Cledaybuck

Current SPG personal card holder. Also have CSP/Freedom. Currently use the Chase cards in bonus categories and the SPG everywhere else. Thinking about switching to the Hilton Ascend card, as I am not really tied to any hotel program. I don't travel enough to have any meaningful status. I would have earned about 140,000 HH points based on last years spend or 64,000 MR points. Not that concerned about airline transfers, as almost all my travel is domestic and I have CSP to use for UA or WN. I am not interested in the $450 AF cards. Thoughts?

zoqfotpik

Speaking of which, I do hope AMEX Canada has something in the works. Perhaps partner with Marriott so we can at least transfer MR to Marriott points 2:3.

Chicago Cruzer

I appreciate all the professional opinions in the forums, everyone makes this place a real resource. I currently utilize 3 CC for everything, CSR for restaurants and travels spend, FREEDOM for 5% categories only, and then SPG AMEX for everything else. I pretty much utilize the chase cards to buy airline tickets, and the SPG points for for hotel stays. I don't travel for work or anything like that, so I will not earn any loyalty status with anyone from stays really. I did spend roughly $50K on the SPG AMEX last year, getting me gold stauts for SPG (and subsequently Marriott ).

Going forward, I will look to move my everyday spend to either chase FREEDOM UNLIMITED or perhaps the new Chase Marriott Card coming in May. Anyone have suggestions for someone in this scenario? Assuming a $50K spend stays the same, what is the best route to go?

artemis

I valued my SPG card as it was pretty much the only way to get bonused spend for American Airlines AAdvantage miles. Now the airline credit card will a better choice for collecting AAdvantage miles.

ENIAC

+1 on the Fidelity card. I have LTP so don't need a Stariott card for the EQNs. Might make sense to have one for the free night but I don't think I'll spend on it. Currently I use Sapphire Preferred for restaurants and rental car, Amex Plat for flights, and SPG Amex for everything else. In future, I think I'll go with 2% in actual money on the "everything else" which seems to beat spending on any of the hotel or airline card options. Especially since a cash balance should gain value, while a points hoard in any program tends to lose it. Not sure if the Fidelity card has good warranty protection etc. so it may make sense to purchase some things on the Sapphire.

Update: just checked -- looks like the Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature benefits include comparable warranty extension to the SPG Amex.

Cledaybuck

Aren't the new Chase card and the new AmEx ($95 AF version) essentially exactly the same?

christianj

For EVERYDAY spend that does not fit into a bonus category I will likely do AMEX EDP or Chase Freedom Unlimited both at 1.5 points per $1.

gpeso8

I put all my non-bonused spend on my Business SPG AMEX ( a little over $1M/year). I use my SPG points exclusively for airline transfers. I will likely move it all over to an AMEX Everyday Preferred in August. I'm open to other suggestions as well.

pokee

Well, they'll have to do SOMETHING...considering it doesn't look like the card is going anywhere as of August 1st.

They just announced some BIG changes to SPG Amex in Canada though: change the earning to 2 points instead of 3 for hotel stays PLUS, the sign-up bonuses are gone - and instead replaced with crappy statement credits. I referred my hubby a week ago, so I certainly hope they don't try to screw us out of our 5K/20K bonuses...

christianj

Which airlines are you moving the SPG points to?

matchbox20_is

I currently use the CSR for travel/dining, Everyday Preferred for gas/groceries, and SPG Amex for all else. I think the only options that make sense for us now are the Everyday Preferred (1.5x Amex points), Freedom Unlimited (1.5x Chase points when paired with a Sapphire product), or a 2% cash back card. You could also leverage the $0 annual fee US Bank Cash+ for its two 5% cash back categories (chosen by you, not rotating).

EuropeanPete

I realise that this is a somewhat unhelpful contribution, but as a non-American I would kill for a card which would give me 2 Marriott points per dollar.

gpeso8

A pretty diverse mix, I would say my top three are SQ, JL, and Aeroplan. I transfer to A3, OZ, AA, NH less frequently.

I'm sitting on about 2 million SPG points at the moment, so I might start moving spend over before August. I figure Membership Rewards would probably be best for me since I can use them to transfer to SQ and NH. UR points also transfer to SQ but the other transfer partners are not appealing to me, I have more UA points than I would like.

shawneve

I read that the cards will offer 6 points per dollar for Marriott spend.
If so, would that not be good? Use this card for hotel spend and other cards for other purchases where it makes sense.

matchbox20_is

It's the same as what we get now with 2x SPG points per $1 at SPG/Marriott. The other side of the coin is what the new award chart will look like.