Originally Posted by
Appalachians
What are the best travel rewards cards in the industry outside of partnered airline programs? Chase Sapphire Preferred, Ink Bold, etc.
Short answer is good value over time. Longer answer and some other comments follows.
SPG gets high marks.
Chase UR and Amex MR are transferable and redeemable. That different cards have different earn rates can be an attraction, but the basic points have to be worthwhile.
Economically, you are working with an alternative currency. Delta Sky Miles are now referred to as Sky Pesos due to tinkering with the program which has devalued them. SPG points on the other hand area revered. The 30K SPG program has people very interested, and it's just 5K more than the usual. So how you approach and decide to manage your points values does matter. Since the world changes, this is a philosophical issue -- decide at the beginning if you will chase (Delta), or try and hold to a standard (SPG)
The other aspect is besides RDM is status and the perks that come with it. Some of these are earned over time, some of these come with the card.
For an FI, status and perks could be limited call wait times, In-country based support as opposed to "overseas" outsourced. These used to be standard features of a company, so it's sad that they are now 'perks' but so it goes in our modern times. Sadly, it takes status and perks to get what used to be a normal part of business XX years ago.
As far as churn goes, very few cards offer renewal bonuses and I find this surprising. Some do when you call retention, but actually increasing earning the longer the card holder is a member would strike me as more of a loyalty reward, than the sign up bonuses, which encourage churning. For example, upon the first year renewal, give 0.1X last years earned points as a bonus, the 2nd year, 0.2X, and so on. This of course, assumes your points are worth having and remain so.
Not from a churn & burn standpoint, but for your everyday uses?
Right now, Chase is offering 5X Gas and 5X Restaurant on Freedom through 9/30. The "Earn" side swings purchases to them right now, but when the bonus ends, it'll to go another card. But it's because the points are worth having, that Chase gets the spend.
Amex has that reputation of having your back with purchase protection, etc, which is outside of the points set up. They do also have a reputation of instantly being the Spanish Inquisition if you make them nervous, but if I can purchase a laptop and they extend the warranty or provide klutz protection, it's a feature that can be more important than the points. Since they don't cover everything, there is room for someone else to move into this space.