Originally Posted by
EverywhereHome
Broadly, I'm trying to evaluate a few questions:
- Travel card or cash back card? I travel enough that if there is a way to tip the balance toward the travel card, I've tipped it. What I can't figure out, however, is how anything can be better than a flat 2% back (excluding the "5% if you can buy all of your gas in Q1 and all of your diapers in Q3" cards).
- General travel card or airline card? I used to have a US MC that got me 10k of EQM every year. AA took that away in the merger. Is there any real value anymore to having an airline-specific card? How much does that answer depend on what airline I fly?
- One card or two? For historical reasons, I have two credit cards with high limits plus my backup card. Are cards really so different that having two primary cards is worthwhile, or is the ideal situation a main card and one backup?
- Is AmEx really a thing? I keep reading about the AmEx SPG card, but I can't believe that carrying an AmEx card is really useful compared to VISA or MC. Is it?
For me, it helps to step back and understand exactly what you want your cards to do for you. Over the years (decades, actually), my reason to carry credit cards has evolved from: (1) buying stuff I couldn't quite afford to (2) monthly cash flow management to (3) convenience & cash back to (4) travel enablers/enhancers.
Seven years ago, I was at Level 3 (convenience/cash back), holding four cards and thinking of dumping one of them that had an annual fee. Now, having reached the fourth level of "enlightenment" (travel), I hold ten cards, six with annual fees. I have reasons for holding each card: points/miles accumulation, flexible points transfer to programs I use, hotel/airline program status and perks, long-term high limit credit history, no FTF, primary car rental insurance, etc. This is where choosing cards gets complicated, and the best mix of cards for you depends on your personal travel patterns and preferences, as others have suggested.
Most of my answers to your specific questions would apply to me, but perhaps not to you. That said, among the large issuers, I prefer Amex and Chase for good service experience, superior online account access and control features. Compared to VISA and MC, Amex is
not a thing - not to me anyway. Now that I have ten cards, I would really like to skinny that down to only six or seven. Even if I weren't interested in travel enhancers, I would still hold several cards as a hedge against unauthorized charges, account screw-ups, etc.
As a frame of reference for my opinions, I pump as much spending as I can through credit cards (paying all balances in full of course), I don't churn cards, I don't manufacture spending, and I suspect that I am less price-sensitive than many who post here. There, I said it!
I found the most useful/interesting perspectives at these blogs: View From the Wing, One Mile at a Time, Travel Codex (formerly Hack my Trip) for complete comparisons of hotel and airline programs, Travelsort, TPG. Also, the Frugal Travel Guy was good introductory stuff.
Happy Choosing!