Originally Posted by Guava

In this case, you may want to consider the Charles Schwab 2% cash back VISA. You get 2% back straight from all your purchases.

http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/...?#cash_rewards

The 2% cash back is roughly equivalent to the real cost of 1 SPG point or 3 HH points IMO, plus as cash earns interests while points don't, it may work out better for some people. Plus, this card has the benefit of charging 0% transaction fee on foreign amounts, which is another plus in the view of many people.

With this card, what you can do is when you decide you need some HH points; or SPG points for that matter, you can go to the Coupon Connection section of FT, posts an offer for HH/SPG or whatever by offering a FT approved giftcard in return. You will find that most transactions will take place around $0.02 per SPG point or $0.0067 per HH point. However, due to inconsistent liquidity and the timing of the trade, this may or may not hold true and you may be a little patient with such an offer.