Spending Habits as of late:
~ $1,000-$2,000 for dining out expenses, because it is easier with a newborn now.
On a normal month, typically $500-1000 per month for food, groceries, and sometimes online shopping (This excludes other things like payments, etc )
We are going on a trip this year, and my projected spending will be roughly $5,000+ for 2 weeks (Due to hotels, car rental, food, and all the necessities)
NOTE: My typical spending is ~ $2,000-$3,000 during vacations, but this trip will be more special; ALSO, I'M AFRAID OF FLYING, and we do 1 vacations per calendar year, the majority of the time
What would be the best credit card for my situation?
My research suggests Amex Gold for dining and groceries, but my friends said AMEX in general is bad in terms of value unless traveling a lot, and stated,"
- Yeah, but you gotta realize how much the points are worth in Amex. it's actually one of the worst."
and suggested US Bank altitude Go. or Chase sapphire Reserve , or Preferred..
I can get BoA Pre Elite with 75%, but after I heard people saying they are nerfing it on May 1st. I'm unsure about that. Afaik i heard they were increasing 75% to 1Million + in BoA.
Suggestion on credit card with my scenario
byu/recruitingpeople inCreditCards
Posted by recruitingpeople
2 Comments
Edit: credit score is not an issue
I think what your friends were trying to tell you about AmEx is that AmEx Membership Rewards points cannot be cashed out for 1 cent per point in any straightforwards way (assuming that opening a $895 annual fee Charles Schwab Platinum credit card and a Charles Schwab brokerage account alongside it to deposit points into isn’t considered straightforwards). In terms of transfer value they’re relatively high up, but their transfer partners list and ratios lean into international business class airfare. In terms of cash out value they’re among the worst for only ~0.6 cents per point.
Have you looked at the Capital One duo? Savor for unlimited 3x groceries, dining, streaming, and entertainment, and Venture X for unlimited 2x everything else. Savor has no annual fee and Venture X has a $395 annual fee that is easily cancelled out by its annual $300 travel portal credit (can be used on anything including hotels and car rentals) and annual $100 points bonus. VX also has solid travel protections and primary rental car insurance.
Wells Fargo duo would also be good for you. Autograph has unlimited 3x dining, travel, transit, gas, EV charging, streaming, and phone plans, and Active Cash has unlimited 2x everything else. No annual fees between both, but a lack of travel protections compared to Capital One. The Autograph Journey is supposed to fill this gap some as a $95 AF travel card with 5x hotels, 4x airlines, and 3x dining and other travel, but the issue is that it relies on a $50 annual airline credit to help compensate for its annual fee and it sounds like you just… never fly?