1% on the first $12k + 6% above $12k up to $300 total cash back = maximum 2% average cash back per year ($300 back if you spend exactly $15k). Not bad, but certainly not for those "who live to the MAX." :rolleyes:

BTW, you should never use the same card for both balance transfers and purchases, unless the purchase APR is equal to or lower than the balance transfer APR. This is because almost all credit cards have a rule in their fine print that says payments go first to the lowest-interest-rate portion of your balance. So if you have a $3000 balance earning 0%, and you buy $500 worth of stuff at a purchase APR of 15%, you have to pay off the $3k at 0% before you can start to pay off the $500 purchase (meanwhile the $500 is earning the card issuer a tidy 15% APR).

Thanks for doing the math I was too lazy to do. If I was that interested in cash back, I think I'd go for an Executive Costco Amex rebate card.

Actually, I was kind of thinking of establishing a "relationship" with HSBC because I understand they have good, low (or no) fee ATM access in much of the Orient. But I guess the MAX offer is not going to do it. Not with a $12K spend requirement for the best rebate.

I love my miles. ;) And, they are worth more than the rebate (think Starwood).

HSBC ATMs can be hard to find in Asia outside the major cities. If all you want is low-cost overseas ATM withdrawals, it's probably better to simply open a bank account with a bank that doesn't charge any fees. We have just such a guide to credit card and ATM fees over at the FlyerTalk wiki:

http://www.flyertalk.com/wiki/index....reign_Exchange

Citi's AA 40K Bonus Miles - MasterCard or Amex?
 

gleff, thanks so much for this digestible analysis - very helpful. I came to this site as a newbie looking for advice, did a few searches, and found your comment(s) and blog - the best so far. I have an impending choice to make, and would appreciate your (and others') opinions, if you'd be willing to comment about a specific scenario...

My situation:

• Relocated by my company to the US from Australia.
• Have just opened a Citibank bank account.
• Am an AAdvantage Gold Member (achieved through flights alone - no input to date from credit cards or other methods of accumulating Miles - want to correct this from here on!).
• Am a Qantas FF (Ruby, I think) but am not currently "feeding" points into that.
• Hold Hilton HHonors, Priority Club and Starwood loyalty cards (Priority Club used most because of company preferred hotel arrangements).

Because of a hectic lifestyle and a mental allergy to paperwork/administration, I need an approach that's simple and doesn't require a lot of monitoring or maintenance. So I'm inclined towards just having one credit card (in addition to my Citi Gold debit card), through which I run everything - flights, car rental, hotels, groceries, online shopping, the works. Citibank's current New Card 40,000 Bonus Miles Offer (3 years: 20 + 10 + 10) looks pretty good in light of my needs.

My questions:

• What are the relative merits of the "Citi Platinum Select / AAdvantage World MasterCard" vs. the "Citi Select / AAdvantage American Express Card"?? Longer term impact on accumulation of Miles? User experience? Quality of customer service? Dispute resolution? What else?
• What is making you think "Sheesh, she could do much better for herself and still keep it simple if only she was prepared to [pick one]: add an XXX card/do XXX/get her act together/... (OK, you can't actually choose this last one :) ). ??
• What else should I be considering?

BTW, this is my first ever post, anywhere, about anything (so please forgive any newbie missteps). I hope I haven't blotted my copybook with such a lengthy debut, but the US banking systems are so complex and bogged down in documentation, and there's limited line-of-sight to the likely "lived experience".... quite overwhelming :confused:

All advice/input gratefully received - thanks in advance.

First, just having one credit card is always a dangerous approach. Mistakes happen and one huge unauthorised charge to your card could make it unusable. Personally, I never travel with less than 4 credit cards, split between Mastercard, Visa and Amex. Apart from the risk factor, there's what they offer. Qantas has about the least valuable FF points in existence, so it's good to be going where the competition is better.

Starwood's Amex is worth much more than AA points in my opinion, but either are far better than any Aussie cards.

Kremmen, thanks for the prompt reply. Just to clarify: (a) I now live in the USA, and all my banking arrangements are therefore in America - I won't be using any Australian cards; and (b) My focus is on AAdvantage, not Qantas. Apols if that wasn't clear in what I wrote - maybe it got obscured in the lengthy post! I appreciate your general advice and also the safety aspect of having more than one card.

I usually find that banks fail to provide what's wanted when it's wanted, so I tend to keep old accounts open. (If they have fees, you can usually convert them to a fee-free version which can be converted back later. Same applies locally, so, for example, when I stopped using my Westpac Altitude card, I converted it to a fee-free Westpac card. Don't want to lose the credit limit and have to start again if they start offering a better product some year.)

Many people I know keep accounts (bank debit accounts and/or credit card accounts) open in multiple countries. Makes it much easier if you return, or even if you just want to pay for something in the other country, esp. at a web site which doesn't accept international credit cards, or only does BPay, etc. (For non-Australians: BPay is an almost ubiquitous bill payment system in Australia. It allows payment by various means including credit card, but this has to be initiated from the payer's online banking, which means it can't work for any bank which doesn't support BPay.)

Also, it's particularly useful to have more than one card in the USA: A significant part of the US credit scoring system is based on what proportion of your credit limit you are using, so you get better rates/deals/offers/etc if you have lots of unused credit.

Yep, I agree. I have kept an investment account active in Australia - I just won't use it for everyday banking. Thanks!

AussieInUSA, Others will complain about Citi, but I can say they recovered a few thousand dollars in a dicey dispute for me. I was pretty happy with Citi.

In the US, AMEX is widely accepted, but every once in a while you'll find a place that only takes Mastercard or Visa. Abroad, I find Mastercard does better but YMMV. I agree with others that you should have more than 1 card. The suggestion about Starwood AMEX is that it can earn 25,000 AA miles per $20,000 spent. On the other hand it does not come with the large bonus you're being offered.

Get both
 

Hi and welcome to FT:

If I were you I would get the Starwood Amex. As a secondary card I would get the Citi AA Mastercard since not all places accept Amex. I would do enough on the MC to make sure I get all the bonuses and keep it for the duration of the no fee period. Then get a Citi Business credit card and repeat:D

Welcome to USA and the world of miles/points...It is very hard to keep it as simple as you want...We all here have a high tolerance for detail to pounce on these "opportunities":)

AussieInUSA You will apparently be charging a lot of travel-related expenses to your new card. I think you should also consider the Costco Amex card, fee-free with membership in Costco ($45-100 a year as I recall, depending on benefit level).

Main features:

1. 5% cash back for gasoline, at FedEd and FedEx/Kinkos, with Gateway Computers, with Hertz, with Marriott, and with Wingate Inns.
2. 3% cash back on restaurant meals, with Delta, Hyatt, and with JetBlue.
3. 2% cash back on hotels, rental cars, and airline tickets ("travel" category, they call it).
4. 1% on everything else.

Plus some other discounts. Rebate cash goes right against your monthly bill (at least it does for me) and with these vendors will likely will exceed the value of any FF miles or points you might otherwise get.

And if there is a Costco nearby, you can save a lot shopping there. I recently bought a new car and for sure saved several hundred dollars through their program.

Also check the Southwest Visa, should you travel with them or use any of their many partners. 1 Southwest RR credit per $1200 spent on anything, and 1 RR credit per $600 spent with Southwest or any of their partners (as I understand it).

And the Choice Privileges Visa (fee-free), especially if you stay in those hotels. They have a killer deal on right now through Aug. 15.

The features you mention match the Costco business card, not the consumer version, and many of these features are shared by all American Express business cards. Note, however, that business cards are not afforded the same legal protections as consumer cards.

You ain't kidding. Biz cards have essentially no legal protections for the user under the Fair Credit Billing Act. :td: They are very dangerous.

I only use them when it is the means to getting big bonus miles. ^ For example, Amex Delta Biz card. :)

I'm guessing AussieInUSA probably wants a program that goes to Oz, and since disputes were mentioned forget the business card. So Southwest and Costco cards don't seem to be in the running.

What Credit Card to use in Italy
 

I'll be in Tuscanny (near Sienna) in June. Does anyone have any suggestions regarding credit card use? Should I use my Discover card or Citi MC or Chase Visa? Are any of them better regarding currency exchange? If this is not in the right thread I apologize.... I'm going over there with about $215 Euros and any other suggestions regarding currency exchange/ best ways to spend are greatly appreciated...