Travel miles etc

[LuvOrlando]

So we have points but they just sort of sit there. I know people who do all sorts of wheeling and dealing to make the most of it, I am not this. There are countless advisors out there when I google it which does not make them good advisors.

Does anyone know of any reputable advisors in any format who have a handle on the way the whole thing works and how best to move through it? Bloggers, vloggers, writers etc on and on. These cards tend to cost $ so they are an investment which is OK if it is worth it. Trouble is I have no idea if we have a good card or a bad card and they seem to work a lot like BINGO so recommendations are welcome. Picked the card we have up ages ago when business travel out of a particular hub was way more frequent.

 

[aprilgail]

I have a Jet Blue card that is also connected to my daughters Jet Blue card- that kid puts on thousands of miles onto our account every month- she pays everything with the card, electric bill, water bill, insurance bills- EVERYTHING- then she pays it before the due date in full so she never has any interest charges- because of covidand not traveling much we had like 200,000 jet blue points- starting to use them all now.

 

[soccerdad72]

There's a couple YouTube channels I've watched in the past (like Ask Sebby: https://www.youtube.com/@AskSebby ), but I don't know if any of them are any more reputable than others.

 

[EACarlson]

Go over to the CC thread in the Budget Forum and ask there. There are lots of Dis'ers that have an insane amount of knowledge and can help get you set up to make more lucrative choices for yourself. Personally, I go with either the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Freedom Unlimited combo. Or an Amex Gold Card.

 

[Magical2017]

We checked out 10x Travel Insiders. We are by no means "in the game" like those who earn a million or more miles, but I was able to get 2 rooms at a Hyatt for a summer trip. We took the free course the points guy offers and are just following the best card list. We are debt free, which is what they recommend, so just charge our everyday expenses to cards and pay them off each month. We are currently working towards 4 business class flights to Europe for ODS graduation trip next summer, as well as some free room nights (who knows, maybe all of them). They have a FB group that is super helpful, too.

eta: I had originally said we "joined" the group, but it is completely free. The only way you pay is if you decide you cannot or do not wish to do the work of finding good travel redemptions on your own. Then you can use their service for a fee. For a huge trip I would definitely consider this.

Also, my points redemption:

Air fare credit paid for $1,700 in air fare to San Juan. Total cost to me: $160 for purchasing early bird check in.

Hotel: 2 rooms at the Hyatt Grand Reserve in Puerto Rico for 5 nights. 156,000 points transferred from Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. DH also opened a card and helped earn the points.

 

[kdonnel]

I feel like I have got great value from the Platinum Amex card despite the giant annual fee, $695.

Without trying too hard you can recoup the entire annual fee
1. $155 in annual credits for Walmart+. I do most of my shopping there now instead of Amazon and this also gets you Paramount Plus and Showtime
2. $100 in annual Saks Fifth Avenue credits. Every 6 months we buy a $50 item to capture the reward.
3. $240 in annual digital entertainment credit. I use this to pay for Peacock and SiriusXM, two services I would have even without the card
4. $200 in annual Uber cash. If we don't travel during a month, I use the credit with Uber eats and pickup lunch to maximise the value

That is $695 right there and the annual fee is covered with spending I would normal already incur.

I also enjoy
1. Global Entry for free every 4 to 4.5 years
2. Lounge access when flying Delta in the Delta SkyClub
3. Lounge access when flying other airlines in the Priority Pass lounge
4. $200 in annual credit for Fine Hotel + Resorts bookings. Just came back from Las Vegas where we stayed in the Cosmopolitan. Booked a city view room and was upgraded to a 1 bedroom suite on the 63rd floor. Got to check in at noon with no early check in fee, got to check out at 4pm. During the stay my wife enjoyed a $100 spa credit and we both enjoyed the $75 a day breakfast credit good at 5 or 6 different restaurants. We also got a one time $25 credit to use at the Vesper Bar at the hotel. Based on the upgrade and the daily credits we got about $2000 in value from this trip alone.
5. Presidents Circle with Hertz. On the recent Las Vegas trip we booked the cheapest/smallest car category and because of the Platinum card we were able to pick any car we wanted from the Presidents Circle. We ended up with a BMW 5 series for $37.50 a day.

 

[soccerdad72]

I feel like I have got great value from the Platinum Amex card despite the giant annual fee, $695.

Without trying too hard you can recoup the entire annual fee
1. $155 in annual credits for Walmart+. I do most of my shopping there now instead of Amazon and this also gets you Paramount Plus and Showtime
2. $100 in annual Saks Fifth Avenue credits. Every 6 months we buy a $50 item to capture the reward.
3. $240 in annual digital entertainment credit. I use this to pay for Peacock and SiriusXM, two services I would have even without the card
4. $200 in annual Uber cash. If we don't travel during a month, I use the credit with Uber eats and pickup lunch to maximise the value

That is $695 right there and the annual fee is covered with spending I would normal already incur.

I also enjoy
1. Global Entry for free every 4 to 4.5 years
2. Lounge access when flying Delta in the Delta SkyClub
3. Lounge access when flying other airlines in the Priority Pass lounge
4. $200 in annual credit for Fine Hotel + Resorts bookings. Just came back from Las Vegas where we stayed in the Cosmopolitan. Booked a city view room and was upgraded to a 1 bedroom suite on the 63rd floor. Got to check in at noon with no early check in fee, got to check out at 4pm. During the stay my wife enjoyed a $100 spa credit and we both enjoyed the $75 a day breakfast credit good at 5 or 6 different restaurants. We also got a one time $25 credit to use at the Vesper Bar at the hotel. Based on the upgrade and the daily credits we got about $2000 in value from this trip alone.
5. Presidents Circle with Hertz. On the recent Las Vegas trip we booked the cheapest/smallest car category and because of the Platinum card we were able to pick any car we wanted from the Presidents Circle. We ended up with a BMW 5 series for $37.50 a day.

$200 airline fee credit as well

Our broker / financial advisor credits us back the annual fee each year, so we get the card for free as well.

 

[kdonnel]

$200 airline fee credit as well

Our broker / financial advisor credits us back the annual fee each year, so we get the card for free as well.

Your right, I forgot that one.

I always thought that the high annual fee prestige travel cards were a waste of money.

Then I started reading up on The Points Guy and other travel blog sites and learned just how easy it was to cover the annual fee with expenses I already had. If you incur new expenses you would not have already had it is harder to justify the high annual fees.

I missed out on so many benefits traveling without the card for years.

Edited to add:
Another way to get the annual fee waived is to be active duty military. They get all the benefits with no annual fee. American Express just gives active duty military money every year through the annual credits I listed above, plus more I don't take advantage of.

 

[_19disnA]

Credit card companies make money from the fees businesses pay when you charge something. Benefits they offer to card holders are just incentives to use their card instead of one from another company. I think the card that makes the most sense for you will be based on things like how often you travel, which airlines and what your spending patterns are. If you live near a hub airport for some major airline AND travel a lot to places they fly can be worth something (free seating upgrades, free tickets, etc.) IF you spend enough to earn the points. Hopping from one card to the next like you see talked about on the budget board is more of a game and a nuisance then something worth my time and effort.

Everybody's spending habits are different so I doubt you will find anyone online who can advise you what will work best for you. None of those people have any special/secret insight into which card is best. Mostly I use my credit cards since they are convenient when shopping and I don't have to carry large amounts of cash around. The supposed benefits are nice but never add up to that much.

 

[Dan Murphy]

The Points Guy has an excellent reputation and following.

 

[EACarlson]

I feel like I have got great value from the Platinum Amex card despite the giant annual fee, $695.

Without trying too hard you can recoup the entire annual fee
1. $155 in annual credits for Walmart+. I do most of my shopping there now instead of Amazon and this also gets you Paramount Plus and Showtime
2. $100 in annual Saks Fifth Avenue credits. Every 6 months we buy a $50 item to capture the reward.
3. $240 in annual digital entertainment credit. I use this to pay for Peacock and SiriusXM, two services I would have even without the card
4. $200 in annual Uber cash. If we don't travel during a month, I use the credit with Uber eats and pickup lunch to maximise the value

That is $695 right there and the annual fee is covered with spending I would normal already incur.

I also enjoy
1. Global Entry for free every 4 to 4.5 years
2. Lounge access when flying Delta in the Delta SkyClub
3. Lounge access when flying other airlines in the Priority Pass lounge
4. $200 in annual credit for Fine Hotel + Resorts bookings. Just came back from Las Vegas where we stayed in the Cosmopolitan. Booked a city view room and was upgraded to a 1 bedroom suite on the 63rd floor. Got to check in at noon with no early check in fee, got to check out at 4pm. During the stay my wife enjoyed a $100 spa credit and we both enjoyed the $75 a day breakfast credit good at 5 or 6 different restaurants. We also got a one time $25 credit to use at the Vesper Bar at the hotel. Based on the upgrade and the daily credits we got about $2000 in value from this trip alone.
5. Presidents Circle with Hertz. On the recent Las Vegas trip we booked the cheapest/smallest car category and because of the Platinum card we were able to pick any car we wanted from the Presidents Circle. We ended up with a BMW 5 series for $37.50 a day.

The Plat is great for perks, the big thing the Plat is horrible at though is earning. 5x on flights booked direct with airlines or through Amextravel, 5x on hotels booked through Amextravel. Everything else is 1 point per dollar spent. If you're looking to earn points using a card the Gold is a much better choice.