Best rewards CC for travel

[gilby]

I am wondering what the best rewards CC for travel. I seen the one from Chase Sapphire you can use on any airlines. Wondering about others or it anyone has used Chase Sapphire.

 

[swilshire]

Using frequent flyer miles is such a hassle, particularly if you have a large family, that I think you're far better off using a card that gives you money back and just paying the best rate for air fare.

I did have a Marriott Rewards card for a while, the only one I've ever had with an annual fee. For the $65 annual fee, you get a free night stay. My only problem is they were only good for six months from your renewal date and I got the card at a bad time of year. I plan to get another one next year in the Spring when I'll easily be able to use the free night within six months.

Sheila

 

[Kimi313]

I agree with the OP, I have seen stories on the Today show about those flier reward miles sometimes are useless. We have a Disney Visa that we use to get reward money but we can only use it toward Disney. Now the DD is in college we will use Chase Freedom so we can use the money for books. I would only use a card that gives you $1 for every $100 spent. Just my opinion.

 

[librarygal]

My card was switched to the Chase Sapphire card and I am impressed by the rewards program. You can get cash back, gift cards or travel. All are at the ratio of one hundred to one. If you don't have enough points for travel you can use what you have and pay the rest in cash. The worst option with any rewards card is merchandise.

The Sapphire card also has free travel insurance for any airfare booked with the card.

 

[elgerber]

I do not have this card, I use the Disney Visa, but I have seen 2 articles on travel cards, and they both ranked this card #1...

http://www.flexperks.com/credit/welcome.do

 

[SuzanneSLO]

The best travel rewards card depends on what you want to use it for. In general, the cards that earn points good for flights on any airline are not a great bargain unless the flights you take are dependably in the higher end of the redemption range. For example, if charging $20,000 gets you a free flight up to $400, it is a good deal for a $400 flight, not so good for a $200 flight. And if you still have to buy flights for other travelers, you will still be looking for those $200 flights, not those $400 flights!

For regular visitors to Disney, the Disney Visa, which is free, may be a better deal with guaranteed 1% return.

We personally love FF miles. We are using 30,000 miles pp plus $400 to fly to Orlando RT from LAX this Fall nonstop in FC. This is great for us, but may not be a value for others. Since I became a mileage junkie, my DH and I never fly coach anymore.

Always look for a great sign up bonus whatever card you choose. From a $200 credit on Disney Visa to 100,000 miles on American AIrlines, there are some great offers out there now or in recent months.-- Suzanne

 

[VLee]

I too think it depends on individual use and what is best for each. I have switched from using the Disney Visa to using the Southwest Rewards Visa. This works out better monetarily for us. It takes $20,000 of expenses on the Disney cc to earn $200 in Reward Dollars, but I can get a flight (ranging from $200 to whatever) for spending $16,860 on my SW card. This includes the $60 yearly fee-- you get 2 credits free each year and 14 more with an expenditure of $16,800. (compared to spending $3200 more for a $200 reward from Disney).
This works for us because we almost always fly and we use Southwest. I can use this SW reward also for other U.S. trips, which may cost much more than $200. Not having to buy flights can then give us even more money to spend at Disney!

 

[mdsd8700]

We have an American Express Blue Sky Card. No annual fee. I personally love the card. For every dollar you spend you get a point. Every 7,500 points you earn you get $100 travel credit good for anything that relates to travel. Hotel rooms, rental cars and airline tickets. Any hotel, any rental car agency any airline. If it were giving you 1% back at $7,500 you would have $75, this gives you a $100 credit. So it works out to 1.3% (if I am doing my math correctly). I have had the card about 3 years and saved about $400/$500. I also have a cash card that I split my charges with. I charge just about everything and always pay them off at the end of the month. To redeem the rewards is a couple of clicks on the web site and within a couple of days you will see the credit on your statement. I give high marks to this card.

 

[DisneyForLife]

Capitol One - No Hassle Miles

I book any flight I want and just go online and with a few clicks I have a credit. I mainly use it for air travel but there are many other options to choose from.

I also use my card for everything and pay it off every month and usually end up with 2 round trip flights every year.

No annual fee

Very user friendly.

 

[gilby]

Thanks for all the ideas. We will use the flyer miles for other than disney. We have the disney visa signed up to get the 200.00 credit to use in Dec.

 

[VLee]

Yes, there are several good ideas. I too have the AmEx Blue Card, but honestly have not used it--may have to look into. I had switched to it from the AmEx card that charged a fee. From the previous poster's info, it sounds very good when comparing spending only $15,000 for a $200 reward --compared to Disney CC where you would have to spend $20,000 for a $200 reward. Since the AmEx Blue is good for hotels, rental cars or plane tickets, I could definitely see where this could be put to use at Disney resorts, etc. ( I wonder if it could be used to pay incidentals that are charged to the hotel rooms, such as merchandise, restaurants, etc.)

Also,the SW card is still a very good deal, where you can spend $16,860 and get a SW plane ticket that, say, is good for $450. And I realize that SW might not work for all, since some don't fly SW or its destinations. So far, I have earned 6 flights this year on it. I just remember to go online every 3 to 4 days to pay it off.

 

[mdsd8700]

Since the AmEx Blue is good for hotels, rental cars or plane tickets, I could definitely see where this could be put to use at Disney resorts, etc. ( I wonder if it could be used to pay incidentals that are charged to the hotel rooms, such as merchandise, restaurants, etc.)

In order to redeem I know that it has to be listed on the monthly statement as something that is obviously a travel expense i.e. Alamo (or other rental company), hotel chain, airline name. When you give a credit card at check in whatever you charge to the room ends up on your room bill. So when posted to the statement it comes as "one" total that will show up on the credit card as "Disney Resort" (or however they label it) then you could use the credit towards payment because it is a hotel name. However if you charged something at the World of Disney store and that is how it was listed on the statement then you couldn't use the credit as it would be seen as regular purchase and not a travel expense. I hope I made sense.

I think I am going to have to look into the SW Card to see what that is all about. We always fly SW but haven't never paid much attention to the credit card.

 

[VLee]

I think I am going to have to look into the SW Card to see what that is all about. We always fly SW but haven't never paid much attention to the credit card.

It might work for you since you fly SW. Right now, they have a promo where you get 16 credits (one flight) when you apply and make the first charge to the card. Also, they have various promos from time to time, where you can double your credits by using certain rental car agencies or hotels. I have picked up bonus credits by referring others, etc. As I mentioned, there is a yearly fee of $59. You also get credits on your flights and if you use the card to purchase the SW flight, you get double points. The free flight reward is good for one year from the date of issue, and if it does expire, it can be reactivated in the future for a $50 fee. You can also opt to get 4 free drinks with each reward flight.

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

DH and I both got a deal from AMEX Blue Sky, spend $500 and get $300 in travel rewards for new card members. I just cashed in my first reward and it was super easy! Got $100 off my $139 timeshare exchange for my Sept WDW trip with the click of a button.

A very good friend of mine loves the Southwest Card.

 

[eyor44]

We have Delta Amex and use it for DH's trips home. But....every time he goes to use miles for a ticket, all I hear is complaining about how he can't get the cheapest flights. I now use the Disney Visa and NEVER complain about using my rewards.

We do use the AMEX for airfare as they also have the flight insurance, I think.

 

[mdsd8700]

Thanks VLee for the info, very informative. I have a friend who has the card as well and I do remember her talking about the free flight promo going on. Will look into that. Already have reservations for next June so if I could get a free flight (or $60 flight...the annual fee) then that sounds like it is for me.

 

[LuvSulley]

We have an American Express Blue Sky Card. No annual fee. I personally love the card. For every dollar you spend you get a point. Every 7,500 points you earn you get $100 travel credit good for anything that relates to travel. Hotel rooms, rental cars and airline tickets. Any hotel, any rental car agency any airline. If it were giving you 1% back at $7,500 you would have $75, this gives you a $100 credit. So it works out to 1.3% (if I am doing my math correctly). I have had the card about 3 years and saved about $400/$500. I also have a cash card that I split my charges with. I charge just about everything and always pay them off at the end of the month. To redeem the rewards is a couple of clicks on the web site and within a couple of days you will see the credit on your statement. I give high marks to this card.

I also love the American Express Blue Sky Card for travel. Its really easy to redeem and I don't have to worry about what hotel or airline it is. If I remember correctly, I can even use the points for Priceline transactions. When I signed up, I also got a promotion where I got 7,500 bonus points ($100) after my first purchase. And right now, my Blue Sky has the best reward rate. My Disney Visa and others are only 1%.