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Which card(s) to use for high spend or large purchases? [Consolidated]

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Old Jan 2, 2017, 9:16 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: yugi
Ways to get high rewards or bonus on credit card spending:

1. sign-on bonus, miles, UR or MR points, free nights and cash rewards
2. on-going rewards, points or cashback
3. spending bonus for extra points/$ or status, like spending $10,000 to get extra 20k points etc.

Cards with large spending bonus: (alphabetical)

AmEx Delta Skymiles Gold: $25,000 MQD waived for elite status
AmEx HH Ascend: $40,000 to Diamond
Barclay Aviator Red: $25,000 for $3,000 EQD
BofA Merrill +: $50,000 for additional $200 travel credit
Chase Ritz Carlton: $10,000 to renew Gold status. Subject to change from 8/1/2018
Chase United MileagePlus Explorer: $25,000 for 10,000 United miles
A lot more to list...

Cards that earn better than 1 airline mile (or points convertible 1:1 to airline miles) per dollar: (alphabetical)

Amex Blue Business Plus - 2x MRs on up to $50k per year. No AF, FTF.
Amex Blue for Business - 1.3x MRs (Another card needed in order to transfer, such as Amex ED/EDP/PRG/BGR/Plat etc). No AF, FTF. Discontinued, replaced by BBP.
Amex Business Platinum - 1.5x for charges over $5,000 up to 1M extra points ($2M spend) AF $450, no FTF. Many other perks.
Amex EveryDay - 1.2x if you make 20+ charges per cycle. No AF, FTF.
Amex EveryDay Preferred - 1.5x if you make 30+ charges per cycle. AF $95, FTF.
Bank of America Virgin Atlantic MasterCard - 1.5x VS miles, 2x if you spend $15k per year, 2.1x if you spend $25k per year. AF $90, no FTF.
Bank of America Air France KLM Mastercard - 1.5x AF miles. AF $89, no FTF.
Barclaycard Arrival Premier - 1.43x for all partners except JAL, AC (1.18x). You will get 2.14x on all partners except JAL, AC (1.76x), if you spend $15k or $25k per year. AF $150, FYF, no FTF. Discontinued.
Capital One Venture X Visa - 2x on all partners, except Accor and EVA. AF $395, no FTF, many other perks.
Capital One Spark Miles Business Visa - 2x on all partners, except Accor and EVA. AF $95, FYF, no FTF.
Capital One Venture Visa - 2x on all partners, except Accor and EVA. AF $95, FYF, no FTF.
Capital One Venture One Visa - 1.25x on all partners, except Accor and EVA. no AF, no FTF.
Capital One Spark Miles Select Business Visa - 1.5x on all partners, except Accor and EVA. No AF, no FTF.
Chase Freedom Unlimited Visa - 1.5x URs (Another card needed in order to transfer, such as CSR/CSP/Ink Plus/Ink Bold/Ink Preferred). No AF, FTF.
Chase Ink Unlimited Business Visa - 1.5x URs, Same as Freedom Unlimited
Citi Double Cash MC - 2x TYP. You need a premium Citi card, (Premier, Prestige or Chairman) to transfer to partners other than JetBlue at 1:1 ratio. No AF, FTF.


Cards that earn hotel points

Amex Hilton Honors - 3x HH points, no AF, no FTF
Amex Hilton Honors Surpass - 3x HH points, AF $95, no FTF, some perks
Amex Hilton Honors Business - 3x HH points, AF $95, no FTF, some perks
Amex Hilton Honors Aspire - 3x HH points, AF $450, no FTF, lots of perks.
Amex Bonvoy - 2x Marriott points. AF $95, FYF, no FTF. Discontinued.
Amex Bonvoy Business - same as Amex Bonvoy. AF $125, no FTF.
Amex Bonvoy Brilliant - same as Amex Bonvoy. AF $450
Barclaycard Choice Privileges Visa - 2x on everything. No AF, FTF.
Barclaycard Wyndham Rewards Visa - 2x (grandfathered versions 2x on everything). AF $69/$0, FTF.
Chase Bonvoy Boundless Visa - same as Amex Bonvoy.
Chase IHG Traveler MC - 2x on everything. No AF, no FTF.
Chase IHG Premier/Premier Business MC - 3x on everything. AF $99, no FTF.
Chase Ritz-Carlton Visa Infinite - same as Amex Bonvoy. AF $450, no FTF. Discontinued, but can be obtained via PC from another Chase Bonvoy card.
FNBO Best Western Rewards Premium MC - 2x BW points. AF $59, no FTF
FNBO Best Western Rewards MC - 2x BW points. No AF, no FTF

2%+ Cashback Cards: (by % amount)

US Bank Altitude Reserve Visa - 4.5% towards travel (cashout possible), if you use Android Pay, Samsung Pay, Apple Pay or LG Pay for in-person, in-app or online purchases. AF $400, no FTF, many other perks.
Barclaycard Priceline Rewards Visa (grandfathered 2x/5x version) - 3.33% if redeemed against Priceline or travel purchases, 2% if redeemed for everything else. No AF, no FTF.
AOD CU Visa Signature - 3% on everything. No AF, no FTF. Discontinued.
Synchrony Paypal Cashback Mastercard - 3% if paid with Paypal, 2% everywhere else, no AF, FTF.
Barclaycard Arrival Premier MC - 3% if you spend exactly $15k or $25k, 2%, if you spend less than $15k. AF $150, FYF, no FTF, some perks. Discontinued.
Bank of America Travel Rewards Visa (with Platinum (Honors) Preferred Rewards) - 2.25/2.625%. No AF, no FTF.
Bank of America Premium Rewards Visa (with Platinum (Honors) Preferred Rewards) - 2.25/2.625%. AF $95, no FTF, some perks.
Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite Visa (with Platinum (Honors) Preferred Rewards) - 2.25/2.625%. AF $550, no FTF, many other perks.
USAA Limitless Cashback Rewards Visa - 2.5% (must be USAA member, with $1k direct deposit per month). no AF. Discontinued.
Alliant Cashback Visa Signature - 2.5% up to $10k per cycle, if you have $1k on your checking account. No AF, no FTF.
Barclaycard Arrival Plus MasterCard - 2.1% if you redeem for travel purchases. AF $89, no FTF. Discontinued.
Discover it Miles - 3% (first year only, 1.5% after that). No AF, no FTF.

Exactly 2% Cashback Cards: (alphabetical)

Amex Blue Business Cash - 2% on up to $50k per year. No AF, FTF.
BBVA Compass Rewards Visa - 2%, if you receive $1000 in direct deposits per month to checking account. No AF.
Blispay Visa - 2%. No AF.
Citi Double Cash MasterCard - 2%. No AF, FTF.
Capital One Spark Cash Business Visa - 2%. AF $95, FYF, no FTF.
Capital One Spark Miles Business Visa - 2% if redeemed for travel. AF $95, FYF, no FTF.
Capital One Venture Visa - 2% if you redeem for travel purchases. AF $95, FYF, no FTF.
Capital One Venture X Visa - 2% if you redeem for travel purchases. AF $395, no FTF, many other perks.
Fidelity Rewards Visa - 2%. No AF.
PenFed Power Cash Rewards Visa (with Honors Advantage) - 2%. No AF, no FTF.
PNC Premier Traveler Visa - 2% if you redeem for travel purchases. AF $85, FYF, no FTF.
State Department Federal CU Premium Cashback+ Visa - 2%, no AF, no FTF.
Synchrony Paypal Cashback MC - 2% for non-PayPal purchases, no AF, FTF.
Too many to list.













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Which card(s) to use for high spend or large purchases? [Consolidated]

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Old Jun 8, 2014, 6:07 pm
  #61  
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Programs: CX MPC GO; Golden Circle nobody!
Posts: 249
Best Credit Card for Big Purchase?

Hello everyone,

I am not sure if this is the right forum, but I need some advice. We are looking to make a big purchase for 30k USD, and I wonder which card is the best for us to use/apply for? My fiancé's FICO score is 687 (excellent payment history, but only 2.5 years worth of credit history) and his annual income is about 200k. We have about 17000USD credit limit because we are recent college graduates.

He has American Express Blue Cash Preferred, Discover It (applied last month), Citibank CashReturns, and a random Capital One card, and all my credit cards are from overseas. We probably made some mistakes by opening an account at our school's credit union, as it resulted in a hard pull.

Anyway, we are looking at the best deal for both cash back or miles/points. For miles, I prefer something that can translate into AsiaMiles, as we both have status with Cathay Pacific (I am DM, he is SL). I also have SPG Platinum status, but fiancé doesn't travel for business. If he travels, it is usually with me.

We won't need a mortgage or a car loan (but will lease a car).

Any thoughts? I appreciate your help!

Last edited by nsolitude; Jun 8, 2014 at 7:28 pm
nsolitude is offline  
Old Jun 9, 2014, 8:48 am
  #62  
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Scottsdale, Berlin, Wherever
Programs: Marriott titanium Elite, Hyatt Globalist, AS, UA, AA, TWA, PAN AM, PSA
Posts: 558
Originally Posted by nsolitude
Anyway, we are looking at the best deal for both cash back or miles/points. For miles, I prefer something that can translate into AsiaMiles, as we both have status with Cathay Pacific (I am DM, he is SL). I also have SPG Platinum status, but fiancé doesn't travel for business. If he travels, it is usually with me.

We won't need a mortgage or a car loan (but will lease a car).

Any thoughts? I appreciate your help!
I would check out the Starwood AMEX. They have a very good program for transferring points to Airline miles. For AsiaMiles, the exchange rate is 1 to 1 plus they give you a 5k bonus for every 20k transferred so 40k Starwood points will get you 50k Asia miles. For leasing a car they probably won't allow you to charge the lease payments but should allow you to charge the up front fees.
Uh Clem is offline  
Old Jun 30, 2014, 6:06 am
  #63  
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Programs: Hilton Diamond, Marriott Plat, Delta Plat, AA Gold, Avis PresClub
Posts: 104
Where to put a $25k bill for a new roof?

Hello,
I just replaced our roof (Oklahoma hail and wind) and got paid directly form the insurance company. So I have a $25k bill to pay by the end of July. What card(s) should I use?
My wife's and I credit scores (FICO) are both above 800. We have already done quite a few cards this year, so it was almost nice not having to meet minimal spend, but this is almost a slam dunk.
So far this year I have had 2 Citi AA exec cards, Amex personal premier gold, US airways business, and Chase Ink plus. Other recently closed cards that I cant probably churn are Lufthansa card, SWA regular personal and business, AMEX Business Gold, Chase Ink Bold, and US Airways Mastercard.
My wife has open an Citi AA Exec Card, regular Citi AA Card, AMEX Gold Premier card, Chase Ink Bold, and Lufthansa. Recently closed cards are AMEX Gold Business, SWA regular Personal and Business, US Airways Mastercard, Chase Ink Plus, and Citi Thank you card.

We live in OKC and aren’t too reliant on a single airline. Our companion pass is expiring in December, which we have used extensively. We already have about 600k AA miles. So I am leaning towards getting a Citi AA exec card again for each of us, but a lil worried on getting too AA heavy. It just doesn’t seem like there are any other good offers out there though. I am planning on taking a dream vacation for 4 in 2015, just not sure where (Europe, Middle east, Asia….) I prefer 1-2 large spend cards instead of a handful on small min spend cards. What cards out there have a good bonus for spending $25k that I should maybe consider as well?

Thanks!
truptravels is offline  
Old Jun 30, 2014, 6:29 am
  #64  
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: PVD/BOS
Posts: 879
Where to put a $25k bill for a new roof?

I would definitely do another 2 citi exec cards and split the 25k across both cards.

No such thing as too AA heavy when they've got a 100k offer hanging out there
ashap is offline  
Old Jun 30, 2014, 6:41 am
  #65  
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: mountains of western NC
Programs: Life, Love and Laughter
Posts: 8,535
If it were me, I would try to negotiate a lower price by paying cash.
onthego15 is offline  
Old Jun 30, 2014, 7:31 am
  #66  
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Programs: UA 1K, Marriott LT Titanium, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 1,069
Originally Posted by onthego15
If it were me, I would try to negotiate a lower price by paying cash.
^ This
keloutwest is offline  
Old Jun 30, 2014, 9:24 am
  #67  
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 205
With your stable of current/recently closed cards and no airline preference, I would also recommend the cash discount option.

However, if you feel the need to diversify your mileage balances, I can agree with that sentiment as well since AA is probably going to devalue before the other legacies do so again but there are no guarantees. That said, if you and your wife are able to get 1 personal and 1 business Explorer card (of the 50K variety which will probably require SM) that would get you in a similar ballpark as the 2 AA cards but it does increase your cards to accomplish same to 4. Additionally, it would be wise, if going this route, to put the minimum spend on 3 of the cards and the remainder on the 4th in order to get closer to the 10K bonus for spending 25K. Getting just 2 of the cards would be easier and would practically knock out the spend in one fell swoop but the overall mileage would be lower. It all depends on your destination next year as AA may be your better bet from an alliance perspective.

Living in OKC, I'd suspect that UA means taking regional jets anywhere you travel. This is probably the same for AA although you might have MD80 service which at least gives the carry-on traveler such as yours truly a realistic opportunity to do so with a rollaboard.

That's my 2¢
Oreto is offline  
Old Jul 21, 2014, 7:42 pm
  #68  
formerly known as RK7
 
Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: Grass Valley SMF
Programs: Many
Posts: 720
High spend card to consider?

I have a commitment in which I will be able to charge $15k+ to a card within the next 30 days. I have plenty of cards which I could use but I'd like to maximize my return and perhaps get a new card that has a high spend threshold with some nice benefits. Don't really care if I keep the card for any long term benefits. Does anything come to mind from anyone?

Last edited by Red '74 TR6; Jul 21, 2014 at 7:44 pm Reason: added info
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Old Jul 21, 2014, 7:44 pm
  #69  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 319
amex biz plat? there is a spend 20k get 150k MR points offer going around. It's a targeted offer but you can try your luck and ask CSR if they would match it

Last edited by Pecan Pie; Jul 21, 2014 at 7:56 pm
Pecan Pie is offline  
Old Jul 21, 2014, 8:37 pm
  #70  
formerly known as RK7
 
Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: Grass Valley SMF
Programs: Many
Posts: 720
Originally Posted by Pecan Pie
amex biz plat? there is a spend 20k get 150k MR points offer going around. It's a targeted offer but you can try your luck and ask CSR if they would match it
That sounds very good. I'm going to try it out tomorrow. I've been with Amex SPG for 15 years and are familiar with their point values. Have close to 200,000 points with them and know their value. Don't know anything about MR points. Would MR points be somewhat comparable to SPG points?
Red '74 TR6 is offline  
Old Jul 21, 2014, 8:46 pm
  #71  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: DFW,OVB (Russia)
Programs: AA HH Gold SPG Gold BA
Posts: 1,823
Yes Membership rewards points and SPG points are very similar when it comes to airline transfers and other different options. The difference being, different (sometimes better) transfer partners /options.
rgAAFT is offline  
Old Jul 21, 2014, 8:46 pm
  #72  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Chicagoland, IL, USA
Programs: WN CP, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 14,176
Originally Posted by RK7
Would MR points be somewhat comparable to SPG points?
Everyone has a different valuation. For me, MR points are worth around 1.5 cents or a bit more and SPG are maybe 2.3 cents, especially with the current transfer bonus promo.

Holding my MR and waiting for another 50% bonus for transfer to Avios.
toomanybooks is offline  
Old Jul 22, 2014, 4:30 pm
  #73  
formerly known as RK7
 
Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: Grass Valley SMF
Programs: Many
Posts: 720
Originally Posted by Pecan Pie
amex biz plat? there is a spend 20k get 150k MR points offer going around. It's a targeted offer but you can try your luck and ask CSR if they would match it
Called in and was approved for 100k MR points for the 10k spend. It took all of about 10 minutes. I see that I can get $1000 in Home Depot gift cards for the 100k MRs. Works for me.
Red '74 TR6 is offline  
Old Oct 17, 2014, 9:20 pm
  #74  
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: mci
Programs: aa
Posts: 669
upcoming $10,000 purchase. Looking for advice on which card to use.

We are getting ready to buy a new kitchen from IKEA, which will be a bit over $10,000. I was just approved from the Ink Biz card with 70,000 bonus with $5,000 spend. I am looking for a different card to put the other $5,000 or so on. Right now i have:


Barclays arrival

WN RR

AA biz and personal

United chase,

A couple of US Air cards.

Hilton Honors Citi

Marriott Chase



Anything I should apply for now to use up that other $5,000?

Thanks in advance for the help!
travelinterpreters is offline  
Old Oct 17, 2014, 9:52 pm
  #75  
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 501
I would go for the Citi Executive Advantage card. $450 annual fee and $5,000 spend. Make the spend quickly and cancel the card after the miles post and the annual fee is refunded.
flightmedic is offline  


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