credit cards
 

I depend on using credit cards to generate
the vast majority of travel rewards. So far, I have been using the Marriott VISA card for
about 3 years.

With program rules changing constantly, it's
been difficult for me to keep track of what the best award generating credit card is. Can the members of this forum comment on how the Marriott card compares with Starwood & Hilton? How do these program cards compare in the ability to convert to FF miles?

Starwood Amex is hands down the best deal going these days, in my opinion. This includes hotel and airline cards. My reasons are:

- No annual fee the first year, then $30 thereafter.
- Points can be converted 1:1 into about 25 airlines' programs, including all major US airlines except Southwest.
- If you transfer 20k points, you get 25k miles on all airlines.
- Points can be redeemed for free nights at any Starwood property with no blackout dates or capacity controls.

You'll find a lot of agreement with Steve M. here on FlyerTalk, including mine. He forgot to mention at least one benefit: no cap on miles earned. The only drawback other than the annual fee is that it's an Amex card.

Frankly, as with most good deals, I'm torn between wanting to support them by spreading the word, and fear that doing so may result in management watering down future benefits or cancelling the whole program (it's happened).

BK

Bidkat, I suggest sharing your good deals on these boards. It will come back to you many times over. There are hundreds of great ideas here, and only a handful a year get shut down. Most non-FT people aren't hardcore enough to use most of the ideas.

Some folks might say that Diners Club is a pretty good card http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Alex, welcome to FT.

Whatever card you use, be sure to enroll in a dining program. It's an easy way to accrue miles.

If only there were a McDonald's dining program... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

------------------
Middle_Seat

Diners does have:
- tranfer capability with almost every major airline
- perhaps the best rental car insurancec
- 60 day billing period
- 2:1 transfer bonuses (occasionally, last year to BA).

However it also has:
- $95 annual fee
- fee to transfer points to airline miles
- domestically poor acceptance of DC card (AMEX is much better).

Jeff

There is no McDonald's dining program, but you can contribute towards college via Upromise

http://www.upromise.com/nspage?su=9802

If memory serves me, your Marriott card earns 1 point per dollar spent. As an alternative to the Starwood card, you could get an AmEx Hilton card that pays 3 points per dollar. In addition, you could then get a Hilton/Visa from Citibank for those mechants that do not take AmEx. The Visa card pays 2 points per dollar. This approach would allow you to focus all your credit card spending into a single program. One advantage of Hilton over Starwood is nearly 3 times as many hotel locations.

Having said all that, I would still give the edge to Starwood mostly because of no blackout. One thing to be aware of though, I think they have a 1 year expiry on the points in the absense of any account activity.

PLUS, you can transfer Starpoints to another active member with the same mailing address. A big plus for couples/families who do most of their traveling together and might need to "top off" each of their airline FF accounts.

YES to Starwood Amex. It's my principal card now. Starpoints are like a currency that can be converted into a bazillion airline programs (with a bonus, even!). And of course, can be redeemed for Starwood hotel stays as well.

I also have HHonors Amex, UA FirstCard Visa, and Gold Points Visa. I use them sometimes too. (The HHonors Amex gets bonus points -- 5 x charges instead of 3 x -- when used at HHonors hotels. And the Visas are handy for places that don't take Amex!)

Kathy

[This message has been edited by KathyWdrf (edited 04-01-2002).]

A lot of DC cardholders will tell you it USED to be a pretty good card. The value proposition has deteriorated big-time in just the past few months. The annual fee has been jacked to $95, they now charge an additional transaction fee to convert Club Rewards points to airline programs, Delta has dropped out of the DC miles-to-points program, and card acceptance is still a hit-or-miss affair.

I intend to drop DC this year when my membership term runs out and will likely take up with Starwood Amex.

I also think that the Amex Starpoints card is hands down the best value there is out there.

In comparison to Diners, it only has $30 annual fee. It is much more widely accepted than Diners. There's the 5,000 bonus mile transfer to any airline you choose from their list of 25+, not just to BA as Diners would limit you to. Finally, there is NO FEE for transferring your hard earned miles.

I do know Diners offer a 60 days grace period and pretty good car rental insurance. Besides these two benefits, which many here may place tremendous value on, the Starwood card cannot be beaten, in my opinion.

As one who has long carried both Starwood AMEX and DC, I can tell you it's no contest. I charge >$60k a year on my Starwood and <$10 on my Diners.

This may be my last year for Diners. The bump in fee + the transfer fee will likely do it in. The only reason I even consider hanging on to it is the primary rental insurance.