Originally Posted by james9983 (Post 35619871)

I am using thepointcalculator to check the valuation (I hope this is how we should check?).

Originally Posted by mia (Post 35619933)

I would not blindly use values from any site. You need to think about how you will redeem the points, estimate the amount of cash you will save by using points, and see if it aligns with the valuation that the site uses. Be sure to take into account rewards that you may forego when you pay with miles or points rather than money.

Originally Posted by mia (Post 35619723)

Does the Realtime Rewards algorithm recognize (example) airline merchant accounts hosted outside the USA or billed in another currency?

Originally Posted by pinniped (Post 35620825)

I feel like all of the bloggers' site use high valuations for everything - presumably because they're trying to make the cards look as lucrative as possible so you'll click their sponsored links. :)

mia's advice is essential - think about how you'll actually use the points. I usually take a fairly conservative approach here and assume that the point I earn today won't get used until a year or 18 months from now, so I price in a little devaluation risk. "They" say some of the airline miles are worth 2-3 cents each. In my experience, they aren't worth that much...unless you're the sort who regularly buys paid J....and even then the really sweet valuations are no longer easy to find.

I'm pretty sure all of the homegrown points program valuations assume you'll transfer the points out to something else. Inside their rewards portal, they tend to be worth less than 2 cents each. Sometimes only a cent.


Also....unrelated....I feel like there needs to be a Priority Pass matrix showing each credit card, what kind of membership you get, whether authorized users get their own separate PP account, how many free guests you get, whether your family/children count towards the guest count, and whether the restaurants are included.

In my case, the card with 8 restaurant visits would be a nice one to pair with another card's unlimited but no-restaurant membership. A few nice meals a year in Denver...

Originally Posted by bladerunner6 (Post 35583308)

We have some crowns at the dentist coming up that will be reimbursed from my HSA so I am thinking of applying for a credit card that has a decent SUB and continuing benefits. If we have all that added expense we might as well take advantage of it is my attitude.

We currently have, amongst others:

Marriott Brilliant
IHG Premier and Select
Delta Platinum
Amex Green
Costco

I was thinking of:

1) Another IHG card. Pros: decent signup bonus and we get value out of the FNA. Cons: we already have a few hundred thousand points

2) Another Marriott Brilliant. Pros: Another 85K FNA with Platinum benefits would make for a great romantic week at a RC or St Regis every year. Cons: current sign-up bonus at 95k is not the best

3) Hyatt Card: Pros- Good FNA, good earning rate, some status, nice to have another option in addition to IHG and Marriott. Cons: Right now we have a lot IHG points so it might not get that much use for a while since we do have about 350K IHG points

4) Venture X: Pros: Decent signup bonus and we might/probably will transfer the points to pay for airfare to Egypt in 2027. The $300 travel credit and 10K anniversary points do mostly pay for the annual fee. Cons: we generally like the benefits of the status we get from reward programs and we lose that IIUC. And the added travel benefits aren’t doing anything we don’t have elsewhere if IIUC.

5) Chase Sapphire Preferred: Much the same as Venture X: Pros: Decent signup bonus and we might/probably will transfer the points to pay for airfare to Egypt in 2027. Plus we can transfer the points we earn from our Freedom cards to potentially get a better return.Cons: we generally like the benefits of the status we get from reward programs and we lose that IIUC. And again the duplication of benefits IIUC. And the AF isn’t really paid for by the benefits if my analysis is right.

At some point we will get a Delta Platinum for a second Companion ticket and probably an Amex platinum for their unique benefits but not this year.

Any thoughts on this, please?

Thanks.

Originally Posted by guv1976 (Post 35619693)

I'm a little surprised to learn that, living in London, you don't expect to fly enough with oneworld to attain status -- especially since you mentioned expecting to fly internationally in Business or PE. Just 1½ intercontinental roundtrips in either class would get you oneworld Ruby if you credited the flights to Iberia Plus; three such roundtrips would get you oneworld Sapphire. But then you'd be earning Avios; earning a different FF "currency" might be more valuable for future redemptions.

Originally Posted by rbrad (Post 35633037)

....
Would these need to be paid for in cash though rather than with Avios (transferred in from a CC)?

Originally Posted by rbrad (Post 35633037)

Thanks for the insight guv1976 Is earning OW Ruby that easy? I didn't realize it would be attainable from just 1 1/2 US - Europe roundtrips in PE or biz (if you credit through Iberia). Or that 3 roundtrips would qualify for OW Sapphire. Would these need to be paid for in cash though rather than with Avios (transferred in from a CC)?

Originally Posted by gaobest (Post 35690608)

....citi custom card .... a card I’ll not need to use again.

Originally Posted by returnoftheyeti (Post 35745288)

I need a dedicated card for work expenses. I currently have Amex Plat and Gold / Chase Ink/ Ink Preferred, Venture X. We generally use point to transfer to airlines. I am more concerned with having a card for "ONLY" work, vs maximizing points. No annual fee preferred. Primary work expenses are hotels, restaurants, and some shopping, Staples, Container Store.

Willing to consider "non traditional cards" like a BOA card.

What should I be looking at ?

Originally Posted by gaobest (Post 35745670)

considering free card and hotels…

hilton honors amex
citi double cash
citi Costco (I think hotels are 3% cash back)

Originally Posted by returnoftheyeti (Post 35745681)

Citi Costco….interesting. And I have a costco membership. Let me look into this one.

Yeah, this actually makes a ton of sense. I can keep it dedicated to work only, and use the VenX for Costco, as its 2x there anyway. I almost never purchase gas, so the 4x is about as good as it gets.

Legit idea. Thanks