What is Best Value Premium Credit Card for Travel Benefits

[bobandsherry]

The thread on Chase increasing fees for the Sapphire Reserve card got me thinking... Considering the value for annual fee paid, what are the better premium credit cards for travel and benefits?

Example: Hilton Aspire is $450 but gives you 150,000 points for signing up/spending and then complimentary Diamond Status and $250 in Hilton Resort Credits, as well as $250 in travel credit fees plus Priority Pass Select for unlimited airport lounge visits (including 2 guests). And you also get 1 weekend stay for free each year/renewal.

Example: Delta Reserve is also $450, gives 40,000 mile bonus based on spend requirement as well as companion certificate plus gives Delta Sky Club access (including 2 guests).

So what travel cards do you think gives you best value for the fee and why?

 

[davebarnes]

Spend more time reading ThePointsGuy.com
and The Bogleheads have beaten this death.

 

[Sojourner]

The thread on Chase increasing fees for the Sapphire Reserve card got me thinking... Considering the value for annual fee paid, what are the better premium credit cards for travel and benefits?

A great resource for comparing different travel cards can be found here:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/best-credit-cards-travel-purchases/

Example: Hilton Aspire is $450 but gives you 150,000 points for signing up/spending and then complimentary Diamond Status and $250 in Hilton Resort Credits, as well as $250 in travel credit fees plus Priority Pass Select for unlimited airport lounge visits (including 2 guests). And you also get 1 weekend stay for free each year/renewal.

Wow! So you spend $450 for the card but get back $500 in credits? And then unlimited airport lounge access, essentially for free. That sounds almost too good to be true. What's the catch?

 

[jpeter1093]

Wow! So you spend $450 for the card but get back $500 in credits? And then unlimited airport lounge access, essentially for free. That sounds almost too good to be true. What's the catch?[/QUOTE]

The catch is you only get the points for the FIRST year

 

[Bamaman]

Credit cards are pretty competitive, and some are generic.

I use a Capital One Venture card that pays back 2% on future travel. And we use it for house insurance, car insurance and utility bills. That's how we got two free flights to Europe last year. And Capital One is a very well run and administered operation.

 

[bobandsherry]

The catch is you only get the points for the FIRST year

I believe he's not figuring in the signup bonus but the $250 travel and $250 Hilton resort credits.

 

[bobandsherry]

Spend more time reading ThePointsGuy.com
and The Bogleheads have beaten this death.

I'm looking for feedback from actual people here. I don't read Bogleheads and with your line of reasoning I guess we shouldn't talk about much of anything here as I'm sure BH has probably beaten those topics to death.

As for PG, his market is to shill whatever cards generate him referral revenue. As I said, I'm more interested in hearing experience from like minded people here. If you don't want to contribute or find this bothersome to you, maybe just scroll over this thread.

 

[bobandsherry]

A great resource for comparing different travel cards can be found here:



https://www.doctorofcredit.com/best-credit-cards-travel-purchases/







Wow! So you spend $450 for the card but get back $500 in credits? And then unlimited airport lounge access, essentially for free. That sounds almost too good to be true. What's the catch?

Guess the catch is if you would take advantage of those perks. So you understand why I mentioned that card, but are there other cards with perks that are worth more than their price of admission?

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Spend more time reading ThePointsGuy.com
and The Bogleheads have beaten this death.

But we have not here!

Please keep the opinions coming as I currently pay $95 for a Delta Card, and may be looking to upgrade.

 

[RetireAge50]

We just got the Platinum Delta Amex primarily to get the signup bonus of 80,000 points. Although it has a $195 annual fee it includes a companion fare each year. We will see how it goes.

Another one we are considering is the Alaska airlines card. It costs 75/yr but includes a $99 companion fare ticket.

Both of these seem like they will pay for themselves as my wife and I fly together a few times a year.

 

[Sojourner]

Guess the catch is if you would take advantage of those perks. So you understand why I mentioned that card, but are there other cards with perks that are worth more than their price of admission?

I believe that the Am Ex Platinum card is fairly comparable to the Hilton Aspire in terms of premium benefits. Both have $500+ annual fees, and both offer lots of travel credits, lounge access, and "gold/diamond/elite" status for various loyalty programs. I think which one you'd choose depends very specifically on what type of traveler you are and how fully (and how often) you can avail yourself of the various credits and benefits.

Personally, I favor travel cards that offer huge sign-up bonuses which you can then use to offset a broad range of travel expenses. The Barclaycard Arrival+ card is a great example. No lounge access or other premium/luxury perks, but you get $700+ in travel credits that can be used to offset basically any travel expense you pay for with the card.

 

[Retireby45ish]

I have the chase sapphire reserve card and even with the increase to $550 I’m thinking of continuing. The $300 travel credits amount to a cost of $250.

The reason I’m keeping it is that the travel insurance has saved me thousands when having to cancel for medical issues.

Plus the lounges are worth a bit to me. And I used the Tsa pre check credit. But the cost of that travel insurance and the ease of getting reimbursed is worth it to me.

The use of points for 1.5x travel are also good.

Just my two cents.