Originally Posted by singlemalt
Is there anyone going after Preferred awards through points collected through credit card spending? It appears that Diners has an advantage over the BofA Visa card (2.4 points/$CC vs 2.0), but there's the annual fee on Diners. I also read that Diners can be used anywhere a MC is accepted, and that transfers to airlines now have a fee - but I didn't see one for the hotels. I just don't know much about the Diners program (or Choice, for that matter).
The list of Preferred hotels is impressive - I'm looking for more high-end award possiblities. I have enough points with Hilton and Starwood to last me for a while, and I'm looking fo another option.
I have a hard time imagining anyone who's got the BofA Choice Visa and is only using it for non-hotel spending. In fact, I use it ONLY for hotel spending when it gets me a bonus, since I find 2 points worth so much less than 1 mile.
And that gets back to the other question: You presumably have no high-value use (such as upper-class awards or upgrades on international travel) for miles, where the miles would be worth many cents on the dollar. Because when used that way, I'm not familiar with any way that 2.4 points can be worth as much as 1 mile.
So, having said that: I use Diners as my primary card, but because of the flexility of being able to transfer to so many airline programs. (Yes, it's fewer US programs now than before, but the US programs I belong to that left I earn more miles from hotels, dining, and bonuses of various kinds than from credit card anyway.) Want to fly to Iceland where only IcelandAir goes but want to upgrade? Diners can do it. Next year want to upgrade on some completely different airline elsewhere in the world (that allows upgrades with miles, without having to be elite)? Diners can do it.
Diners' flexibility is also good when you want to TOP OFF some program (airline or hotel) that you've gotten CLOSE to an award with through your other-than-spending activity.
I suppose you could use it for hotel points only, but I don't know if anyone else does (other than for top off). There's a separate forum here at FT for Diners, you might ask that specific question there. (Don't limit it to Preferred, you want to start out finding if anyone finds it worth to use Diners for nothing but ANY hotel's points.)
(And even when you don't have any use for miles, always remember: The benchmark to do the math against is a no-annual-fee cashback card. If you can earn more in 1% cashback -- to then spend for paying for a Preferred Hotel night outright -- than you earn with only a credit card toward free Preferred Hotel stays, why be limited by points you can't decide later to use for something else and/or a high annual fee?)
Oh, one more thing: Baymont. Baymont abruptly left the one points program and emerged a month later in another points program earlier this year. And this is not the first time something like that has happened. If you get a BofA Choice Visa with no interest in staying at Choice hotels, only Preferred, and then before you can spend the $$$$$ to earn an award Preferred drops out, then what? (At least with DIners you can still use them for Hilton or Starwood or Intercontinental or Hyatt. And at least with cashback you can use it for ANYTHING.)