Hi all -

Newbie here. I run a small business in NYC and am researching credit card options to replace our existing Amex Business Gold card.

Here's some background info:

- We travel internationally 3 - 4 times / year, primarily JFK to CDG or LHR

- Monthly c.c. expenditure is approx $2500 / month

- Expenditures are for office supplies, restaurants, hotels and airfare (primarily Air France)

Ideally we'd like to get a new card that has a good current promotion, could tie in to an Air France frequent flier program, and replace charges we're putting on Amex.

All feedback is appreciated!

Welcome to Flyertalk.

There are not many options for earning FlyingBlue points with cards issued in the USA. Is there a reason you do not wish to continue with Membership Rewards?

An alternative is the Starwood Preferred Guest credit card. This is also issued by American Express, but it does not participate in Membership Rewards. Instead, each dollar earns one Starpoint. Starpoints can be redeemed for hotel stays -or- transferred 1:1 to many airline frequent flyer programs including FlyngBlue. If you transfer 20,000 points in one transaction you will receive 5,000 bonus miles.

Information about the credit card is here:

http://www201.americanexpress.com/bu...dit-card/29790

Information about Starwood's reward program is here:

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/prefer...eem/index.html

Click the Transfer to Miles link to see the airline partners and transfer ratios which are not the same for every partner.

Thanks for your helpful feedback, Mia. We'll look into SPG further.

As for Membership Rewards, Amex charges out the wazoo for international transactions and we'd prefer an issuer that is more competitive on this front, yet also has a compelling points program.

The foreign currency transaction fee will be the same (2.7%) on the Starwood Preferred Guest credit card. If this is a problem you'll need to settle on some type of reward other than FlyingBlue miles, and you'll be able to exclude many banks entirely because 3% is a typical fee.

The primary thread on this topic is this one:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...-exchange.html

...but it's overwhelming. You may wish to start here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...e-charges.html