This is a lot of pages and I really don't try to research credit cards for benefits! I just keep the disney ones going...
We are not going to Disney until 12/2019.
I plan to buy our tickets at the military base or undercovertourist. I will need 6 adult tickets!! (all my kids will still be in college so we still help them out)
If I was to open an account to earn points to purchase the tickets at either of these two places, which one would you credit card experts suggest? I would probably just charge all bills to it and that would be it. Pay it off course each month.
I tried to research but it is overwhelming! I am coming here for the expertise!
Carrie
I'm interpreting your situation as one where you want ONE card to keep things simple but get the most back out of it, is that right? Many of us juggle multiple cards or are constantly signing up for new ones for the signup bonuses to get as many rewards out of it as possible, but in no way would I consider that simple.
A basic 2% cash back card like the Citi Double Cash is the standard to measure against. It has no annual fee (AF), and right now has a $150 signup bonus for spending $500 in the first 3 months. It's not glamorous, it doesn't inspire oohhs and ahhhs, but it gets the job done. Since it's a Citicard, it also has price protection (which is disappearing on many other cards including ones that have a $450 annual fee) and the best extended warranty on purchases, surpassing AMEX and Chase cards. Disclaimer: I do not have this card because there are others I find more compelling for my travel goals.
So the competitors to that card (that I can think of) are :
Chase Freedom - 1% back, with rotating 5% bonus categories. No AF. $150 signup bonus for $500 spend in 90 days.
Chase Freedom Unlimited - 1.5% back everywhere. No AF. $150 signup bonus for $500 spend in 90 days.
Discover - 1% back everywhere (doubled the first year, so 2% in Year 1), rotating 5% bonus categories. No AF.
Bank of America Travel Rewards - 1.5% back everywhere. No AF. $250 signup bonus for $1000 spend in 30 days. BoA will boost that %cash back if you have assets with them in their ecosystem, including Merrill Edge. If you had $100K in the BoA ecosystem, the cash back would increase to 2.625% everywhere. If you had $50K, it would be 2.25%, and if you had $20K it would be 1.875%.
Alliant Credit Union Visa Signature - 3% back the first year with waived AF ($59 starting the 2nd year), in the 2nd year it falls to 2.5%.
Costco Visa - need a Costco membership, there's no signup bonus, but you can earn 4% on gas, 3% on travel/dining, 2% at Costco, and 1% everywhere else.
ETA: Uber Visa, no AF, $100 signup bonus on $500 spend in the first 90 days. 4% dining, 3% hotel & airfare, 2% online purchases, and 1% everywhere else.
Some of us keep a close eye on how many credit cards we open in a 24 mo. period because there are attractive cards issued by Chase that you are locked out of if you have more than 5 in 24 months. The rewards are big, but the bandwidth required to deal with them is bigger too. Probably the best one right now is the Chase Ink Business Preferred card with its 80K UR signup bonus.
You'll have to consider what you find worth your time and effort.
I get it. There weren't any lounges when we first got that card, but I will honestly admit that those lounges are a big part of why we keep it year after year (yeah, I know we need to come up with a new plan soon, but right now those lounges are worth the cost for my family).
Gotta do a reload with dh's now and see what he gets!
