My wife and I have two friends who use an airline miles CC for purchases/bills, pay it off immediately, and then harvest the miles for vacations. We've got a couple places we'd like to go so we're thinking of doing it, too. What are the best cards for this (or ones to stay away from)? Thanks!
Airline Miles Reward Credit Card
- Thread starter gofast182
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In the US, it would be the Capital One Venture Rewards Visa. There are commercials running on various channels featuring Alec Baldwin and the "purchase eraser".
We have a similar card up here in Canada called the Capital One Aspire World Travel MasterCard. You earn 2 points per dollar spent. No blackout dates and you can use points to pay for the taxes on the reward too (unlike many other airline programs).
We just booked a cruise to the Bahamas. I paid for the cruise using my Cap One MC, then as soon the charge was posted to my account, I "purchase erased" it. The entire amount, including taxes, credited back to me on my statement. Total cost $0.00.
We have a similar card up here in Canada called the Capital One Aspire World Travel MasterCard. You earn 2 points per dollar spent. No blackout dates and you can use points to pay for the taxes on the reward too (unlike many other airline programs).
We just booked a cruise to the Bahamas. I paid for the cruise using my Cap One MC, then as soon the charge was posted to my account, I "purchase erased" it. The entire amount, including taxes, credited back to me on my statement. Total cost $0.00.
It's going to depend on which airline you intend to fly on, truthfully. sir1900 is correct in that the Capital One card is the best in the sense that you can use the miles on a lot of different airlines, though the conversion rate may not necessarily be the best.
If you're doing something domestic, I'd go for the Southwest card in a heartbeat. If it's international, do some pre-planning for your trip and select the card based on that.
If you're doing something domestic, I'd go for the Southwest card in a heartbeat. If it's international, do some pre-planning for your trip and select the card based on that.
I can't recommend an exact card as I'm in Canada and I'll assume you're in the USA and the cards can be very different.
What I will say is that I prefer cards that let you book a trip, and then use the rewards after the fact to cover the cost. I had an Amex Blue Sky that worked like this, not sure if thats available in the US though.
My wife has an aeroplan card and it's nothing short of a nightmare to book any sort of trip. You call them up, wait on hold, then they tell you that even though there are seats left on a flight, we can't use our points to buy these seats.
What I will say is that I prefer cards that let you book a trip, and then use the rewards after the fact to cover the cost. I had an Amex Blue Sky that worked like this, not sure if thats available in the US though.
My wife has an aeroplan card and it's nothing short of a nightmare to book any sort of trip. You call them up, wait on hold, then they tell you that even though there are seats left on a flight, we can't use our points to buy these seats.
Originally Posted By: D189379
I can't recommend an exact card as I'm in Canada and I'll assume you're in the USA and the cards can be very different.
What I will say is that I prefer cards that let you book a trip, and then use the rewards after the fact to cover the cost. I had an Amex Blue Sky that worked like this, not sure if thats available in the US though.
My wife has an aeroplan card and it's nothing short of a nightmare to book any sort of trip. You call them up, wait on hold, then they tell you that even though there are seats left on a flight, we can't use our points to buy these seats.
You are correct on Amex, sir. The problem is that unless you are using that card a LOT, the conversion is not good (and there are annual fees). I'm fortunate in that I am spending $50k+ per year on mine since the company requires we use it for all travel expenses.
I can't recommend an exact card as I'm in Canada and I'll assume you're in the USA and the cards can be very different.
What I will say is that I prefer cards that let you book a trip, and then use the rewards after the fact to cover the cost. I had an Amex Blue Sky that worked like this, not sure if thats available in the US though.
My wife has an aeroplan card and it's nothing short of a nightmare to book any sort of trip. You call them up, wait on hold, then they tell you that even though there are seats left on a flight, we can't use our points to buy these seats.
You are correct on Amex, sir. The problem is that unless you are using that card a LOT, the conversion is not good (and there are annual fees). I'm fortunate in that I am spending $50k+ per year on mine since the company requires we use it for all travel expenses.
Also, check out this site to learn about the best ways to earn, transfer, and redeem points:
http://milevalue.com/
http://milevalue.com/
My Discover miles card is quite good, and their customer service is fantastic. In my experience Discover is also accepted more overseas, Amex is mostly useless overseas a lot of places don't take them.
Another good one is the Marriott Rewards card you can get some free or cheap hotel rooms just about everywhere.
Going for points is really only worth it if you charge a lot, I run about $300k +/- threw my business Amex so I really get a lot out of the points, but if you only spend $10k or so a year its not really worth it.
Another good one is the Marriott Rewards card you can get some free or cheap hotel rooms just about everywhere.
Going for points is really only worth it if you charge a lot, I run about $300k +/- threw my business Amex so I really get a lot out of the points, but if you only spend $10k or so a year its not really worth it.
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I have both a Citi AA card and Chase Ultimate rewards card. I really like Ultimate rewards because the points are so flexible: book hotels or airline tickets directly on ultimate rewards or transfer points to a membership club like Marriott, Hyatt, United, etc. YOu can also buy stuff off of Amazon or just convert to cash and take the money.
I find that this flexibility gives you many options to look for favorable points conversion rates. For example, transfer points into United and book a supersaver awards fare. Round trip to Asia ends up costing around $800 in points equivalent.
If you get the membership fee version, you also get a 7% annual points bonus and 20% off o points bookings through ultimate rewards. So if you spend a lot, I'd go with the membership fee card. Also, the membership card has no foreign transactions fee, which comes in handy when you are overseas.
I've found that I get much better bang for the buck on my Chase points than my Citi American airline points.
I find that this flexibility gives you many options to look for favorable points conversion rates. For example, transfer points into United and book a supersaver awards fare. Round trip to Asia ends up costing around $800 in points equivalent.
If you get the membership fee version, you also get a 7% annual points bonus and 20% off o points bookings through ultimate rewards. So if you spend a lot, I'd go with the membership fee card. Also, the membership card has no foreign transactions fee, which comes in handy when you are overseas.
I've found that I get much better bang for the buck on my Chase points than my Citi American airline points.
What's the payback like for most of the travel cards? Are the rewards typically 1% or 2% back in the form of some type of points or miles that can be applied to the purchase of a flight, or is the rewards percentage much better than that?
If the payback isn't any better than that a standard cash back card might be a better option, just making sure to set the cash aside for the trip.
If the payback isn't any better than that a standard cash back card might be a better option, just making sure to set the cash aside for the trip.
Originally Posted By: 99Saturn
What's the payback like for most of the travel cards? Are the rewards typically 1% or 2% back in the form of some type of points or miles that can be applied to the purchase of a flight, or is the rewards percentage much better than that?
If the payback isn't any better than that a standard cash back card might be a better option, just making sure to set the cash aside for the trip.
It's never that cut-and-dry. There are usually a ton of rules and conversions you have to do, and then they have the periodic "bonuses". That's why I recommended the site above...they help you cut through all the [censored] rules.
What's the payback like for most of the travel cards? Are the rewards typically 1% or 2% back in the form of some type of points or miles that can be applied to the purchase of a flight, or is the rewards percentage much better than that?
If the payback isn't any better than that a standard cash back card might be a better option, just making sure to set the cash aside for the trip.
It's never that cut-and-dry. There are usually a ton of rules and conversions you have to do, and then they have the periodic "bonuses". That's why I recommended the site above...they help you cut through all the [censored] rules.
Thanks dparm. I had looked before at some of the cards that are coming up and never found them all that enticing, but not having one I wasn't sure if there were a ton of stuff I was just missing.
OP - we do almost all our spending on cash back cards typically falling between 2% to 5% return if you don't find a miles card you are satisfied with, might be something to keep in mind.
OP - we do almost all our spending on cash back cards typically falling between 2% to 5% return if you don't find a miles card you are satisfied with, might be something to keep in mind.
Thanks for the responses, guys! This is enough info to help us figure it out.
99Saturn, we do a fair amount of spending on a cash rewards card now but whenever we cash in the rewards points it never ends up getting used for a trip, rather the house or stuff for the S2000...wait I just realized I don't like this idea
99Saturn, we do a fair amount of spending on a cash rewards card now but whenever we cash in the rewards points it never ends up getting used for a trip, rather the house or stuff for the S2000...wait I just realized I don't like this idea
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