Can I do better?
 

I am reviewing my current cards and spending habits to see if I am maximizing my reward returns....

Location: Atlanta
Yearly Spend: ~$20k
Biggest Category: Grocery at 8%.

Where I go (mainly on Delta, never enough for status):
6 domestic trips
2 international trips


What I have:
SPG Amex ($15k) - Daily Driver
CapOne VentureOne ($5k) - For places that don't take Amex and International use
Delta Amex - Don't actually use this. I check a bag at least three times per year on DL so this is a no brainer.

How I redeem: I have had really good success redeeming SPG points and I like that I can transfer to Delta if I need to.

What I am looking for: Something more than 1 point/$ especially if I am paying an annual fee. Preferably I would like to consolidate to one good Visa card.

I know folks here like CSP but being a Delta hub captive makes that less attractive. I could transfer CSP points to KE but since I need to fly on my SkyMiles number to get Delta Amex perks this is not optimal.

Also, if I keep the SPG Amex, I am considering swapping the CapOne card for the BoA Travel Card since it has C&P and I am going to the UK this year. Good idea?

Thanks!

Well, the PRG card from Amex has double miles for groceries. Or you can get 7% back from the Chase SP.

Are you saying you spend 8% of your yearly 20K on groceries? $4K per year?

Most people round these here parts would say use your 20K for meeting sign up bonus spend and forget about maximizing just the grocery bill.

FYI 8% on 20k per year is $1,600 per year, not $4,000;)

8% of 20k is $1,600. That is what my Amex year end statement says. That seems high to me but whatever. I included mainly to show that I don't really have a category that is really high.

I am not really looking to play the sign up bonus game. Just looking for a consistent card to maximize rewards.

Sorry guys, never trust me with math. I seem to round up to the most pleasing number, regardless of the facts.

If you mostly plan to convert Starpoints to Delta miles you might be better off just using the Delta card. $20,000 * (1.25/$ - 1/$) gives 5000 miles. $65 (SPG fee) for 5000 miles may or may not be a winner with Delta depending on how you plan to use the miles.

SPG for hotels is hard to beat, however.

I'm in Detroit (DTW is Delta dominated) and switched to United/UR from Delta/MR because I could never find a domestic reward seat on Delta. So far I'm happy with the decision. Of course with United the number of direct flights to and from Detroit is more limited. (Shrug).

$1600 on groceries in a year in rather low. That's ONLY $133.33 per month. I spend more than that every 2 wks and I'm not a big eater. Sometimes, that's one weekend's worth of shopping, depending on what I am buying.

I don't like credit card hopping either since I need the year end statement for record purposes. I only want to keep 1 fee card and can carry as many fee-free cards as convenient (and safe). Because I have had problems recently with fraud, I have pared down the number of cards I have (less to keep track of, esp if I don't really use them - fee free). So, I use the CSP as my everyday card and the free Hilton AMEX for its bonus categories, of which groceries is still one. Hilton has more hotels in the areas where I travel (domestic and intl).

I like SPG AMEX, too, but AMEX is not accepted in as many places as VISA/MC. The CSP has nicer multipliers with the UR mall and the year-end bonus (7% of annual points). SPG AMEX main multiplier is SPG hotels which I rarely stay in now. Both SPG and CSP have good transfer partners. CSP can be transferred to airlines and hotels (Hyatt). SPG is mainly airlines transfers.

Like CapOne, CSP has no foreign transaction fees. AMEX does (2.7%).

Only once have I transferred Starpoints to Delta and that was on a really good deal Skymiles wise on J tickets to Europe. Otherwise my redemptions have all been for hotels.

While I understand that Skymiles are generally poor value, I like having the option to transfer in the rare instances it makes sense.

Factoring in UR category and overall bonuses but not potential UR mall spend since that changes frequently I would have had:

31,000 UR points

vs

15,000 StarPoints
5,000 CapOne Points

I don't spend enough on the CapOne card for those points to really get me much. On the other hand, the UR hotel programs don't redeem as well as Starpoints (I almost choked on some of the Marriott reward costs I looked up).

You are a better man than I leaving Delta in Detroit. I just can't give up the non-stops.

It helps that one trip is to Denver this year.

I like UR points and my wife likes Starpoints. The way we spend it gives us a pretty good set of choices for travel booking. Basically lots of UR, lots of Starwood and accepting other ridiculously good offers whenever AMEX targets me.