But does it? My current SPG backup is an AA MC, which is really a couple notches below the Amex. Basically the only reason I have it is the fact that a decent number of vendors won't take Amex. And on occasion the no preset spending limit comes in handy. But as a reward card it's pretty limited and doesn't earn as well either. Maybe it's time to find a non amex hotel card to take the AA MC's spot...if one exists.

Precisely my strategy. Plus, a Capital One money market account for fee-free foreign ATM transactions.

The 5% category is somewhat larger than just dining:

Wouldn't both you and work2fly have been better off with the Schwab Visa? It's offers twice the cash back of Capital One and also has no foreign transaction fees. What advantages does the Capital One card offer?

Pretty much every hotel chain other than Starwood offers a Mastercard or VISA affinity card, and many are free. See, for example, see post 5 in this thread in Other Credit Cards:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/other...rship-fee.html

However, if the objective is to convert to airline miles, there is no hotel card other than SPG which is attractive, because hotel chains typically convert 5:1 to miles and you will not average 5 point per dollar with any hotel credit card.

Thanks. But are there any hotel cards where the Visa/MC is not a watered down product compared to the Amex version? I was seriously considering adding a Hilton card, but it looks like the Visa only offers 2 points/$ as opposed to the 3 points/$ on the Amex option. I'm not as concerned about an annual fee as I am about point earning capabilities. And I wouldn't need to use this card for converting to miles...rather just to build up points to use for times when SPG doesn't have hotel options at a particular destination. Ideally I'd just transfer 100k of annual spend to this card to build up a points reserve on a competing chain.

You're correct, but I believe the Schwab VISA is no longer offered to new applicants.

To my knowledge Hilton is the only chain to offer both an American Express and a VISA affinity card. Marriott, Hyatt and Intercontinental Hotel Group are all tied to Chase (VISA). I am not up to date on Marriott's program, but I know there is more than one version of the card, and the program seems competitive with the other multi-national chains. The Hyatt card is not yet available. The IHG card is weak, aside from the signup bonus and spending at the hotels.

Some other cards issued by Chase earn points which can be transferred to a subset of their airline and hotel affinity partners. For example, Chase heavily advertises the Sapphire VISA, but they are coy about the transfer options which are two airlines (BA, CO) and two hotel chains (IHG, Marriott) mentioned here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/other...l#post11864826

The smaller hotel chains tend to offer cards with no annual fee, as mentioned in the thread linked in my previous message. I suggest the place to start is thinking about the type of hotels where you tend to stay, rather than the credit card. A free night in an unsatisfactory room is no bargain.

Thanks...the upcoming Hyatt Visa might just be what I'm looking for. Hopefully rumors on it offering status based on spend will turn out to be true.

It's not Scwab.