Advice for non-Amex card?
 

Right now I have a Citi AAdvantage MC for when I'm somewhere that doesn't take Amex. I use my SPG Amex for just about every purchase.

Since I don't really fly American, and am leaving the NY area (so hopefully will not need to fly AA much, if at all), I am trying to decide what Visa/MC to replace the AAdvantage card with. I was toying with the idea of the Chase UA debit card, but I can just imagine needing to use it somewhere that doesn't take Amex and having to spend more than happens to be in my checking account.

Which Visa/MC do you all recommend? It'd be pretty minimal spend (maybe $100-200/month) so I don't know if I really even need a reward card. Maybe my no-fee University of Illinois MC would be enough. Is there anything I"m overlooking?

For the spend you mention you don't want a card with an annual fee, and anything with an in house rewards program you probably will never get enough points for anything so I would suggest either one of the following no-annual fee airline cards, or a no annual fee cashback card.

AirTran A+ Visa
AAdvantage Bronze Mastercard
China Airlines Platinum Mastercard
Frontier Platinum Mastercard
Icelandair No Annual Fee Mastercard
Korean Air Skyblue Visa
Midwest Airlines Platinum Mastercard
United Gold Visa
US Airways World Mastercard

Links to all at http://rewardsdb.com/CC-Airline-US.php

+ Aer Lingus Mastercard http://aerlingusrewards.com/

Obviously it depends on where you are moving, what banks you use, and what airlines you fly. The easiest would be to switch to the AA Bronze card since its the same bank and would let you keep your AA balance alive for those times you need to fly on AA or its partners.

Keep in mind that once you leave New York, the number of places that accept Amex, drastically falls....

In Austin I have encountered only 2 places where I couldn't use Amex so I wouldn't say its universally a drastic reduction.

Amex is becoming increasingly accepted nationwide at most establishments. I find that Visa and MC are most popular with Amex following close behind.

That's partially because Visa/MC's hold on the market was finally broken up thanks to the antitrust suit of '99. Amex is still a bit more expensive (usually about 1% to 1.5% more in some cases), so some merchants may be reluctant to accept it. (The one that drives me nuts the most is those Racetrac gas stations.. although, they were cash only until just a few years ago so I guess I can't complain too much... ok, yeah I can..)

Perhaps this thread on exactly the same topic ;) ?

http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=829196

I realize this thread was started first, but the other has attracted more responses.