Whenever I use my credit card I make sure to wear a fake mustache and talk in a British accent.
1 Like
Iām sure Iām missing some big risk to me, but if it means I get to earn points and travel like this, they can have my address and employment history.
4 Likes
āThis just looks like cubicles with bedsā, I said condescendingly from a middle seat in the cattle section of the plane.
3 Likes
They also have some travel insurance baked into the travel oriented CCs
CDW insurance for cars too. Iāve always been skeptical about whether they would pay out on something, and while I havenāt had to file a claim myself, I think a family member did recently and it was paid out without too much hassle.
You also get a fair exchange rate on transactions in foreign currency on many travel-oriented cards, while debit cards almost always have fees, skewed exchange rates, or both.
1 Like
The primary risk isnāt to you, itās to the people who arenāt lucky enough to have a high income and all the right secret scores, so they get crushed under the bootheels of an economy that exploits them to subsidize luxuries for the privileged few.
1 Like
Assumed something like this was the case based on identity verification questions I get when dealing with credit agencies. Am like āwait a second, how do YOU know the answer to this question?ā
2 Likes
Of course, this has zero relevance to a discussion of credit cards vs. debit cards.
The discussion seemed a bit wider than that to me.
Speaking of which - what are the best current cards for travel rewards? I just use my Chase Southwest card that does okay but Iām sure Iām leaving money on the table somewhere. I have a hard time throwing down $700 a year on the Amex plat.
Capital One Venture X looks juicy at the moment. 5X on flights, 10X on hotels, 75k miles sign on, 10k miles every anniversary. $400/year.
1 Like
If the question is which one card to have for everyday spend, then itās probably a low or no fee Membership Rewards (Amex) or Ultimate Rewards (Chase) card. For the former, Amex Everyday is no fee. For the latter, Chase Sapphire Preferred probably the best at $95/year. Transferrable currencies are king.
The big wins are in the signup bonuses though, especially Chase which can still be repeated. Amex has generally moved to a āone bonus per card per lifetimeā policy.
While I wouldnāt pay $700/year for a card, I believe the Amex Platinum has 125K or 150K sign up bonuses to be found right now, in which case itās āworth itā for the one year and then cancelling.
Have you tried using Turo? You can use a debit card.
Itās like Airbnb but for cars.
ETA: I see Bruce covered this. Iāll go rent a pony.
1 Like
So for like 8% of Americans?
1 Like
the higher-end cards (not just the amex platinum but the chase sapphire reserve, and a few others) have a bunch of other benefits. Amex platinum gets you into a ton of airline lounges, has a bunch of uber credits you can seemlessly redeem (no coupons), a bunch of travel credits, etc.
The thing is that the amex platinum actually doesnāt earn points at a particularly good rate, other than airfare that earns 5x. itās a good card to have but not a great card for most of your spend.
Good points, there are often a lot of perks that help āpay forā the annual fee. And I think theyāve actually gotten better over time. Perhaps I should look back into getting the card. But Iām now shut out of the bonuses on a couple of the big Amex cards.
Iām still bought into the Chase ecosystem, with Sapphire Reserve and Ultimate Rewards. Being able to chose the card with the biggest bonus for each purchase and then move the points to the place with the best ROI is a pretty substantial boost in value.
You get more than $700 back with pretty minimal effort. $200 airline credit, $200 hotel credit, $15 per month Uber credit and I think $15 per month streaming credit, plus all kinds of travel perks.
Same. I have had the Sapphire Reserve, Freedom Unlimited, and Freedom trifecta for years now. Although I definitely get lazy and just use the Sapphire for everything ever since I ditched a wallet for a phone case that can hold 2-3 cards or so. Itās especially great now that New Orleans has a Priority Pass lounge.