gleff

This isn't fully what you're after, but at least more up-to-date:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...rehensive.html

RustyC

I'm starting to get notices for "changes to agreements" related to the new credit card law. The gist so far seems to be that banks can't do the mixed-balance trick anymore or shenanigans with too-short payment periods, saying a payment arriving after 1 PM is "next day" or approving overlimit charges so they can charge overlimit fees rather than just declining the charge.

To try to replace those questionable profit streams they're raising minimum payments, raising upfront costs for cash advances and balance transfers to 5%, and really raising interest on cash advances or balance transfers to prime + 23% or something looking loanshark-like (one thing the credit card bill didn't do was cap interest rates).

It all probably won't be good for paying off balances every month and playing the mileage game. The overall size of the credit-card business could well shrink, as could the role. OTOH, the situation it had gotten to before the changes was unsustainable.

dblacksberg

Gleff,
I am new to this site and so far it is wondeful.
This is a great posting.

I have 2 questions:

Friends speak highly of CapitalOne and mentioned getting free flights fromNY to P.R. and other loctions. However, you do not- can you please expand.

Also- what is the best card (without annual fee) for use at hotels and airlines? It is very confusing with all the joint programs out there.

Once again thank you for you post.

Kremmen

I think he covered the reasons to avoid CapitalOne pretty well in the first post. Poor value, especially compared to business/first overseas rewards on real frequent flyer programmes and earned only through credit card spending.

The second question is, I believe, the wrong question to be asking, unless you are charging so little on cards that none of them will be worth much to you. Work out what's the best value to you overall and don't rule out cards with fees. Getting, say, $500 worth of hotel nights while paying a $45 fee is better than getting $200 worth of air travel with no fee.

oasisman

I have a CapitalOne guard for a few years....its an OK general card considering there's no annual fee. As far a earning points.....and getting something out of it...it's a tough road, no real signup bonus, airplane tix can only be redeemed on a Step basis (15,000 for $150 tix, then 30,000 for $300 tix, nothing in between).

If you're not a big flyer, I suggest the Starwood Amex like everyone else...a great card for transferring to miles, relatively low ($45) annual fee, etc.

For credit card reviews, askmrcreditcard.com is a great site.

Bowgie

Cap One recently changed its airline redemption to a flat 1% with no step: Want a $266 ticket? No problem, that will be $26,600 spend. The Cap One web site links to a travel agency to book with Cap One miles. The whole process is easy.

Redemption rate isn't that great as you point out. But the BIG reason to hold the Cap One card is NO OVERSEAS currency fees. Amex takes 2.7% and other VISA cards take 3%, which makes the card quite good as long as you are doing foreign transactions.

moondog

Schwab is better (2% cash back, and the rest is the same).

gleff

The only thing Capital One can be useful for is purchases outside the US, they don't kill you on foreign currency conversion. But as a points program it's pretty bottom of the barrel.

TheBroad

Actually, I'm earning Capital One miles by letting money sit in a money market savings account. My husband and I funded the new account with our wedding money, and I'll be adding a credit card to that account soon so we have fee-free, point-earning access to our money AND credit while we're living in China.

The rate is one point per $20 per month, so if you've got a few thousand dollars to save, you can earn a few hundred points a month by doing nothing.

Abus15

Thanks Gleff - Great Info

Does anyone have advice on what I should do? Currently I spend on 3 cards per year

Amex Green - Business 100K/Year
Amex Blue Cash - Everyday Purchases (Gas, Grocery, Restraunt) 20K/Year
Citi Premier Pass - 12-15K/Year

I am thinking about getting a chase sapphire or Amex Starwood card to replace my citi premier pass? Do you think its a good idea?

I want to make the most of the spending I do!

Thanks,

Adam

MDtR-Chicago

What do you actually want to do with what you earn? Travel? Spend it like cash?

Which categories, in general, do you spend the most in?

Abus15

I want to have variety. I want to have flight and hotel's covered on vacations but with AMEX rewards the best value seems to be with flights. I only travel 1-2 times a year so I balance it with my Blue Cash card for my groceries, gas 5%.

As for categories. I spend the most of my money almost 100K on entertainment for business. The other money is restraunts, supermarket, and gas.

MDtR-Chicago

First decide if it makes sense to sign up for a few cards just for the signup bonus. Right now you could earn 150k from AA easily that way. Other options are about $800 in Southwest travel, some AMEX membership rewards offers, and 40-50k miles from many others.

Also might be able to get the Priority Club Visa with 80k signup bonus (can be used for as much as 16 free nights on a promotion plus instant Platinum status)

Beyond that, for your spending pattern, your options include:

United Select Card - 2 miles/$ supermarket, restaurant, gas
PenFed Visa - 5% back on gas, no limit, in cash (not sure if that's better than your Blue offer)
citi Forward - 5 ThankYouPoints/$ in restaurants (1 cent/TYP value if you use for travel)

Not sure what "entertainment" means... not usually any deals for strippers and casinos

You should give some serious thought to how you plan to redeem tho. If you're traveling infrequently, you might just be better off with a generic 2% cash back card. Fidelity offers one.

Abus15

Thanks for the info. Very helpful

Entertainment is tickets to sporting events, concerts, etc

MDtR-Chicago

Ah, the only card of which I'm aware that might be useful is the JetBlue AMEX:

I'm not very familiar with how their points work but at one time I had valued them at 1.1 cents/point for my own use, which would mean a 2.2% return in those categories.

Wasn't enough for me to sign up but it might work out well for you, given the $ spend in those categories.