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Time to Diversify?

I need some advice. I have the Chase trifecta plus a few other Chase cards. 950K UR points. No other CC at this time. I am starting a new job for which I'll travel a decent amount and can book on my cards and expense. I'm considering adding co-branded hotel and airline cards in an attempt to accelerate status. Because it is work travel, I don't care so much about award redemption as I do about gaining status (will only be buying economy and basic rooms, and would like the additional perks of status).

For hotels, I'm pretty sure it will be Marriott Bonvoy (unless someone can explain the clear upside in Hilton or another). My idea would be to reach Platinum elite by getting the Bonvoy Bevy personal + Bonvoy Business cards. That puts me at gold + 30 night credits. If I stay 20 nights, I should hit Platinum Elite. Or should I go with the Bonvoy Brilliant instead?

For airlines, it's a bit harder to decide. I'm based out of CLT, although GSP is also an option. My idea is to achieve status quickly through work travel + cobranded cards, and then stack points for upgrades and/or personal travel. Work travel would be domestic. Mostly east coast and midwest destinations with 2-3 transcon CLT-SAN trips per year. Personal travel could be domestic but definitely includes DUB, LHR, ARN, and such European destinations. Here's my thoughts on each airline:

DL is the best domestic customer service/customer experience, but less than ideal out of CLT. Also points don't go far toward personal award travel, and my bank of chase UR points doesn't play well. Is there a way to beat this? (virgin and airfrance have almost no award availability) Should I diversify and jump into AMEX for work travel?
UA is the best transfer partner from chase UR and the best network for personal Europe travel, but less than ideal out of CLT for domestic work travel. Always connecting through far-away airports such as IAD, EWR, IAH, ORD, etc. Should I save UR for personal trips only, and forget about flying with status for those?
AA is always the best schedule and availability out of CLT for frequent work travel, but poor customer service. Maybe it's just my experience, but I have a lot of bad stories. Should I just go for AA status for work, take the good schedules and deal with the bad service? In this case, cobranded cards only?

I'm struggling to choose between these. Any ideas?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nadrojddik (Post 35144152)

DL is the best domestic customer service/customer experience, but less than ideal out of CLT. Also points don't go far toward personal award travel, and my bank of chase UR points doesn't play well. Is there a way to beat this? (virgin and airfrance have almost no award availability) Should I diversify and jump into AMEX for work travel?
UA is the best transfer partner from chase UR and the best network for personal Europe travel, but less than ideal out of CLT for domestic work travel. Always connecting through far-away airports such as IAD, EWR, IAH, ORD, etc. Should I save UR for personal trips only, and forget about flying with status for those?
AA is always the best schedule and availability out of CLT for frequent work travel, but poor customer service. Maybe it's just my experience, but I have a lot of bad stories. Should I just go for AA status for work, take the good schedules and deal with the bad service? In this case, cobranded cards only?

I'm struggling to choose between these. Any ideas?

Do you think you will hit the flying requirements for DL or UA? If not, I would definitely go with AA as you can achieve every level of status with spend alone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nadrojddik (Post 35144152)

My idea would be to reach Platinum elite by getting the Bonvoy Bevy personal + Bonvoy Business cards. That puts me at gold + 30 night credits. If I stay 20 nights, I should hit Platinum Elite. Or should I go with the Bonvoy Brilliant instead?

Since you seem to be able to reach Marriott BONV°Y™ Platinum Elite "organically" (with the help of two credit cards), there seems little reason to get a Bonv∘y Brilliant AmEx until your travel tapers off (unless you have already attained lifetime Platinum Elite status).

The latter would put you ten Elite Qualifying Nights (EQN) closer to attaining Titanium Elite status (75 EQN), which confers UA Premier Silver® membership. But if you choose UA as a primary carrier, it sounds like you have enough travel planned to reach that anyway.

If you want a more expensive credit card, I would recommend the Hilton Aspire AmEx, which confers Hilton Honors Diamond status, serving as a good backup to Marriott. :idea:

When choosing a primary airline, schedule frequency counts a lot. AA would be my top choice ex-CLT as it's a hub. Poor customer service is a minus, thought it will become less poor once you achieve status. :( Though consider if your frequent destinations largely align with some other carrier's hubs.

For hotels, I don't see why Marriott is a slam-dunk over Hilton. In general the two are close to equal. Perhaps consider if you have frequent destinations which portfolio offers better choices at those destinations.

For "basic rooms" at hotels definitely also consider IHG. The Holiday Inn Express brand is very consistent and is fine as a basic accommodations for business travel. HIX properties are also found in smaller towns than you'll see the likes of a Courtyard or Hampton Inn. That's useful when traveling for leisure-- or for business, if your business takes you to smaller towns. The Chase IHG premier card is available with a whopping 175k signup bonus right now.