Originally Posted by jft3

While the Platinum card isn't great on the earning schedule, most hold the Platinum for the benefits only. You'd be leaving a lot of points on the table not picking up another product to pair it with.

i.e. using your example of spending $10k in airfare, pickup the Premier Rewards Gold card, which earns 3x on airfare (4x if you book through AMEX). At 56k pts @ 40% bonus, you can cover somewhere around 10+ shorthaul flights that'll (assuming a minimum value of $100/flight) will net you $1000 in value, but probably closer to 2-3x that (versus $480 max value on the Citi Prestige).

You can game it further and pickup the Everyday Preferred card, pickup $6k of airline gift cards at the grocery store and earn 4.5x pts, and the rest at a gas station (3x pts), to earn slightly higher redemption.

Yes, there are annual fees, but provided you maximize your transfer ability, you'll come out wayyyy ahead.

Citi really needs to supplement their transfer partners if they want to be taken seriously.