Originally Posted by
holyPockets
I just did this arithmetic recently for U.S. stays, and it wasn't pretty. I only looked at Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt. My conclusion was that I was better off just paying for Marriott and Hilton nights using their co-branded cards or the Chase Sapphire Reserve. It didn't help that Hilton did an unannounced devaluation last month bumping those same sampled properties up by 25%. The exception was that Hyatt, due to their tiered rewards, was worth using the Chase Hyatt card if I put a minimum of $15,000 per account year on it.
Like OP, I used to just set it and forget it with the Amex SPG card. Those days are long gone I'm afraid. I'd recommend either a change to Chase Hyatt card, if the Hyatt footprint is suitable for your needs, and/or just boring old cash back. There are a lot of good CB cards out there right now.
what CB cards are revered as top tier these days? I have the old blue cash, and use the BofA cash back currently, but am unsure if they truly are my best options.
thanks ALL for the help so far!