Originally Posted by
SightseeMC
TL;DR - BoA Premium Rewards beats out other cards given our situation.
We will be foreign-based next year, so no FTF is key. And what we really value in rewards is free breakfast (yeah, I said it
) during stays and the opportunity to snag a free room when rates skyrocket. But we've recently been reminded that, in most circumstances, a perfectly nice hotel can be had for $100 in most of the places we travel, including breakfast. Plus, there are some travel options we really want that don't have major brands attached.
I've been reading this thread and decided to go with the BoA Premium Rewards for non-bonus spend, given our relationship with the bank already. 2.625% is too good to pass up, and $500 bonus is better than the extra 1st year return with Alliant. The extra return from the Altitude Reserve isn't worth the $355 more in annual fees, and our CSRs match the benefits. Plus, the CFU has FTF (but I am KICKING myself for missing that 3x sign-up bonus; would have crushed it for the rest of this year), or I'd just stay within the Chase family for everything. I am at 3/24 with Chase but I will use a spot for this; if we end up in the US more than planned I'll add a base Chase.
I am in similar circumstances (50% of the time I will be outside the USA). I had not considered the BofA card. A 2.6% return plus the sign up bonus is very attractive. Using the CSR for travel and dining and using the BofA for everything else overseas is hard to beat. (CFU for domestic non- bonus spend.) Currently, I am at 2/24 at Chase. That allows me to pick up 2 additional Chase cards. Still debating.
PS Moving an IRA over to BofA is relatively painless for the return.
PPS As someone suggested to me, my non-bonus spend is not great enough to go crazy optimizing my credit cards. If I was already 5/24, I would get the BofA card. I am still considering adding Chase cards.