The dust has settled - which hotel credit card is now king?
May 23, 2016, 10:27 am
#271
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 147
Best Credit Card for Hotel Bookings (2 Nights) in Rome?
I just had an opportunity to take a trip to Rome (all expenses paid) where they will reimburse me for hotel stays for two nights in Rome (up to 150 euros).
Also, 140 euros for RT train ride within Italy. (I'm an American living in Italy at the moment).
I was wondering what strategy or approach I should take to maximize the points from my credit cards?
I have Chase Freedom, Chase Sapphire, AMEX SPG, AMEX Everyday, Citi TY Premier, Citi AAdvantage Platinum, and Barclays Arrival Plus.
Any tips or suggestions are appreciated!
Also, 140 euros for RT train ride within Italy. (I'm an American living in Italy at the moment).
I was wondering what strategy or approach I should take to maximize the points from my credit cards?
I have Chase Freedom, Chase Sapphire, AMEX SPG, AMEX Everyday, Citi TY Premier, Citi AAdvantage Platinum, and Barclays Arrival Plus.
Any tips or suggestions are appreciated!
May 24, 2016, 2:42 am
#272
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: ZOA, SFO, HKG
Programs: UA 1K 0.9MM, Marriott Gold, HHonors Gold, Hertz PC, SBux Gold, TSA Pre✓
Posts: 13,811
If you end up with a SPG property, then AMEX SPG will be your best choice.
Other than that, €150 is about $168 as of the time of posting
The earning is simply not significant.
You can do whatever you want.
Other than that, €150 is about $168 as of the time of posting
The earning is simply not significant.
You can do whatever you want.
Jun 1, 2016, 9:00 am
#275
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Programs: SW, MR, CHASE
Posts: 61
Best Hotel Earn and Bonus Card?
Please help a newbie with some advice.
ASSUMING:
1. I have excellent credit
2. I will charge around $50k/year
3. I fly exclusively Southwest and already have the SW CC & companion pass
My goal is to choose one Hotel Brand and build up points for travel in a year or two. I'm not partial to any Hotel Brand, I just want the best bang for the buck.
My thought was to open a SPG card and a Mariott card since they will be merging in the future. Though I'm not sure these cards are the best earn and bonus.
Thank you!
ASSUMING:
1. I have excellent credit
2. I will charge around $50k/year
3. I fly exclusively Southwest and already have the SW CC & companion pass
My goal is to choose one Hotel Brand and build up points for travel in a year or two. I'm not partial to any Hotel Brand, I just want the best bang for the buck.
My thought was to open a SPG card and a Mariott card since they will be merging in the future. Though I'm not sure these cards are the best earn and bonus.
Thank you!
Jun 1, 2016, 12:09 pm
#276
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: EWR
Programs: World of Hyatt, Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, UA Mileage Plus
Posts: 1,255
Such a hard question to answer. Where do you plan to visit? Are you looking for 1 spot to visit and then stay there for a week? Are you looking to visit multiple locations on one trip? Do you value luxury accommodations?
I still think hotels are best paid with cash unless you want super luxurious digs. You can find great great deals on Priceline or you can use hotels.com for 10% off plus you can go through a cashback portal for another 5%-10% off. $100k spend should yield you at least $2500 in cashback...that combined with the above should net you pretty nice hotels without having to compromise if the hotel chain you picked isn't where you want to go.
I still think hotels are best paid with cash unless you want super luxurious digs. You can find great great deals on Priceline or you can use hotels.com for 10% off plus you can go through a cashback portal for another 5%-10% off. $100k spend should yield you at least $2500 in cashback...that combined with the above should net you pretty nice hotels without having to compromise if the hotel chain you picked isn't where you want to go.
Jun 1, 2016, 12:18 pm
#277
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: New York, NY
Programs: AA Gold. UA Silver, Marriott Gold, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt (Lifetime Diamond downgraded to Explorist)
Posts: 6,776
Where do you plan on traveling in a year or two? If there are none of the brand/program you'll be redeeming through that bonus won't be worth much to you.
The SPG Amex & Chase Marriott card strategy is appealing but that depends on the redemption rates once the new program comes about. That's a gamble but one that may come through nicely for you.
Hyatt's card has some nice perks & IHG has a high bonus but doesn't appeal to me personally. Hilton has an Amex & Citi version allow you to pick up two bonuses at once.
The SPG Amex & Chase Marriott card strategy is appealing but that depends on the redemption rates once the new program comes about. That's a gamble but one that may come through nicely for you.
Hyatt's card has some nice perks & IHG has a high bonus but doesn't appeal to me personally. Hilton has an Amex & Citi version allow you to pick up two bonuses at once.
Jun 1, 2016, 1:54 pm
#278
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 25,934
The best bang for the buck may be at hotel brands which don't have presence in very many cities.
So that's why we need to know what kind of places you plan to travel to be able to answer that question.
For a simple general example: All your find near many national parks is Best Western and/or Choice Privileges (Quality Inn, Comfort inn, EconoLodge, etc) and/or WyndhamRewards (Super 8, etc). But those are programs in which it's often easy to rack up points on stays at cheap properties, much harder to rack up points from credit cards. (While the properties outside the national parks may be expensive.)
On the other hand, if you only want to visit small cities around the US, in many of those you'll find just Hampton Inn (Hilton HHonors program), Holiday Inn Express (IHG program), and/or Fairfield Inn (Marriott program).
On the other other hand, if you only want to visit big cities around the US, then most any of the programs are likely to have properties, but now you have to worry about the different redemption costs in different programs (where, for example, Hilton HHonors requires about double the amount of points that IHG does at midtown Manhattan properties). So while it's easier to earn Hilton HHonors points through credit cards, they may also get used up more quickly depending on where you stay.
So that's why we need to know what kind of places you plan to travel to be able to answer that question.
For a simple general example: All your find near many national parks is Best Western and/or Choice Privileges (Quality Inn, Comfort inn, EconoLodge, etc) and/or WyndhamRewards (Super 8, etc). But those are programs in which it's often easy to rack up points on stays at cheap properties, much harder to rack up points from credit cards. (While the properties outside the national parks may be expensive.)
On the other hand, if you only want to visit small cities around the US, in many of those you'll find just Hampton Inn (Hilton HHonors program), Holiday Inn Express (IHG program), and/or Fairfield Inn (Marriott program).
On the other other hand, if you only want to visit big cities around the US, then most any of the programs are likely to have properties, but now you have to worry about the different redemption costs in different programs (where, for example, Hilton HHonors requires about double the amount of points that IHG does at midtown Manhattan properties). So while it's easier to earn Hilton HHonors points through credit cards, they may also get used up more quickly depending on where you stay.
Jun 4, 2016, 7:57 am
#279
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Programs: SW, MR, CHASE
Posts: 61
I will also be looking into the IHG now too based on your feedback. That sounds pretty awesome too!
SPG is great, but only 25k credit card signup bonus right now.
Jun 6, 2016, 6:15 am
#280
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 530
Please help a newbie with some advice.
My goal is to choose one Hotel Brand and build up points for travel in a year or two. I'm not partial to any Hotel Brand, I just want the best bang for the buck.
My thought was to open a SPG card and a Mariott card since they will be merging in the future. Though I'm not sure these cards are the best earn and bonus.
Thank you!
My goal is to choose one Hotel Brand and build up points for travel in a year or two. I'm not partial to any Hotel Brand, I just want the best bang for the buck.
My thought was to open a SPG card and a Mariott card since they will be merging in the future. Though I'm not sure these cards are the best earn and bonus.
Thank you!
2. Hyatt is a closer runner up. The free night cert can be worth up to 3-4 times that of AF.
3. I see that you got both Marriott cards. I think it is an excellent idea to bank Marriott points in anticipation of SPG merging into Marriott.
4. I won't bother with SPG ATM. The 25k offer is available anytime. I would wait it out for 30k offer at least.
5. I don't see a whole lot of folks recommending Club Carlson Biz card but IMO it is amazing. The sign-up bonus of 85k is pretty solid. Also, the AF is fairly low ($60), you get 40k annual points for renewal, and Carlson Gold is pretty decent.