EverywhereHome

I hate to start another one of these threads, but I've spent more time than I'd care to admit trying to come up with an effective combination of credit cards to carry. I only do this about once or twice a decade, so I'd like to get it reasonably right. I've been scouring websites, running calculators, and reading posts in this forum, and I can't quite find the information I need.

Broadly, I'm trying to evaluate a few questions:

• Travel card or cash back card? I travel enough that if there is a way to tip the balance toward the travel card, I've tipped it. What I can't figure out, however, is how anything can be better than a flat 2% back (excluding the "5% if you can buy all of your gas in Q1 and all of your diapers in Q3" cards).
• General travel card or airline card? I used to have a US MC that got me 10k of EQM every year. AA took that away in the merger. Is there any real value anymore to having an airline-specific card? How much does that answer depend on what airline I fly?
• One card or two? For historical reasons, I have two credit cards with high limits plus my backup card. Are cards really so different that having two primary cards is worthwhile, or is the ideal situation a main card and one backup?
• Is AmEx really a thing? I keep reading about the AmEx SPG card, but I can't believe that carrying an AmEx card is really useful compared to VISA or MC. Is it?

Less importantly, in case you have any strong feelings, the cards I'm looking at are:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred (seems to be good for travel)
• Barclay Arrival Plus (seems to be trumped by Chase Sapphire Preferred)
• Citi Double Cash (how could anything be better than 2% cash?)
• AmEx Starwood Preferred Guest (everyone swears by this card but I can't figure out why)
• United MileagePlus Explorer Card (this seems to be the only US airline card that might be worth it, since I won't fly Delta)

I can find information on each individual card, but it's very hard to find direct comparisons. One site said that travel and restaurant spending can tip the balance from Barclay Arrival+ to Chase Sapphire. Another site said that travel spending can tip the balance from Citi Double Cash to Barclay Arrival+. The Points Guy calculator clearly indicated the Chase Sapphire card, but it doesn't include all cards.

Any guidance is welcome, even if it's just pointers to more reading.

Thank you!

-- Sal
smile.

WheelsFirst

I'll give you the quick answer. If your travel is domestic coach travel then you won't do better than a flat 2% cashback card, with some exceptions (basically the average domestic airline award ticket using real miles is worth less than 2% but occasionally more, but you have far less flexibility compared to a 2% cashback card, and for many people it's frustrating if you don't understand how award tickets work).

People that swear by the "premium" cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Amex cards, and Starwood card are redeeming for premium awards like international business class flights and middle to high end hotels. You can get far above 2% value here, but only if this is what you want to redeem for, otherwise you get very little value.

Generally favor a flexible card like the Sapphire Preferred or amex card over an airline specific card unless you fly one airline all the time and would benefit from the additional perks like free checked bags.

As for Amex, depends on where you live and where you shop, I live in Los Angeles and can use my Amex for 97% of my spending.

People will give you some good ideas here but there's no standard comparison between cards because some are better for some people versus others. The general rule is unless you KNOW you can redeem flexible points/miles for travel at a greater rate than 2% (and this means you've looked at booking award flights or hotel stays and understand how many points you need etc) then stick with a flat 2% card and don't worry about anything. But for those that like premium award travel and know how to do it, a 2% card would be leaving money on the table.

garykung

Travel cards, especially those with AF, are usually better than cash back cards by:

1. Benefits (i.e. protection)

2. No FTF

If you only travel domestically, then Citi Double Cash is a good everyday spending card as these benefits may not work for you.

1. Yes only if you have a card that has better grandfathered benefits.

2. It actually depends on more where you are located. Since you are SFO/OAK/SJC based, a card from UA/WN/VX makes more sense than AA/DL unless you know what you want to do.

I am not sure what you mean by main or backup.

In my case, my wallet has 2 AMEX (Platinum and Costco), 1 Citi Visa (Forward), and Citibank ATM card. The rest of my active accounts are at my home.

As of this moment, unless you want to use debit cards, AMEX is still the only credit card that Costco accepts.

Beside, it is my personal bias that AMEX generally provides better service and protections.

Pick M+ Explorer (if you fly UA mostly) or CSP. You don't really need both as many benefits overlap. CSP works better than Arrival+ (as you can transfer UR into miles).

Citi Double Cash is definitly a good card to supplement.

Even I am loyal to AMEX, I have no comment about SPG as you did not say why you need it.

othermike27

For me, it helps to step back and understand exactly what you want your cards to do for you. Over the years (decades, actually), my reason to carry credit cards has evolved from: (1) buying stuff I couldn't quite afford to (2) monthly cash flow management to (3) convenience & cash back to (4) travel enablers/enhancers.

Seven years ago, I was at Level 3 (convenience/cash back), holding four cards and thinking of dumping one of them that had an annual fee. Now, having reached the fourth level of "enlightenment" (travel), I hold ten cards, six with annual fees. I have reasons for holding each card: points/miles accumulation, flexible points transfer to programs I use, hotel/airline program status and perks, long-term high limit credit history, no FTF, primary car rental insurance, etc. This is where choosing cards gets complicated, and the best mix of cards for you depends on your personal travel patterns and preferences, as others have suggested.

Most of my answers to your specific questions would apply to me, but perhaps not to you. That said, among the large issuers, I prefer Amex and Chase for good service experience, superior online account access and control features. Compared to VISA and MC, Amex is not a thing - not to me anyway. Now that I have ten cards, I would really like to skinny that down to only six or seven. Even if I weren't interested in travel enhancers, I would still hold several cards as a hedge against unauthorized charges, account screw-ups, etc.

As a frame of reference for my opinions, I pump as much spending as I can through credit cards (paying all balances in full of course), I don't churn cards, I don't manufacture spending, and I suspect that I am less price-sensitive than many who post here. There, I said it!

I found the most useful/interesting perspectives at these blogs: View From the Wing, One Mile at a Time, Travel Codex (formerly Hack my Trip) for complete comparisons of hotel and airline programs, Travelsort, TPG. Also, the Frugal Travel Guy was good introductory stuff.

Happy Choosing!