Travel Credit Card Question

[EmeraldCoastCruisers]

I  currently have a NCL Credit Card.  I know a few months back they sent an email regarding the travel insurance being offered.  I LOVE NCL, but also do cruise Royal and Carnival and will probably cruise many others in the future.  I also do have flights I book periodically.  I've heard a lot about Chase Sapphire Reserve and even though it seems costly, has a lot of perks for travel.  I pay my CC off every month so I don't need comments about that. 🙂  The bonus points may not be a viable option as I'm not sure I will spend $4000 in 3 months as I don't have anything in the pipeline for that amount of spending.  I've done the research and now thought I seek some answers from others who may have this card.  TIA

[denmarks]

My bank credit card pays me much more cash than the value of any Cruise Card. I just obtained the Princess credit card since it gives you $100 for use on a Princess cruise (payment or OBC) after you make your first charge. Other than that I will never use it again.

[clo]

We're newbies to the Chase Sapphire Reserve card so I'm going to give you this link from The Points Guy.

 

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/chase-sapphire-reserve-review/

 

With 3X points for both travel and dining (and that can be drive-thru McD's) we're racking up points 🙂  And travel can be a motel on a short road trip.  It doesn't give it for gas.  It also gives you Priority Pass for over 1200 airline lounges worldwide.  And on and on.  It's too bad you don't anticipate being able to score the 50k bonus.  We actually have the final payment for a cruise coming up.  And absolutely every single recurring bill we have that CAN be paid with a CC is.  And, as you say, you MUST pay in full every month or that interest will eat you alive.  Check out TPG. They can be confusing on FB but the linked piece is helpful.

[FlyerTalker]

Cruiseline credit cards may seem like a good deal for onboard perks, but in the overall picture they don't provide great returns.

 

When you consider the cash value of your benefit, almost all other cards will give you a better return for your spend.

 

If you do plan to get the CSR, be sure to get the initial spend bonus.  You can only qualify for that once, even if you give up the card and get it later on.  And those points are quite worthwhile - you can leverage them into a wide variety of programs. You should get at least $800 worth of redemption from that 50K of points.  Don't throw that away!!  Perhaps you should time your CSR (or other card) application to match with planned large purchases.

 

One caveat for you to consider.  The Points Guy (TPG) derives a huge chunk of revenue from credit card referrals - so you might want to read a number of other points blogs to get additional points of view on the various cards  Not that these other blogs don't also get paid for referrals, but it can't hurt to get other views.  I know that Gary Leff often has other views than the TPG crew.  Check out Boarding Area for a large number of aviation blogs.

[clo]

8 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

Cruiseline credit cards may seem like a good deal for onboard perks, but in the overall picture they don't provide great returns.

 

When you consider the cash value of your benefit, almost all other cards will give you a better return for your spend.

 

If you do plan to get the CSR, be sure to get the initial spend bonus.  You can only qualify for that once, even if you give up the card and get it later on.  And those points are quite worthwhile - you can leverage them into a wide variety of programs. You should get at least $800 worth of redemption from that 50K of points.  Don't throw that away!!  Perhaps you should time your CSR (or other card) application to match with planned large purchases.

 

One caveat for you to consider.  The Points Guy (TPG) derives a huge chunk of revenue from credit card referrals - so you might want to read a number of other points blogs to get additional points of view on the various cards  Not that these other blogs don't also get paid for referrals, but it can't hurt to get other views.  I know that Gary Leff often has other views than the TPG crew.  Check out Boarding Area for a large number of aviation blogs.

Thanks for weighing in.  And also for giving other  sites.  And, yes, re possibly waiting to have a spend coming up if necessary.  We actually got one each and Bob's has met the required level.  Mine will finish up with our cruise.  And then we won't 'renew' one of them next year.  I feel like I'm pushing my limits on the complications of these things.  I read about a couple who has 17 card EACH.  lol.

[FlyerTalker]

Remember that Chase enforces 5/24 (5 new cards in 24 months) when deciding on new applications.  So one must be judicious.

[clo]

2 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

Remember that Chase enforces 5/24 (5 new cards in 24 months) when deciding on new applications.  So one must be judicious.

Yep. Not a problem for us.  We don't 'play the game.'

[AlwaysReadyToSail]

I have had the CSR for a couple of years now and I love it. I have used the auto rental insurance and had to file a claim when I returned with a large chip in the windshield in Iceland. The process was a bit lengthy, but ultimately it was resolved and fully covered.   I have received direct benefits far greater than the annual fee of the card.   I will say that even if you are not "playing the game" you may want to look into getting an additional card at a later date to maximize your rewards with Chase such as on of the Ink or Freedom cards.   If you have any specific questions I'd be glad to answer them for you to the best of my ability.    

[chipmaster]

Another fan of CSR, their bonus aren't as good as they were a few years ago, but if have the opportunity the lounge is a great perk.   Since I have too much status the and already get everything reimbursed like TSA/global entry and APAC find the lower level card more of "value" 

[clo]

3 hours ago, AlwaysReadyToSail said:

I have had the CSR for a couple of years now and I love it. I have used the auto rental insurance and had to file a claim when I returned with a large chip in the windshield in Iceland. The process was a bit lengthy, but ultimately it was resolved and fully covered.   I have received direct benefits far greater than the annual fee of the card.   I will say that even if you are not "playing the game" you may want to look into getting an additional card at a later date to maximize your rewards with Chase such as on of the Ink or Freedom cards.   If you have any specific questions I'd be glad to answer them for you to the best of my ability.    

One thing we did was each of us got a separate card/account and will get two bonuses.  We won't renew one after the first year.  And the points can be combined, moved around, etc.  I also got a Chase Explorer with its own bonus and a $2k requirement.  Bob's already hit his $4k and we can hit my two when we make our final payment on our cruise.  The Explorer (we've had it previously) also gives us two UA lounge passes per year which, as I understand, has higher 'status' than the Priority Pass.  I'm a senior citizen 🙂 and feel a bit overwhelmed at the moment but once we score all the bonuses it should be easier.  It does make us chuckle using the CSR for drive-thru McD's but, hey, do the math 🙂

 

Thanks for offering to help.  Maybe others will sign up.

[FlyerTalker]

52 minutes ago, clo said:

It does make us chuckle using the CSR for drive-thru McD's but, hey, do the math 🙂

 

I just use the credit card to buy a McD gift card and reload it when it gets low.  Then l just leave the McD card in the car visor.  One CC transaction and I don't have to dig out the CC at the drive-thru.

[clo]

26 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

I just use the credit card to buy a McD gift card and reload it when it gets low.  Then l just leave the McD card in the car visor.  One CC transaction and I don't have to dig out the CC at the drive-thru.

What a superb idea!  Thanks.

[squick64]

I have the CSR, as well as the Freedom and the Freedom Unlimited. I got it when it first came out, when the bonus was 100k, I think. It's been a great little card. The fee is a pain, of course, but the points are good, and there's a free Emerald Club membership at National, a free Priority Pass to use in airports, and free global entry, among other things. Their definition of "travel" is also one of (or the) loosest in the industry--a remarkable number of things qualify for the 5-point rate.

[cowmilker]

We have Chase Sapphire Preferred, the poor sibling of the Reserve.  I agonized over which one to get and opted for the lesser card. Perhaps we'll upgrade at some point, perhaps not.  It's a great card.  We use it for everything we possibly can.

We also have a Hyatt card (Chase) and the Freedom card. The nice thing is being able to move points around from one card to the other  (yes, you can, although it can be a little bit tricky sometimes).

At this point, we've made a collection of credit cards to the point that I made a spreadsheet to keep track of them all.  There is one specific airline card that we can't get rid of because we have so many airline points, but it charges a fee if used internationally, so I have very specific things I use certain cards for.

[MTdreaming]

I have been happy with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, my husband has a Chase Business Ink Preferred, they work well and do have travel insurance benefits ..much more robust that just my Chase freedom unlimited...both are great for accumulating those Chase Ultimate Reward points.

[FlyerTalker]

3 hours ago, cowmilker said:

There is one specific airline card that we can't get rid of because we have so many airline points, but it charges a fee if used internationally, so I have very specific things I use certain cards for.

 

Interesting....I know if no AIRLINE credit card where canceling the card results in a loss of the points.

 

OTOH, if you cancel out your Amex or Chase or Citi cards and do not have a no-fee version to continue with, you will lose those points as they are tied to the card(s).

 

Now, as to the card that you "can't" get rid of...is that because you are still earning miles to reach an award milestone?  Or are you just afraid that the points will go "poof"?

[clo]

23 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

Interesting....I know if no AIRLINE credit card where canceling the card results in a loss of the points.

 

I had one where the miles were going to expire.  So I 'bought' a dollar gift card at Staples IIRC and that activated it for another 18 months.

[cowmilker]

It's an Alaska Airlines card. If we don't keep the account "active," (which they define as either using miles or adding them) we will lose our miles.  Our balance right now is more than 240,000 miles. We have no intention of losing them, or even chancing it slightly. We use them to fly a good bit, mostly overseas (it's not worth it to use those miles for domestic flights).

Strictly speaking, we could cancel the card and then make sure that we use miles regularly, but I don't want to have to worry about it, so we keep the card and make sure we have something like Netflix charged to it regularly.

 

[cowmilker]

We also have a huge credit limit on that AK Airlines card, which is another good reason for keeping it around. 

[clo]

33 minutes ago, cowmilker said:

It's an Alaska Airlines card. If we don't keep the account "active," (which they define as either using miles or adding them) we will lose our miles.  Our balance right now is more than 240,000 miles. We have no intention of losing them, or even chancing it slightly. We use them to fly a good bit, mostly overseas (it's not worth it to use those miles for domestic flights).

Strictly speaking, we could cancel the card and then make sure that we use miles regularly, but I don't want to have to worry about it, so we keep the card and make sure we have something like Netflix charged to it regularly.

 

And you get the checked bag thing.

[FlyerTalker]

For anyone who is concerned about keeping miles "alive", remember that shopping and dining portals are excellent ways to have account activity, without either flying or credit card activity.  Also, partner rental cars can get you an easy 500 miles.  Flowers and more.

 

Crunch the numbers.  Do you get at least the equivalent value compared to the card cost?  That's the key.

[clo]

31 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

For anyone who is concerned about keeping miles "alive", remember that shopping and dining portals are excellent ways to have account activity, without either flying or credit card activity.  Also, partner rental cars can get you an easy 500 miles.  Flowers and more.

 

Crunch the numbers.  Do you get at least the equivalent value compared to the card cost?  That's the key.

I'm so happy to have a pro to help with this.  Thanks.

[SRF]

Another thing I have done to not lose miles or points, is to buy miles or points.  The minimum amount.

 

 

[clo]

17 hours ago, cowmilker said:

At this point, we've made a collection of credit cards to the point that I made a spreadsheet to keep track of them all.

There was a couple who posted on The Points Guy who have 17 cards EACH and, of course, have a spreadsheet.  I can't even imagine.  We're 'playing the game' for a short period with three different cards and I already feel overwhelmed.  We'll pay off our cruise in a few weeks with two of them and go back to a more normal life 🙂

[cowmilker]

That got me curious so I counted. We have nine.  That is enough.  LOL

However, having those nine credit cards and being careful about how we use them means that for our next trip, we rent a car to go to the airport, we fly to Ft. Lauderdale and then stay overnight in a hotel, and reverse that, including an overnight stay, on the way home, and a second overnight in the airport city before driving home. All of that I got with points.  So, two rental cars (24 hours each), three hotel nights, and a round trip flight for two.

We pay everything we possibly can with a credit card, as long as we incur no extra fees for doing so.