VX Credit Card now on Apple Pay
 

FINALLY - Comenity has joined-up with Apple Pay so the VX credit cards can be used on the service!

https://d.comenity.net/info/virginam...&rrid=30229370

Meh. Not sure why anyone would use this card for anything other than VX airfare, so who cares? (You can always do better than 1pt/$ with another card.)

Sorry it only rates a "meh" to you. Personally, I was able to use miscellaneous purchases on my card to redeem my VX points for a couple of great Upper Class flights from SFO-LHR a few months ago. I also earn twice as many points from using my VX card than I do with transfers from Amex Membership Rewards.

As we all know, Comenity is a second-tier card issuer which is attempting the old Avis "we try harder" approach. In my experience they've mostly met the deficiencies in their web presence etc with responsive customer service, yet seem to remain in catch-up mode. Apple Pay is one of those areas. I'm glad to see them finally join the club.

Wait, what? The value of VX points varies by redemption, but they're generally worth more than 2 cents per point (my rule of thumb is about 2.3 cents per point). I'm not aware of any other widely available card that earns more than 2 cents per dollar on generic transactions (Citi Double Cash and Fidelity AmEx are the obvious competitors, but both of those are "only" 2 cents per dollar).

Of course, the VX cards have an annual fee, but the premise of your question is that you already have the card anyway for VX airfares or other benefits (free bag, etc.), so the annual fee is a sunk cost at that point.

Pretty much every travel/points blog values SPG points higher, in part because of those points' much greater flexibility/transfer partners. The VX card is well worth the annual fee for me, since I put close to $30k on it for VX airfare alone last year and it's clearly the best card to use for that (3x/$). But for other spending, it's either Amex Gold (for 2x or 3x) or SPG for me. I grant you, though -- if you have specific Virgin Australia or possibly VS awards that you're looking to cash in on, then it may make sense to put regular spend on the VX card.

Also, I like Apple Pay, but even in SF there are still not that many merchants that use it. Wholefoods and Walgreens are the only places I use it regularly.

I'm thinking of getting the credit card... but all the reviews say Commenity customer service is terrible. Anyone care to share some feedback on that?

Thanks.

Shza I'm curious... I have always used my SPG personal and biz cards for *everything* except VX airfare and places that don't take amex (use the premier VX card for those). I recently got the amex biz gold for the 50k pts which I turned into VX gold status. Do you keep all these cards, and if so what do you use the gold for? Trying to figure out what to do now that SPG has been bought and will probably decline in value...

I use the Amex Gold for the bonused categories: restaurants, gas, grocery, and airfare (other than VX, for which I use the VX card). I use the SPG for everything else -- though you're right; if Marriott screws with Starwood points (or just gets rid of the AmEx card -- which is likely since Marriott has its own Chase visa, I think), then I'll have to rethink the default.

Don't listen to the reviewers. If you get value out of the card, then get it. The card works like other cards. It's not like you interact with CS all the time anyway.

Comenity is a small-time outfit, but the most vocal reviewers tend to be hysterics with terrible people skills or idiotic expectations. If the card serves your needs, it's fine.

I've actually had a good experience with the phone support over the past couple of years. They have essentially no web-based tools other than statement lookup and autopay, but I had excellent luck with their phone reps. Really worked and did followup. (Not going to go into the issue, but it had to do with the initial card rollout and is not likely to recur. In any event, I don't want to leave you with the expectation that you're likely to need support)

They're missing some of the online conveniences of the big boys, but by my experience, they have the "we try harder" attitude.