Best Visa/MC points or Awards Card
Mar 17, 2005 | 11:11 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Lihue, HI, USA
Programs: Atmos Titanium; Delta Gold Medallion (1MM); Hilton Gold; Marriott Gold; National Executive
Posts: 1,130
Best Visa/MC points or Awards Card
First, I realize this may have been discussed previously. But I don't follow this forum much, and the search feature is down, so I'm asking. If you know of threads to point me to, please do so.
Now to my question. My wife and I are getting ready to dump the visa we've been using for years. It had a decent rewards program - we earned several flights and some great nights at the Ritz, among other things. We paid $39/month for the rewards program (originally Valuemiles but now something else). The card went from being First USA to Bank One to and now to Chase. When the card renewed this year, I was charged 2 $39 fees. I called to get one removed, since I figured it was just a mistake due to all the changes. I was told that one fee was for the rewards program and the other was just the normal card fee. I was flabbergasted - I haven't paid a card fee (except to have rewards) since college. They refused to refund the fee. Needless to say, I will no longer be a customer by the time the fees are due again.
So I'm looking for a new card. I use a Delta Amex for my business, and I'm pretty happy with that. I don't bother carrying a Visa/MC for my business. When a place doesn't take Amex, I just use my personal Visa and have my company reimburse me.
I'd like to get people's recommendations for the best rewards card out there. Visa/MC is preferred, but could go Amex and just keep some random Visa/MC for places that don't take Amex. We spend roughly $20K to $30K per year on our personal card. I don't mind paying a fee for a good rewards program.
By the way, we have a "back-up" visa that is an MBNA card with the WorldPoints rewards program. This program looks pretty decent for a no-fee program. Any thoughts on this?
Thanks for your help.
Now to my question. My wife and I are getting ready to dump the visa we've been using for years. It had a decent rewards program - we earned several flights and some great nights at the Ritz, among other things. We paid $39/month for the rewards program (originally Valuemiles but now something else). The card went from being First USA to Bank One to and now to Chase. When the card renewed this year, I was charged 2 $39 fees. I called to get one removed, since I figured it was just a mistake due to all the changes. I was told that one fee was for the rewards program and the other was just the normal card fee. I was flabbergasted - I haven't paid a card fee (except to have rewards) since college. They refused to refund the fee. Needless to say, I will no longer be a customer by the time the fees are due again.
So I'm looking for a new card. I use a Delta Amex for my business, and I'm pretty happy with that. I don't bother carrying a Visa/MC for my business. When a place doesn't take Amex, I just use my personal Visa and have my company reimburse me.
I'd like to get people's recommendations for the best rewards card out there. Visa/MC is preferred, but could go Amex and just keep some random Visa/MC for places that don't take Amex. We spend roughly $20K to $30K per year on our personal card. I don't mind paying a fee for a good rewards program.
By the way, we have a "back-up" visa that is an MBNA card with the WorldPoints rewards program. This program looks pretty decent for a no-fee program. Any thoughts on this?
Thanks for your help.
Mar 18, 2005 | 5:24 am
#3
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Lodi, CA
Posts: 592
Search option
There is a sticky in miles buz with search help as follows:
The best way to perform a search right now is to use google.
search term site:flyertalk.com
So if I wanted info on the admirals club I would type this:
admirals club site:flyertalk.com
The best way to perform a search right now is to use google.
search term site:flyertalk.com
So if I wanted info on the admirals club I would type this:
admirals club site:flyertalk.com
Mar 18, 2005 | 12:23 pm
#4
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 132
In my opinion the best card is the Amex SPG card. If you want Visa / MC, I like the Alaska Airlines card, but then you're "locked" with a FF card (yearly bonuses add up to the annual fee IMO). There are good cashback ones available, most notably the Fidelity 1.5% card and the Citi Dividend card.