Best credit card deal for upcoming big flight purchase?

[Stwicky]

I'm traveling business class from the east coast of the US to Cape Town in June. Does anyone have a great travel credit card recommendation that I can benefit from. I expect flights to cost $15k.

 

[2017ish]

It all depends upon what you want to do with your points/cash. As doctor of credit says: "Keep in mind that having a clear goal will help you decide what the best cards for you are! If you don’t want to travel and just want to earn cash back, then the best card for you will be different than somebody that wants to fly first class to Paris and stay in 5 star accommodation."

Be that as it may, doctor of credit site and the points guy site are excellent places to start: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/best-current-credit-card-sign-bonuses/ and https://thepointsguy.com/credit-cards/best-pm/

 

[audreyh1]

For travel I’ve focused on two things: no foreign transaction fees and decent rewards on hotel, restaurant and other travel related charges. Amazingly the Costco VISA has risen to the top on this offering 3% for dining/lodging/travel charges and 4% gas/electric car charging and no foreign transaction fees.

I don’t care that much about airline miles, but I do have another airline card that has good airline perks when used for booking tickets, plus lounge/club access and primary rental car insurance when used for the car rental. That one is expensive but has been worth it to us.

 

[Drake3287]

Unfortunately there's no one perfect reward credit card for everyone and we've had this discussion many times around here. I use the BofA Travel Rewards Visa card for cash back but my rewards are tired to my status with the bank based on my total account balances.

Do your homework like you're doing and you'll find one that works best for you. Obviously you also want one without an annual fee plus no foreign transaction fees.

 

[donheff]

If you are trying to get points to apply to the trip by signing up for a new card that offers a big bonus it will likely take too long. I got a 100K points deal - 50K came after I paid my first monthly bill the other 50K came at the end of the year or 6 months or something after I paid some minimum amount using the card.

 

[athena53]

The first thing I'd check is the credit cards offered by the airline you intend to take. Some offer generous sign-on bonuses if you spend $X in the first few months and you'd likely make that easily. I'd calculate the value of the sign-on bonus as a % of the miles needed for trips you're likely to take in the future. Example: if the bonus is 50,000 miles and that's 1/4 of the miles needed for a transatlantic Business Class flight, it might be worth about $1,250.

I've got one of those in the mail from AA but plan to use it ONLY for AA purchases. I like the good old 3% straight cash back from my Costco Visa on travel otherwise. In your case, you need to compare the perks offered by the card (minus any annual fee) with whatever cash back you can get on your other card(s) for $15,000 in airfare charges.

 

[sengsational]

In priority order, the first three ways to get the most out of a rewards card are: 1) Signup bonus, 2) Signup bonus, and 3) Signup bonus.

 

[athena53]

In priority order, the first three ways to get the most out of a rewards card are: 1) Signup bonus, 2) Signup bonus, and 3) Signup bonus.

Yep. I didn't bother for a long time but just acquired a Hilton Amex and the previously-mentioned AA card. They will not be used for anything but purchases from those brands. When the AA Executive card comes up for renewal (it has a steep annual fee) I'll drop it.

 

[OldConch]

In priority order, the first three ways to get the most out of a rewards card are: 1) Signup bonus, 2) Signup bonus, and 3) Signup bonus.

https://frequentmiler.com/best-credit-card-sign-up-offers/

We're flying CPT/DOH/SEA in July and the tickets were 95k avios plus a couple of hundred dollars in taxes.

 

[Chuckanut]

I am a fan of cash back because points and miles can and will be devalued over time. Also, cash is not limited to one being spent at one organization. If you spend the miles or points quickly, the devaluation will probably not catch you.

I use my Costco Visa for travel for the reasons other have mentioned. The one exception is a major hotel chain whose credit card I use when I stay at that chain. I am grandfathered in on a rather nice deal - higher status and a free night every year. The free night exceeds the yearly charge for the card. Then I get extra CC points above the chains normal points for a stay. Sometimes I get bonus points. Once it was as high as 10,000 points. Earlier this year it was 2000 points.

FWIW, I like the quality and consistency of this chain's products and use them fairly often. So they get a nice benefit (more of my travel dollars) for their troubles.

 

[Montecfo]

In priority order, the first three ways to get the most out of a rewards card are: 1) Signup bonus, 2) Signup bonus, and 3) Signup bonus.

I could nitpick the order but agree with top 3.

 

[audreyh1]

If the signup bonus is points or miles not that interesting to me unless the points can be redeemed for cash or bill credit.

 

[sengsational]

^Absoltively! The rewards for the signup bonus must be spendable at full value. I'm not too worried about the slow devaluation schemes, because my plan is to be out quickly. But attention must be paid to built-in devaluation, like 100% value when you buy at overpriced stores, and 60% at Walmart or Amazon. That's what soured me on Amex...hoops to efficient spending of points. These things are all covered on the doctor of credit site, and good to be familiar with the tricks they try to pull. It's a game, and one I didn't bother playing for my trip coming up. I BTD on my regular Elan 2% for everything card. ButI I might have been able to double the bonus with a new card and a signup bonus. But you gotta plan ahead, because they sometimes drag their feet when they issue the card to foil your hitting the spending minimum plans. More games.

 

[SecondAttempt]

I'm traveling business class from the east coast of the US to Cape Town in June. Does anyone have a great travel credit card recommendation that I can benefit from. I expect flights to cost $15k.

One card to look into is the Amex Platinum. It has a steep annual fee and I would not normally say it is a great card but it might be worth looking into in your case. They have a free companion ticket as a benefit in their "International Airline Program." It only applies to first, business, or premium economy and you will pay a premium for booking through Amex.

But if you have a companion and would be booking 2 flights at $15,000 each you might, for example, get both flights for $24,000. I have personally never found that they made good offers but I never pay for business class. But I have known a couple of people who did get a good deal this way, usually when the company paid for business class and they were taking a spouse.

It does not hurt to call and ask.

ETA: Just as a followup, I just priced my Kona to Amsterdam trip on American Express travel using the International Airline program. It was about $11,000 in business class for 2 people round trip. On United.com it would be almost $13,000. So Amex might be a good option. Card annual fee is $695 but if it saves you $2000 on a trip, maybe a good arbitrage. They used to say it is a free companion fare but now they just call it discounts on business and first class. So I don't know if you have to be 2.

 

[Surewhitey]

We've recently used miles to Rome & Madrid. Barclays AA card (red/black colored) has a decent bonus. DW does the air points game, so I don't know specifics, but it makes a huge difference on timing of the flight. If I recall, it was 65k points for direct, r/t from DFW to Rome in September, last year. The cost of a cash ticket was closer to $1k, going to $3k closer to the date.

AA has quite a few options for partner airlines around the world, so it works for us. Them based in Dallas probably helps too.