Originally Posted by
mlin32
So here's my quandary :
As an ex-pat living in Germany, I've still held onto my US credit cards due to the attractive perks, rewards, etc.... Combine that with no FX fees, contactless (it works now), I still use my Amex Gold for larger purchases.
Annoyingly with my Amex Gold, I don't get earn anything more than 1x points except for airfare, because the bonus categories are US-specific. I do travel a bit- mostly intra-Europe and perhaps long-haul a couple times a year, so the 3x bonus on flights is nice.
Luckily, my annual fee for next year falls before the increase. But beyond that, I struggle with a $250 annual fee. I was considering moving up to Plat eventually to benefit from the travel perks and 5x airfare.......does that move make any sense ? Because the refresh for Gold means nothing to me as 98% of my spending is now in Europe.
This is based on you have a US address that allows you to get US issued credit cards.
Get a no fee AMEX MR card such as the Business Plus (no forex fee and earns 2x on anything) or the Everyday (not very useful for you based outside US) to keep your MR pts alive.
Then look OUTSIDE AMEX to find a card that would make sense for you for your spend.
For the travel expenses, the Chase Sapphire series is worth for you to explore. Read the Sticky on Apply Chase Cards in the Chase forum before you proceed to do any new card application so you would not jinx yourself.
For the day to day spend outside travel / dining, you may want to take a look of CapitalOne's Quick Silver - 1.5% cash rebate on anything, 0% forex fee, 0 AF, better exchange rate than Chase's Visa due to CapOne does not pass along the Visa network fee.
CapOne also has a new Savor card that first year fee waived, $500 sign up bonus for $3K spend. 4x dining and entertainment, 2% grocery. No cap. 0% forex fee. 2nd year the fee is $95. (so may be only good for the first year).
The beauty of CapOne's cards is, your earnings are posted the same time the transactions posted, and the $ credit is redeemable immediately upon posting, at any amount - as a statement credit / or check.
TD Bank has a cash rebate card for 3% dining 2% grocery, 1% everything else - Worldwide. 0% forex fee, no AF. Same redemption mechanism as CapOne's cash rebate cards, but has a $25 threshold for redemption.