Best CC for airline miles

[Jalapeñomel]

I want to pay daycare with a card to build miles. From what I can gather the CapitalOne Venture card seems to be the best option (daycare doesn’t take Discover which has another good one).

I know this has been talked about, so if the other post is around and can be linked, great!

TIA

[goldengirlz]

Do you want a particular airline or to accrue points that can be redeemed for travel?

What’s your opinion on an annual fee?

[Jalapeñomel]

Apr 9, 2022 13:21:28 GMT -5 goldengirlz said:

Do you want a particular airline or to accrue points that can be redeemed for travel?

What’s your opinion on an annual fee?

I’m not loyal to a particular airline, but I’d be willing to do it if that was our best bet.

I’m ok with an annual fee to get the most miles.

We are planning a trip to Iceland next year and then thinking about French Polynesia for our 20th in 2024.

[IndiaInk]

Chase Sapphire Reserved is commonly recommended on travel groups I'm a part of. I signed up for it about a year ago and I LOVE it. I use it for everything I can, and I've accrued so many points that I've been able to fly to see my long-distance boyfriend for free multiple times this year.

[Jalapeñomel]

Apr 9, 2022 13:48:31 GMT -5 IndiaInk said:

Chase Sapphire Reserved is commonly recommended on travel groups I'm a part of. I signed up for it about a year ago and I LOVE it. I use it for everything I can, and I've accrued so many points that I've been able to fly to see my long-distance boyfriend for free multiple times this year.

The annual fee on this is $550. That seems steep?

[wanderingback]

Apr 9, 2022 14:23:26 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

Apr 9, 2022 13:48:31 GMT -5 IndiaInk said:

Chase Sapphire Reserved is commonly recommended on travel groups I'm a part of. I signed up for it about a year ago and I LOVE it. I use it for everything I can, and I've accrued so many points that I've been able to fly to see my long-distance boyfriend for free multiple times this year.

The annual fee on this is $550. That seems steep?

The cards that have higher fees usually have decent perks. I have the Amex platinum and I think the fee is the same maybe a little higher but it’s been worth it for me (more pre covid when I was traveling at least 6-8 times a year).

Some perks include free to get tsa pre check and global entry, $15 Uber credit monthly and in Dec it’s $30, free priority pass so lounge access all over the world and lounge access anytime you book with delta (this prob saves the most money cause I never buy food or alcohol in airports now since I can get free food at lounges), $250 travel credit (I’ve used it to upgrade from regular economy to comfort plus, but can also be used for baggage fees, etc). I think there’s prob more perks but those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

If you don’t travel a few times a year though it might not be worth it.

[Jalapeñomel]

Apr 9, 2022 14:34:24 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

Apr 9, 2022 14:23:26 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

The annual fee on this is $550. That seems steep?

The cards that have higher fees usually have decent perks. I have the Amex platinum and I think the fee is the same maybe a little higher but it’s been worth it for me (more pre covid when I was traveling at least 6-8 times a year).

Some perks include free to get tsa pre check and global entry, $15 Uber credit monthly and in Dec it’s $30, free priority pass so lounge access all over the world and lounge access anytime you book with delta (this prob saves the most money cause I never buy food or alcohol in airports now since I can get free food at lounges), $250 travel credit (I’ve used it to upgrade from regular economy to comfort plus, but can also be used for baggage fees, etc). I think there’s prob more perks but those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

If you don’t travel a few times a year though it might not be worth it.

It seems they give you $300 in credits off the bat, so that somewhat offsets the annual fee for the first year.

We like to do a big summer trip, and then we often travel during the holidays. But not more than that, so maybe the higher fee cards aren’t the right choice for us.

[georgeglass]

I have and like the Capital One Venture card. I especially like that I can pay part of travel expenses with points if I don't have enough points to cover the whole thing.

[sent]

After kids, we don't travel internationally enough to take advantage of a lot of the perks of the higher fee cards. At one point we both had the often discussed Chase Sapphire Reserve, but I closed mine after a year because the fee was not worth it. I have an entire assortment of other cards and I find myself using my Capital One cards the most (I have 3!). My accountant has said I should try to focus on having 1 or 2 cards. LOL forever, but I'm trying to whittle it down to a Capital One card and a Chase card.

French Polynesia is often discussed as a place that can be done with miles and points. It's an expensive place whether you pay with money or points. I haven't seen Iceland discussed as much in the travel forums and groups I read over the years as a place for good redemptions. It might be worthwhile to focus on French Polynesia like "we want to earn enough points to take this really comfy flight" or "we want to earn enough points to stay at this amazing hotel" and go from there as to which card you should get based on your spending habits. There are lots of blog posts out there discussing redemptions in Bora Bora and other islands.

Capital One is good for ease of redemption. I haven't taken advantage of their airline transfers since we just take lame domestic flights since the kids. I just do the straight 2% conversion to pay off travel purchases.

[IndiaInk]

I misspoke sorry! I meant the Chase Sapphire Preferred NOT the Reserve. The annual fee is much lower and it’s a better card for most people.

Apr 9, 2022 14:23:26 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

Apr 9, 2022 13:48:31 GMT -5 IndiaInk said:

Chase Sapphire Reserved is commonly recommended on travel groups I'm a part of. I signed up for it about a year ago and I LOVE it. I use it for everything I can, and I've accrued so many points that I've been able to fly to see my long-distance boyfriend for free multiple times this year.

The annual fee on this is $550. That seems steep?

[al dente]

I admittedly don't do a ton of travel, but I like the chase sapphire preferred. I like it because they have a bunch of partners that you can transfer your points to both for airline and hotel. I think they even do Airbnb now? Or you can also book through their portal. So I usually check both out and see what works out better points wise.
You get double points on eating out which is a big part of our bill lol, and for travel. We put everything on the credit card and then pay it off monthly so we've accumulated a good bit at this point.

[Dznyprnces]

I’ve been looking into this as well. If, for example, you have the capital one venture card, how do you redeem points for flights?

[Vespasia]

I use a combo of the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Chase Freedom Unlimited. The points can be combined under the Preferred card and used for travel either through their portal or by transferring to partners which is usually more valuable.

The reason I use both is that they earn points differently depending on the category.

[mellymel]

Delta SkyMiles Reserve AMEX

[bittybomb]

Apr 9, 2022 14:34:24 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

Apr 9, 2022 14:23:26 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

The annual fee on this is $550. That seems steep?

The cards that have higher fees usually have decent perks. I have the Amex platinum and I think the fee is the same maybe a little higher but it’s been worth it for me (more pre covid when I was traveling at least 6-8 times a year).

Some perks include free to get tsa pre check and global entry, $15 Uber credit monthly and in Dec it’s $30, free priority pass so lounge access all over the world and lounge access anytime you book with delta (this prob saves the most money cause I never buy food or alcohol in airports now since I can get free food at lounges), $250 travel credit (I’ve used it to upgrade from regular economy to comfort plus, but can also be used for baggage fees, etc). I think there’s prob more perks but those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

If you don’t travel a few times a year though it might not be worth it.

We also got free access to the Amex lounge for us and our 3 kids in JFK.  That was back in 2018 so unsure if it's changed.

[karinothing]

Love chase sapphire but DH'S work pays the fee lol. But thanks to no travel during covid we use points for 3 trips (so 12 plane tickets total) this yr

[goldengirlz]

Our primary card is the Chase Sapphire Reserve, but we also have the BarclayArrival+ card, which has a much lower fee. You earn 2% across the board (no spending categories to worry about) and you redeem them as a credit against travel purchases.

[jlt19]

It really depends on your goals. For instance, we’re flying Stl-Dfw-ogg (Maui) next week in business class lie flat seats on AA for 55k miles each way x4. It’s taken a few years to save it, and a couple of different credit cards. Mostly Citi or Barclays.

We also have Chase SW cards and a Chase Ink card.

It’s best to plan what you want, then get the CC to make it happen.

When I don’t have a particular plan in mind, I usually use our Chase Ink Card because I like the versatility of their Rewards.

I’ve probably opened it 20+ cards over 5 years and have never dropped below 750, and still was able to purchase a new house this past summer at a great rate (2.675%). Just make sure you pay it all off monthly!

[tripleshot]

Apr 9, 2022 17:07:00 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

I use a combo of the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Chase Freedom Unlimited. The points can be combined under the Preferred card and used for travel either through their portal or by transferring to partners which is usually more valuable.

The reason I use both is that they earn points differently depending on the category.

This is what we do. I typically transfer the points to Southwest for our vacations.

[sent]

Apr 9, 2022 20:58:42 GMT -5 jlt19 said:

It really depends on your goals. For instance, we’re flying Stl-Dfw-ogg (Maui) next week in business class lie flat seats on AA for 55k miles each way x4. It’s taken a few years to save it, and a couple of different credit cards. Mostly Citi or Barclays.

I hope to take one of these Hawaii flights someday!

[Jalapeñomel]

Apr 9, 2022 20:58:42 GMT -5 jlt19 said:

It really depends on your goals. For instance, we’re flying Stl-Dfw-ogg (Maui) next week in business class lie flat seats on AA for 55k miles each way x4. It’s taken a few years to save it, and a couple of different credit cards. Mostly Citi or Barclays.

We also have Chase SW cards and a Chase Ink card.

It’s best to plan what you want, then get the CC to make it happen.

When I don’t have a particular plan in mind, I usually use our Chase Ink Card because I like the versatility of their Rewards.

I’ve probably opened it 20+ cards over 5 years and have never dropped below 750, and still was able to purchase a new house this past summer at a great rate (2.675%). Just make sure you pay it all off monthly!

We plan to put only daycare on the card, and we want to fly to Iceland next year and looking at French Polynesia the next, outside of that, what do you mean by a particular plan?

[bonnie]

Apr 9, 2022 17:06:14 GMT -5 Dznyprnces said:

I’ve been looking into this as well. If, for example, you have the capital one venture card, how do you redeem points for flights?

You buy the plane ticket or pay the hotel bill, etc. Once it pops up on your transactions you can select to cover the cost, either partially or entirely, with the points.

[cherry1111]

We just got the Capital One Venture X. It’s $395/yr but they give you $300 credit for travel booked through their portal each year. I already used it towards 2 hotel stays and the credit was put on right away. They will also pay for $100 global entry fee per year. On your anniversary you get 10,000 bonus points. 2x points on everything and 10x travel booked on their portal. When we applied the promo was 75,000 bonus points if you spend $4,000 on it in the first 3 or 4 months. Also get CapitalOne lounge and priority pass lounge access. There are only a few Capital One lounges so far but one happens to be at our home airport.

[wanderingback]

Apr 10, 2022 6:08:56 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

Apr 9, 2022 20:58:42 GMT -5 jlt19 said:

It really depends on your goals. For instance, we’re flying Stl-Dfw-ogg (Maui) next week in business class lie flat seats on AA for 55k miles each way x4. It’s taken a few years to save it, and a couple of different credit cards. Mostly Citi or Barclays.

We also have Chase SW cards and a Chase Ink card.

It’s best to plan what you want, then get the CC to make it happen.

When I don’t have a particular plan in mind, I usually use our Chase Ink Card because I like the versatility of their Rewards.

I’ve probably opened it 20+ cards over 5 years and have never dropped below 750, and still was able to purchase a new house this past summer at a great rate (2.675%). Just make sure you pay it all off monthly!

We plan to put only daycare on the card, and we want to fly to Iceland next year and looking at French Polynesia the next, outside of that, what do you mean by a particular plan?

I book travel 2-3 months in advance (and pretty much based on flight costs, I have no set destinations year to year) so picking a card based on travel plans wouldn’t work for me.

I think you need to decide if you want one of the higher up cards with perks (which it sounds like you don’t since you don’t travel tons and tons) va not and then just pick one. If not, you’ll drive yourself crazy lol. I would look to see which card gives the most bonus miles for signing up right now and get that one. Also, I don’t switch between cards based on categories for more points and whatnot, that’s too complicated for me. I just stuck to 1 card. After I got the Amex over the past couple years I did get 2 other cards to get the bonus miles which had helped me pay for my solo trips, but now I don’t use those cards at all anymore and just stick to the Amex.

[sent]

Apr 9, 2022 17:06:14 GMT -5 Dznyprnces said:

I’ve been looking into this as well. If, for example, you have the capital one venture card, how do you redeem points for flights?

The simplest way is what bonnie wrote.

A few years ago, Capital One also introduced transferring the points you earn on the Venture card to very specific airline carrier reward programs and redeeming that way. I believe they are all international airlines at this time because if there were any domestic ones, I would have looked into it more. Tons of blogs about this, searching something like "capital one airline travel partners" and you should see what I'm talking about. 

[Jalapeñomel]

Thanks everyone! This is all helpful!

[Vespasia]

Whatever card you get, make sure you will meet the minimum spend for the sign up bonus. That is where you get the best mile/dollar ratio by far and will jump start your points cache.

[audry80]

I have the chase sapphire reserve and use it for everything. The fee is high but is offset but travel reimbursement, peloton credit, DoorDash credit, priority pass, etc. we also took advantage of the global entry reimbursement.

We solely use the points for airline flights. It’s a better redemption 90% of the time to transfer to airline partners versus using the chase portal.

We have used points to fly business class numerous times to Europe and even flew business class to Maldives.

[keweenawlove]

Apr 9, 2022 16:22:45 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

Apr 9, 2022 14:34:24 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

The cards that have higher fees usually have decent perks. I have the Amex platinum and I think the fee is the same maybe a little higher but it’s been worth it for me (more pre covid when I was traveling at least 6-8 times a year).

Some perks include free to get tsa pre check and global entry, $15 Uber credit monthly and in Dec it’s $30, free priority pass so lounge access all over the world and lounge access anytime you book with delta (this prob saves the most money cause I never buy food or alcohol in airports now since I can get free food at lounges), $250 travel credit (I’ve used it to upgrade from regular economy to comfort plus, but can also be used for baggage fees, etc). I think there’s prob more perks but those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

If you don’t travel a few times a year though it might not be worth it.

It seems they give you $300 in credits off the bat, so that somewhat offsets the annual fee for the first year.

We like to do a big summer trip, and then we often travel during the holidays. But not more than that, so maybe the higher fee cards aren’t the right choice for us.

With the sign on bonus, it'll pay off for the first year so you could always see if it pays off for you to keep beyond that. I have the Reserve that I use to pay for travel and dining, plus the Chase Freedom and Freedom unlimited (both free) that are better for points in other areas. All points can then be transferred to Reserve card (50% bonus). Use can use them either to book travel on their portal or "pay yourself back" for restaurant purchases. 

If you don't want the annual fee, the freedom unlimited is easy at 1.5% back on everything.
www.referyourchasecard.com/18a/OAL8O09VVP

[Tacocat]

We signed up for the Chase SW card at the beginning of the year as the bonus was 10,000 miles once you spent $1000 in the first 3 months. Now we just put all charges on that card and pay it off right away. We already have enough points for 2 round trip tix within the US. You also get points every year on your anniversary and I believe it’s only $60/year for a fee. There’s also discounts on car rentals and other travel related things when you book them with the card.