Originally Posted by
Boraxo
The irony of the coupon book approach is that it does nothing to incentivize anyone to whip out the card for everyday spend. They simply jump through whatever Amex hoops are needed to collect the prize. I suppose that brings a sense of satisfaction to some (plus a few hundred net of AF), but I don't see it creating the type of frequent engagement Amex wants. The better play is to incentivize people to carry the card in their wallets with dining & grocery bonus (hello Gold card) or travel expenses (hello CSR). But what do I know, I'm just a cynical customer.
Yes, this is true. There is no one *single* Amex card that will maximize the rewards, and yes, I'm sure that is by design.
I have a pretty decent no-fee card, an "Amex" from USAA, which is 3% on dining and 2% on groceries and gas. (They also have a points portal, but these aren't MR points and can be redeemed for cash back at 1 CPP.) It's good enough that I can't justify the $250 fee for the Gold card, especially since I can't easily use the credits on it. And I have a 1.5% cash back Visa on everything -- I know 2% is out there, just haven't grabbed it yet. Again, good enough that I'm not going to create some seat-of-the-pants, half-assed business for few months to get a BBP and pay the fee.
Part of the reason for a SUB is to allow someone to see, for a year, if a card is worth carrying long term. That's what I'm doing here. Maybe 10 months in, I'll go back and honestly "value" the credits I used for my own personal situation and make a decision on whether to keep it. The SUB makes it worth trying. Mine is the Schwab version, so worst case, if the value isn't there I cash out the 100K SUB for $1100 plus whatever spend I put on the card, and cancel.
I'm sure a lot of folks don't like couponing or doing a lot of work to figure out if a card is right for them or not. For them, get the best cash back you can and keep it simple.