Fabo.sk

Hello,

I'm going to move shortly to the Netherlands.

My job should entail a fair bit of travel, though I don't expect it to be particularly high value (i.e. premium class) travel, and I don't know whether the location will be enough to strongly prefer KLM in itself, enough to get a status.

Beyond that, I expect some personal travel usually by LCC anyway.

So how's that relevant to credit cards?
I'm trying to figure out if there is a card that's worth pursuing for me in NL before I start taking care of things like getting a bank account etc.

I would like to have a card that makes it easy to access lounges (used to have an Amex Gold with unlimited free access in Slovakia for a reasonable fee, sadly, it's discontinued), possibly one where loyalty points can be transferred to either airline or hotel points in more than one program, and one that is fairly easy to use while travelling within Europe and out of it (i.e. international acceptance is good, and forex fees are small).

I have a Diners Club that I will probably keep, which means I'm not interested in cards which will allow me to buy in to lounges (in other words, I can already do that), though I might change it for a variant without travel insurance - so a good insurance is still a plus.

Thanks

Brussels

Your username suggests you are living in Slovakia. Do you have the possibility of applying for USA credit cards? (US citizens/permanent residents living abroad can often do so.)

Though I live in the USA now, I was a resident of Belgium for many years and still travel to Europe and other international destinations with some frequency.

I'm a big fan of the Chase Sapphire Reserve. It provides access to Priority Pass lounges (many of which are in Europe), 3X rewards on travel/dining, trip interruption insurance, primary rental car insurance and other benefits. The annual $300 travel credit means it's really a $150/year card. The main drawback of this card is that it is not chip + PIN, a capability needed for at least some unattended kiosks like for subway/train tickets, parking lots and gas stations. In those instances, I use a Barclay Aviator to receive 1X American Airlines miles. Anyway, as a resident of NL, you will no doubt open a local bank account and obtain a debit card which will provide that capability.

I also have a Citi Prestige credit card, which offers many similar benefits, including Priority Pass lounge access. If you have a banking relationship with Citi, the annual fee is reduced to $350 and with the $250 airline credit, it becomes a $100/year card. (I do find the Chase travel credit is easier to use than Citi's airline one, though.)

By the way, though I have flown into AMS, I've never used any lounges there. I know from personal experience the Priority Pass lounges in Brussels, London Heathrow and Venice are worth a visit, however.

Fabo.sk

Yep, moving from Slovakia to the Netherlands, and interested specifically in a Netherlands card. No US offers.

Priority Pass lounge access would work very well for me.

garykung

This is something no one can answer, as it depends on your company's travel policies, as well as the frequency of the travel.

If you are a LCC-person, that means you select based on price. Any travel credit card WILL NOT work for your situation, unless the card is a co-branded card with the LCC itself.

Check with the airports first. Even a lounge may be available, it may not be available to you because you travel on LCC and have no access to that portion of the terminal.

Which programs then?

As soon as it is a Visa or MasterCard, it is accepted Worldwide. AMEX is more limited.

I could be wrong. Many European cards may not have a FOREX fee.

Fabo.sk

Point is, I don't want to commit to an airline branded card, say FlyingBlue, and then find out I'm flying British Airways only. Of course I'm not looking for any perks given by LCCs themselves either, nor am I looking for perks given by a legacy carrier themselves.



All airports I can expect my personal (not job related) flying to and fro have lounges available for Diners Club, Priority Pass, Lounge Key and the likes, which is what I'm aiming at ideally.


All of them ideally Hotel-wise, the best for me would be IHG and HHonors. Airline wise, I'm not sure yet.


Visa or MC acceptance is expected, I don't know about Ames and the likes though.
Forex fees, I don't know how prevalent are they in Netherlands, but I know they exist in Europe.

garykung

Any general purpose reward cards then.

Fabo.sk

That would not help me the slightest with access to lounges or converting CC points to airline or hotel points.

garykung

1. Each issuer has different transfer partners. So it is impossible to pick one to cover all.

2. Lounge access, again, not only depends if you are entitled, but also if you can access to the terminal.

Fabo.sk

@1. Sure, but I'm sure some have none, and information like "ING Black MC can convert to Flying Blue and HHonors" or "ABN Gold Visa can convert to Miles&More, IHG and SPG points, but the rate sucks" would be helpful, especially personal experience.

@2. I know I can access lounges in Amsterdam, Prague, Budapest and Kosice without any issue flying on any carrier. That's 90+% of my personal travel. The question is, can I leverage a card to get free access? Paid I can already get on my DC.

EmailKid

Košice, eh?

A lovely town, flew there three years ago.