Originally Posted by
dafonz
How savvy are you with points?
An SPG American express card is for 2017 (imo), the best card for earning. Transfers to most major airline programs and if you convert to marriott and get the trip packages, it's a fantastic deal.
Ditto...
RBC Avion Privilege: $70k spend x 1.25 Avion points = 87.5k Avion points.
1) You can convert to AA. That's not a bad haul. AA has some nice partners.
2) You can convert to BA...lately they've been doing 25% transfer bonus. Could be useful to buy upgrades on BA flights, if that's something you could be interested in.
3) Use them as Avion points. I think 35k gets you a return ticket within North America. Has fees, but no blackouts like Aeroplan.
SPG AMex: $70k spend x 1 SPG points = 70k SPG points
1) You can use them for hotels...some pretty good redemption values on hotels.
2) You can convert to airlines with a 25% bonus per 20k transfer. So 60k * 1.25 = 75k + 10k remaining = 85k. A little less than the Avion would get you, but you have many more airline options
3) You can transfer SPG to Marriott where 1 SPG = 3 Marriott points. At that level, there are some interesting Mariott Flight + Hotel package possibilities.
Wild card: RBC British Airways card...for 30k of spending you get a companion pass. With the bonus points, you can do a nice trip with your spouse on BA somewhere (though the fees are high).
But...the overriding question you need to answer: what do you want to do? Figure that part out, then choose the card that will help you get to that goal.