I can't decide: Southwest visa or Am ex Blue Sky preferred?

[mtquinn]

Well, I signed up for both cards. Yep. I did. First it was the Am ex. The program looks really good. Then SW goes and comes up with their own good program, and now I have both. I have a year to decide which to keep because SW's fee is deferred. Yet, I still think I have to choose and focus my spending on one or the other to max out miles and rewards.

Which do you have?

 

[Marionnette]

Well, I signed up for both cards. Yep. I did. First it was the Am ex. The program looks really good. Then SW goes and comes up with their own good program, and now I have both. I have a year to decide which to keep because SW's fee is deferred. Yet, I still think I have to choose and focus my spending on one or the other to max out miles and rewards.

Which do you have?

It really depends on what you need in a travel rewards card.

Southwest has a lower annual fee.

AMEX Blue sky is more flexible because it allows you to fly any airline.

Both have partner programs that you can use to increase your points.

Visa is more widely accepted in the USA. AMEX is more widely accepted worldwide.

Check the APRs and other fees, member privileges and benefits.

Read up about both on flyertalk.com and then decide.

 

[kristenrice]

I love my AMEX Blue Sky card! We use it for everything and pay it off each month. I have a $39 annual fee which gets us double points for dining, wireless bills and gas. I used all my rewards in April 2010 and since then, I've already accrued another $600 with just our regular spending.

I am going to use the points for our upcoming trip to Hilton Head Island. Since we are driving, there is no airfare expense, but I can redeem the points for the hotel stays along the way. On top of that, anything I charge to the room at the resort (HHI DVC) will also be considered "travel" and I can redeem my rewards for that too. If you buy WDW park tickets from UnderCoverTourist, that is also categorized as "travel". I will use whatever rewards I accumulate between now and October to cover all/part of my airfare for that trip.

We do have a Disney Visa that we use as a "backup" for the places that do not accept American Express. I don't know how the SWA Visa works as far as the rewards go. If they do not expire, I would suggest getting both. That way, you'd have a back up. I cannot comment on interest rates because we don't carry a balance and I don't pay attention to the rates.