Finding the right credit card, no matter how much you travel
To rack up frequent-flier miles and loyalty points quickly and easily, you need the right credit cards. And now is a terrific time to sign up for one (or more), thanks to increased competition among issuers, resulting in some of the best offers in years.
“Every day we’re seeing higher sign-up bonuses,” said Brian Kelly, the founder of the pointsand-miles advice site ThePointsGuy.com. “The first quarter of this year was huge. It’s going to continue to be pretty aggressive because the economy is up and people are spending.”
For the occasional traveler
One new option Kelly likes is the Citi Double Cash Card. It offers 1 percent cash back on purchases and then an additional 1 percent cash back when you pay your bill in full or over time — but on time. It’s not an airline credit card that earns miles, but it’s a smart choice for domestic-coach travelers who want to save for that next vacation. Cost: free. Details: Citi.com.
“I’m the Points Guy, and I never thought I’d say cash would be smart,” Kelly said. But with airlines cutting their rewards programs and adding more hoops to jump through, cards that earn cash back are becoming the best option for the domestic coach traveler. “If you’re not getting 2 cents per mile from your airline card, get the cash-back card,” he said. “Why earn one mile per dollar when those miles can only be used on those airlines?”
A nascent card for those who spend a lot on food and travel is Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard, which gives users two “miles” — which can be applied to all kinds of travel expenses, including air, cruises and hotels — per dollar on all purchases. You can use those miles to get statement credits: Redemptions start at 2,500 miles for $25 toward any travel purchases you make on the card (in the past 120 days).Cost:nofeeforthefirstyear; $89 a year thereafter. Details: Findmybarclaycard.com.
For the frequent traveler
“Citi Prestige is the new ‘It’ card, if you fly American and like lounge access,” Kelly said. Having an American Express Platinum card used to be the way to get into American Airlines Admirals Club airport lounges free, but nolonger. Now it’s Citi Prestige. Just having the card gets you into those lounges as well as hundreds of other lounges through Priority Pass Select. With Prestige, you’ll also receive 3 points for each $1 you spend on air travel and hotels (other kinds of purchases earn 1 or 2 points per dollar). You can then transfer those points to your airline or hotel loyalty program. (You’ll receive 50,000 bonus points if you make $3,000 worth of purchases in the first three months the account is open.)
Other cardholder benefits include a $250 air-travel credit, automatically applied to flight- related expenses charged to your card, including airline tickets and baggage fees. And cardholders will receive a $100 Global Entry application fee credit. Prestige has chip technology, too, andthere are no foreign transaction fees. Cost: $450 a year. Details: Citi.com.
As appealing as some newcomersmaybe,AmericanExpressand Chase continue to be longtime favorites of miles and points aficionados because they offer great perks, as well as many options for transferring points.
The No. 1 card he used in 2014, and the card he continues to take on his travels, is the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. Many frequent travelers opt for this because they earn double points on all travel and dining-out purchases (all other purchases earn one point per dollar). You can then transfer those points to major airline frequent-flier programs, including United, British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Virgin Atlantic, as well as loyalty programs from Amtrak, Hyatt, Marriott, IHG and the Ritz-Carlton. Cost: no fee for the first year; $95 a year thereafter. Details: Creditcards.chase. com.
So if you rack up 40,000 points on travel and dining purchases, for example, you can parlay that into 40,000 frequent-flier miles on United. In fact, you can do this swiftly thanks to the current signup bonus: If you spend $4,000 on the card within the first three months, you’ll receive 40,000 points (and you can get another 5,000 points on top of that if you addano-fee authorized user to the card and make a purchase during the first three months).
Another card in the wallets of many globe-trotters is American Express Platinum. It earns you onlyonepointperdollarspent,but those points can be transferred to lots of frequent-flier programs, and many travelers love the card just for its benefits.
Perks include Starwood Preferred Guest Gold status; Delta Sky Club and American Express CenturionLoungeaccess;Priority Pass Select membership (including access to lounges around the world); a $200 annual airline fee