Searching for the Best Travel Credit Card Combination
Finding a great credit card combination for long-term earning has been a hard thing for me to do in this hobby. As I generally pick up multiple new products each year, I’m often swapping cards in and out of my wallet as I meet minimum spend. Depending on our travel plans, I may adjust things as well.
But I’ve started to really hone in on a general strategy that I expect to keep going long-term. There are plenty of cards that are solid keepers…but they tend to stay in the desk drawer at home. These are cards like the IHG Rewards Mastercard which I basically keep for the free night every year for a $49 annual fee.
What I want to focus on is what I have in my wallet everyday. Each card is a piece in puzzle that provides me value both in terms of spend and perks. Here’s the best travel credit card combination that works for me.
First Up: The World of Hyatt Visa
I’ve not been silent about my love of World of Hyatt. Their refreshed co-branded World of Hyatt Visa tops my list of best hotel credit cards. Why? The ability to earn elite nights. I spent well over $50,000 on the card this year in order to rack up the nights needed for Hyatt Globalist status. This is going to be the plan going forward every year I can swing it.
Even though I’m often getting points only worth 1.5 cents each, earning the 2 elite nights per $5,000 in spend is worth it. The perks of Globalist will pay off in 2020, and the extra points and free nights (including a Category 1-7 night from hitting 60 elite nights) earned along the way add to the equation.
New Keeper: Delta Reserve for Business Credit Card
If Hyatt is my favorite hotel chain, Delta is the airline analog. They’ve become my favorite U.S. carrier among the options. This is a bit odd, considering that my local airport is only served by United flights operated by SkyWest.
But even if I have to drive hours to fly Delta Air Lines, it’s been worth it. Being able to hit status more easily through the Medallion Qualifying Dollar waiver was a critical part of earning Platinum status in 2018. Although I missed out in 2019 due to an unexpected mistake, and 2020 has been ravaged by the coronavirus, I plan on targeting Platinum in 2021.
The Delta Reserve for Business card is a critical part of that plan. I bit the bullet and paid the $550 annual fee, hoping that I can recoup that with the annual companion certificate, MQM boost, and (now better) lounge access. I’ll plan to put $30,000 on the card in 2021 in order to earn 15,000 bonus MQMs and exceed the threshold for the MQD waiver. I’ll be quickly on my preferred status track.
The Mainstay: American Express Blue Business Plus
I was so excited when I finally picked up this card in September. I’d waited too long to apply for it. The American Express Blue Business Plus earns 2x Membership Rewards per dollar spent on up to $50,000 per year in purchases.
This is a solid earning rate, and with the plethora of transfer partners, there are few cards better for non-bonus spend. The $0 annual fee helps balance out my other picks.
Citi Double Cash for Turkish Magic
Until Citi either cuts Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles as a partner or the program devalues, my Citi Double Cash card will see use. Lots of use. It has actually become a difficult choice between the Double Cash and the Blue Business Plus ever since Citi started allowing cash back to transfer to ThankYou points.
The Double Cash earns 2%/2x on every dollar, with 1%/1x after you make a purchase and 1%/1x after you pay it off. I pay my cards off every month, so it acts essentially like a 2% back card.
But I’m after the ThankYou points for a singular use: Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles. The awards may take some work, but when you can book a domestic one-way for 7,500 miles and $5.60, I’ll take that all day, every day.
My Old Discover Card
I’ve had a Discover card for years, and it is actually a permanent fixture in my wallet. I use it to pull out fee-free cash when I need it, a little known perk. I can run to any Safeway and get a $20 back without cash advance fees.
This is a habit I picked up when traveling within the state. Finding a Safeway was easier than finding an ATM that didn’t charge me a fee, as my credit union has all of like 6 branches.
Beyond the cash aspect, I like earning 5% back on whatever quarterly categories are running.
Two Chase Freedoms: Double the Fun
If you were wringing your hands, wondering where the Ultimate Rewards cards were, rest easy. I carry a couple. My two Chase Freedom cards see the most use. I downgraded my Chase Sapphire Reserve to a second Chase Freedom several months ago and haven’t looked back.
I guess I must mention that if I have several weeks to go and have already met the bonus cap for the month, they end up in the desk drawer. But they are a mainstay of my points strategy. Previously, the best travel credit card combination I could design was as heavy as possible on the Ultimate Rewards. But my strategy has changed quite a bit in the last year.
My SoFi Debit Card
We’ve run quite a few posts about the awesome features of the SoFi debit card. I’ve now taken to carrying it everywhere, and it actually bailed me out the other day when I needed some fast cash.
Here’s a full review of this great product. You can even make $25 (used to be $50) for opening a new account! Not a credit card, but it is definitely a standard part of my wallet.
Cards that Jump In and Out
The cards above are the ones I carry either all the time or most of the time. But there are definitely others that sometimes grace my wallet. The Hilton Aspire card is a major perks card (hello, Diamond status!) that I like to carry now and then when I know I’ll be at a Hilton hotel. I ain’t gonna pass up that 14x earning!
Maximizing the resort credit is also huge, as the card provides $250 per year in credit at Hilton resort properties. Sometimes I’ll also keep it in my wallet for the 7x dining spend. The other huge benefit this provides me is Priority Pass Select Membership.
I’m split on my new Chase Ink Business Unlimited. It’s in the wallet now, as I need to meet the minimum spend. But it’s hard to choose between 1.5 UR/2 TYP/2 MR on everyday purchases. And I don’t like to carry more than ~6 credit cards at a time in my wallet.
I have several other cards, but they either have no annual fee and are never used, or they are hotel cards I carry just for the free night. Or they are those I picked up this year that I plan on dumping when the annual fee comes due.
What the Wife Carries
I like to keep things simple for my spouse, so I don’t have her put more than 2-3 cards in her wallet at a time. Making sure she maximizes every bonus category is about the 78th thing on the list of what she worries about each day, so her standard card is the Chase Freedom Unlimited. Earning 1.5 Ultimate Rewards is always fine by me.
The backup is her Citi Double Cash, which is another solid choice. Early in the year she will have the American Express Surpass in her wallet to work toward the free night earned by spending $15,000. Then we’ll swap that for her World of Hyatt Visa.
What’s Missing from Our Wallets
There are still two pieces I need to add: an American Express Gold Card and a Chase Ink Business Cash. The Gold would be ideal for grocery spend, with its 4x MR earning. The Ink Cash would let me earn 5x at office supply, up to $25,000 per year.
Both of these would boost our points earning rates. But the Gold would add significantly to the fees we pay. I tried to have my wife apply for it, but she encountered the dreaded Amex pop-up. I’m going to employ Mark’s strategy to see if we can get rid of it.
Everything Else, and What It Costs
Now let’s peel back the curtain on all the credit cards we have, not just those we carry. I’m going to restrict this to just our personal cards, as I only have a handful of business cards, and they are all write-offs.
My personal strategy is to only keep one premium card at any one time (the Delta Reserve for Business being a recent exception, but again, it’s a business card). This is currently the Hilton Aspire. The rest of the cards have annual fees of $95 or less, but everything adds up.
Here is what my wife and I have between us, what each card costs, and the value I think it gets us every year. I do my best to conservatively factor in the value of all perks (e.g. $10 per Priority Pass visit, statement credits, free nights, etc.). What I do not consider is the value of the points earned through spend. Only cards with annual fees are included.
| Keeper Cards | Annual Fee | Value - Ongoing | Note/Reasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hilton Aspire Card | $450 | $1,050 | Free night, resort credit, airline credit, Priority Pass, free breakfast |
| World of Hyatt Visa - Me | $95 | $200 | Annual night |
| World of Hyatt Visa - Wife | $95 | $150 | Annual night |
| IHG Mastercard - Me | $49 | $200 | Annual night |
| IHG Mastercard - Wife | $49 | $200 | Annual night |
| Wyndham Rewards Visa | $69 | $100 | Annual night |
| Hilton Ascend | $95 | $200 | Assumes we spend $15k annually |
| Radisson Rewards Visa | $75 | $120 | Annual points |
| Citi Premier | $95 | $0 | Keeping for TYP transfers |
| TOTAL | $1,072 | $2,220 |
I may or may not have realized that we pay $ in fees every year. Things do add up quickly. Add in a few new cards per year with an annual fee, and we end up well in excess of $1,000 in fees. We also have a Delta Gold card and an AAdvantage Aviator Red card, both of which cost $95 this last cycle, that will be dropped.
But looking at what we get in return, I think it is entirely worth it. Even by fairly conservative estimates, we’re getting twice what we pay in return. And this doesn’t even include the value of the points earned through the year!
Conclusion
I’ve blasted through what we have, but I hope the strategy is clear. My status targets each year are Hyatt Globalist and Delta Platinum, and I carry cards that help me hit these. Beyond that, I like to keep things simple and cheap.
Here’s my personal best travel credit card combination in a quick nutshell:
- World of Hyatt Visa – Annual free night, free night from spend, path to Globalist status
- Delta Reserve for Business – SkyClub access, MQM boost, MQD waiver
- Blue Business Plus – Great everyday earning card
- Citi Double Cash – Great everyday earning card
- Discover Card – 5% rotating, get quick cash when I’m in a bind
- Chase Freedom cards – 5% rotating
- Hilton Aspire – Diamond status, free night, other Hilton annual perks, Priority Pass
What do you carry in your wallet? What is the best travel credit card combination that works for you?
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