What credit card do you use?

[TripletDaddy]

Yes I am serious.

I have a company card, but I try not to make personal purchases with it.

right, but what about points off the company purchases on the company card? who gets those? or do they just go to w.a.s.t.e.?

also, the points for personal purchases on the personal card.

all told, you could be racking up free TVs, free flights, free hotel nights, etc.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

right, but what about points off the company purchases on the company card? who gets those? or do they just go to w.a.s.t.e.?

also, the points for personal purchases on the personal card.

all told, you could be racking up free TVs, free flights, free hotel nights, etc.

I'll have to call and see if I can get a points card for the corporate one.

I'm not yet successful or cool enough to have an assistant or personal secretary, so the TVs, flights and hotel rooms would be off set by the late fees, interest and occasional over limit fees.

[TripletDaddy]

I'll have to call and see if I can get a points card for the corporate one.

I'm not yet successful or cool enough to have an assistant or personal secretary, so the TVs, flights and hotel rooms would be off set by the late fees, interest and occasional over limit fees.

most cc companies have rewards cards as well as non-rewards cards so you should be able to do it.

also, have your cc set up on direct withdrawal so you don't have to worry about late payments. and then sit back and watch the points rack up.

[fusnik]

I think I'm going with the Delta AmEx. Platinum card gives u 20k miles for signing up with 5k medallion miles plus a free companion ticket per year. Good chance for seat upgrades and with the hub here in SLC Delta might be the way to go. Cost 150 a year.

[Jeff Lebowski]

+1.

About two years ago we started to do everything we can on our Costco Amex. The only vendors that we use regularly that don't take AMEX are governments (e.g. King County property taxes), Puget Sound Energy (for natural gas and electricity), and Sammamish Plateau Water & Sewer District (for, uh, water and sewer). The rest goes on the AMEX and earns cash back according to the following schedule: money spent on gas and restaurants give 3% back, travel expenses (from airlines, lodgings, car rentals, etc) give 2% back, everything else is 1%. The AMEX gets paid off automagically from our checking account on the 10th of every month.

Cash back is the most flexible reward IMHO.

cheers.

Most flexible? Absolutely. We did the Costco Amex card for several years. We switched to the Hilton Honors card because we can get ~50% or more "cash" assuming that we actually use all of the hotel credit we accumulate.

But there is nothing like cold, hard cash. I may switch back at some point.

[fusnik]

Cash rewards can be great. Chase had a wonderful card that provided cash rewards that gave u incentives when u hit certain point numbers. Unfortunately those incentives are gone and the cash doesn't seem to go as far as some rewards programs.

[TripletDaddy]

Most flexible? Absolutely. We did the Costco Amex card for several years. We switched to the Hilton Honors card because we can get ~50% or more "cash" assuming that we actually use all of the hotel credit we accumulate.

But there is nothing like cold, hard cash. I may switch back at some point.

I have never been overly enamored with cash back because the amount back never seems significant enough. I prefer hotel awards because those seem to give me the most bang for my point "buck." Also, if you learn to work the system, there are ways to accumulate hotel nights at a faster rate (booking online, special promos, etc). In my experience, the monetary value of the hotel nights would likely exceed the cash back off 1-2% of my purchases.

Maybe I should look into a cash back situation and try it for a year. Lots of people do it and seem to enjoy it.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I have never been overly enamored with cash back because the amount back never seems significant enough. I prefer hotel awards because those seem to give me the most bang for my point "buck." Also, if you learn to work the system, there are ways to accumulate hotel nights at a faster rate (booking online, special promos, etc). In my experience, the monetary value of the hotel nights would likely exceed the cash back off 1-2% of my purchases.

Yes, that is precisely why we switched.

I recently booked $1500 of free hotel nights. That was nice.

[ERCougar]

+1.

About two years ago we started to do everything we can on our Costco Amex. The only vendors that we use regularly that don't take AMEX are governments (e.g. King County property taxes), Puget Sound Energy (for natural gas and electricity), and Sammamish Plateau Water & Sewer District (for, uh, water and sewer). The rest goes on the AMEX and earns cash back according to the following schedule: money spent on gas and restaurants give 3% back, travel expenses (from airlines, lodgings, car rentals, etc) give 2% back, everything else is 1%. The AMEX gets paid off automagically from our checking account on the 10th of every month.

Cash back is the most flexible reward IMHO.

cheers.

I'm thinking of switching over to this, as soon as our membership dues are up again. Doesn't the annual fee count for your membership dues?

[fusnik]

Lebow, with the advent of priceline and hotwire, do you get discounted rooms with your rewards card? My question about hotel rewards is, is it worth it considering you typically can get great deals on hotels using internet booking sites?

[TripletDaddy]

Lebow, with the advent of priceline and hotwire, do you get discounted rooms with your rewards card? My question about hotel rewards is, is it worth it considering you typically can get great deals on hotels using internet booking sites?

There are limitations. It is not a perfect solution. If you are simply staying at the Fort Wayne Marriott or the Westin in Chicago, then there probably isn't as much of a dramatic advantage.

But if I am traveling through Europe with my wife and want to stay at a Starwood Luxury Collection.....priceline and hotwire won't get me there. But my hotel points will (to hotels that I would otherwise not be inclined to afford). Also, per my understanding, you cannot book specific hotels using those online services.

The real advantage in the hotel points is for the upper-echelon hotels, not the rank and file.

[Jeff Lebowski]

There are limitations. It is not a perfect solution. If you are simply staying at the Fort Wayne Marriott or the Westin in Chicago, then there probably isn't as much of a dramatic advantage.

But if I am traveling through Europe with my wife and want to stay at a Starwood Luxury Collection.....priceline and hotwire won't get me there. But my hotel points will (to hotels that I would otherwise not be inclined to afford). Also, per my understanding, you cannot book specific hotels using those online services.

The real advantage in the hotel points is for the upper-echelon hotels, not the rank and file.

Agreed. If I am going to Cedar City or Boise I don't waste my points since I can get a cheap room. But if I want to take the wife on a nice little getaway to NYC or Hawaii or somewhere, the hotel points are great. You just have to be judicious in how you spend them.

[PaloAltoCougar]

We used American Airlines Advantage for many years, which was nice for first class travel to Europe and Hawaii on a few occasions. Last year we pushed our primary usage to a Southwest card. It doesn't have the cachet of a Amex Gold or even the AA Advantage, but it generates lots of free travel, mainly in the west. Most of our flights are to Utah, CO, AZ and SoCal, so it works better for us.

[TripletDaddy]

Agreed. If I am going to Cedar City or Boise I don't waste my points since I can get a cheap room. But if I want to take the wife on a nice little getaway to NYC or Hawaii or somewhere, the hotel points are great. You just have to be judicious in how you spend them.

JeffLebowski, you really should consider making the switch to Starwood. They truly have the nicest properties around the globe (the ones that offer affinity programs). The St Regis and Luxury Collection are often changing hands between Starwood and Relais Chateau. And since hotels like Mandarin don't do affinity, Starwood is the next best thing.

Four Seasons and Ritz....yawn. Old people hotels, for the most part.

I like Kimpton Boutique stuff, although definitely less traditional.

[Jeff Lebowski]

We were on a Marriott Visa card before... we earned lots of "free nights" too. Problem was that we weren't redeeming them as fast as were earning them. When Marriott threatened to expire some of the points, I called up... raised a huge stink and eventually convinced them to send me Marriott cash cards that I can use at any Marriott in the future. Those cards are still sitting in my desk... unused (I should check to see if the cards have an expiration date!).

I guess we don't travel as much as the rest of you do, and when we do - we typically stay with friends/family. When I hung up the phone with Marriott on that day, I was so annoyed that I decided then and there to never lock into a rewards brand again. I went to cash... and Costco seems to have the best deal going to that end.

cheers.

I will give you 50 cents on the dollar for those Marriott cash cards. Let's make a deal.