Originally Posted by
vincewy
I may be in the market of the Premium card too. Obviously the first year is no brainer, you get outsized return (120K after $5000 spend, correct me if I'm reading this wrong).
Going forward, this card works for me because:
1. I spend around $4000 - $5000 in non-bonus categories (outside travel, dining, and groceries) annually.
2. Some spending will be overseas.
Even if I don't pay to stay at BW hotels, my estimated annual return (if you value BW point at 0.5 cent each) of spending exactly $5000.
10000 (5000 * 2 regular spend) + 40000 bonus points = 50000
((50000* 0.05) - $89 annual fee) / $5000 = 3.22% ($161)
Another card I was planning to get/use was Citi DC, I value each TYP at 2 cents (YMMV as how you'll use/transfer your points), and if all my non-bonus spend is in US then the annual return is ((5000 * 2) * 0.02 )/ $5000 = 4% ($200)
However my decision tilts toward BW Premium is due to foreign transaction fee of 3% using Citi DC, BW Premium has none. Now, if I pay to stay at BW with at least $300 then the annual return will be much higher with BWP.
Regarding footprint, BW has many properties in Europe and Australia/NZ where you'll otherwise pay a lot, and the qualities are usually consistent across all brands (except Surestay).
Actually, you should get 130,000 points because the $5000 spending gets you 10,000 points on its own. The no foreign transaction fee is an attractive component, and in fact, I'd be hard pressed anymore to take a card with a foreign transaction fee in the absence of some other compelling benefit. The offer is good until April 30 so I'm giving it some thought.