What Credit Card to Use??

[TobyHellis]

On 1/31/2019 at 1:20 PM, wheezedr said:

Just use a credit card with no foriegn transaction fees.  Check your current ones and if none of them are free of fees then look for a card that is.  I carry multiple to protect against one or another not working for some reason.  Also decline when asked if you would like the locals to do the conversion, let your bank do it.

 

This is a great tip! Thank you. 

[TobyHellis]

On 8/1/2019 at 7:46 AM, RocketMan275 said:

How huge is huge?  Cruise fare and OBC provided?

I haven't found any thing from AMEX that comes close to what I can get elsewhere.

 

 

What other credit cards do you use or have you found that have better benefits than Amex Platinum? Curious to know what the rewards are so I always thought Amex Platinum had the best -- but definitely interested in knowing if there are other cards with better rewards. 

[Stateroom_Sailor]

2 hours ago, TobyHellis said:

 

What other credit cards do you use or have you found that have better benefits than Amex Platinum? Curious to know what the rewards are so I always thought Amex Platinum had the best -- but definitely interested in knowing if there are other cards with better rewards. 

 

I'm curious if these are offered for the Gold Cards, as both have some of the same travel access to premium hotels and cruises.  Now we just have to find someone with the Centurion Card, and pick their brain!

[RocketMan275]

2 hours ago, TobyHellis said:

 

What other credit cards do you use or have you found that have better benefits than Amex Platinum? Curious to know what the rewards are so I always thought Amex Platinum had the best -- but definitely interested in knowing if there are other cards with better rewards. 

My costco visa gives 3% cash back on all travel, dining, hotels, rental cars, cruises, etc.

AMEX gives 5% on cruises but I have to use their travel site or book with the cruise line.  My TA gives 8-10% discount which more than offsets the AMEX benefit.   

[RocketMan275]

5 hours ago, TobyHellis said:

 

What other credit cards do you use or have you found that have better benefits than Amex Platinum? Curious to know what the rewards are so I always thought Amex Platinum had the best -- but definitely interested in knowing if there are other cards with better rewards. 

toby,  I have a standing offer for an AMEX platinum.  I'm looking for a reason to take AMEX up on that.

[AlwaysReadyToSail]

I'll second some things others have said. See if you already have a cc that has no FTF. If you don't then I am a fan of the Chase Sapphire Reserve (does have annual fee, but for me the benefits have always covered this expense and more), but there are SEVERAL no FTF cards out there to choose from; many that don't have an annual fee. I also bring along my Charles Schwab Investor Checking debit card in case I need cash, they refund ATM fees and have no foreign transaction fee or conversion fees. ALWAYS make purchases/withdraw money in the currency of the location you are in.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

[ashank1m]

I had several cards and continue to look for a great cards but having hard time coming up with nice comprehensive one.

Three of my most travel used cards.

Amex Hilton Aspire gets nice points for Hilton usage (14 pts), gas, grocery/restaurant (6 pts), 3 pts for rest.  Good purchase benefits (warranty, replacement etc), $15k over yearly spending to get a free room, HIlton Gold membership. Airport Priority Pass for lounge usage.  But, basic 3 pts for other travels. ($95 fee) - everyday usage plus Hilton.

 

IHG (Holiday Inn) Upto 25 pts for IHG hotels, 2 pts for gas/grocery/restaurant, 1 pts for other including travel on cruises.  Gets 1 free room a year, $100 credit for TSA, and other benefits such as Platinum membership. $95 fee - mostly for IHG hotel usage.

 

All other travel realted: If you are traveling with various Airlines and cruise companies, Citi Thankyou Premier MC World Elite card.  at $95 fee, you get really no extra like other travel cards but you do get 3% cash back for all travel related (Air, cruises, trains, gas, etc) and 25% add on bonus to cashback money when purchase travel on their website.  Big kicker with this card is Travel insurance with Trip cancellation protection, with this card no need to purchase Travel insurance and Trip cancellation policy, which can save big.  Process was simple when I had to get a refund for my daughter who couldn't go with us to Europe last year.  Her flight, train, other expenses were all re-imbursed (total $1590 that could have been wasted with non refundable tickets we purchased.)  

All three card have no FTF.

Edited August 27, 2019 by ashank1m

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, ashank1m said:

 

 Big kicker with this card is Travel insurance with Trip cancellation protection, with this card no need to purchase Travel insurance and Trip cancellation policy, which can save big.  Process was simple when I had to get a refund for my daughter who couldn't go with us to Europe last year.  Her flight, train, other expenses were all re-imbursed (total $1590 that could have been wasted with non refundable tickets we purchased.)  

All three card have no FTF.

Didn't Citi cancel their trip insurance cancellation benefit?

[ashank1m]

22 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Didn't Citi cancel their trip insurance cancellation benefit?

Not this card, today's screen shot show, Trip cancellation benefit upto $5000 per trip.

[compozer]

On 8/1/2019 at 7:46 AM, RocketMan275 said:

How huge is huge?  Cruise fare and OBC provided?

I haven't found any thing from AMEX that comes close to what I can get elsewhere.

 

 

We have had the AMEX platinum card for many years.  The yearly charge is hefty but for us, the perks cover more than that.  We book suites on Princess so we get $300 per cruise.   We usually do a b2b or even b2b2b, so those OBC's add up.   We use to get free specialty dining but they stopped that a couple years ago.  We still get the first night canapes but those have been the same stale items from years ago.    We get $200 back on our airline charges.  That hasn't paid off the past couple years because I like to fly first class now so we don't use any.  The lounge benefit is great.  I do a number of scuba diving international trips a year with my son so we got him a card and since then, we don't have to pay extra for him.  We all just renewed our global entry  and they paid the $100 per person charge.    Now, if we stop traveling, we will probably give up the card.  

 

We have the Princess card for their perks but don't use it much.   I also have the Delta gold Amex card for the airline perks.  I just upgraded it for $100 more a year to platinum for the free companion yearly ticket but not sure if that will pay off.   I still have not found out if you can pay to upgrade to first class.  With our diving trips, it is so nice to have first class and not have to worry about keeping our bags under 50 pounds.  My son is a photographer so he has way over 100 pounds in his two bags of camera equipment.   And some of our scuba gear is still wet on the way home so that adds weight.

 

We have found that many places do not take AMEX, especially smaller stores and restaurants.   So we need to bring along other cards.  My son and I just spent two weeks in Cozumel.  We were able to use it in about half of the restaurants.  We went over to Tulum to do some cenote diving and was surprised to find every restaurant charged a 6% fee for using a credit card.   The dive shop charged the 6% but really wanted cash.   We always were able to use credit cards so I only brought about $1200 in cash - mainly for tips So I had to put the $800 for diving on my credit card.    And we discovered the cost of our coral restoration course was cash only - it was never advertised that way.  Luckily a local friend was with us and gave them pesos for us.   Several small family owned restaurants that locals took us to also only took cash.     So, next trip we will be bringing pesos BUt also  a card so we can use an ATM card.

 

The ATM thing is  something we have not done in 34 years.   I had my card eaten by a machine the Saturday night before a road trip over Christmas vacation.   Luckily a friend's liquor store was still open and they cashed a check for me.

 

Our friends in Mexico said we need to start using ATM machines.  They said we should open a debt account and put a certain amount of money in and not to use a credit card where someone could wipe out our account - now I really doubt that.  We have a master card debt card through our account at Morgan Stanley which we only use at a large grocery store that only take cash and debt cards.    I called my broker and she said the card is safe to use and there is no way our account could be wiped out.   

 

So, I am very interested in the comments of  this thread.    

 

 

 

 

[RocketMan275]

On 8/27/2019 at 6:41 PM, ashank1m said:

Not this card, today's screen shot show, Trip cancellation benefit upto $5000 per trip.

 

You might wish to dig into that further.  Almost all web searches indicate Citi is dropping travel insurance on all their cards.   The effective data is 22 September.  So, things will be covered now that won't be covered in the future.

[RocketMan275]

57 minutes ago, compozer said:

 

Our friends in Mexico said we need to start using ATM machines.  They said we should open a debt account and put a certain amount of money in and not to use a credit card where someone could wipe out our account - now I really doubt that.  We have a master card debt card through our account at Morgan Stanley which we only use at a large grocery store that only take cash and debt cards.    I called my broker and she said the card is safe to use and there is no way our account could be wiped out.   

 

So, I am very interested in the comments of  this thread.    

We had the choice of AMEX Platinum or the CSR.  It was a close call but the CSR seemed a better fit.  We will see. 

 

It would do no harm to get a debit card only for travel.  You could set up a savings account and only put the amount you intend to spend on the next trip in that account.  If this account isn't linked to any other account, you would only be at risk for the cash in that account.  Safer than relying upon your broker's claims.

[compozer]

10 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

 

 

It would do no harm to get a debit card only for travel.  You could set up a savings account and only put the amount you intend to spend on the next trip in that account.  If this account isn't linked to any other account, you would only be at risk for the cash in that account.  Safer than relying upon your broker's claims.

 

That is exactly what our friends said.      Our broker said our account was safe.    But in the world today, you never know what some of these hackers are capable of.  

 

Curious if anyone has had a card compromised and if their bank covered it or not.   

 

 I guess it really won't hurt to open one just for travel.   I will check into it next week.     

 

We used a card to purchase a very expensive carpet in Turkey several years ago.   Mistake - but we do love it.     We did learn a lesson and will never make a purchase after being offered numerous drinks at the lunch they provided. Thankfully ,  the credit card company stood behind us when we got home and started checking prices, etc and realized we were given some false information.  The credit card company put a hold on the charge.   We received a call from the rug company owner and negotiated the price down by $5000 and they credited our account.

[RocketMan275]

32 minutes ago, compozer said:

 

That is exactly what our friends said.      Our broker said our account was safe.    But in the world today, you never know what some of these hackers are capable of.  

 

Curious if anyone has had a card compromised and if their bank covered it or not.   

 

 I guess it really won't hurt to open one just for travel.   I will check into it next week.     

 

We used a card to purchase a very expensive carpet in Turkey several years ago.   Mistake - but we do love it.     We did learn a lesson and will never make a purchase after being offered numerous drinks at the lunch they provided. Thankfully ,  the credit card company stood behind us when we got home and started checking prices, etc and realized we were given some false information.  The credit card company put a hold on the charge.   We received a call from the rug company owner and negotiated the price down by $5000 and they credited our account.

It's my understanding that debit cards do not have the same fraud protection as credit cards have by law.  The companies that issue debit cards have voluntarily extended fraud protection to the debit cards. However, that isn't a legal requirement.  I've never had a debit card but if I choose to use one overseas, I certainly would have a special account as I outlined above.  You've essentially erected a firewall between your accounts.

 

 

[compozer]

RocketMan,

 

SInce this thread started, I have decided to do some research on fraud protection on debit cards.    If I recall, my broker said their debt card is not really considered a debt card and does have the same protection as other cards but I don't want to find out!!.   

Now I feel getting a separate one for travel is the best.   Thanks for all your posts - you helped convince me.   Now to decide which one to pick.

 

Thanks!!

[RocketMan275]

On 9/1/2019 at 12:28 PM, compozer said:

RocketMan,

 

SInce this thread started, I have decided to do some research on fraud protection on debit cards.    If I recall, my broker said their debt card is not really considered a debt card and does have the same protection as other cards but I don't want to find out!!.   

Now I feel getting a separate one for travel is the best.   Thanks for all your posts - you helped convince me.   Now to decide which one to pick.

 

Thanks!!

Glad I was of service.  Wish I could convince my son to do the same.  I'm sure  your broker meant to say that they don't consider the card to be a debit card.  Problem is, they could change their mind any time.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

On 9/1/2019 at 7:13 AM, compozer said:

 I also have the Delta gold Amex card for the airline perks.  I just upgraded it for $100 more a year to platinum for the free companion yearly ticket but not sure if that will pay off.   I still have not found out if you can pay to upgrade to first class.  With our diving trips, it is so nice to have first class and not have to worry about keeping our bags under 50 pounds.  My son is a photographer so he has way over 100 pounds in his two bags of camera equipment.   And some of our scuba gear is still wet on the way home so that adds weight.

 

The Delta Platinum is a better deal than the Gold, unless you do not use the companion pass, or do not spend 25K a year on it.  Only the Delta Reserve gives companion pass opportunities in First Class.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

Here's what you do: convert an existing card into a Lion metal credit card, using your cruise line logo and/or loyalty program of choice.  Explain to passengers and service crew alike, that it was by invitation only, for exceptional status.

 

 

 

[compozer]

3 hours ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

 

The Delta Platinum is a better deal than the Gold, unless you do not use the companion pass, or do not spend 25K a year on it.  Only the Delta Reserve gives companion pass opportunities in First Class.

I was told the companion ticket was issued yearly when you renew your card.  Nothing about spending 25K.

 

[Stateroom_Sailor]

19 minutes ago, compozer said:

I was told the companion ticket was issued yearly when you renew your card.  Nothing about spending 25K.

 

 

Spending is a separate perk, which may help maintain status with the airline.  If you spend 25K, you get 10K in extra miles and 10K MQM's.  Same bonus if you spend 25K more.

 

I have a Business Reserve Card, and can easily spend the 60K a year for 90K in total miles, 30K MQM's.

[compozer]

Thanks for explaining that Sailor

[cravingthis]

Please excuse this response, I thought it best to start a new thread.

Edited September 3, 2019 by red-dragon

[Stateroom_Sailor]

On 9/1/2019 at 7:13 AM, compozer said:

 

We have had the AMEX platinum card for many years.  The yearly charge is hefty but for us, the perks cover more than that.  We book suites on Princess so we get $300 per cruise.   We usually do a b2b or even b2b2b, so those OBC's add up.   We use to get free specialty dining but they stopped that a couple years ago.  We still get the first night canapes but those have been the same stale items from years ago.    We get $200 back on our airline charges.  That hasn't paid off the past couple years because I like to fly first class now so we don't use any.  The lounge benefit is great.  I do a number of scuba diving international trips a year with my son so we got him a card and since then, we don't have to pay extra for him.  We all just renewed our global entry  and they paid the $100 per person charge.    Now, if we stop traveling, we will probably give up the card.  

 

 

Without getting into any specific TA, do you receive decent OBC from the booking itself?  We're starting to do reposition cruises on HAL in suites, which I see would include $300 and chocolate covered strawberries (preferred over canapés).  I just axed my Bonvoy card due to cuts in the loyalty program, it would be nice to keep Gold status with Marriott (and Hilton).  I've admittedly made fun of the platinum card in the past, seeing it as a status piece, only good for those who fly frequently.  Seems that applies to cruisers too!

[compozer]

1 hour ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

 

Without getting into any specific TA, do you receive decent OBC from the booking itself?  We're starting to do reposition cruises on HAL in suites, which I see would include $300 and chocolate covered strawberries (preferred over canapés).  I just axed my Bonvoy card due to cuts in the loyalty program, it would be nice to keep Gold status with Marriott (and Hilton).  I've admittedly made fun of the platinum card in the past, seeing it as a status piece, only good for those who fly frequently.  Seems that applies to cruisers too!

If you are talking about my ta, the OBC's are not real large but she usually gives a nice discount on the cruise itself.   We book suites - they are 4 times the prices of an inside - SO - does she give me a discount equal to 4 times that of someone in an inside, I don't know.  I like the $300 OBC from AMEX for suites....    As I said, as long as we are cruising, the yearly cost is worth it for the platinum card.   Does that answer your question?

[Stateroom_Sailor]

On 9/6/2019 at 9:43 AM, compozer said:

If you are talking about my ta, the OBC's are not real large but she usually gives a nice discount on the cruise itself.   We book suites - they are 4 times the prices of an inside - SO - does she give me a discount equal to 4 times that of someone in an inside, I don't know.  I like the $300 OBC from AMEX for suites....    As I said, as long as we are cruising, the yearly cost is worth it for the platinum card.   Does that answer your question?

 

As much as it can with limited TA talk, but helpful to know that the Platinum credit is a bonus to normal TA incentives.

 

I've decided to pass on the Platinum, mainly because I'll have trouble using the Uber, Saks, or Dell credit efficiently.  We also only cruise once or twice a year, never in suites until recently.  A 16 night cruise in an inside cabin for $1,100, or $2,200 for a suite, hard to pass up.  Our coastal suites are even less than double.  In 2021 however, we're planning a Canada/New England repo, and it may end up being in an OV.

 

Obviously you are well ahead by simply doing one B2B in a suite per year.