i'm trying to figure out what mc/visa to get.

i have the spg and plat amex products.

i used to have diners, but i got tired of paying for benefits i already receive from amex (and i don't rent cars).

my wife has an aa mc, shes pretty close to 2mm, and i have an additional card, but i don't think we need 500k plus miles in one place anymore, especially with the 1 year old. pleasure traveling is down significantly.

i was thinking about the Marriott card, but i'm just not sure.

anyway what do you carry besides your american express product and why?

I try to avoid Chase, and that means avoiding the Marriott card. I have a Citi HH Visa that meets most my needs just fine.

I use Marriott exclusively for Marriott spend as it 1) gets you 5 more points, 2) gets you 15 nights credit and 3) pays for itself with the free night certificate.

I use Citi AA for those places that don't take Amex.

If you travel internationally to any degree a Capital One whatever can be worth it just to save the 3%.

I use the MR Plat for the bonus points.


Also AMEX Plat and Chase rewards (for gas ONLY at 5/1 ratio-$25K/yr (IIRC) total spend in gas limit)

AMEX SPG and AMEX Asiana BofA are my main cards.

When they don't take AMEX, my favorite card is the Fidelity Visa, 1.5% cashback into your Fidelity account. I tried the Chase Freedom with 3% back on the top three and it was too much work carrying different cards for everything.

For gas I use my Penfed 5% rebate card. I do have the AMEX SimplyCash which also gives 5% but I've had the card for almost 2 months and have yet to see the rebate. CS states that it takes a while for the rebates to kick in, but my Penfed rebates kick in automatically every billing cycle.

My backup is the Saks World Elite Mastercard (HSBC). There's no annual fee and it includes the basic level of Priority Pass. Purchases earn points which are translated to a Saks gift card at the end of the year.

HSBC's customer service is waaaaaay behind AMEX, but Mastercard is accepted almost everywhere.

Chase Amazon card. Since I don't travel or have expense account purchases (still a student, for a few more months at least...) I find the amazon gift certificates to come in very handy for my random purchases. I have enough paid shopping on Amazon (3x points) to make it worth my while.

I have a Chase Sony Visa..and I dont like it..Chase abuses its customers..At one point they had me upto 26% APR until I started calling them complaining EVERYDAY about the APR for over a year..My Fico score is above 800 so I felt compelled to keep fighting..My APR is now 5.9%..but this was a long hard fought battle and well deserved by me..I did it out of a sense of justice more than anything as I dont carry a balance..Chase isnt going to get any more money out of me..I pay my bill in full Before the billing cycle ends so they cant even report me as having a balance,I only keep the account open because it reports as good history on my credit report..Beware of Chase..

Did you have to do something to get the cashback? I've never seen that advertised.

I use my Fidelity Visa exclusively for ATM transactions. No fees and the exchange rates usually beat what banks are offering.

Merrill Lynch Merrill + card. Points can be used for flights - $20-25,000 gets you coach ticket valued at up to $500 and there is a very low hassle factor.

I get Elite status via Centurion. When you spend $20,000 per year with the ML+, they comp you AA Platinum Elite. Couple of other perks and no annual fee make it a good deal for me.

That said, hardly ever use the Centurion and AMEX Starwood is my main card. Cashback cards don't excite me - that money would slip through my hands but the Starwood points have bought me a lifetime of memories!

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While this started out in AMEX MR, it has definitely become a candidate for our Other Credit Card Programs forum. Please follow along there.

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Penfed Cash Rewards Visa.

High limits, 5% cash back on gas, 2% on groceries. They credit your rebate monthly.

Great credit union to deal with.

https://www.penfed.org/productsandra...ewardcards.asp

And a straight 1.25% back on everything else with only the 1% Visa currency conversion pass-through. This can be an excellent international use credit card as you're still getting a tiny bit of cash-back after accounting for the currency conversion fee.

I agree! ^ Great rewards card. I have one myself.

My preferrred card for home purchases is the AMEX HHhonors card (though I'm considering jumping in on the SPG card as well).

After that, generally for work puchases, I rotate 6 BOA NCL Compass Rewards Mastercards (3% earnings (with $1,000 annual cap) towards NCL cruises that can be booked with any deal and through any agent). I've literally saved $10,500 on cruises with these cards over the past 3 years, crusing with my family of 4 to Hawaii, Alaska, the Carribean, the Bahamas and later this month Europe and never paying more than $1k out of pocket for 2 cabins (generally balcony and inside)! https://wwwa.applyonlinenow.com/USCC...&mc=A0000028IT

Aside from that, for work purchases I also use the BOA US Airways Signature Visa and Juniper US Airways Mastercard with $25k spending each year to help keep my status with US Airways (10k preferred miles if you spend $25k in a year).

In total I probably have $250-300k in work spending power, and another $35-40k in home purchases, all of which go on one of the cards above.