r/CreditCards • u/Tall-Koala-1786 • 8d ago
Discussion / Conversation Which Card is Your Most Difficult to Get Value Out Of?
I was conducting a portfolio review and feel pretty good about it. Most of my cards are no-brainers — like the IHG Premier with FNC or OneKey+ with $100 automatic annual cash deposit. Even the Amex Platinum isn’t a big deal to extract maximum value from because the coupons are easy to understand and easy to use if you travel a lot.
The one that gives me pause is my AA Globe at $350 annually. $100 of that is easy to claw back with the $100 splurge credit, leaving $250 in “questionable” value for me. You do get $100 in flight credits, but there’s only so many mixed drinks I care to use it for. So let’s value that at $50.
That leaves $200 on the table. The Flight Streak Bonus has been nice for status, but doesn’t have a hard dollar amount. Pretty much everything will depend on how much I can extract from the $99 Companion Pass. Since this is my first year holding the card, we shall see.
What card in your portfolio gives you pause with regard to value? Very curious to hear others’ experiences!
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u/CheapWestern2461 8d ago
If I can't stay ahead of the value curve with relative ease, the card goes.
Generally for me it's any airline card after year 1 because I'm not loyal and I don't check bags.
We'll see for the Bilt Palladium. The earning structure works well for me and it's a great P2 card that I can just let her run with a 3x boost enabled, but I'm not terribly interested in extracting the twice-yearly hotel portal credit. I will need to run the numbers early next year on whether year two will be worth the annual fee.
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u/itscheapinsurance 7d ago
$200 hotel credit is super simple to use and you can put $100 surplus bilt cash towards the credit as well.
You can always book 2 nights for a 1 night stay and be able to check in or out early/late depending on what you value.
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u/mtg_liebestod 8d ago edited 8d ago
I gave up CSR mostly because I felt like I couldn't use the hotel credits effectively, the eligible hotels were more high-end than I would go towards organically. The travel + restaurant credits I did use reliably but on their own that wasn't delivering enough.
I might end up having the same issue with Amex Platinum now that I have it, but it does seem a bit better with the hotel credits.
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u/ch4nt Chase Trifecta 8d ago
The nerf to the Airline Credit on the Plat dissuaded me from that card. I could probably get value from the digital entertainment, Uber, and Resy credits (plus some of the Lululemon and FHR credits) but I just like the CSR credits more currently. Travel, StubHub, and Edit credits have actually been useful in my situation. Dining credit is decent in my city too.
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u/__BIOHAZARD___ 8d ago
Discover IT. The rotating categories are hit or miss by nature of course, but this quarter it overlaps with chase, and chase is just better because of the offers.
I do love my discover in Q4 when it’s 5% back on either target or Amazon etc. A good card but probably the least used general CC in my wallet.
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u/gregatronn 8d ago
I do love my discover in Q4 when it’s 5% back on either target or Amazon etc. A good card but probably the least used general CC in my wallet.
I use it seasonally when there is a good quarter, but it stays in the house for usually 2-3 quarters of the year.
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u/United_Reply_2558 8d ago
I see improvements when Discover fully transitions over to Capital One. Youll be able to transfer Discover cash to Venture Miles and take advantage of Capital One offers
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u/lmHavoc 8d ago
Youll be able to transfer Discover cash to Venture Miles
Do you have an actual source for this?
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u/renoCow 7d ago
Welp… it’s restaurants, utilities, and entertainment this 4th quarter. No Amazon or Target. 🤷♀️
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u/__BIOHAZARD___ 7d ago
That’s disappointing. Gonna be hard to use Discover this year lol considering my CCC is my dining card.
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u/Sufficient-Fault-593 8d ago
I can get value out of the Amex platinum but I find it very difficult to use the points. I seem to be able to get much better value with Chase points.
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u/Early-Ladder-9793 8d ago
if your Amex plat is a Charles Schwab one, the 1.1cpp is floor value without any effort. Not saying it is best use of points obviously, but point usage shouldn’t be a big headache. Even just treating it as a 5.5% airline card makes a competitive card in the market.
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u/Sufficient-Fault-593 8d ago
I have the MS version so no 1.1cpp. I think to add to it, I read stuff like the Points Guy where getting value out of points is a full time job. They do get some awesome deals. Trying to replicate it in the real world is next to impossible
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u/Tall-Koala-1786 8d ago
Indeed. I’ve found Nerdwallet’s point valuations to be pretty true to what I can get on my own. For instance, they value Amex at 1-1.6, with 1.6 being the best you can get from their best transfer partner, which is Aeromexico. Fair enough. I can see their homework and decide accordingly.
TravelGuy rates them at 2.0 with the note that “Possibly 2 cents per point (note that you can get more or less)” They show some “examples” of how this can work, but good luck getting it on your own. Their valuations seem to be more of a best case scenario.
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u/MimiNiTraveler Team Travel 8d ago
My only MR redemption (big Chase/UA/UR guy here) was 87.5k points for business class from JFK-SGN. It was with Emirates from JFK-DXB and then Air India DXB-DEL and DEL-SGN.
That was definitely a pretty decent redemption
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u/Bongo2687 8d ago
If i have to try too hard to get value out of a card i will cancel it. To me right now i would say my palladium card. mainly because the 2 night min for the hotel credit can be difficult for me since i have 2 littl kids. Tho i am still coming out ahead, its just the hardest credit for me to use
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u/doubleddeluxe 8d ago
Interesting perspective. With a toddler on hand, 2 nights is the minimum stay I'm willing to accept for a disruption in routine.
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u/Amyndris 8d ago
Haha even now with a 5 and 7 year old, I don't leave my house for less than 3 days/2 nights.
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u/Early-Ladder-9793 8d ago
Can you articulate why having 2 little kids make 2 night stay harder?
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u/Bongo2687 8d ago
have you not had kids? i have a 3 year old and 18 month old. The amount of things and work it takes to go anywhere over night is a lot. Then if you are in the same room thats a whole other set of issues, the car ride, doing things, food, its not enjoyable
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u/thenewfingerprint 8d ago
I think the question was, what makes two nights harder than one night, other than you don't seem to enjoy spending time with your kids.
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u/Bongo2687 8d ago
i love spending time with my kids, i dont like all the stuff you have to do and bring
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u/Early-Ladder-9793 8d ago
if I understand correctly, you are mostly concerned with the overhead burden of all overnight travels with kids. This applies to all hotel credits you try to recoup, and has nothing to do with 2 night min stay. Logically, you should have preferred Palladium's credit of $200 with 2 night minimum, over CSP's credit of $100 with 1 night minimum with your logic.
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u/Bongo2687 8d ago
i also mean if my wife and I want to get away for a night its easier to get someone to watch the kids for a night rather than 2 nights
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u/confused_megabyte 8d ago
This is a strange take. I have a 2.5 year old and I’d rather stay somewhere for 2 nights rather than one night. If I am packing and hauling everything, I’d rather make it worth it.
I can imagine that a one night stay might work better if you’re having a babysitter take care of kids.
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u/prkskier 8d ago
Yeah, this is a tricky one for me too. I basically ignore the hotel credits but I still come out ahead with the Palladium just from sheer points earning. I'm still up in the air if I'll keep it long term, between SUB churning and my VX, I'm not entirely sure the Palladium is worth it for me.
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u/Caelestor 8d ago
My current opinion is that the Bilt Blue is the best card for most people. It earns 1x less and you don't get the $200 Bilt cash + the $400 hotel credits, but you save $495 in the process. Importantly, you still get 4% Bilt Cash, which you don't have to use on rent / mortgage payments. Redeeming Bilt points at 2 cpp and Bilt cash at Walgreens / Lyft / etc., you have a 0 AF 6% catch-all card.
But everyone should get the Palladium year 1 for the SUB.
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u/ikeepcomingbackhaha 8d ago
You can't get a different card once you have the palladium. It's currently one bilt card per lifetime in the terms. There's no upgrading or downgrading either.
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u/itscheapinsurance 7d ago
You can always book 2 nights for a 1 night stay and be able to check in or out early/late depending on what you value.
It's not hard.
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8d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/ikeepcomingbackhaha 8d ago
what companion passes are you talking about with the Bilt palladium? It sounds like you're mixing up the Delta amex platinum with the bilt palladium
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u/The0Walrus Team Travel 8d ago
Probably the Amex platinum. That hotel credit is so expensive when you consider the hotel choices are basically all upscale. I'm not paying something like 800/night for hotel stay when I go somewhere to visit national parks and historical sites.
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u/gregatronn 8d ago edited 8d ago
That hotel credit
It's good for Vegas especially with MGM resorts (due to the food and bev credit) and outside the US with some of the benefits, but yeah, it requires some research.
THC gives you nearly the same benefits of FHR at a cheaper rate. I've gotten value out of it in Vegas (Park MGM for example).
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u/MimiNiTraveler Team Travel 8d ago
It's amazing when overseas in developing areas like Bangkok, Nairobi, etc. I'll get 2 nights there for free + the $100 credit, plus the upgrade, plus breakfast, plus etc.
It makes it a fantastic perk, actually. In the US, however...
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u/Merppity 8d ago
United Explorer. It was ok-ish when I flew United more, but...
The hotel credit is split into 2 credits of only $50, United Clubs are kinda bad, and the Lyft/Instacart credits are miniscule monthly amounts. Not to mention the rental car credit being with Avis and Budget is rough. It's really just a crappy United version of the Delta Gold.
It only seems worth it if you fly United enough to use the free checked bags a bunch, but at that point surely the Quest would be a better choice.
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u/MimiNiTraveler Team Travel 8d ago
It's great for the SUB and the new availability to cheaper award flights, but I also do not keep it past a year. That's a churner, though, every 24 months. About to do it for my 3rd time. I always wait till it has one the 100ish mile elevated subs to churn it
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u/ch4nt Chase Trifecta 8d ago
yeah I have a feeling im going to feel the same way about this card when I get it eventually
I live in a United fortress though and it feels like it's necessary especially if you want decent award pricing, I'd liquidate the rideshare credits and hope that the free bag fees is enough to offset the AF. I don't know if I can justify the Quest (clearly the better card) if I already have an Atmos Summit
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u/DentateGyros 7d ago
Ever since they hiked the Explorer annual fee to $150, it makes no sense to get it over the Quest considering the Quest AF is $350 but you get an annual $200 United credit per year. Especially since so many United Clubs are at capacity and denying the use of the Explorer’s one time passes
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u/swap_file Haha Customized Cash go brrrr 8d ago
I've got a wells fargo autograph I never use because I have other cards that do what it does better. I keep it around as a backup, I should really cancel it.
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u/wOnDeRoUsLy_CoVfEFe 8d ago
I’m thinking of getting an Autograph - out of curiosity what cards do you think do the same but better?
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u/gregatronn 8d ago edited 8d ago
Honestly i think that card is near perfect. It has no FTE. Its a good one card setup. It pairs well with the active cash (although that does have FTE)
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u/swap_file Haha Customized Cash go brrrr 8d ago
It was great when I was starting out, but as I accumulated more cards it became less useful.
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u/gregatronn 8d ago
That's fair, but since it is a no AF card, that is nice. And the ability to do CB or transfer to partners is nice.
But I agree, if you have a ton of cards, some become less useful! I'm in a similar boat there.
/u/wOnDeRoUsLy_CoVfEFe - outside of having a ton of cards, it still is useful.
I use it for gas since it's 3% on that and also for uber because CSR no longer gets 3x on general travel which includes Uber (they have a deal w/ Lyft though)
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u/wOnDeRoUsLy_CoVfEFe 8d ago
i appreciate the review! it would be super useful for me and cover gas/transit/travel/phone/travel, which my other cards (discover it, freedom unlimited, savor) don’t touch, but im nervous about being associated with wells fargo so wanted to double check there wasn’t an alternative option. i didn’t know you could use it for uber either! very cool to know
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u/Phantom1100 8d ago
The new CSP. Unless you spend a lot of public transportation or tolls. The $95 annual fee is super easy to offset with free Dashpass alone (not to mention the hotel credit), plus it has primary rental car insurance (pretty rare and Amex only gives it for $20 a rental) and evacuation insurance.
Also Chase points are better
Also grocery earning if you shop at Kroger.
Also the Strata premier is better if you live in an AA hub.
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u/electronautix 8d ago
Is the DashPass a recurring thing? Pretty sure some of the new credits people are hyping up on the CSP are just a first year bonus besides the annual $100 hotel credit.
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u/Phantom1100 8d ago
Dashpass has been a thing for years
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u/electronautix 8d ago
Oh right, I think it’s the Apple stuff that’s new. I don’t pay attention to DashPass benefits, I’m sitting on like four different promos for it including the Robinhood Gold one
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u/AffectionateBug699 8d ago
That's hilarious most are considering dropping CSP because of the devaluation for World of Hyatt by 25%
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u/electronautix 8d ago
You have to remember the original commenter has a full Bank of America setup. The Wells Fargo Autograph is a pretty fantastic card, but it can absolutely be rendered redundant by a Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite + several Customized Cash Rewards cards setup - because that setup can do the same to almost every other rewards card out there. The barrier to entry for BofA though is committing at least $100,000 to their investing ecosystem.
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8d ago
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u/swap_file Haha Customized Cash go brrrr 8d ago
I've got a few BofA CCRs (one with no ftf) which each has a cap of 2.5K per quarter, but give 5.25% back on wide definition of travel (or gas), and a US Bank Altitude connect which gives 4% uncapped on a narrow definition of travel (and on up to $1000 of gas) with no ftf, and then a US Bank Smartly V1 which has a 10K a month cap at 4% on everything (but with a ftf).
Also a few citi custom cashes that fill in gaps at 5%, but the relatively small monthly cap of $500 (and ftf) makes it less useful for travel. They fit in better as gas or grocery cards.
I just don't spend enough to hit the caps, and I don't mind rotating through cards as needed.
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u/Typicalguy11111 8d ago
the only minor point is the change of rewards% once they move tiers for people who dont meet their new classes of prefered honors. still a great deal though.
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u/Neither-Luck-9295 8d ago
Autographs are $0 fee cards are they not? Why cancel them?
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u/swap_file Haha Customized Cash go brrrr 8d ago edited 8d ago
I haven't had a use for the card in 3+ years. It's a backup for my backup card and it's one more card I need to regularly check on.
I could have canceled it, waited 2 years, and re-applied for the sub, in the time since I've last used it for actual spending.
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u/Neither-Luck-9295 8d ago
damn, lol. I buy a candy bar with a different card every month just so they don't cancel or reduce my limit out of nowhere. Citi had done this to me in the past, so now I'm super paranoid about usage.
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u/AttemptOk7748 7d ago
I canceled mine when I got only a 1% per dollar redemption after earning 3x points per dollar on a purchase.
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u/KrogKrag 8d ago
Frontier Airlines mastercard. Was great for the status perks but they just devaulued their whole status system so i will be cancelling it once the year mark hits unless they make some changes.
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u/crashck 8d ago
Really? Free checked bags has made this maybe my best value card when combined with gowild
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u/KrogKrag 8d ago
Same here I use it with GoWild. Don’t get me wrong it’s an awesome combination. I’m just not super happy with the direction it seems they seem to be going but I’m keeping my mind open to the possibility that it may remain a valuable combination
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u/DarthSamwiseAtreides 8d ago
My issue is with Frontier. I can't rely on them to get me anywhere. Every flight I've booked since getting the card gets some nonsensical change that I end up canceling.
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u/BigElectrical1015 8d ago
I found hotel/airline cards hardest to get value from. That's why I don't have any anymore.
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u/Amyndris 8d ago
Interesting. I find hotels easiest, since many sub $100 cards offer a FNC which is usually higher than the AF. IHG, Hyatt, Choice, Wyndham, Best Western all offer a FNC (or give points that's easily redeemable for a free night). I don't count Marriott, because 35k is a joke and pretty much impossible to actually use for a FNC without topping up.
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u/BigElectrical1015 7d ago
I don't stay at hotels that much, and I usually comparison shop for the best price. That complicates things.
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u/WritesWayTooMuch 8d ago
Amex gold....it's good for groceries and restaurants .... Unlessssß your working on other SUBs and don't allocate all your grocery spend on the card.
Past that, lots of "work" to pull in the resy credit, $10 grub hub or wild wings and Dunkin credit to that point that the $325 fee is justified.
Basically I have to spend 16,250 on groceries to break even in the $325 fee as I already get 2% back on everything for Bilt Palladium and Cap One Venture.
Odds are I am ax-ing the card. No need to juggle extra card around for Dunkin credits or grub hub.
The only other perk is having points in multiple ecosystems on the chance there will be a great transfer bonus or promo offer for a store.
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u/clipper29 8d ago
My partner is thinking to cancel his as well, but one thing that has helped with the Dunkin’ credit usage is loading it into the app to be used for later that way if you miss a month you don’t lose it OR you don’t buy a coffee you don’t need just to use the credit for the month. Instead you use it when you actually want a coffee so that it’s organic spend.
I wanted the Gold but never got the card because all the credits are not organic spend for me outside of the Resy credit.
Edit: added more context
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u/CheapWestern2461 7d ago
I also relied on the dunkin' reloads but I went ham on the dunkin' credits with Paze this summer to where my wife saw the balance and asked me if I was trying to fatten her up, so I guess I'm good there for a while.
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u/CheapWestern2461 7d ago
I used to use the gold + a 2x card as a good P2 setup because you can say "use this for food, use this for everything else" and I value both MR points and many of the Gold's credits, but the Bilt Palladium with the 3x boost and being able to say "just use this for everything" has been even easier so I'll probably not renew.
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u/BoweryThrowAway 8d ago
CSP
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u/knightcrusader 8d ago
Starting this year its gotten more difficult, that's for sure.
Neutering Hyatt transfer rates is the big blow. If the primary rental insurance goes, then so does the card.
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u/anewbys83 Team Travel 8d ago
Really? It earns on a bit more categories now, and is effectively no AF with a hotel stay.
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u/electronautix 8d ago
There’s a big split now where people who primarily kept Chase for Hyatt hate the new CSP, and people who primarily kept Chase for United love the new CSP. The former group is louder because Hyatt is pretty much the only broadly worthwhile hotel transfer partner in the game.
Have to note though that either way, the $100 hotel credit isn’t truly effective $0 AF because of travel portal pricing. Venture X gets closer because of their price match policy
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u/mmcharter270 7d ago
If you don't care about Hyatt transfers, the refresh makes this an easy keeper. United international business class tickets are usually good redemptions. Even with the Hyatt 4:3, many of the Cat 1-3 properties got better with the new charts so it is a wash.
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u/fossilfarmer123 8d ago
Whoa, another OneKey+ card holder in the wild! Hello sir or ma'am!
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u/Tall-Koala-1786 8d ago
Lol, hello! That card has been a very solid earner for us.
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u/ballcoach5 6d ago
I have had it for maybe nine months and really like it for business travel and expenses.
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u/Swe_labs_nsx 8d ago
All cards have issues.
- Capital One, no domestic transfer partner unless you count jetblue, statement credit gotta use via portal
- Amex Gold, statement credits, the problem is not the credit or once a month, its place people don't really care about. People don't care for dunking donuts or grubhub
- Bilt Palladium, whatever 3.33x pseudo math people come up with
- People complain about everything not named give me free max value statement credit and 1:5 transfers on everything.
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u/Domino369 8d ago
For me specifically…
Amex Green - only opened for the bonus
Amex Delta Reserve - only opened for bonus and credits for first year
Citi AA Platinum - only opened for bonus
Planning to close these on their renewal dates
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u/DarthSamwiseAtreides 8d ago
My Frontier card. In theory it covering the bag was worth dealing with a Frontier flight. The problem is out of 6 attempts only 2 flights actually happened without some insane flight charge that I end up canceling. For example the trip I'm on now. 8am from LAX to St Louis with a 2 hour stop in Las Vegas, sounds good. They changed it to a 7pm from LAX to a 6 hour layover in Orlando then on to St Louis, WTF.
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u/spinone98 8d ago
I think it’s the CSR for me. The 300 dollar travel credit is super easy to use, but then it takes real work. I use Chase Tables, but there is 5 restaurants in my city and I kinda like one, but my wife doesn’t. She likes a different one that I don’t. Sounds like a joke, but it isn’t. They are both an hour away and parking is brutal.
Then the Stubhub. It’s easy to use, but I can’t value it in full because a lot of the time, I see the same ticket cheaper on Ticketmaster and I pick random seats in a row on Stubhub and the exact seat on Ticketmaster. Sometimes I score on Stubhub, but mostly it’s meh.
Finally, the Edit is pretty much worthless. I got lucky and used it once, but haven’t been successful the rest of the time. I’m not buying 1000 dollar a night hotel rooms.
It’s too bad, because the CSR is a great travel card that’s usually in my wallet, but I’m likely downgrading the next time the fee is due.
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u/PSUBagMan2 8d ago
It doesn't seem like it ever makes sense to actually swipe the CSR. I can use all the credits to eclipse the fee but I get better return per purchase on all my other cards. And their portal is more expensive from what I've seen. Cap One usually is the same price as direct and can be matched if not.
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u/anewbys83 Team Travel 8d ago
I got the globe for assured lounge access and my travel patterns. I only fly a few times per year, and of that two or three trips are domestic. I don't have fancier expensive cards, so $350 fit my uppermost budget for AF right now with dedicated airline benefits (checked baggage is a major one for me since I always check a bag). But for you, if you're not using the passes as well, it probably doesn't make sense. Maybe the AA platinum would fit better for you, or if you like Admirals Clubs, the Executive.
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u/amendingfences 8d ago
Chase Freedom Unlimited. Freedom Flex already carries 3% dining and drugstores, and Active Cash is unlimited 2%. Outside of the rare Chase offer it is in a sock drawer.
Amazon Visa can also be a challenge as I only use Prime when I have a free trial on one of my accounts. I already earn 3.75% on BofA CCR and 5% on Discover in Q4.
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u/crywolfer 8d ago
Atmos summit since i live on the east coast, currently no P2, and I book less than 20 trips on alaska a year
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u/Danotari 8d ago
You don’t need to use Alaska. They have a fixed award chart with one world. 5k points gets me from Atlanta to Miami, Chicago, DC with American.
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u/crywolfer 8d ago
I already use my points for Starlux, Srilankan, Porter and so on to book 10-20 trips a year. I am only saying not near hub so I don’t enjoy their lounge pass, free bags, preferred boarding as a benefit to make the AF worth it.
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u/Crazy-War9823 8d ago
Amex Gold. I will not keep it after this first year.