I'm looking to get a new credit card with the purpose of accruing points for travel.

I'm looking for suggestions here. I'm leaning towards the Chase Sapphire Reserve right now as it has the 100,000 point sign-on bonus and the annual fee of $95 is pretty nominal.

Any suggestions or other cards I should look at? I was looking at some of the airline cards as the free checked bag is nice, but then again I don't travel enough on 1 airline for the benefits to make sense. I also looked at the Sapphire Preferred card, but again, I don't fly enough to make extra perks like lounge access worth the annual fee.

I'm looking to get a new credit card with the purpose of accruing points for travel.

I'm looking for suggestions here. I'm leaning towards the Chase Sapphire Reserve right now as it has the 100,000 point sign-on bonus and the annual fee of $95 is pretty nominal.

Any suggestions or other cards I should look at? I was looking at some of the airline cards as the free checked bag is nice, but then again I don't travel enough on 1 airline for the benefits to make sense. I also looked at the Sapphire Preferred card, but again, I don't fly enough to make extra perks like lounge access worth the annual fee.

The Preferred annual fee is $95. The Reserve is $550.

Are you looking for international travel or primarily U.S. and Mexico? Do you spend enough that you will accumulate a lot of points throughout the year? I ask because 100,000 points really doesn’t go very far these days - particularly if you want to go overseas. For U.S. travel, the Southwest card is great because the points required are based upon the airfare. Thus you can get to a lot of places for a relatively low point outlay. For somebody that does travel a bit more there is also a likely chance for a companion pass which is a huge benefit. For international travel I like airline specific cards if you will primarily be flying out of an airport which caters to one of the big guys (United in Chicago, Delta in Atlanta, etc). While it might seem like they limit your options I feel like they are easier to use if that will likely be the choice anyway. Also, the free bags pays for the card in a single use. If you think you will be driving more than flying the hotel cards are a good value.

That $550 would be worth it if I traveled enough to take advantage of the lounge access that it grants you, but in my case it wouldn't be enough to justify it. That's what has me leaning Preferred

Seacrest will know

Zippy and Chet are both spot on.

Sapphire has had flights more than once in the past few years that were cheaper then anything I could get at that time on United or American.

As a nice perk, Sapphire has also been offering a 25% points bonus on meals for the last 16 months. I have not paid for a meal out of any kind in over a year.

Here is a question. Have you tried doing the Freedom Unlimited pairing with the Sapphire? I've come across some interesting ideas where people get that card along with the Sapphire. They use the Sapphire welcome bonus and for its travel perks but then get the Freedom Unlimited (which has no fee) and rack up points there at 1.5 per $1 vs the $1 per $1 on Sapphire and can transfer the points to the Sapphire and use it to book their travel with the bonus the Sapphire offers on point redemption for travel. I'm looking to possibly do that after I hit the spending level for the Sapphire welcome bonus.

Thoughts on Capital One's Venture Card for Travel? Gives you 2x points for every dollar.

so update, I'm going full speed ahead with the points game. I already hit the bonus on the Sapphire and am now pushing it on the United Explorer card. Freedom Unlimited was also added, but that is more for everyday spend than the sign-up bonuses

Looking to get hotel cards to max out Chase's 5/24 limit. I'm between the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless, IHG Rewards, or World of Hyatt.

I like choosing from those options as any of those cards is a "keeper" where the free benefits are worth more than the annual fee.

Not Marriott, their new CEO after Sorenson died has been clear that his customer is the franchisee and not the person paying to sleep in the rooms. I have lifetime Gold from years of Starwood status, but I have made no effort to earn with them via the credit card since they gutted the old SPG AMEX which easily earned 2.5% all day long.

IHG vs Hyatt is really location specific for your travel patterns. Hyatt has been very generous with redemption at suburban properties as their categories are tied to ADR and occupancy rate. A surprising number of Cat 1 and Cat 2 Hyatt Place and Hyatt House redemptions. Easy to get a legitimate $0.02/point return. But Hyatt doesn't have the reach outside of metro areas and the original Hyatt Places (ex-Amerisuites, 20+ years old) are about ready for gut rehabs.

IHG... Holiday Inn Express is usually a good baseline property for a one night stay off the Interstate in less populated areas. If you have some flexibility, you can get a legitimate $0.008 redemption rate. But they are a generally useless brand in the larger cities, except for some Kimptons (but that brand has had so much property turnover since it was sold to IHG).

What type of properties do you frequent and is it your spend or OPM? I think that makes a big difference.

I use Chase Southwest. Specifically because they fly exactly where I need to in order to get to granddaughters. Plus they added Caribbean.

Not sure if this came up in the thread but for a Vegas rewards card I strictly use Caesar’s. Their veteran treatment is great (platinum right away) and they own so many properties now all over.

Did you see that Southwest is offering free companion pass for most of January and February if you register on line and book a flight in the next month (note, I didn’t check but it may have just expired so look quickly if interested).

Not Marriott, their new CEO after Sorenson died has been clear that his customer is the franchisee and not the person paying to sleep in the rooms. I have lifetime Gold from years of Starwood status, but I have made no effort to earn with them via the credit card since they gutted the old SPG AMEX which easily earned 2.5% all day long.

IHG vs Hyatt is really location specific for your travel patterns. Hyatt has been very generous with redemption at suburban properties as their categories are tied to ADR and occupancy rate. A surprising number of Cat 1 and Cat 2 Hyatt Place and Hyatt House redemptions. Easy to get a legitimate $0.02/point return. But Hyatt doesn't have the reach outside of metro areas and the original Hyatt Places (ex-Amerisuites, 20+ years old) are about ready for gut rehabs.

IHG... Holiday Inn Express is usually a good baseline property for a one night stay off the Interstate in less populated areas. If you have some flexibility, you can get a legitimate $0.008 redemption rate. But they are a generally useless brand in the larger cities, except for some Kimptons (but that brand has had so much property turnover since it was sold to IHG).

What type of properties do you frequent and is it your spend or OPM? I think that makes a big difference.