months. I'd like to guide him to a good CC, too.
If she decides to go with QS, apply through the Cap1 website link that shows $200 bonus on $500 spend in first 3 months.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
She'll get a Chase Sapphire Reserve soon enough.
A useful razor: anyone asking about speculative strategies on Bogleheads.org has no business using them.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
You should be able to PC to a Costco Visa. That's what I did with my Double Cash (itself PCed from an AAdvantage). As TravelGeek noted, you'll probably need to wait until the anniversary to change without risking a bonus clawback, although Citi's IT is so bad that they might not even notice.michaeljc70 wrote: ↑Sun Nov 06, 2022 11:50 am I'm finishing a Citi Premier bonus and won't have much use for it after that. Does anyone know if I can convert that to a Citi Costco Visa? I believe there is a slight benefit for your credit report and possibly when trying to get new bonuses converting rather than closing/opening. But I am not sure.
Assuming you have seasoned credit, closing this account should have minimal impact to your score. If you plan to get another City TYP-earning card, though, mind the 24-month rule noted above.
A useful razor: anyone asking about speculative strategies on Bogleheads.org has no business using them.
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Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
While not necessarily the most efficient, I thought I would chime in.
American Express Business Platinum
To purchase airplane tickets, as it offers a 35% airline bonus when using Membership Rewards points. The airline fee credit, CLEAR, Global Entry, and lounge access are nice.
Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express
The annual Companion Certificate
American Express Green Card
To accumulate points and for many travel related expenses
Costco Citi Card
For gas and costco purchases
Chase Freedom Card
For the rotating cash back categories
SOFI credit card
2% cash back and no foreign transaction fees
Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards
For online purchases
American Express Business Platinum
To purchase airplane tickets, as it offers a 35% airline bonus when using Membership Rewards points. The airline fee credit, CLEAR, Global Entry, and lounge access are nice.
Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express
The annual Companion Certificate
American Express Green Card
To accumulate points and for many travel related expenses
Costco Citi Card
For gas and costco purchases
Chase Freedom Card
For the rotating cash back categories
SOFI credit card
2% cash back and no foreign transaction fees
Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards
For online purchases
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Good points I forgot the Costco card was a Visa as all my Citi cards including those I have converted are Mastercards.TravelGeek wrote: ↑Mon Nov 07, 2022 9:13 amIsn’t it 100% certain that the number will change, given that the Premier card is a MC and the Costco card a Visa?
Also, according to https://awardwallet.com/blog/citi-product-change-rules/ the account has to be open for at least 12 months to be eligible for product change. No personal experience with that.
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Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
A good thing for her to learn is to never open a new card without some kind of new account bonus, and to shop around for the best one for her needs. That doesn't mean she should get into churning but there's no reason not to benefit somehow if opening a new account.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
My apartment building uses an online system, in which I can specify whether I pay my rent out of my checking account or by credit card. The checking withdrawal has no penalties, but paying with a credit card comes with a small fee. I would not pay a fee for a regular credit card spending. But when I have a new card and need to spend a lot of money in a short period of time to earn the bonus, paying rent with it is an alternative.Kookaburra wrote: ↑Fri Nov 04, 2022 10:44 amHow do you use a credit card to pay rent? I would love to be able to do this. I have a private party landlord, so obviously I can’t just swipe a card or give him digits.VictoriaF wrote: ↑Mon Apr 13, 2020 9:07 pmI have just finished bonus spending on Chase United Business card. It was difficult to find $10k in natural spending and so I used it to pay estimated taxes and rent. I lost about $150 in fees but now I don't have to worry about completing spending or getting refunds that would put me below the minimum spend.
Travel bloggers write that Chase would extend the duration of your minimum spend if you ask them. But I did not try it.
Congratulations with getting an excellent card,
Victoria
Another way to meet bonus spending requirements is to pay estimated taxes with a new credit card. This, too, comes with a small fee, which could be justified. In many cases, I prefer to do bonus spend on estimated taxes rather than rent, because my rent is a fixed amount whereas estimated taxes could be as high as I need them to be. For example, I need to spend $5,000 on a new card to get bonus points/miles. I estimate that I can meet $3,500 of that amount in the time allowed with natural spending and have to find a way to spend the remaining $1,500. My rent is higher than $1,500, and if I pay rent with the card, I'll also pay some unnecessary fee. But I can pay my estimated taxes with a credit card for the exact $1,500 amount, and then pay additional estimated taxes with a checking withdrawal. I pay estimated taxes quarterly, and apply only for 1 to 3 new cards per year. And so there is always an estimated tax payment that I can use.
Victoria
Inventor of the Bogleheads Secret Handshake |
Winner of the 2015 Boglehead Contest. |
Every joke has a bit of a joke. ... The rest is the truth. (Marat F)
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
I've been using credit card bonuses for a long while now, usually for flying United and American Airlines. But I have never used my UA or AA points for flying foreign carriers. How does it work?THY4373 wrote: ↑Sun Oct 23, 2022 9:07 am In general you got to look at foreign carriers not the domestics. The Australia booking was on Etihad via Aeroplan. Some other booking I have done of late:
All are business class one way with cash comparison to half of lowest roundtrip ticket cost.
East Coast to CDG on AF via 70k AF points vs $1676 (half of a round trip ticket) or 2.39 cents.
...
In your example:
- Do I need to have an Air France account and points (miles), and look for flights on the AF site?
- Is it sufficient to have a Delta (or another SkyTeam) account and look for flights with shared codes?
- Do I need to have an AF account and transfer Chase UR points to AF before booking a flight on the AF site?
- Do I need to have an AF account and transfer some airline's miles or hotel's points to AF before booking a flight on the AF site?
This is a very basic question, and I am embarrassed asking it. Thank you,
Victoria
Inventor of the Bogleheads Secret Handshake |
Winner of the 2015 Boglehead Contest. |
Every joke has a bit of a joke. ... The rest is the truth. (Marat F)
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Flying Blue is the frequent flyer program for AF/KLM. Points can be transferred from Amex/Cit/Chase/Capone. There is also a domestic BOA Flying Blue mastercard which just had a nice signup bonus. Start looking as far ahead as possible because, sadly, they switched to dynamic pricing a few years ago.VictoriaF wrote: ↑Fri Nov 11, 2022 3:19 pmI've been using credit card bonuses for a long while now, usually for flying United and American Airlines. But I have never used my UA or AA points for flying foreign carriers. How does it work?THY4373 wrote: ↑Sun Oct 23, 2022 9:07 am In general you got to look at foreign carriers not the domestics. The Australia booking was on Etihad via Aeroplan. Some other booking I have done of late:
All are business class one way with cash comparison to half of lowest roundtrip ticket cost.
East Coast to CDG on AF via 70k AF points vs $1676 (half of a round trip ticket) or 2.39 cents.
...
In your example:
- Do I need to have an Air France account and points (miles), and look for flights on the AF site?
- Is it sufficient to have a Delta (or another SkyTeam) account and look for flights with shared codes?
- Do I need to have an AF account and transfer Chase UR points to AF before booking a flight on the AF site?
- Do I need to have an AF account and transfer some airline's miles or hotel's points to AF before booking a flight on the AF site?
This is a very basic question, and I am embarrassed asking it. Thank you,
Victoria
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Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
You can just book award flights on the UA or AA websites that are operated by their foreign partner carriers. You would not need a loyalty program membership with the foreign partner since you are not using their program. I think both UA and AA have filters on their award search where you can control which partners you want to include in the search. Note that for trips to Europe AA will likely show you a ton of BA options that come with expensive fuel surcharges (especially for business/first class).
You generally cannot transfer miles from one program to a partner program. (I think points.com does support that in some cases, but it gives you a very poor value)
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Amex Charge Cards - Membership Rewards?
[Thread merged into here --admin LadyGeek]
Have people found good value in Membership Rewards points? I got rid of my Platinum card right before covid when airport lounges started getting overcrowded. Looking at our year to date spend, we spend a lot on food and travel (both groceries and eating out). The Green and Gold cards seem like a good fit, but I'm curious what value people find in MR points? We typically fly out of EWR which is a United hub.
Have people found good value in Membership Rewards points? I got rid of my Platinum card right before covid when airport lounges started getting overcrowded. Looking at our year to date spend, we spend a lot on food and travel (both groceries and eating out). The Green and Gold cards seem like a good fit, but I'm curious what value people find in MR points? We typically fly out of EWR which is a United hub.
Re: Amex Charge Cards - Membership Rewards?
I would switch to Chase Ultimate Rewards in that case.
A useful razor: anyone asking about speculative strategies on Bogleheads.org has no business using them.
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Re: Amex Charge Cards - Membership Rewards?
If you are going to use them for travel, pick a card which partners well with your travel mode. I like MR for cash and Amex has been giving out MR like candy the last two or three years. Same for Chase UR but I'm having trouble giving up Amex.
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Re: Amex Charge Cards - Membership Rewards?
How do you use them for Cash?
Re: Amex Charge Cards - Membership Rewards?
Combination of Amex Blue Business Plus card which earns 2 MR per dollar spent. And Schwab Amex Platinum which redeems 1 MR to 1.1 cents. Combined this is effectively a 2.2% Cash back redemption, if you can justify the Platinum annual fee with the other benefits.
Re: Amex Charge Cards - Membership Rewards?
Apparently you can also convert MR to cash at 1c/point with an Amex business checking account. There's a cap of 1 million points ($10K/year) at this rate.BH13 wrote: ↑Fri Nov 11, 2022 6:52 pmCombination of Amex Blue Business Plus card which earns 2 MR per dollar spent. And Schwab Amex Platinum which redeems 1 MR to 1.1 cents. Combined this is effectively a 2.2% Cash back redemption, if you can justify the Platinum annual fee with the other benefits.
Source: https://dannydealguru.com/amex-business ... p-rewards/
Re: Amex Charge Cards - Membership Rewards?
This hasn't changed since a few weeks ago:
NYCaviator wrote: ↑Sat Oct 22, 2022 11:53 am1.1 cpp on Amex plat isn’t great through when there’s a ton of 1.5 a 2% cards? The only “bonus category” on the platinum is for airfare. When you calculate in the annual fee, that’s not a very good return. Unless you’re getting a lot of good benefits otherwise?
A useful razor: anyone asking about speculative strategies on Bogleheads.org has no business using them.
- AnnetteLouisan
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Re: Amex Charge Cards - Membership Rewards?
I’ve had Amex for 30 years and never signed up for membership rewards. I could have been a millionaire!….oh wait…
Re: Amex Charge Cards - Membership Rewards?
You can transfer MR to Star Alliance partners and fly UA metal out of EWR. Consider transferring to Avianca or Aeroplan.NYCaviator wrote: ↑Fri Nov 11, 2022 5:43 pm Have people found good value in Membership Rewards points? I got rid of my Platinum card right before covid when airport lounges started getting overcrowded. Looking at our year to date spend, we spend a lot on food and travel (both groceries and eating out). The Green and Gold cards seem like a good fit, but I'm curious what value people find in MR points? We typically fly out of EWR which is a United hub.
When considering whether you get value out of MR points (vs UR, TYP, C1 vs cash) you need to consider both the value of the points and the amount of points you can earn per $1 spent. AMEX MR are by far the easiest transferable currency to earn.
Personally, I have started to pare back my AMEX cards and am getting rid of all the cards with annual fees. I have too many points between AMEX, Chase, United, IHG, etc. and no opportunity to use them. I’ve switched to cashback strategies for the time being.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
I merged NYCaviator's thread into the ongoing discussion.
(Thanks to the member who reported the post and provided a link to this thread.)
(Thanks to the member who reported the post and provided a link to this thread.)
- ResearchMed
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Re: Amex Charge Cards - Membership Rewards?
NYCaviator wrote: ↑Fri Nov 11, 2022 5:43 pm [Thread merged into here --admin LadyGeek]
Have people found good value in Membership Rewards points? I got rid of my Platinum card right before covid when airport lounges started getting overcrowded. Looking at our year to date spend, we spend a lot on food and travel (both groceries and eating out). The Green and Gold cards seem like a good fit, but I'm curious what value people find in MR points? We typically fly out of EWR which is a United hub.
We use both Amex MR and AAdvantage (American Airlines) for awards. They each have a considerable network of airline partners, with not too much overlap. Between the two, we've thus far always been able to find a good international airline wherever we wanted to go, in business (or occasionally first) class.
It's made those long-haul flights, sometimes into the mid/high teens of hours actually pleasant, and we've gotten really good sleep.
The value of these tickets, if we had paid cash, would have been *much* more than the ~2 cents per point.
(And yes, if we couldn't get business class, we'd pay for it; that's happened only once thus far, when we had a sudden trip with almost no flexibility on dates.)
We've each gotten nice bonuses several times on cards in the AA network, in the 60k-100k point range. Amex bonuses aren't as easy to get.
We juggle our spending to keep nice balances in each account.
We also have never yet used any AAdvantage awards on American Airlines; it's always been on their nice internatuonal airline partners.
RM
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Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
https://www.nerdwallet.com/best/credit- ... it%20Cardspsteinx wrote: ↑Mon Nov 07, 2022 2:26 pm Q for the group:
My 23 y.o. daughter just started her full time, post-college job this summer and is making good money (West Coast big tech). She should have a good credit score. I think the card she's currently using is a college holdover - probably no/minimal rewards. In the mail today, she got a Cap One Quicksilver offer.
I like QS - it's my primary - 1.5% cashback on ~everything, minimal hassle. It's probably a good idea for her to get one too. I think the offer in the mail does not have any special rewards/rebate/sign-up attached to it. Should she wait for an offer that has that, or is there a way to consciously apply for that with QS?
Also, my 21 y.o. son will graduate and start his full time job in ~2 months. I'd like to guide him to a good CC, too.
Look at this list. I would pick one of these. Personally I like my wells Fargo 2% cash back one but I also have the quicksilver 1.5% cash back but only use them when they have good bonus offers
Re: Amex Charge Cards - Membership Rewards?
Re: Amex Charge Cards - Membership Rewards?
To clarify, I would switch to Chase UR because I can transfer them to United.
A useful razor: anyone asking about speculative strategies on Bogleheads.org has no business using them.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
That is correct if one is using UA or AA points. But booking with foreign carriers by transferring points to their programs can be very advantageous even to book on US carriers. Some of the advantages of considering alternative carriers to US big three:TravelGeek wrote: ↑Fri Nov 11, 2022 5:14 pmYou can just book award flights on the UA or AA websites that are operated by their foreign partner carriers. You would not need a loyalty program membership with the foreign partner since you are not using their program. I think both UA and AA have filters on their award search where you can control which partners you want to include in the search. Note that for trips to Europe AA will likely show you a ton of BA options that come with expensive fuel surcharges (especially for business/first class).
- Lower points requirements (compare what Delta wants for flights on Virgin Atlantic/AF/KLM to what the carriers themselves charge).
- Different routing rules and different methods of calculating ticket price than can save you a lot points
- Different calculations of taxes and surcharges
- Many airlines release more award inventory to their members than partners Virgin Atlantic and AF/KLM both do this
- Different non-alliance partners. For example both AC/Aeroplan and United are in Star Alliance but I can book Etihad with Aeroplan but not with United and similarly I can book Aer Lingus with United but not Aeroplan
Last edited by THY4373 on Sun Nov 13, 2022 9:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
I have the potential for a sizeable pet expense coming up in the next month or so. What cards would you recommend that give the biggest initial bonus? I usually put around $1000 a month on cards and expect the surgery could be $2000, so I’d imagine I would spend $5000 in three months, and could shift around things to get it all on one card.
I do travel a fair amount so points cards are ok. The point is just to maximize the intro bonus.
I do travel a fair amount so points cards are ok. The point is just to maximize the intro bonus.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
So as noted by others you can use UA and AA points to book certain foreign carriers via their alliances and partnerships. The advantage of this is you can leverage your existing points with those carriers. The negative is you are stuck with UA/AA routing rules and pricing. Sometimes UA and AA are good and sometimes they are not. A prime example is AA passes along all of BA's insane carrier surcharges. Other Oneworld alliance airlines often do not. So if you want to fly BA you are often better of NOT using AA or BA points.VictoriaF wrote: ↑Fri Nov 11, 2022 3:19 pm I've been using credit card bonuses for a long while now, usually for flying United and American Airlines. But I have never used my UA or AA points for flying foreign carriers. How does it work?
In your example:
- Do I need to have an Air France account and points (miles), and look for flights on the AF site?
- Is it sufficient to have a Delta (or another SkyTeam) account and look for flights with shared codes?
- Do I need to have an AF account and transfer Chase UR points to AF before booking a flight on the AF site?
- Do I need to have an AF account and transfer some airline's miles or hotel's points to AF before booking a flight on the AF site?
This is a very basic question, and I am embarrassed asking it. Thank you,
Victoria
To book via a foreign carrier you need to have their points. Either earned from their CCs and/or transferred from transferable point currencies such as Chase UR or Amex MR. With the exception of Avios which can be transferred between the airlines using them and the Virgin Australia/Singapore Airlines partnership you generally cannot transfer points between airlines (I am ignoring points.com since the value is so poor).
You are correct you need to have an frequent flyer account with the foreign carrier. I have accounts with many foreign carriers even some I have never used. Depending on the carrier you may or may not need an account to search for availability. Given that many carriers release more awards to their program participants than to partner airlines you generally want to search on their website if you are considering using their points.
To book using Air France for example. You would want to signup for a Flying Blue membership, then search for the award you are looking for and if you find something, transfer over points from Chase, Amex, Citi, etc. and book.
To give you a sense of how considering all carriers can save you points here is a small case. I needed to get from CDG next September to Newcastle in Northern England to hike Hadrian's wall. There was no economy availability on the date I wanted and cash prices were high both in economy and business. AF wanted 20,000 points for 45 min flight in business class. Thankfully the award was also available via Virgin Atlantic (a partner with AF though not part of Skyteam). Virgin only wanted 8,000 points. Even compared to a economy cash ticket I was getting more than 2 cents per Virgin point so a good deal and I booked it.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Excellent explanations. Thank you very much!THY4373 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 12, 2022 1:43 pmSo as noted by others you can use UA and AA points to book certain foreign carriers via their alliances and partnerships. The advantage of this is you can leverage your existing points with those carriers. The negative is you are stuck with UA/AA routing rules and pricing. Sometimes UA and AA are good and sometimes they are not. A prime example is AA passes along all of BA's insane carrier surcharges. Other Oneworld alliance airlines often do not. So if you want to fly BA you are often better of NOT using AA or BA points.VictoriaF wrote: ↑Fri Nov 11, 2022 3:19 pm I've been using credit card bonuses for a long while now, usually for flying United and American Airlines. But I have never used my UA or AA points for flying foreign carriers. How does it work?
In your example:
- Do I need to have an Air France account and points (miles), and look for flights on the AF site?
- Is it sufficient to have a Delta (or another SkyTeam) account and look for flights with shared codes?
- Do I need to have an AF account and transfer Chase UR points to AF before booking a flight on the AF site?
- Do I need to have an AF account and transfer some airline's miles or hotel's points to AF before booking a flight on the AF site?
This is a very basic question, and I am embarrassed asking it. Thank you,
Victoria
To book via a foreign carrier you need to have their points. Either earned from their CCs and/or transferred from transferable point currencies such as Chase UR or Amex MR. With the exception of Avios which can be transferred between the airlines using them and the Virgin Australia/Singapore Airlines partnership you generally cannot transfer points between airlines (I am ignoring points.com since the value is so poor).
You are correct you need to have an frequent flyer account with the foreign carrier. I have accounts with many foreign carriers even some I have never used. Depending on the carrier you may or may not need an account to search for availability. Given that many carriers release more awards to their program participants than to partner airlines you generally want to search on their website if you are considering using their points.
To book using Air France for example. You would want to signup for a Flying Blue membership, then search for the award you are looking for and if you find something, transfer over points from Chase, Amex, Citi, etc. and book.
To give you a sense of how considering all carriers can save you points here is a small case. I needed to get from CDG next September to Newcastle in Northern England to hike Hadrian's wall. There was no economy availability on the date I wanted and cash prices were high both in economy and business. AF wanted 20,000 points for 45 min flight in business class. Thankfully the award was also available via Virgin Atlantic (a partner with AF though not part of Skyteam). Virgin only wanted 8,000 points. Even compared to a economy cash ticket I was getting more than 2 cents per Virgin point so a good deal and I booked it.
Victoria
Inventor of the Bogleheads Secret Handshake |
Winner of the 2015 Boglehead Contest. |
Every joke has a bit of a joke. ... The rest is the truth. (Marat F)
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
I see that the Citi Premier card has an 80,000 point sign up bonus. Can that be converted to cash? I've come to the conclusion that I'm better off just taking these bonuses in cash form. It says redeemable for travel or gift cards. Any of the gift cards that can be treated somewhat like cash?
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Yes, I have done it (applied in September, got the $800 cash in my bank account by mid-November after meeting the $4k spend limit).
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Experian. I think it depends on the state you live in. I am in NJ.Leesbro63 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 29, 2022 7:46 amVery useful, quick reply. Thank you! One more question: Any idea which of the 3 credit bureaus I need to unlock to apply?
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Thanks. I'm in PA. I'll unlock that and see what happens.lakpr wrote: ↑Tue Nov 29, 2022 7:48 amExperian. I think it depends on the state you live in. I am in NJ.Leesbro63 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 29, 2022 7:46 amVery useful, quick reply. Thank you! One more question: Any idea which of the 3 credit bureaus I need to unlock to apply?
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Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Yes. You can also pay for Amazon purchases with it. I just did that because Amazon has a 40% off offer if you pay with points.Leesbro63 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 29, 2022 7:43 am I see that the Citi Premier card has an 80,000 point sign up bonus. Can that be converted to cash? I've come to the conclusion that I'm better off just taking these bonuses in cash form. It says redeemable for travel or gift cards. Any of the gift cards that can be treated somewhat like cash?
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
If you have any interest in a luxury vacation, I don't recommend converting TYP to cash. TYP have the opportunity for the very best hotel redemptions of all points programs. You can convert TYP to Choice Hotel (think Comfort Inn) points at a ridiculous ratio of 1:2. You can then call Choice Hotels and book Preferred Hotels & Resorts through their program. Preferred Hotels & Resorts are some of the most luxurious hotels in the world. They can be booked for 35,000-55,000 Choice points/night, but that means only 17,500 to 27,500 TYP per night. You could easily be getting 4, 5, 6 cents per point value out of your TYP.Leesbro63 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 29, 2022 7:43 am I see that the Citi Premier card has an 80,000 point sign up bonus. Can that be converted to cash? I've come to the conclusion that I'm better off just taking these bonuses in cash form. It says redeemable for travel or gift cards. Any of the gift cards that can be treated somewhat like cash?
A word of warning -- it is a pain to make the booking over the phone.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Me? Take a luxury vacation?Jags4186 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 29, 2022 8:09 amIf you have any interest in a luxury vacation, I don't recommend converting TYP to cash. TYP have the opportunity for the very best hotel redemptions of all points programs. You can convert TYP to Choice Hotel (think Comfort Inn) points at a ridiculous ratio of 1:2. You can then call Choice Hotels and book Preferred Hotels & Resorts through their program. Preferred Hotels & Resorts are some of the most luxurious hotels in the world. They can be booked for 35,000-55,000 Choice points/night, but that means only 17,500 to 27,500 TYP per night. You could easily be getting 4, 5, 6 cents per point value out of your TYP.Leesbro63 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 29, 2022 7:43 am I see that the Citi Premier card has an 80,000 point sign up bonus. Can that be converted to cash? I've come to the conclusion that I'm better off just taking these bonuses in cash form. It says redeemable for travel or gift cards. Any of the gift cards that can be treated somewhat like cash?
A word of warning -- it is a pain to make the booking over the phone.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Check it out: https://preferredhotels.com/offer/parti ... es-rewardsLeesbro63 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 29, 2022 8:10 amMe? Take a luxury vacation?Jags4186 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 29, 2022 8:09 amIf you have any interest in a luxury vacation, I don't recommend converting TYP to cash. TYP have the opportunity for the very best hotel redemptions of all points programs. You can convert TYP to Choice Hotel (think Comfort Inn) points at a ridiculous ratio of 1:2. You can then call Choice Hotels and book Preferred Hotels & Resorts through their program. Preferred Hotels & Resorts are some of the most luxurious hotels in the world. They can be booked for 35,000-55,000 Choice points/night, but that means only 17,500 to 27,500 TYP per night. You could easily be getting 4, 5, 6 cents per point value out of your TYP.Leesbro63 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 29, 2022 7:43 am I see that the Citi Premier card has an 80,000 point sign up bonus. Can that be converted to cash? I've come to the conclusion that I'm better off just taking these bonuses in cash form. It says redeemable for travel or gift cards. Any of the gift cards that can be treated somewhat like cash?
A word of warning -- it is a pain to make the booking over the phone.
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Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Looks like a mixed bag. Nomo Soho is 45k points and can be had for $169. On the other hand East Miami is 45k points and around $325. The Bentley (London) is 55k points and is $207. Obviously what dates you go matters in terms of the rate and availability of reward rooms. I don't think it is a slam dunk though. I just randomly picked those.Jags4186 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 29, 2022 8:12 amCheck it out: https://preferredhotels.com/offer/parti ... es-rewardsLeesbro63 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 29, 2022 8:10 amMe? Take a luxury vacation?Jags4186 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 29, 2022 8:09 amIf you have any interest in a luxury vacation, I don't recommend converting TYP to cash. TYP have the opportunity for the very best hotel redemptions of all points programs. You can convert TYP to Choice Hotel (think Comfort Inn) points at a ridiculous ratio of 1:2. You can then call Choice Hotels and book Preferred Hotels & Resorts through their program. Preferred Hotels & Resorts are some of the most luxurious hotels in the world. They can be booked for 35,000-55,000 Choice points/night, but that means only 17,500 to 27,500 TYP per night. You could easily be getting 4, 5, 6 cents per point value out of your TYP.Leesbro63 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 29, 2022 7:43 am I see that the Citi Premier card has an 80,000 point sign up bonus. Can that be converted to cash? I've come to the conclusion that I'm better off just taking these bonuses in cash form. It says redeemable for travel or gift cards. Any of the gift cards that can be treated somewhat like cash?
A word of warning -- it is a pain to make the booking over the phone.
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Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Are there any good tools available for tracking rewards associated with different cards? My guess is no, but thought I'd ask.
We do ok keeping track of regular rewards (including rotating categories and random bonus offers), and otherwise default to a 2% cash back card for 95% of spend. I find it annoying trying to check things like Amex and CapitalOne targeted merchant cashback. I know I've missed quite a because I didn't check for a merchant before buying.
We do ok keeping track of regular rewards (including rotating categories and random bonus offers), and otherwise default to a 2% cash back card for 95% of spend. I find it annoying trying to check things like Amex and CapitalOne targeted merchant cashback. I know I've missed quite a because I didn't check for a merchant before buying.
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Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
That's basically what I do. However, if Discover/Chase have a 5% category for Apple/Google pay (which they take just about anywhere) or for Amazon I use that. I don't spend enough on other stuff to bother tracking what is 5% for every quarter.flyfishers83 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 29, 2022 8:35 am Are there any good tools available for tracking rewards associated with different cards? My guess is no, but thought I'd ask.
We do ok keeping track of regular rewards (including rotating categories and random bonus offers), and otherwise default to a 2% cash back card for 95% of spend. I find it annoying trying to check things like Amex and CapitalOne targeted merchant cashback. I know I've missed quite a because I didn't check for a merchant before buying.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
There is an app called MaxRewards that tracks rewards from different cards. I’ve not used the app myself.flyfishers83 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 29, 2022 8:35 am Are there any good tools available for tracking rewards associated with different cards? My guess is no, but thought I'd ask.
We do ok keeping track of regular rewards (including rotating categories and random bonus offers), and otherwise default to a 2% cash back card for 95% of spend. I find it annoying trying to check things like Amex and CapitalOne targeted merchant cashback. I know I've missed quite a because I didn't check for a merchant before buying.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
OK, so I applied for the Citi Premier card and was rejected. I called the "reconsideration" number and they told me that my available credit-to-used credit ratio was too high. Which is true. I have big, unused credit and an 800+ credit score. I've never been rejected before but it was almost as if they realized that I probably was just getting the card for the bonus (which is true). Any suggestions other than just to move on?
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Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Do you have any other Citi cards with high credit limits that you could offer them to reallocate credit from?Leesbro63 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 29, 2022 10:14 am OK, so I applied for the Citi Premier card and was rejected. I called the "reconsideration" number and they told me that my available credit-to-used credit ratio was too high. Which is true. I have big, unused credit and an 800+ credit score. I've never been rejected before but it was almost as if they realized that I probably was just getting the card for the bonus (which is true). Any suggestions other than just to move on?
Your rejection reason has been a concern of mine for a while. So far I have not been rejected, but Chase has several times reallocated credit from existing cards to give me a new card. Which is generally fine with me. They did it without asking me first, but Inwas Abe, to reshuffle things a bit later since they took from a card that I occasionally put expensive airfare on and let another card that I almost never use alone.
Last edited by TravelGeek on Tue Nov 29, 2022 10:29 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Duplicate!
Last edited by Wannaretireearly on Tue Nov 29, 2022 10:29 am, edited 1 time in total.
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