dBski11

Ok so i have a bank of america and capital one credit card with some nice limits. Now i want a credit card that gives good airline points toward a free plane ticket, or however that works. Can you guys give me some recommendations on what credit cards offer that, preferably without a annual fee. Thx

shaynegomes11

-----AMERICAN EXPRESS------

Dr. Colorado

What airline do you fly the most? The problem i've encountered going with a credit card for a specific airline is a. you have an annual fee typically b. you need to book your reservation 9 months+ in advance if you want more coveted routes (say business class to bangkok or shanghai on northwest or united). I can't really plan that far out in advance so i went with credit cards affiliated with orbitz and expedia respectively which allow me to cash in points when i purchase tickets on either site. The drawback is the exchange ratio is not the best, i.e. for orbitz 10000 points to save $100 off an airline ticket. The good thing is the points count for any ticket on any airline.

TS_eXpeed

I have an AMEX Blue Sky card.

Their point system is a little different than others. For every 7,500 points you earn, you get $100 off any travel expenses you charge on the card. So that means, there isn't any blackouts and whatnot.

Some people like it. Others don't.
If you get a new card though, I would suggest going AMEX. Their customer service is awesome and I've never had any problems with them unlike others.

Dr. Colorado

^Do you ever run into vendors that don't accept amex? How frequently? I expense a lot of coin related to my practice on c.c. (billing company, equipment lease, medical supplies, etc) and was curious about this issue.

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

AMEX.

I also have CitiBANK American Airlines Advantage cards. I get miles for every dollar. Right now I have about 80K miles saved up. And the last vacation to the Caribbean cost me $50 for 2 adults and a child in airfare.

dBski11

I tend to fly out east alot, to europe mainly. The amex card is what i was considering, so im assuming thats my best bet?

But that citibank cards sounds pretty good as well

jupitersolo

I would change one of the current cards that you have to airline miles, Capital One advertises big time that you can have any card you want. I don't see the need to open another card.

Whiskers

Paypal...

dBski11

I thought it was good to have 2 or 3 credit cards to help ur credit score out...

TS_eXpeed

Very rarely.
I remember years ago that many places wouldn't accept AMEX.

To be honest, the only place I can remember that wouldn't accept my card (off the top of my head) is my rock gym.

Dr. Colorado

Suite! What's annual fee? My credit rating is stellar so what's the best amex card to shoot for?

TS_eXpeed

No annual fee!
I've actually heard any of the AMEX Blue cards require excellent credit, so they are all "reputable" cards

One that I wish I would've seen before I applied for the Blue Sky though, was the Starwood AMEX card. Look that one up on their website. It doesn't look as cool but the rewards are awesome with it, and it is also a more difficult card to get if I remember correctly. It requires excellent credit like the Blue cards. The Starwood card might have a fee though. I'm not sure. If rewards are a big thing for you though, go for that one.

TS_eXpeed

It is good.
Here's the thing.
You don't want to be opening a bunch of accounts. Particularly all at once.
But for the people who do though, it's even worse for them to close a lot of them soon after they open them.

From what I understand, it's best to have maybe about 3 cards in which you keep away from their limits, and of course, pay the bill. It boosts your credit score to have 2-3 cards (and no more) in which you have had open for a long time which you keep away from the limits because it shows you are responsible and have self discipline even with the supplied credit.
Make sense?

dBski11

forsure, thats what im trying to do, thats why i want my 3rd card to benefit me

dBski11

does anyone know anything about the amex delta cards? i believe they offer two different ones...?

TS_eXpeed

An AMEX card is sure a way to go then. (IMO that is)
As I was mentioning to rick, both the AMEX Blue cards, as well as the Starwood AMEX are both very good cards if your credit will allow to get them. They do require a pretty strong credit score to get from what I know.

dBski11

im not to worried about that

Dr. Colorado

Damn homey, you're hella smart! When i did my research the 2 highest rated cards were the starwood and the citibank (i have the expedia premierpass elite citibank card). I go clubbing at the w hotel a lot and they are part of the starwood fleet so i definitely would have no problem meeting that requirement of the starwood card. What i liked about the citibank elite was that i got double points for a ton of stuff (i.e. gas, drugstore, etc.) I may replace my orbitz cc with the amex though, will do more research

moeronn

I had an AmEx Delta Skymiles card until a few years ago. It wasn't worth the annual fee.

IMHO, any card that limits your earnings to any certain type or reward is not worth getting. I had a few different airline mileage cards and finally got rid of them. The best reward is cash, even if it seems lower than getting points, its much more versitile

If you're a Costco member, I would recommend getting the Costco AmEx. You get anywhere from 1% - 3% CASH back. No annual fee (other than your Coscto Membership which gets automatically charged to the card every year). We use our card quite a bit, including gas at Costco, and travel. We should be getting over $500 back come February - that's better than anything we would have gotten using points or mileage.

BTW, I know this has been brought up a few times in the recent past.

Will Y.

AmEx OPEN (Small Business) through Costco- no annual fee. See reasons in moeronn's edited post below.

nf3d0149ab

iTrader: (5)

Hate AMEX and businesses hate AMEX too!

I do business banking and this is the card business's hate accepting...Discover is up there too.

They charge ridiculous transaction percentages to business clients which ultimately drives prices up for consumers!

Not a fan my man.

moeronn

Sorry, but this is a thread about what card is good for consumers, not for businesses. You have the right to not accept AmEx, if you want. And the good thing about AmEx and Discover for everyone is they have stricter requirements on who they will extend credit to - so there is less risk involved in these customers and they are more likely to spend money on things they can afford.

nf3d0149ab

iTrader: (5)

The point I was trying to make is that it isn't good for consumers...in a way because it will slowly force businesses to charge more if they unilaterally raise rates because credit card processing fees are high.

And it is also in my opinion that American Express is not that great for consumers...

I've sold credit cards for years and they are not all they are cracked up to be.

There is way too much competition these days for Amex to still have their allure.

The credit card industry is about to make a big shift in the way it does business.

After the first of the year...these 0% transfer deals are going to be sayonara.

All credit card eligibility will go up in requirements...it's going to be unanimous because there will be less credit extended.

Fossil_TL

Get Citi American Express Platinum. you get 5 points for each dollar spent and first year the fee of 125 is waived, plus you get up to 3 free elite lounge access at participating airports

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

I'm actually thinking of switching one of my Citi MC to a Citi AE.

TS_eXpeed

Any particular reason?

taitando

Not sure if any of you've heard, but Amex has drastically been reducing credit lines across the board for their current customers. It happened to me as well. I had a $20k credit limit on my Amex True Earnings Business Costco card that was reduced to $8k. Their reasoning was for some factor on my Experian credit report. I pulled the report and found no such anomaly. When I looked into it further, I found other internet forums with other customers relating similar experiences.

Anyhow, as for the original question, I would look for cards that have some type of cash reward not restricted to a particular airline or company. If you want to find out how to make some money on credit cards I suggest googling the term "App-o-rama". If you want to simply get a new card for rewards or travel, check out the finance forums on Fatwallet or this particular Link

Dr. Colorado

^WTF? Yeah, that won't work for me. I need a much higher credit limit for my business expenses. Right now I have $24450 and $20000 respectively on each of my 2 MCs.

moeronn

It's really going to depend on how risky you appear to them. If your history is good and your dept to income ratio are still good, you shouldn't be affected.

Also, are those balances monthly expenses that get paid of each cylce, or are you carrying the balance over to the next month? If the former, you'll need to check into the reward limits on whatever card you're looking at. If the latter, then getting a low APR would be more important than any rewards program.

The one down side to the Costco AMEX is that the lowest APR they offer is either 14.99% or 15.99%, I can't remember which.

Dr. Colorado

^

Yea, i have good history. My fico is 750 or something like that. Mortgage on my home and car payments are my main non-business expenses. The outstanding balance gets deducted in full each month from my checking account. I have come close to the limit infrequently in the past (large equipment or medical supplies purchase).

I don't belong to costco tho. Does sam's club have an amex card?

nf3d0149ab

iTrader: (5)

I work for Citi...that is a good card.

If you are interested in travel....

The best card for travel...regardless of what airline, bank, etc.

IS Citi Premier Pass - Elite Level.

Best card hands down in the industry.

* Any airline
* No Blackout dates
* $200 Sign up bonus
* Can qualify for waived annual fee with personal or business Citibank account.
* Accrue points for purchases & miles (distance) flown
* FREE UNLIMITED COMPLIMENTARY COMPANION TICKETS

^ That means that you can bring another person with you free....when you buy a domestic ticket and the passenger has the same itinerary. Unlimited times....!

It's ridiculous because Citi lose's a lot of $$$ annually on that credit card.

Dr. Colorado

^

Coolness. How do i qualify for annual fee waver? My practice is a s-corp. Sorry, typing before reading. No citibank in h-town.

nf3d0149ab

iTrader: (5)

Unfortunately...if you do not hold an eligible account...the waiver is unavailable.

Otherwise...I believe it's $75 but pays for itself if you travel just once a year.

Sounds like you might have the card already co-branded with Expedia.

The original card is just Premier Pass and then there is the Premier Pass Elite Level.

You can look it up here....Citicards

nf3d0149ab

iTrader: (5)

Looks like they might have cut the annual fee according to the website.

Hmm...maybe that's new!

Definitely worth it.

TS_eXpeed

surfer rick,
have you ever considered have an AMEX green/gold card?

They have no limits from what I understand.
You have to pay off the whole balance at the end of each month, but if it is for business, it should be no problem.

yunginTL

hands down one of the best overall cards to get right now, at least since the unlimited 5% citi cashreturns credit card is down to 1.2%, oh how i missed the checks i got from that card over the summer
I am using the Citi Amex plat card for my everyday purchases

Dr. Colorado

Yeah, will definitely check into it I'm using my orbitz cc mastercard which gives me $100 off airline ticket for every 10000 points. Well, the card used to be affiliated with orbitz, no longer is. Now it's just a juniper bank card. I use orbitz a ton so it was worth it cause i'd get extra points if i used the cc and booked through orbitz. So green/gold > platinum?

TS_eXpeed

You get more benefits with the platinum, but you definitely pay for it. I think its a $450 annual fee on the platinum. If you travel alot, it will pay itself off though.

The only other reason I didn't mention the platinum, is because if I remember correctly, you can't apply for a platinum. You can only apply for green and gold, and then if AMEX determined you are amply qualified for the platinum, they will offer to to "upgrade", and in some cases, I've heard that they have just automatically sent one.

I'm not positive, but I've heard people averaging 6 months from the time they have a green/gold card before they were asked to upgrade. With as much spending as your business does however, I wouldn't be surprised if that invitation came a little earlier. Not sure though. Especially with the CC companies buckling down on people. If you went the AMEX Charge Card route though, I would definitely start off with a gold in your case.

Dr. Colorado

Thnx for the advice padawan