Best Credit Card for travel rewards?

[amymeyer]

Hi All,
I am taking a school trip with 8 other adults. I need to place all of the charges on a credit card, and then be reimbursed. The charges would mostly be with Marriot Hotels and Amtrack.

What is the best credit card that I can get & use for these charges, and then somehow use them towards a Disney trip that is off site, and no flying? Ticket already purchased from Orbitz (thanks for the deal!)

I already have the chase Disney Visa, but it is only 1% of any charges onto a Disney GC.

Thanks in advance!

 

[TeamSy]

I find Amex to be the best with travel rewards, and if traveling abroad I always go with Capital One because of the no foreign transaction fee.

If you're staying Marriott be sure to sign up with their in house rewards program if you aren't already - it's wonderful! Most hotels offer free wifi for members and their points system is not only easy, but by far one of the best!

 

[Marionnette]

Hi All,
I am taking a school trip with 8 other adults. I need to place all of the charges on a credit card, and then be reimbursed. The charges would mostly be with Marriot Hotels and Amtrack.

What is the best credit card that I can get & use for these charges, and then somehow use them towards a Disney trip that is off site, and no flying? Ticket already purchased from Orbitz (thanks for the deal!)

I already have the chase Disney Visa, but it is only 1% of any charges onto a Disney GC.

Thanks in advance!

Chase Sapphire

• 2X points on dining at restaurants
• no annual fee
• 10K Ultimate Rewards Bonus (worth about $100) after you spend $500 in the first 3 months

The Ultimate Rewards can be used for statement credits, gift cards, transferred into numerous travel-related rewards programs or used directly on the Ultimate Rewards website for booking travel. I particularly like the flexibility of the rewards because they are not tied to a single travel rewards program and I can shop for the very best deals on my own and then use the statement credit to reimburse me for my purchase.

You can also apply for a Chase Preferred Sapphire card, which has an annual fee of $95 (waived the first year) and 40K Ultimate Rewards Points when you spend $3K in the first 3 months. You also get a 7% annual bonus on all points earned and they give 2X points on dining and travel. They also offer the benefit of no foreign transaction fees.

Ultimate Rewards also has an online shopping portal which, when accessed prior to visiting an online store, earns you bonus points on your shopping dollars.

 

[hsmamato2]

Chase Sapphire preferred is really good b/c you can use those points in so many ways it has an annual fee, but it's an excellent choice....

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I find Amex to be the best with travel rewards, and if traveling abroad I always go with Capital One because of the no foreign transaction fee.

If you're staying Marriott be sure to sign up with their in house rewards program if you aren't already - it's wonderful! Most hotels offer free wifi for members and their points system is not only easy, but by far one of the best!

Please note that Marriott offers free wi-fi for Gold and Platinum members only (50 nights stay or more per year).

 

[GatorMomInNC]

I have the Marriott Visa, Chase Sapphire, Hilton Honors Amex, Disney Visa and the Starwood Amex. I just got the Chase Sapphire - primarily for the no foreign transaction fees - so I can't tell you much about that one right now. I plan on using any points from the Chase Sapphire for flights.

For pure HOTEL rewards, the Starwood is best, IMHO. You get 1 point for every dollar so it is easy to tell what you are earning. You can get a free room for as little as $4k in spending with Starwood and they also have cash and points. So for example, a room at the Sheraton Lake Buena Vista is 7k points, or 3500 points and $55. You can get a hotel elsewhere in ORlando (farther from WDW) for 4k points. Of course, more expensive hotels or peak seasons are more points, but I tend to get more free hotels faster with Starwood than I do with Marriott, which is 2nd best, IMHO. Marriott has a lot more brands and choices, which is nice, but I feel that it takes longer to earn enough points for a free room.

Disney is good for charging Disney vacas, getting the 6 months to pay, and using to save up money for a Disney vacation.

Hilton stinks, it takes forever to earn free nights, their point system I don't even understand. They did just add a feature this year that if you have their credit card you get automatic gold status, which is the one good thing I can say about it. I would get rid of it but for 2 things - I have had it forever and for some reason I have a huge credit limit on it, so even though I never use it, if I cancelled it at this point it might bring down my credit rating...

The other card I use is Hawaiian Airlines. I don't use that one a lot, and their customer service is the WORST of any credit card we have, but I have had it for a few years and I just have been accumulating points in hopes of going to Hawaii in a few years. Right now we have enough points for a R/T first class ticket to Hawaii - yeah! - but once I finally use those points I am getting rid of that card because they really have the WORST automated system, and they charge you a late fee if you pay after 8pm (or maybe even 5pm?) on the due date - even if you call them before it is due and they put you on hold for 20 minutes and it is one minute past their deadline when they pick up so you can pay by phone, they will zap you with a late fee. (if you can't tell this happened to me once and I am still PO'd about it .

 

[SNDRS]

It depends on which airlines/hotels you use most often...

That said, I recommend 3 cards for general use:

1 - Chase Sapphire - Extremely flexible redemptions; Great value when redeeming for Southwest or Hyatt

2 - Barclaycard Arrival - Redemptions can be made to pay statement for expenses classified as "travel". This is the only card that I have found that I can use my points toward actual Disney tix/hotels. 10% rebate on point redemptions; Used recently with Expedia UK Disney resort bookings

3 - Starwood Preferred Amex with OPEN Savings - Great redemption value at SPG properties and great transfer value to airlines; OPEN savings offers good money saving options

 

[platamama]

It depends on which airlines/hotels you use most often...

That said, I recommend 3 cards for general use:

1 - Chase Sapphire - Extremely flexible redemptions; Great value when redeeming for Southwest or Hyatt

2 - Barclaycard Arrival - Redemptions can be made to pay statement for expenses classified as "travel". This is the only card that I have found that I can use my points toward actual Disney tix/hotels. 10% rebate on point redemptions; Used recently with Expedia UK Disney resort bookings

3 - Starwood Preferred Amex with OPEN Savings - Great redemption value at SPG properties and great transfer value to airlines; OPEN savings offers good money saving options

Ditto.

Each of those cards have their particular strengths. It helps to have a plan for how you plan to redeem your rewards. But if you don't have a plan, then the Barclays Arrival is probably your best bet.

 

[hsmamato2]

It depends on which airlines/hotels you use most often...

That said, I recommend 3 cards for general use:

1 - Chase Sapphire - Extremely flexible redemptions; Great value when redeeming for Southwest or Hyatt

2 - Barclaycard Arrival - Redemptions can be made to pay statement for expenses classified as "travel". This is the only card that I have found that I can use my points toward actual Disney tix/hotels. 10% rebate on point redemptions; Used recently with Expedia UK Disney resort bookings

3 - Starwood Preferred Amex with OPEN Savings - Great redemption value at SPG properties and great transfer value to airlines; OPEN savings offers good money saving options

I agree with the 1st two.... and it helps to id what sort of travel you are aiming for...
about #3- is this an option for business accts only?