Assistance Please -- Card Selection
 

I know this has been covered 1000 times, but I would appreciate your help choosing a card. My profile:

No fee Visa/MC not Amex
Pay balance monthly
Delta Silver but only at about 17k so far in 2007
SWA -- 7-8 flights per year
HH Silver (7 stays so far in 2007)
Marriot Silver (7 stays so far in 2007)
Avis about 10 rentals per year
Great credit
Charge about $3,000 monthly
Don't have a preference as to miles or cash back

Thanks for your help.

I am not sure what "no fee visa/mc not amex" means. Does it mean that you have a Visa/MC and do not want an AMEX? Does it mean that you do not want to pay a fee?

No fee cards include:

• Chase Freedom Visa - 3% on everyday spending; 1% otherwise
• Fidelity Visa Signature - 1.5% cash back; unlimited
• Citi Professional Cash - 3% on restaurants/gas/office supplies/car rental
• Citi Professional TY - 3% plus you can get 15,000 points as a signup bonus. Turn-off popup blocker. Go to the Citi website. Hit apply now. Close the browser. A new offer for 15,000 points will appear
• Merrill+ Visa - 1%; but awesome benefits with high-spending levels
• AMEX Hilton Honors - 5 pts per $ on everyday spending; silver status
• Citi Hilton Honors Visa Signature - almost as good as AMEX
• AMEX Blue Cash
• AMEX The Nest / The Knot - 10,000 bonus points available each year

Frankly the cards with fees are even better:

• Chase Marriott Rewards Visa Signature Premier - $65 per year; but comes with a free night. It also gives 15 days toward Marriott status
• AMEX DL Platinum - $130 or so a year; gives 5k qualifying miles and 15k regular miles as an initial bonus; if you spend $25k in a year you get 10k bonus qualifying miles
• AMEX Starwood Preferred Guest
• Citi AA Platinum World MC - Has a 85$ annual fee; but its waived for the first year. You can earn up to 40,000 miles with the current offer

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry7130e/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/104)

If you do.not mind changing cards once a year, just sign up for the card with the most lucrative enrollment bonus each year. Currently, you can earn 30,000 bonus AA Aadvantage Miles by taking the associated Citibank MC fee free for the first year, and charging $10,000 to the card in the first year. The bonus miles are in addition to the regular miles you earn from charging purchases to the card, so $10,000 in spend will yield 40,000 miles. After the first year (or after you charge $10,000) switch to another card with a substantial sign-up bonus and a fee waiver for the first year. United's Mileage Plus Visa is offering a first-year fee waiver and 21,000 bonus miles after charging a small amount to the card. You may also be able to get similar deals with both cards by taking out a business card as well. Find the credit-card offers at each airline's website.

I agree. The current Citi AA deal is pretty good.

I read the original request to be for either a Mastercard or VISA with no annual fee.

I received an invitation for Chase Freedom VISA this week which I read and then discarded. The interesting aspect was that there were about a dozen Everyday Spending categories, but you receive 3% only on the the top three each month. This means the card could be used selectively to earn 3% on categories not promoted by other cards. However, the Everyday Spending bonus is capped $600 spend per month which means the most you could earn is an extra $12 per month :td: .

Further clarification
 

Clarification: I want a Visa or MC. I do not want AMEX. If the deal is worthwhile, a fee is fine.

Thanks again.

Take a look at the list that I originally posted:

1. The Citi AA Platinum World MC is great for short term
2. The Citi Professional TY or Cash Cards are good choices
3. Fidelity Investment Rewards Visa Signature gives 1.5% unlimited cash back
4. Merrill+ Visa one gives one point per $, but has some interesting travel benefits
5. Marriot Rewards Premier Visa Signature is $65 per year, but gives 15 nights toward status and one free night. Its good for purchases at Marriott. Not as good at other places
6. Finally, the Saks World Elite MC offers great rewards at Saks and some travel benefits.