As someone who has previously had very few paid stays, and who collects points almost exclusively with cc spend, I have a lot of interest in this. While I do have some airline cards, I don't put hardly any spend on them.
For hotels my wife and I curently have:
- 2 SPG Amex (Bus/Pers)
- Citi Premier HH
- HH Amex Surpass
- Carlson Visa
- Chase Sapphire Preferred
- Chase Ink Bold
Last year's plan was to focus on SPG, so our plan was :
Business spend
-$30K on my SPG.
-$30K on wifes SPG
- Variable spend on Bold MC for nonAmex suppliers and bonus categories
- $10K spend on Citi Premier to get free night
- Remaining spend on SPG until...
- Late year spend on HH Surpass to get to $40K for Diamond in 2016
Home
- HH Surpass spend
- Occasional airline spend for new card bonuses etc.
With the clear devaluations of virtually every program, I may finally go to a cash back card. Take NYC for instance:
- SPG Sheraton Times Sq. = 12K spend on SPG
- Hilton Times Sq: About 18-20K spend
- Hyatt: about 18K spend on CSP
- Carlson: 15K spend (but rare availability)
So (as we all know) if I can get a room for $240/night or less, I should do that rather than use the points since I spent <$12k to get that cash. Since my travel is short stays and last minute, I often find bargain rates and should start taking advantage of that.
Bottom line is that I will probably add a 2% cash back card, Currently my plan is to hit my SPG and HH Surpass spend for status, the Premier card 10K limit for the free night, then just accumulate cash back for hotel spend. I will have to look at the Barclay card I suppose. Sorry for the long post. Good luck to all.