dko3tgk

Hi everyone,
I've been living in Thailand, and using my Chase Sapphire Preferred for restaurants, gas, sky train, hotels, etc. But non-travel, non-dining categories I have been using my SPG AMEX. But there are issues with using my SPG AMEX as my non-bonus everyday spend card.
1. Thailand hates AMEX. AMEX is only accepted in major department stores and mall restaurants, but there are many major businesses and stores and stores that don't accept AMEX. And nearly all local shops won't even look at it. So I would need a Visa/MC
2. SPG is ok at 1.25 mi/$ but I feel like I can be earning more like with my Chase Sapphire or Ink.

Is there a Visa/MC card for every day spend that I can earn more than SPG AMEX 1.25mi/$ in Thailand? Obviously not including the Chase Sapphire bonus categories or Ink for cell phone.
And this card needs to be foreign usage fee free, so a Chase Freedom or Freedom Unlimited which both would earn more than my SPG Amex, would be disqualified. I would also like to have alot of similar crossover transfer partners for points to miles like SQ, NH, BA, KH to I can still transfer different cc points into the same FF programs.

garykung

Regardless how much I hate Capital One, your best alternatives will be either Venture or VentureOne Rewards.

For VentureOne, you get 1.25 "miles"/$ spent without an AF. For Venture, you get 2 "miles"/$ spent with an AF of $59.

All Capital One cards are FTF-free.

paperwastage

BoA Travel Rewards visa, 1.5x "cash", with bonuses(up to 2.625x) if you bank with them over 100k (cash/IRA/stocks/...)

MC is generally better at fx rates though... (see existing thread, visa can be up to 1% inferior even with "0% FTF")
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...all-cards.html

so capital one would be my recommendation too, even with it's 3x hardpull

Hawaiian717

To be honest, I have the VentureOne card and have no idea why anyone would want it. Why get 1.25 "miles" per dollar, when you can get 1.5% cash back with Quicksilver, with no annual fee. Since VentureOne points are fake miles that are redeemable at a rate of 1 point equals 1 cent on travel purchases, it's basically a 1.25% cash back card, except you can only get the "cash back" against some types of purchases ("travel").

LWT3

Agree. The VentureOne is a triumph of marketing. It's inferior in every way to the Quicksilver, but it still gets recommended here. Odd.

dko3tgk

Thanks for your input. It seems like Capital One is the only option. I've always avoided them, so I think I'm going to pass. I guess there was no great solution I was overlooking.
I found a solution locally, and it wasn't easy to get. I just got a Citibank Prestige Visa from Citi Thailand. At current currency conversion it works out to 1.4 miles/$. Points are converted to SQ, CX, TG, DL, AK which isn't bad because SQ is a transfer partner in both Ultimate Rewards and SPG. And CX and DL are a partner in SPG.
Also the card comes with an unlimited entry Priority Pass (cardholder only).
It's about $250 annual fee if you were wondering.
So this works for me. It's a Visa, not a Amex like my SPG, and earns more than the 1.25 mi/$ on my SPG Amex, and more than the 1mi/$ on my CSP that I was using when the merchant often doesn't take my SPG Amex.

yugi

How about Cap1 Spark or Barclays Arrival+? And also replace CSP with Citi Premier (3x on travel and gas). Another good one is City National Crystal (3x on travel, gas, groceries and dining). Also United MP Club and Virgin Atlantic MC earn 1.5 miles per dollar on everything and have no FTF.

EmailKid

The UA MP Club card has quite an annual fee unless you are lucky enough to get it for free, though you do get United Club membership thrown in.

yugi

Well, OP wants more than 1.25 miles per dollar, and no FTF. This usually doesn't come for free. I do have grandfathered Priceline 2x/5x card for that purpose. No AF, no FTF, 2x on everything, basically 3.33% return, and 5x/8.3% return on Priceline purchases. Current version is only 1x/5x, so not as good. There is also JCB Marukai Premium cashback card (~3% on everything), and it may work in Thailand, some people reported no FTF as well. AF is $25. Not good for online though, at least in US, dunno about other countries. Planning to cancel it, because Priceline has a better return and it's a Visa.

dko3tgk

Wow cool about the JCB Marukai Premium I never knew about that. If I move to LA, Hawaii or move to Japan I would totally get that. But JCB like Amex is somewhat limited. While Visa/MC is every merchant. Although I would guess JCB might even be slightly better than Amex in Bangkok.
I mentioned in an earlier post that I negotiated my way into a Thai Citibank Prestige Visa which is 1.5mi/$ on everything, and transfers into SQ, CX, TG, DL, AK.
I'm not really interested in cash back right now, as I'm looking to supplement my 2mi/$ on travel and dining for Chase Sapphire.

kdm31091

This. I see no reason why anyone would sign up for a Venture One. Just get a Quicksilver.

sdsearch

Do you realize, though, that the Capital One, despite using the term "miles", simple a cashback card? So depending how you use your "real" airline miles, 1.5 Capital One "miles" may be worth less than 1 "real" airline mile. Capital One "miles" are only useful for buying tickets that are not expensive in cash terms. You need an astronomical number Capital One "miles" to buy a longhaul international business class ticket (proportional to the cash cost of a longhaul international business class ticket). All Cap One redemptions are proportional to cash cost, that's why I say it's nothing more than a (specialized) cashback card really.