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Credit Card Benefits
We intensely focus on certain angles in our points and travel hobby. Many enjoy doing so, sometimes while taking things too seriously. I focus on the former, but I’m guilty of the latter here and there. This often happens in the credit card benefits realm. The importance of maximizing credit card benefits often goes too far, in my opinion. Anger and, perhaps, a bit of inherently-misplaced entitlement are on display with seemingly every benefit change, even newly-added perks. Sure, some are more niche and less useful than others. Many just reflexively holler, “COUPON BOOK!”
Get over it. I hold cards which offer oodles of benefits I don’t use, and that’s fine. I do well enough with signup bonuses and a few select benefits that more than make up for the annual fee. Indeed, I pay for benefits which I don’t care much about, if at all, and I’m not mad about it. Here are just a few.
Bonus Earning on Co-branded Spend
Some of my goals enable more “free” or discounted items and experiences. For travel-related endeavors, I book award tickets and rooms rather than cash rates. Beyond a few Breeze flights, my airline and rail travel has been on awards for multiple decades. So earning bonus miles or points with those entities by using their co-branded credit cards is worth close to nothing in my situation. Paying a higher annual fee for more earning potential with that airline or hotel just doesn’t move the needle for us. But that benefit comes with many of our cards which we hold for other reasons.
Cell Phone Protection
I generally limit my cell phone hijinks to buying cheap unlocked phones and getting ~95% off my monthly rate. This doesn’t involve directly paying for my phone and/or plan with an ultrapremium card offering cell phone protection, so I’m not eligible for the benefit. That’s fine with me.
Waived Baggage Fees
My air travel is primarily solo, and I opt to pack extremely light. I carry on, planning to place my bag under my seat, if necessary. On family trips, we’re often flying Southwest (two free checked bags are standard) or American (status provides free checked bags). Associated credit card perks here come into play for us pretty much never.
Travel Transfer Partners
I’ve talked plenty about how I prefer redeeming the credit card heavyweights’ bank points for cash back. I’ve never transferred Amex Membership Rewards points to a travel partner. I applaud Citi’s eclectic set of transfer partners but haven’t actually ever needed to transfer there. I recently made my first, only, and smallest-possible transfer of Chase Ultimate Rewards to Hyatt. Other than that one instance, I’ve cashed out everything else there. I’m directly or indirectly paying for access to these partners I don’t use, but I easily come out ahead elsewhere.
TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, Clear, etc
I don’t use any of these services for multiple reasons. My home airport is a midsize one with generally short lines. Often, this airport’s premium line is equal or longer than the normal passengers’ line. Regardless, I don’t fly enough where shorter lines makes a substantial difference. After comparing those factors to the time and effort it takes to enroll in these programs, they’re not worth the bother. Am I in a hurry? No. Am I lazy? Perhaps. Is this simpler for me? Absolutely.
Automatic Low/Mid-Tier Status
The last time I cared about mid-tier status as a card benefit was with the first Surpass card I ever held many years ago. It unlocked Hilton Honors Gold, what I still consider the best mid-tier version out there. I subsequently bought into top-tier Diamond with the Aspire, rendering that Surpass benefit unnecessary. I no longer hold the Aspire, but I’m still Diamond; probably due to spend.
Other cards I currently hold offer some random low- or mid-tier elite status which means little. Their benefits don’t bring me anything significant. Amex ultrapremium cards give away Hilton Honors Gold and Bonvoy Gold status. I have that already with other cards or due to separate efforts I’ve made. These status levels are solid benefits for many cardholders, but I must admit that I’m paying for nothing in return here.
Credit Card Benefits – Conclusion
Credit card benefits matter, but only up to a certain point. In most cases, it’s not necessary to extrapolate all possible value out of every benefit. I usually go after a card for one or two primary reasons, which are often enough to more than pay for the annual fee. In other situations, I’ll look for a few more benefits which make up for the annual fee, apply, and call it a win.
Like much in our hobby (and in life), I’ve found credit card benefits shouldn’t be taken in an all-or-nothing approach. Most of the answers are somewhere in the middle. That in-between is where I’ll continue to explore, and I encourage you to do the same!
Which credit card benefits do you have little to no use for, but you pay for them, anyway?
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I disagree. The Priority Pass lounge benefits, where I am right now are invaluable particularly CSR since I depart from IAD. I thoroughly enjoyed my 10-min foot massage at DTW using a legacy Priority Pass card that still allows that benefit.
GE and Clear, help me skip the lines. The CSR travel and delayed baggage insurance has been amazing when I need it. Citi’s warranty and phone coverage are the same. I hope I don’t need it, but when I do, I am glad I have them.
Multipliers are fabulous and I try my best to transfer when there are bonuses, particularly with Bilt. I just flew FinnAir using the Avios 100% transfer bonus.
What I dislike are all the store credits. I downgraded Amex Plat to Green since I don’t use Dell or food delivery. I also don’t want to keep track of all the annoying monthly or semi-annual credits.
ssss,
I’m not surprised at all that individuals disagree on which benefits they do and do not care about. But I’m confident many can agree that a subset of card benefits are enough to make a card worth holding, even if we don’t align on which benefits those are.
You make some good points, pardon the pun, but some nuanced perks help a lot. I don’t fly internationally very often but GE can be a HUGE time saver at times. PreCheck is very nice so you don’t have to remove shoes, liquids, etc. I get CLEAR mostly with credit card rebates so there is time to enroll in those but if you fly much it’s worth it.
My low-level United Card unlocks some extra award availability so that’s not bad. Plus I get a couple of lounge passes to boot. I get some free nights and basic status from several hotel cards plus bonus points earning at those hotels with their cards.
I do agree that the priority boarding and other junk aren’t worth much. In fact most airline status is mostly worthless unless you fly every week for business.
I would recommend you get the Southwest card though. The changes they are making will likely improve the value of that card plus the priority boarding benefits are good right now.
DaninMCI,
Good perspective! But I have no plans on getting a new Chase card approval anytime soon…..
You are really missing out…
Different strokes for different folks, Pam.
There can come a point in time when simplicity is the most valuable “currency.” Like Benjy, more times than not, add-on benefits are unused. Cell phone coverage? Extended warranty? Purchase protection? Maybe I’m just lucky. So, for me, it’s the rewards structure and the transfer partners. The keep/dump decision is way easier. So, I’m looking to hold as few cards as possible but maintain reasonable redundancy. So, a premium travel card from Amex, Chase, Citi, and Wells Fargo. That’s it. Beyond that, a card would have to offer a very valuable niche benefit for me to hold it.
I appreciate you chiming in, Fred!
How do you get 95% off your monthly cell phone bill (consistently)?
Follow the link in the paragraph, Jon.
You’re take CC Point currency transfers to partners is perplexing. The most lucrative rebates on normal spend are basically from Amex MR in the 4X categories available on the Gold cards. (Considering most Visa GC are going to 7.95 for variable loads, and less and less Staples/Officedepot actually stocking fixed cards) MR at most after the end of the year will give you 1 cent a point in cash, and for most people it’s .6 cents.
Considering that Amex MR are the easiest to accumulate via SUB and AU adds the transfer route is the only way to extract value. I have averaged close to 2.73 cents per MR in redemption over the last 6 years though 2M points. And that is without goosing the avg with overpriced 1st class redemptions.
I track everyone of the two dozen or so cards I have to the penny for benefits, if its a money loser after the SUB period it goes.
I agree that nobody should transfer CC pts to hotels outside of some unique Hyatt opportunities.
eds183,
Your priorities sound different from mine, which is completely understandable. I have zero need for more airline currencies. We can each be correct for our different situations.
I disagree somewhat on a few of your takes but I think it’s just a matter of how we travel differently.
I’m happy enough with my IHG Platinum status as it sometimes gets me a late checkout or a room that doesn’t overlook the scenic dumpster in the parking lot out back.
I don’t fly United much but my United card gets me in their lounge a couple times a year and makes it so that I don’t have to pay for a checked bag. Between those and a little extra award availability it’s a keeper.
I travel a fair bit internationally so Global Entry and the free Pre Check are a godsend. I’m based in a small city like you and not having to break out my electronics and remove my shoes plus being in the shorter line makes the ten minutes I spent renewing my Global Entry completely worthwhile. That also gives me a Federal ID card I can carry around abroad instead of my passport.
Still, as usual you have an interesting take on things that makes for a thoughtful read.
Your first sentence nails it, Christian. Thanks for reading!