Credit cards for rewards?

[Kustomcars]

I have a Royal Carib credit card, but by the time I got almost up to the point of getting a cruise (5-6 years!), they started taking away my points as fast as they were giving them. Are there any cruise rewards cards that are more generous? Or don't take away points, or miles after a certain time?

[navybankerteacher]

"Evaporating" points is a real problem with many big rewards cards. Better to use one or two airline rewards cards (doubling points when used on the airline), and making all purchases on them. When you concentrate ALL your spending, you can easily build enough for free flights - particularly because those points generally do not expire.

[Flatbush Flyer]

"Evaporating" points is a real problem with many big rewards cards. Better to use one or two airline rewards cards (doubling points when used on the airline), and making all purchases on them. When you concentrate ALL your spending, you can easily build enough for free flights - particularly because those points generally do not expire.

 

 

AMEN!

Also, pick an airline card where the airline is a member of a large air consortia that includes a variety of lines flying out of your usual hub city and to locations you most often use.

Because we're SFO folks (a major hub for United, which is also the airline we used for professional travel before retirement) we most often find ourselves on Star Alliance partners. So, our preferred credit card is United's Explorer Visa. Just keep using it and your miles never expire. Also, note that the various travel perks more than pay for the annual fee.

 

 

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[SantaFeFan]

"Evaporating" points is a real problem with many big rewards cards. Better to use one or two airline rewards cards (doubling points when used on the airline), and making all purchases on them. When you concentrate ALL your spending, you can easily build enough for free flights - particularly because those points generally do not expire.

 

Or maybe your bank has a rewards card available. We are with BofA and our cards are rewards cards through the bank. They are no fee cards if we carry a minimum balance across all accounts with them. We cruise every two years or so, and for our next cruise, the rewards points we have earned since the last cruise are paying the majority of the cost of this next cruise. We even earned points that are being used to pay for the cruise by charging the cruise on our card - we earned points that helped pay off the charge that earned those very points! Out of pocket, we'll be paying only about 25% of our cruise vacation costs. The rest is being paid for by those rewards points. And, BofA's points never "evaporate". And, since we always pay off our balance every month, we never pay interest. With no fees and no interest, the rewards are like free money!

[martincath]

There are a bunch of online card comparison sites, try Googling and putting in your typical spend patterns in a few of them - without knowing exactly what you spend where and how often you cruise/fly/stay in hotels I can't really say what's the best for you - but I'm a big believer that simplest is best when it comes to rewards: cashback cards. Spend whatever wherever, get your cash back every quarter/year etc., no muss, no fuss, no restrictions.

 

In my research, none of the specialist Company X Rewards cards would actually give me as much, let alone $ value back for my spending than a good cashback card does - if you're very loyal to one airline and fly a lot, some airline cards are definitely worth more and an occasional hotel chain card is similarly rewarding if you spend a lot of nights in hotels. But if it took you 5+ years to amass a decent reward, it sounds like you'd be much better off avoiding all cruiseline cards - and unless you travel a lot more on land vacations, airline/hotel cards are likewise unlikely to actually net you anything extra that makes brand loyalty worthwhile...

[lostchild]

Chase Sapphire Reserve card is really good for Travel. It covers Air, Hotel, Cruise, Car Rental, etc... You get 3 points per $ spent on Travel. And those 3 points is same as 4.5 cents if you spend on Travel. Last year they have 100,000 points bonus for spending $4000 in 3 months. This year it has been reduced to 50,000 points. But 50,000 points is still $750 in Travel.

 

Annual fee is high at $450 but you get $300 reimbursement in travel. If you travel at least once per year, you could easily get the $300 back making the annual fee $150. And it reimburse you for Global Entry application so that's another $100 off every 5 years. It also gives you Priority Pass Select membership for airport lounges which is worth $50 for just 1 visit. Points do not expire as long as you own the card.

 

It also let you transfer the points to major airlines and hotel like United, Southwest, Marriott, Hyatt, etc...

[navybankerteacher]

An additional consideration on airline cards is the free checked bags - saving us $50 each time we fly

[TruckerDave]

Also look at cash back cards. Put that money into a savings account and watch it grow.

[nyllrap]

Or maybe your bank has a rewards card available. We are with BofA and our cards are rewards cards through the bank. They are no fee cards if we carry a minimum balance across all accounts with them. We cruise every two years or so, and for our next cruise, the rewards points we have earned since the last cruise are paying the majority of the cost of this next cruise. We even earned points that are being used to pay for the cruise by charging the cruise on our card - we earned points that helped pay off the charge that earned those very points! Out of pocket, we'll be paying only about 25% of our cruise vacation costs. The rest is being paid for by those rewards points. And, BofA's points never "evaporate". And, since we always pay off our balance every month, we never pay interest. With no fees and no interest, the rewards are like free money!

 

I also have a Bank of America Travel Rewards credit card, and find it to be one of the best. To get the maximum, you do have to have a certain amount in combined BOA accounts. You can get as much as 2.6% back. When I have accrued a good number of points, I just go into their website and apply it to my credit card balance. As with all credit cards, if you don't pay off your card each month, the interest eats up any rewardss.

[Flatbush Flyer]

Also look at cash back cards. Put that money into a savings account and watch it grow.

 

 

Sorry - this is a loser for frequent travelers- get a travel savvy card.

 

 

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[Underwatr]

Sorry - this is a loser for frequent travelers- get a travel savvy card.

I dunno - I have a Visa card that pays 3% on restaurants & travel and 4% on gas, and an Amex that pays 3% on groceries. I don't have annual fees that start me off in the hole.

[Kustomcars]

Wow, lots of great advice! I will look into the options. I did have a United airlines card, but between lousy customer service, and tons of mix ups in trying to get flights, that one is out. My Royal card is from BofA, as well as my checking acct., so I can easily get a better card from them.

Thank you all!

[Philob]

Wow, lots of great advice! I will look into the options. I did have a United airlines card, but between lousy customer service, and tons of mix ups in trying to get flights, that one is out. My Royal card is from BofA, as well as my checking acct., so I can easily get a better card from them.

Thank you all!

 

If you can get one with 0% foreign transaction fees it would be even better :cool:

[EatonDoolittle]

. My Royal card is from BofA, as well as my checking acct., so I can easily get a better card from them.

Thank you all!

 

Check into their AAA card (if you are an AAA member). It is 3% on travel (all travel - hotel, rental car, air, cruises), 2% on gas and groceries, and 1% on everything else. No foreign transaction fee, but I guess if you consider the yearly AAA fee, that counts. I have been a member for many years, and signed up for the card last year when they were having a $100 signing bonus promo.

 

You can choose statement credit - but why would you? That defeats the purpose of spending money to build points. I simply apply for a check to be mailed to me every few hundred dollars.

 

I have a local bank issued Visa that gives me 1.75 % so I use that one for "everything else".

[Flatbush Flyer]

I dunno - I have a Visa card that pays 3% on restaurants & travel and 4% on gas, and an Amex that pays 3% on groceries. I don't have annual fees that start me off in the hole.

 

 

So, 3% of $12,500 spent on restaurants and travel with your Visa card, which would be a $375 value, won't get you very far on an airline round trip (even flying domestically in economy seating). Spend that same $12,500 on United or other Star Alliance tix or products/fees and you'll amass 25,000 points, which could get you a round trip saver award on a domestic economy ticket (at whatever regular price) PLUS free checked bags PLUS United Club passes PLUS trip interruption insurance PLUS concierge services, hotel/rental car discounts, etc.

Travel savvy credit cards do not work for everyone. But, if you do travel a decent amount for pleasure and/or business, they are a far better deal than "cash back" cards.

 

 

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[Underwatr]

So, 3% of $12,500 spent on restaurants and travel with your Visa card, which would be a $375 value, won't get you very far on an airline round trip (even flying domestically in economy seating). Spend that same $12,500 on United or other Star Alliance tix or products/fees and you'll amass 25,000 points, which could get you a round trip saver award on a domestic economy ticket (at whatever regular price) PLUS free checked bags PLUS United Club passes PLUS trip interruption insurance PLUS concierge services, hotel/rental car discounts, etc.

There was a time when that mattered. I've done the whole thing; had a hotel clerk gasp when he saw my frequent guest status (I think he was new); learned to upgrade to first on the westbound flights serving filet for dinner but its easier to sleep on the redeye eastbounds in a coach seat; spent a lot of time in the Flyer Talk forums. It feels good to be off that treadmill and now I fly a few times a year at most.

 

I've also had the pleasure of trying to burn off a few hundred thousand miles on tickets that are actually obtainable, so don't paint it in too rosy a hue. :)

[Flatbush Flyer]

There was a time when that mattered. I've done the whole thing; had a hotel clerk gasp when he saw my frequent guest status (I think he was new); learned to upgrade to first on the westbound flights serving filet for dinner but its easier to sleep on the redeye eastbounds in a coach seat; spent a lot of time in the Flyer Talk forums. It feels good to be off that treadmill and now I fly a few times a year at most.

 

I've also had the pleasure of trying to burn off a few hundred thousand miles on tickets that are actually obtainable, so don't paint it in too rosy a hue. :)

 

 

As retirees, we've got it down to a nice balance of burning banked miles for business class tix or upgrades and replenishing them with the United Explorer VISA.

 

 

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[TruckerDave]

So, 3% of $12,500 spent on restaurants and travel with your Visa card, which would be a $375 value, won't get you very far on an airline round trip (even flying domestically in economy seating). Spend that same $12,500 on United or other Star Alliance tix or products/fees and you'll amass 25,000 points, which could get you a round trip saver award on a domestic economy ticket (at whatever regular price) PLUS free checked bags PLUS United Club passes PLUS trip interruption insurance PLUS concierge services, hotel/rental car discounts, etc.

Travel savvy credit cards do not work for everyone. But, if you do travel a decent amount for pleasure and/or business, they are a far better deal than "cash back" cards.

 

 

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The depends on how much value you can get with your miles. If you are only getting a 1CPM redemption on your miles then a 2% cash back card is a better deal.