letopeto

Hi everyone,
I recently did an app-o-rama and opened 5 cards back to back with each other. I'm close to meeting all the minimum spending to get the sign up bonuses, but I have about $11,000 of misc expenses (non category, paying for research/consulting expenses from a 3rd party company) coming up.

Since all my minimum spend for my new cards have been met, is the smart thing to do is to just put it on a 2% cashback card (like fidelity amex)?

My current cards are:
Amex Plat
Chase United Explorer
Chase Ink Plus
Citi Exec AA 2%
cashback fidelity amex

I was thinking of putting spending on my ink plus to get UR points, but that only gets me 1 point per $1. So even if I can redeem for 2cents/per mile, that means at best I match my 2% cashback card.

In that case I should just put the misc spending on my cashback card correct?

It seems like most churners look down on cashback cards so I just wanted to clarify this is the most efficient form of spending IF you have met all other minimum spend for signup bonuses (and can't open more new cards, at least temporarily).

Obviously if this purchase was for a category, like office supplies, then it makes sense to use the ink plus card for 5 points per $1 AND the benefit of each UR point being worth 2 cents. But since it is misc spending, and I only earn 1 point for $1, I should just spending the misc on a flat 2% cashback correct?

bigugly

If UR isn't something that you need very much or personally value highly, go for the cash. Screw what everyone else thinks, if it makes sense for your situation. Myself, I will only be taking one big personal trip per year, and the wife will not get on an airplane, so transferring UR isn't as valuable to me as it is to many.

letopeto

Thanks for the reply. I value UR points, but isn't it rarer/difficult to get it higher than 2 cents per mile? I guess what I'm saying is, even if I get 2 cents per mile with UR points, that is equivalent to a 2% cashback card, so I might as well just collect the cash correct?

zhaofa90

Well if you're using the Sapphire Preferred keep in mind that you get double points on travel and dining, so it would essentailly be 4% cashback if you can get 2 center per point of value.

This would be the same concept for other UR cards with different bonus categories.

roki

There is no absolute answer to this question. There are a lot of intangible or personal factors to determining the best course of action. Just a few of these are:

1. How often do you obtain 2 cents per point or more using award bookings?
   
2. How many points in each program do you have and need? Do you have a specific goal you're building towards?
   
3. How much of your time does it take to find and book an award flight versus booking a cash flight? How much is your time worth?
   
4. How much (if any) added value do you assign to booking a trip for (virtually) no cash?
   
5. How much is it worth to you not to carry 8 cards in your wallet, but rather just one or two?
   
6. How likely are you to actually use the cash from the cashback card strictly for travel, if that is indeed your purpose?

Some of these may seem silly to some. And to some people, maybe they are. I have a stack of cards an inch thick that I carry, because I have a game plan for every card and expense (5% here, 3% there, 2% there, that card for EDS working towards a goal, this card for purchase protection, etc). It's cumbersome, though. I love points and rewards, so I don't view time invested as opportunity cost, but rather just as a hobby. I generally average 2.5cpp+, so I would take 1 UR/MR point over 2% Cashback. But, I also earn enough UR and TY points with 5x/2x that I wouldn't mind having some spend shifted to 2% cash.

terpfan101

Many months ago I came to the realization that I was going to put anything not bonus category on either my Fidelity Amex or now my Barclay Arrival card for 2%/2.2% cash back respectively (the latter on travel redemptions only).

When I talk about bonus categories I'm referring to:

- Ultimate Rewards 2X & 5X
- Membership Rewards 2X+
- Any airline credit card's multiple for spending with the airline directly
- Any hotel brand credit card's multiple for spending with the hotel directly
- Hyatt credit card 2X on restaurant purchases

All of these points at 1x are worth more than $0.01 (except some hotels but when you're earning 10x, 5x, etc it's always greater than $0.022). So come up with a value yourself, but in general I think anyone really giving a value for tons of spend at greater than 2 cents per point/mile is foolish. What I mean by that is that it makes sense to try and get 10,000 miles/points to get to your next award redemption of 100K miles, but to spend 100,000 to earn 100,000 miles is somewhat silly when you could earn $2,222 on that. Given devaluations, I've changed my tune on this issue.

mia

These discussions typically assume that general spending will only earn one point or mile per dollar, but I can think of at least four cards which earn 1.25 or more per dollar for all spending. This means you only need to redeem at $0.016 per point or mile to realize $0.02 per dollar spent.

• 1.50 United Airlines VISA Club card
• 1.50 Virgin Atlantic MasterCard
• 1.25 British Airways VISA card
• 1.25 Starwood Preferred Guest American Express card (20,000 Starpoints = 25,000 miles in most programs)

dukerau

You're referring to the United club card, right? The Explorer gets 1.00, granted with a 10k bonus on 25k spend, but that's 1.40 at best.

Two to add to the list:

• 1.50 Amex Everyday Preferred (with >= 30 transactions per cycle)
• 1.20 Amex Everyday (with >= 20 transactions per cycle)

mia

Yes, but I seem to have edited the word out in a revision. I have added it back in, thanks for mentioning it, and also for adding another pair to the list.

0limits

Like many have said, it depends on what you're aiming for. You certainly can squeeze more than 2 cents out of 1 UR. I've redeemed 75,000 Avios (1:1 UR redemption) in the past 4 months (and never flying on BA metal) and gotten somewhere in the range of 4 - 10 cents out of 1 UR. It can be done but will require the time to put into finding how you can maximize it (I consider that part of what's fun about doing this).

It also is heavily dependent on what programs get devalued and if you can make a booking before that happens.

So the easiest path is definitely the 2% cash back card. But as in real life, the more you put into it, the more you get back out.

Redhead

So Citi just launched a new 2% cashback card: http://creditcards.citicards.com/usc...5D3F0B8DA27565

Looks like a response to the Capital One Quicksilver. Can't tell if it is an MC or Visa. Looking into how cashback is redeemed. I can't be bothered with categories, so am looking for a simple card to augment my miles cards with no fee.

Edited to add: No bonus at the moment, so not applying yet

mia

Discussion here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/citi-...back-card.html

It's a MasterCard. There are reports of targeted application bonuses.