Originally Posted by
ghurty
Hi,
I keep on hearing about all these chairman cards (citi bank, amex) and the like.
Where can I find a list comparing the different cards? I am trying to find out which one is the best for me (if any)?
I fly quite abit, usually on American airlines (if that makes a difference ).
Thanks
It depends on :
1. Airline Club access
2. High reward rate (i.e. points per $ and value of points)
3. Reward types
4. Hotel benefits
5. Concierge
6. Spending level
On #1,
- Chairman ($500 per year) offers an unlimited user version of Priority Pass which does not seem to help too much for AA travellers
- Merrill+ (no annual fee) offers a AA Club membership with $50k in spending
- Citi Platinum AMEX ($99 per year; first year free) offers a pay per use version of Priority Pass
On #2,
- Citi Platinum AMEX offers 3+ points per $ for the first 2 years
- Citi Chairman AMEX offers effectively 2 points per $ for someone that buys plane tickets on the card
- Merrill+ offers 1 point per $
On #3,
- Merrill+ only offers transfers to British Airways
- The Citi cards do not offer transfers to Airline or Hotel programs
- All of these cards offer a decent selection of hotel rewards, merchandise, and airline ticket rewards (but not point transfers)
On #4,
- Citi Chairman and Citi Platinum AMEX offer premium hotel discounts
- Citi Chairman provided Hilton Gold Status
- Merrill+ offers some premium hotel discounts
On #5,
- Citi Chairman AMEX supposedly offers an excellent concierge
- Merrill+ offers a concierge that is okay
- Citi Platinum AMEX does not offer a concierge
On #6,
- Citi Chairman AMEX and Merrill+ are unlimited in terms of points per year
- Citi Platinum AMEX is limited to 150,000 points per year
IMHO
- Pick Merrill+ if you can spend 50,000 per year to get the AA Club membership
- Pick Citi Platinum AMEX as a back up. It comes with free monthly credit reports and the pay as you go Priority Pass which gets you in to most DL/CO/NW clubs when you cannot get into the AA Club
- Alternately consider American Express Platinum and Diners Club if you are interested in Point Transfers or other benefits of these cards.