So a year ago, I never thought I would be in a position to have to ask about this....but I need some advice regarding which cards to use for heavy spending.

New job I started a couple months ago has a pretty lax 'travel policy.' I basically go ahead and book everything on my own, then file a reimbursement request, and get payment via check.

Have been on 3 trips so far since beginning of July...expenses have been about $13,000 cumulatively. Do the math per trip lol.

Trips are almost always decided 2 or 3 days prior to actual departure, so flights alone (economy) are $1000+ usually. Rental car is usually another $800-$1000 (depending on if I stay for 3 or 4 days vs. 7 days). Then, hotel, food, gas, etc on top of that.

I'm currently on my 4th trip, and this one will likely exceed $3000 as well.

So, it's fair to say that I'm spending about $3000-$5000 on average per month on airfare, rental car, and hotel/food for these trips.

What type of card might be ideal for this?

I'm currently using an AMEX Gold & Hilton HHonors. Already got 115,000 Hilton points (40k from starting bonus) from just 2 stays at Hiltons (6 nights cumulatively) along with the other spending on the card. Maybe I can just rack up Hilton points, maybe go up to 500K points, then use something else.

I don't know. I'd rather not sign up for a gazillion other cards to fulfill signing bonuses with large spend requirements (unless for example, I know there were some like 50,000 AMEX points after $30K spend in 6 months, etc. but that one might be a little hard even with my high level of spending just for work), unless there are some really compelling deals.

Otherwise, I'd prefer to stick to one or two like AMEX Gold/AMEX Hilton or Chase Sapphire Preferred or maybe upgrade to AMEX Platinum (the Plat might actually be useful - most trips, I am at usually at 4 star hotels, sometimes 3, and I spend at least 1-2 nights per trip in a 5-star. I know the Plat offers free room upgrades for places like the 4 Seasons, Mandarin Oriential, etc. if I'm not mistaken.)

Anyways, looking for any/all advice.

Thanks again!

What do you want to do with your points (redeem them for airfare, hotel stays, cash back)?

It also depends on where you're based (an airline hub city or a non hub).

In any case, you seem to be racking points nicely. I'd get a couple of flexible cards for starters (Amex plat, chase sapphire preferred, Amex blue cash preferred), and then apply on a per-bonus basis, depending on the available offers but keeping the "main" cards mentioned above.

To be honest, I'm not sure what I want to do with them...I want to get the most value out of the spending I get to do now, where I can use all this when I won't be at this job because I know I won't be keeping this job forever lol. But, I would say emphasis on airfare and hotel stays. The cash back cards I see aren't very good...2% max for Fidelity? I'll pass..hmmm..I'd get a $100 per month on $5K of monthly spending. The Hilton Honors (not Surpass) card has already given me more than that with nearly 10K in spending.

As for location, so I will be flying out of MIA. Trips will be to northern California (SFO/SJC), ORD, DFW, or NYC.

Primarily SFO/SJC and ORD.

I'm open to having a core 2-3 cards and then having some on a per-bonus basis.

I felt a little embarrassed calling my thread high spending after seeing another one a couple minutes ago from a while ago where the poster had $360K/month in business spending haha.

I hope this helps.

AMEX Platinum is not about points, but benefits and status. AMEX Platinum does not give you upgrade unless you book through FHR, a program special for AMEX Platinum and Centurion cardmembers.

If you are point-savvy, AMEX Platinum is not for you. In fact, a lot of AMEX Platinum cardmembers also have AMEX PRG with them.

So in your case, what important is to identify the brands that you will have a relationship with, and apply for the affiliated cards.

The AMEX Premier Rewards Gold gives 3x MR points on flight purchases so that is a good one for purchasing your flights as long as MR points are useful for you. Chase Sapphire Preferred has 2x on travel spend and I think the Ultimate Reward Points are more valuable than AMEX MR points but it depends on what you want to use them for. I'm not a fan of Hilton anymore since Hilton points have been devalued a lot this year. Do you have a choice of hotels? You might want to look at Hyatt, Starwood, and Club Carlson programs and compare them with the Hilton program. Take a look at the awards charts and see what your Hilton points will get you. You might be surprised at how many points you will need. Ask yourself what is one trip you would like to take at some point in the future. Then plan that trip looking at what hotels are at that location and how many points you would need in each program. Then look at the airlines that could take you there. That's a good way to get a feel for what points in different programs are worth and will help you decide which cards to get.

ddallas, I do have a choice of hotels. Usually it's either Hilton, Marriott, or Fairmont for the majority of the trip. And then I spend at least 1-3 days at a MO, 4 Seasons, or Ritz if I can get it for under $500 a night. (if it's over $500, I'll spend just a single night - for example, right now, I'm at the 4 Seasons Chicago because I got the buy 2, get 1 free night deal, so it comes out to a little under 350 a night). But just not sure I stay in one brand consistent enough to offset the annual fees.

The thing with the Hilton's, someone correct me if I'm wrong, is how fast it racks up with the 7x per $ or 12x per $ if I get the Reserve (so even after the devaluation, it's still worth a lot I think....maybe I'm wrong about that though....)

And rental car is usually Hertz Gold or Avis Preferred, usually Hertz everywhere except at ORD b/c Avis has better selection of cars there (BMW, etc.)

Anyone? I'm open to the idea of having a core 2-3 cards and then maybe getting some on-the-fly for some big sign-on bonuses.

I'd like to get rewards for flight & hotel that aren't super restrictive...

Also ddallas, to be honest, I'm only 22 years old...don't really have a 'dream' trip planned out yet in my mind haha.

Just want to take advantage of this corporate spending right now on my personal card so when I am not at this job anymore (might happen in 2-4 years), I will have a lot of options for taking trips (flight & hotel) after that.

I would suggest to be a bit more deliberate about choice of preferred airline/alliance/hotel chain (based on what works for you), and then make your credit card choices appropriately.

So, for instance, if Hilton works for you as a good hotel chain to earn/spend points, then focus on appropriate cards (Citi HHonors Visa, Citi HHonors Reserve, Amex HHonors, Amex HHonors Surpass). You can keep 1 or 2 of them as "core" cards based on what is of value to you, and get the others for the sign-up bonus and cancel after a year.

Many will tell you that the "value" of an HHonors point (derived from ease of earning and cost of spending) is less than that of other hotel chains such as Hyatt, or Marriott.

So you have to read about how value is computed, and then make the decision for yourself based on your earning/spending preferences.

Similarly on the airline side - pick American/OneWorld, United/Star, or Delta/Skyteam - and then funnel your travel to that airline/alliance to maximize your ability to hit and enjoy elite status. And pick credit cards then that match the airline of interest. I prefer United/Star and so my cards tend to be CSP, Inks, Freedom (Chase cards that yield Ultimate Rewards points that can be transferred 1:1 to United) as well as Chase United cards. Again, keep some, and get the others for the sign-up bonus and then cancel/downgrade after a year (many of them come with no annual fee for the first year).

Cards such as the SPG and Amex cards give you earning currency that can be transferred to many airlines/hotels, so these can be used to supplement your earning potential.

So the critical thing is to identify your airline and hotel chain of interest. The rest will follow.

To add my opinion, I would like to key in on two things:

And:

You don't have any specific plans and your time horizon is several years out.

Your biggest concern, at this point, should probably be "devaluation risk". So much could happen in the next few years with any of these currencies to make them worth less (or worthless).

Consider something like this:

1. List out your primary airline options (will probably be DL, AA, UA, US) and hotel
2. Look at the current award charts to determine what your biggest dream could possibly be - at worst, just look up the highest possible redemption amount on the chart
3. Figure out a combination of earning (CC signup, direct CC spending, third party currency like Ultimate Rewards)
4. Build a calendar that balances signups and your everyday spending to hit all your possible aspirational goals within your 2-4 year time frame (with your level of spend, it's probably something like a new CC every month or two plus one or two with annual tiered spending goals)
5. Adjust every few months to take account of devaluation

Then also make sure you maximize your current experience, by showing loyalty to an airline, hotel, and car rental partner to earn their own elite status.

Since you are new to this, you will probably make terrible mistakes. For example, you might earn top tier elite status on AA then decide you hate connecting at DFW, or you hate Marriott executive lounges, or whatever. So allow for the possibility of status match in your second year to try something else.

Hi guys, thanks for all the feedback.

A couple of comments....I've basically flown American most of my life. My parents live in DFW, so if I want to visit, it'll be American. American also has a lot of flights out of Miami (where I live now) to Chicago and SFO (where I go for work), so on both those accounts, it looks like American will be the best...and maybe Delta, but primarily American.

I mean, it seems like the general impression I get on here is that United is the best airline....is this true? Should I be focusing on them instead? lol.

As for Hilton, yes I have read about the devaluations, but being able to get the 7 points per $, along with a 15% bonus for being silver/gold, etc, etc. adds up quickly I believe? I guess my question is, the Hilton cards allow you to rack up points fast....does the rate at which you can collect points overcome the fact that the points are worth less than Marriott points, etc.?

Also, where can I get an award chart for Hilton, Marriott, etc.?

OK, looks like I found the Hilton one? http://hhonors.hilton.com/en/hhonors...e_matrix.jhtml

You've reached the limit of the advice we can offer because the rest is personal preference.

Which is best will depend on if you enjoy the experience (so try out the other airlines and hotels) and where exactly you want to use your points.

For hotels, there are award tiers, but it's usually based on internal metrics, not geography. Easiest to search for specific hotels and see how many points are needed, then figure out how you would earn those points.

Best is always highly subjective. You should focus on whatever airline you intend to use. I focus on United because I live in a United hub city.

So, if I want flexibility on hotel (but will mostly fly American), am I better using some core cards like the AMEX Gold Premiere Rewards or AMEX SPG and then some cards for signup bonuses?

If I am gonna choose some core cards, what would you recommend?

Since you do not have any specific plans to use the points, and may not use them for a couple years, those two cards are good choices for their flexibility in transferring the points depending on what the future brings. In the same way, you can focus your signup bonus apps on Ultimate Reward points cards for their flexibility.

ddallas, thank you.

So 2 questions...

1. If I have the regular gold card, can I ask them to upgrade me to the Premiere Rewards one? Should I just charge everything on the Gold? or the SPG? I feel like it would dilute it trying to use both instead of just one...??

2. Which cards have signup bonuses for Chase's Ultimate Rewards points (besides the Sapphire)?