Best travel cc recs

[fayeelle]

I'm thinking its time to pull the trigger on a cc with travel benefits, specifically flights. Airfare is KILLING me (~$2200 round trip for my family). I'm not airline specific and shop the most affordable option.
Any recommendations on a card and tips on how to maximize miles are greatly appriciated!

[maddiepaddy]

Depending on your spending habits, I’d look at a Chase card (Sapphire or Sapphire Reserve) or perhaps the Capital One.

Chase let’s you transfer miles to airlines (United, Southwest, and a handful of others) or book flights using points through their Expedia-like portal.

I believe that Capital One uses points to let you ‘erase’ travel charges booked anywhere. It’s been a while since I had it, but I think you can also transfer to airlines directly, too.

I have the Sapphire Reserve and love it. The fee is high, but it’s worth it for us. Typically, I find better deals/use of points transferring directly to airlines, but booking hotels through their portal (aside from Hyatt - it’s usually better to transfer directly to Hyatt).

[daisyduck]

I don't post very often, but I second the Chase Sapphire Reserve recommendation. The points add up very quickly and it is easy to transfer them (usually to Southwest for me).

The annual fee is high ($450), but your first $300 of travel expenses are automatically credited back to you with no effort required. We've always gotten another $150 of value by getting free Pre-check and travel insurance claims.

[steamboat185]

We really love the flexibility of the Chase Sapphire Reserve. The points can be transferred to a variety of airlines or used through the Chase portal at a redemption rate of 1.5. We’ve redeemed miles both ways with a lot of success. Last year we bought flights to Australia that only cost our family of 4 170k points through the chase portal if we had bought them using AA points it would have been 320k points.

We’ve also had great luck using the Chase travel insurance we filed 4 claims on our trip to Australia and after a lot of back and forth Chase paid for all of them. We also almost had to cancel a trip over Thanksgiving due to a hospital stay. Knowing we could get everything refunded took extra stress out of a stressful situation.

[Susie]

I've had a Chase Sapphire Preferred for years. I don't live in an airline hub city, so I'm not loyal to an airline which makes Chase a good option. I haven't made the jump to Reserve, I just can't quite stomach the fee, but maybe in the future when my kids are older and air travel is less burdensome/more frequent.

[wildrice]

Another vote for Chase Sapphire, particularly the Reserve. The fee ends up being $150 when you consider you get $300 in travel credits per year. You get 3 points per dollar spent on travel (including things like train fare, parking, and Uber/Lyft, in addition to traditional things like hotels and plane tickets) and the same on restaurants, which again are generous (includes things like coffee shops, vending machines, food trucks, in addition to traditional restaurants). I also have the Chase Freedom card, which gives you 1.5 points per dollar on everything. So I use both cards, choosing which one to use based on what I'm buying, and then I can combine points from both cards for redemption. IIRC you actually get 150% of your points value if you book via the Chase portal, so it adds up quickly.

We average somewhere around 3k a month in charges, and I've saved at least $800-1000 a year on travel by using these cards for the last few years. I think they are totally worth it!

[broadsheet]

Another Sapphire Reserve fan here - I can’t remember the last time I paid cash for a hotel! The Hyatt redemption rate is especially good.

The annual fee is eye-popping but we’ve gotten a lot of use out of the Priority Pass lounge access, rental car insurance and travel insurance (for peace of mind - we haven’t had to file a claim). I have also used the free roadside assistance a few times for dead battery/flat tires etc and it’s great.

I pair it with the regular Chase Freedom for the quarterly 5x categories.

[Alps79]

Dec 19, 2019 5:46:06 GMT -5 broadsheet said:

Another Sapphire Reserve fan here - I can’t remember the last time I paid cash for a hotel! The Hyatt redemption rate is especially good.

How do you redeem Hyatt points with it? I also love this card and haven't paid for a hotel in a while, but I'm still trying to figure out the best redemption rates. I just use their portal and hope for the best lol! 

[broadsheet]

Dec 19, 2019 12:16:16 GMT -5 Alps79 said:

Dec 19, 2019 5:46:06 GMT -5 broadsheet said:

Another Sapphire Reserve fan here - I can’t remember the last time I paid cash for a hotel! The Hyatt redemption rate is especially good.

How do you redeem Hyatt points with it? I also love this card and haven't paid for a hotel in a while, but I'm still trying to figure out the best redemption rates. I just use their portal and hope for the best lol! 

You transfer at a 1:1 rate to your Hyatt loyalty account. It’s a good deal because Hyatt requires far fewer points for a hotel stay. (It ranges from 5,000 a night at a pretty basic Hyatt Place to 25k per night for super swank places (like a Park Hyatt.)

[Alps79]

Dec 19, 2019 12:49:37 GMT -5 broadsheet said:

Dec 19, 2019 12:16:16 GMT -5 Alps79 said:

How do you redeem Hyatt points with it? I also love this card and haven't paid for a hotel in a while, but I'm still trying to figure out the best redemption rates. I just use their portal and hope for the best lol! 

You transfer at a 1:1 rate to your Hyatt loyalty account. It’s a good deal because Hyatt requires far fewer points for a hotel stay. (It ranges from 5,000 a night at a pretty basic Hyatt Place to 25k per night for super swank places (like a Park Hyatt.)

Oh this is good info! I'm pretty loyal to Marriot/Bonvoy but maybe should rethink. 

[pandorica]

For those with a Chase card, do you ever buy separate travel insurance? I guess I was under the impression that the standard insurance wouldn't cover too much and have purchased additional travel insurance for big trips, but now I'm wondering if that's a waste of money.

[steamboat185]

Dec 20, 2019 14:16:46 GMT -5 pandorica said:

For those with a Chase card, do you ever buy separate travel insurance? I guess I was under the impression that the standard insurance wouldn't cover too much and have purchased additional travel insurance for big trips, but now I'm wondering if that's a waste of money.

We don’t. We had to combine claims to get everything covered (baggage delay, trip interruption, and trip delay), but I’d definitely read the fine print and see if it works for you. They covered everything from hotel stays both extra and reimbursed, food, and clothing however it did take a good bit of back and forth to get the last claim approved as they needed documentation from a hotel that they didn’t reimburse us for a missed night. We do buy a SCUBA specific policy as that isn’t covered and the policy is cheap and lasts for a year.

[chimera]

Dec 20, 2019 14:16:46 GMT -5 pandorica said:

For those with a Chase card, do you ever buy separate travel insurance? I guess I was under the impression that the standard insurance wouldn't cover too much and have purchased additional travel insurance for big trips, but now I'm wondering if that's a waste of money.

Yes, for some of our international trips the medical and evacuation limits on the reserve are too low. It also excludes some activities - “extreme sports”

We’ve had a trip screwed up by weather related delays. They covered the hotel, rental, airfare portion, - they did not cover our useless event tickets. But getting the rest of the stuff back was better than nothing.


Our main card is the CSR. We also have the Hyatt card and United. With the changes in United’s loyalty program for next year, we may drop them. Currently we both have it for the spend waiver.

[audry80]

Dec 20, 2019 14:16:46 GMT -5 pandorica said:

For those with a Chase card, do you ever buy separate travel insurance? I guess I was under the impression that the standard insurance wouldn't cover too much and have purchased additional travel insurance for big trips, but now I'm wondering if that's a waste of money.

I usually don’t unless it’s a remote area. Going to the Maldives in January and I did buy insurance just to be covered for medical evacuation. 

[fryjack2]

Dec 21, 2019 23:28:08 GMT -5 audry80 said:

Dec 20, 2019 14:16:46 GMT -5 pandorica said:

For those with a Chase card, do you ever buy separate travel insurance? I guess I was under the impression that the standard insurance wouldn't cover too much and have purchased additional travel insurance for big trips, but now I'm wondering if that's a waste of money.

I usually don’t unless it’s a remote area. Going to the Maldives in January and I did buy insurance just to be covered for medical evacuation. 

I'd love details on your trip.  Its on our short list

[audry80]

We are flying SFO to Singapore- transferred chase points to Singapore Air for our tickets. Spending 4 nights in Singapore and then flying to Male. Taking a seaplane to the resort from Male.

We are staying at Seaside Finolhu for 7 nights. We did an all inclusive package- the travel agent we used recommended this resort and said the food is good. We are staying in an over water villa and paying more than we ever have on a hotel so the all inclusive will help with cost. We are really good at doing nothing on beach vacations so bought a ton of books and can’t wait!! Let me know if you need any more info. I have been planning this trip for a year so I can’t wait!

[jlt19]

Dec 19, 2019 12:49:37 GMT -5 broadsheet said:

Dec 19, 2019 12:16:16 GMT -5 Alps79 said:

How do you redeem Hyatt points with it? I also love this card and haven't paid for a hotel in a while, but I'm still trying to figure out the best redemption rates. I just use their portal and hope for the best lol! 

You transfer at a 1:1 rate to your Hyatt loyalty account. It’s a good deal because Hyatt requires far fewer points for a hotel stay. (It ranges from 5,000 a night at a pretty basic Hyatt Place to 25k per night for super swank places (like a Park Hyatt.)

I'm loyal to Hyatt because of Chase as well. We have the Ink card. It's for businesses, but DH does side jobs so technically a business.