Best all-around Visa/MC rewards program?
 

I have a Starwood Amex which is the best card out there for miles earned for any airline, but I need a VC/MC for non-Amex shopping. I have researched MBNA Plus Rewards, Chase Travel Rewards, Fleet, and Orbitz Rewards and compared all the cards they offer. Minimal differences in terms of $ caps, geographic specificity, and annual fees.

Bottom line: Any one have experience with actually redeeming in these programs, and recommend one vs. another?

Hopefully others can provide some insight as I am interested in the same question. But for what its worth, I'll offer my 2 cents.

I currently use my *wood amex for as much as I can, so the first question is, do I want to pay a fee or not. MBNA Elite Rewards has a fee free card, but a) you can only redeem through them, you can't redeem for say, miles in an airline's program and perhaps more importantly b) points expire after 3 years.

Given the fact that the visa/mc isn't my primary spending card, the question then becomes how much are you willing to pay in an annual fee for a card that you won't be using as much (assuming you'd rather use your starwood). In my case, I figured that my usage of my visa/mc would be so seldom that I'd rather not pay a fee and be set on the idea that I probably won't be redeeming anything on the card. just my thoughts.

Are you looking for the best all-around airline rewards program from Visa/MC ? I think the MBNA Amtrak card is good for airline miles because there is no annual fee and you can transfer miles in increments of 5,000 to Continental, United, and some other airlines. The drawback is that the miles will expire in three years if you don't book an Amtrak trip.

I have the Amex Starwood and the Amtrak card. I'm planning to use the Starwood wherever they take Amex and the Amtrak card for big ticket items at places that don't take Amex.

I have also researched the Amtrak card-- it is too limited in its airlines for my taste. Since I already have a "real" frequent flier card with Starwood, I want to get a Visa/MC with "fake" frequent flier miles, i.e. ones that the company will redeem on any airline by actually buying a ticket (with no blackout dates or limited seats-- i'll deal with the 21 day advance/sat night stay). That way, I can keep my status up as well as get "real" frequent flier miles with the free ticket.

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UA Premier Exec, AA Platinum, Delta Elite, Starwood Gold

Don't know if you've looked at these cards yet:

Miles One card from Capital One: No blackout dates, fly any airline, 9.99% fixed rate, $19 annual fee. Domestic mileage awards vary by zone.

MBNA Quantum Select rewards card: No blackout dates, fly any airline, 12.99% fixed rate, no annual fee. Miles expire after 5 years. Minimum 25,000 miles required for round trip ticket anywhere in the U.S.

MBNA Elite Rewards card: No blackout dates, fly any airline, 12.99% fixed rate, no annual fee. Points can also be used for merchandise and expire after 4 years. Domestic mileage awards vary by zone.

[This message has been edited by steve4 (edited 06-19-2002).]

I had an MBNA Travel Rewards Visa for a few years until they altered the program considerably last December. The program was outstanding and the folks in their Travel Department were great. I think they actually contract with an agency out of Boise becuase that is always where my travel documents came from. I've had several free flights, hotel stays, and a week at Disney World.

The primary reason that I cancelled is because they raised the mileage limits on all of their air, hotel, and car rental awards. They also lowered the maximum amount that they spend on free tickets. For example, it now requires 25K miles for a free airline ticket in the lower 48. They also cap the dollar amount of the ticket to $400. If the ticket cost more than $400, you pay the difference. The same occured with their hotel stays. It requires 5,000 points for a free night up to a maximum of $80 per night.

I would love to find another program that permits the flexibility of traveling on any airline. Until I find one, I'm sticking with my Starwood AmEx and Amtrak MBNA cards.

As long as the program looks like it will be around for awhile. Remember all the threads on Webmiles?

I still like the Citibank MC for non-Amex charges - the miles go towards lifetime status on AA.

[This message has been edited by singlemalt (edited 06-20-2002).]

I use my Citibank Hilton Honors card as my no-fee backup. You earn 2 HHonours points per US$ and 3 on Hilton spend. No points cap (that I'm aware off) and no expiration date. You can convert them to almost any airline and use for hotel rewards.


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I Love New York -- Viva España

I wish that were true! Here is the list of airlines participating in the HH Reward Exchange:

Aero California, American Airlines, Continental, Delta, Hawaiian, LanChile, LatinPass, Mexicana, Midwest Express, South African, United, Virgin.

Also, the points-to-miles exchange rate is rather unfavorable.

I'm with Redhead. I use the Starwood AMEX everywhere they will accept AMEX. For those few places that only take VISA/MC I use the HHonors VISA card.

I looked into the other reward cards, but the limitations on ticket value and the fact that it would take me many years to actually have enough for a free ticket led me elsewhere. The Citibank AA card is good for AA fans, but I refuse to pay $50 for a card that will only generate me perhaps 2000 miles per year. It's not worth it.

Everbank.com advertises as having a generous awards program, but doesn't have any info on their site. Does anyone have this card and can shed some light on it?

I called Everbank, and they have a $350/ticket cap, 14-day advance, sat-night-stay required that they don't post on their website. Ahh, if only Webmiles-- which I had and loved-- had not disappeared. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif The Amtrak card is really starting to sound like the best free non-Starwood amex rewards card.

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UA Premier Exec, AA Platinum, Delta Elite, Starwood Gold

That's the problem with these types of programs. The ability to fly on any airline sounds great, but the capping of the fares kill you.

To avoid the capping problem, simplify your life and get the Visa/MC associated with the airline you fly most (Assuming it's not Delta, which only has an Amex).

You will pay a fee, but if you charge a lot the miles easily pay for the fee. For example, you only need to charge $3,600/yr. if you get a $90 card and assume a mile is worth 2.5 cents (90/.025 = 3,600).

An airline-affiliated card also allows you to streamline your miles acquisitions. For example, if you only had a Starwood card and another non-affiliated card, what miles promotions/bonuses would you pursue? None of them? All of them?

With an airline-affiliated card, you could consolidate your mileage pursuit to one airline - the one you flew the most and had a credit card with.

Nowadays, the amount of non-Amex merchants is growing smaller. I don't spend much on my Visa - use Starwood Amex as much as possible. So to spend $3,600 a year just to break even - if using 2.5 cents a mile - isn't worth it to me. I use a Hilton Amex with no fee - but something else one might consider is a cash rebate card. I know there is one that is mentioned somewhere in FT that gives up to 2% back and has no fee.

That way, instead of hoping you might someday earn enough for a flight or hotel stay, you could actually guarantee you have at least enough to buy dinner or something.

I'll admit I haven't done this - but I actually think it probably is smarter than what I am doing - since I still haven't used any Hhonors points for anything.