Yes - I also agree the SPG Amex is the best card for spending. It is my primary card. (I also recomended it in the Asia Miles primer I linked to).

However my largest expenses don't take Amex - thus I find it very important to have a good Visa or MasterCard option. And MBNA is preferable for me and anyone who travells internationally since they don't charge extra for the exchange. Using the MBNA EAP MasterCard for all international purchases and non-Amex accepting US merchants with SPG Amex for those who take Amex seems to be the best points strategy at the moment.

And no MM - I do not work for any of the companies involved - I'm a FF who knows what the best value is (for those with spending and travel patterns similar to mine) and have been repeating myself because it seems many FTers are still oblivious to Asia Miles and the fact it could be the best deal for them. I simply want to share what I think the best deal is - especially for anyone with a high spend. Why spend more when less would suffice?

You bring up a very valid point - my strategy Ebay Points --> Asia Miles may not remain such a good deal in the long run. I probably wouldn't recomend this card to someone who only spends $1K/month - by the time they spend enough for a free ticket the program may have changed. But anyone who has a high spend can quickly earn free tickets this way. I know quite a number of FTers have a high CC spend between personal and business expenses. While 1 cent/$ spent is far from ideal, being able to cash out on eBay at 1 cent/$ spent is a nice way to not lose everything if things change. So just as I previously recomended Amtrak for UA miles, today I recomend EAP for Asia Miles.