Frequent Miler's latest team challenge, Million Mile Madness, is almost done! The last two weeks Greg, Nick, and Stephen competed to earn 1 Million SAS miles by flying 15 airlines. But who completed the challenge with the most Speed, Affordability, and Style?
This is part 3 of a multi-part series of “best credit card combos”. The goal is to find the combination of 2 or 3 credit cards that, together, offer the best rewards for day to day spend. The full series (not yet completed) will likely be as follows:
- Best credit card combos: Ultimate Rewards
- Best credit card combos: Membership Rewards
- Best credit card combos: ThankYou Rewards
- Best credit card combos: Mixed rewards
- Best credit card combos: Cash Back
I’ve written before about which one credit card is best for spend (found here). The options listed there are great for the person who wants to keep things simple. If you’re willing to juggle a few cards, though, you can do quite a bit better by using the right card for the right situation. Note that it is always possible to earn more points through credit card signup offers. This post is not about that. This post is for those who prefer to get a few cards and stick with them over time.
Analysis
I used my Credit Card Analysis Spreadsheet to estimate the number of points per dollar one could earn with various combinations of cards that earn ThankYou Rewards points. I also took into account the “cost per point” of using this combination of cards (and paying the annual fees, if any) by comparing to a no-fee 2% cash back card. In other words, annual fees plus the earnings you would have had with a 2% cash back card are accounted for as your “cost”. I evaluated the following individual cards and card combinations:
- Citi ThankYou Preferred
- Citi ThankYou Premier
- Citi Prestige
- Citi AT&T Access More
- Citi AT&T Access More + Preferred
- Citi AT&T Access More + Premier
- Citi AT&T Access More + Prestige
I did not look at cards that are no longer available to new applicants such as the Citi Forward card. Also, while I modeled the possibility of getting a 15% annual relationship bonus with the Prestige card, those results are not presented here. Also not shown are any combinations of Preferred, Prestige, and Premier cards because their bonus categories overlap. When it comes to point earning, the Prestige always does as well or better than the Preferred and the Premier always does as well or better than the Prestige (except when the Prestige card earns an annual relationship bonus).
Assumptions
In evaluating various combinations of cards, I made the following assumptions about spend:
- Total annual spend: $30,000
- Spend would be divided into the following categories:
- Travel: 15%
- Dining: 20%
- Gas: 15%
- Grocery: 25%
- Other bonus categories: 5%
- All other: 20%
- The cardholder would always use the card that earns the most at any given location.
- While it is often possible to increase rewards by buying gift cards at a store that offers a category bonus, this analysis does not take that into account
Results
| Card / Card Combo | Avg Points Per $ | Annual Fee Total | Cost Per Point vs. 2% Card |
|---|---|---|---|
| ThankYou Preferred | 1.25 | $0 | 1.60 |
| Prestige | 1.52 | $100 (assuming $350 annual fee minus $250 airline fee credit) | 1.54 |
| ThankYou Premier | 1.85 | $95 | 1.25 |
| AT&T Access More | 1.70 | $95 | 1.36 |
| AT&T Access More + Preferred | 1.90 | $95 | 1.22 |
| AT&T Access More + Prestige | 1.90 | $195 | 1.39 |
| AT&T Access More + Premier | 2.23 | $190 | 1.18 |
As you can see in the table above, the combination that earns the most points per dollar (2.23), given my spend assumptions, is the AT&T Access More + ThankYou Premier. Even with combined $190 annual fees taken into account, this combination does better on a cost per point basis (1.18 cents per point) than any other combo. That said, other cards and card combos come very close to the same cost per point:
- ThankYou Premier: 1.25 cents per point
- AT&T Access More + Preferred: 1.22 cents per point
Point Redemptions
In order to be able to transfer ThankYou points to airline and hotel programs, you will need either the Premier or the Prestige card. If you want to use points to pay for airfare, then the Prestige card has an edge over the Premier card. The Premier offers 1.25 cents value per point towards airfare. The Prestige offers 1.6 cents per point value towards American Airlines airfare and 1.33 cents per point value everywhere else. I don’t think the difference between 1.25 and 1.33 cents value is worth worrying about, but if you plan to use points often to buy American Airlines airfare, you’ll want the Prestige card. Or… you’ll need a friend with a Prestige card. Citi lets you share points with anyone, so you could share your points with that friend who could then buy the airfare for you at a value of 1.6 cents per point.
Recommendations
If you’re interested in doubling down on ThankYou Rewards cards, the first thing to do is to add your own spending assumptions to the Google Docs spreadsheet (make a copy first so that you can edit cells). If the results come out similar to those presented above, then consider getting the AT&T Access More and ThankYou Premier combination unless you plan to use points to buy American Airlines airfare. If you’re a regular AA flyer, look for the best combination, for you, that includes the Prestige card. Then, if you don’t have CitiGold checking, sign up for the card in-branch in order to secure the $350 annual fee. Otherwise, you’ll pay $450.
It’s worth noting that the ThankYou Premier card is extremely strong for travel and gas (3X categories) whereas the AT&T card is best for online purchases (3X). If you tend to spend a lot on travel or gas, you might find that the Premier card is all you need. Or, if you spend a lot online, the AT&T card may be the single best solution for you.
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I’m pretty sure the Prestige annual fee is $450. Thanks for a great article!
Mike
Thanks Mike. The Prestige annual fee is either $350 or $450 depending on a couple of factors. I assumed the best here. To get $350 annual fee, either:
1) sign up in-branch: most people report getting the $350 fee that way; or
2) Open CitiGold Checking. It’s possible to get this fee-free if you open a CitiBusiness account and maintain $15K or more in that account.
Thanks! Didn’t know the bit about the branch.
[…] Best credit card combos: ThankYou Rewards […]
In that same timing for application issue, what is Amex and chases policy
I don’t think Amex has hard rules about how many cards you can get or how quickly. They do have strict rules about whether or not you can get the same card again and get the bonus again. Generally, business cards: get card again 12 months after cancelling. Personal cards: you can’t get the bonus again;
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Chase seems to have rules about how many cards per month a person can signup for, but it seems to vary by person somehow. As to getting the same card again: you have to wait 24 months from the last time you received a bonus for that card.
[…] Best credit card combos: ThankYou Rewards […]
Citi is becoming harder to work with for me. I use to be able to get a second card within 10-30 days. However, I was recently turned down for having too many applications (3) in less than 90 days (one was approved) and told to wait to reapply by the Reconsideration department. I was told they did not even do a hard pull because it was automatically rejected by their time limit rule. I confirmed this via the 3 FICO reports I monitor daily. I am wondering if my closing the two AA Executive cards I took out last year and closed this year had anything to do with this? Any thoughts?
How much time did you place between the first two and the third application? My understanding is that Citi doesn’t allow more than 2 personal applications within a 65 day period. Maybe you exceeded that?
Nice series; thanks!
What’s the current thinking about how frequently we can apply for a second Citi card? Wait 8 days? 61 days? And is there a limit as to number of Citi cards held at once? I’ve got 4…
People say to wait 8 days for a second application and then 65 days after that for another. I’m not aware of any limit to how many you can have.
Is Amazon a retail website? Sounds like it is not from that definition.
I think it is, but we’ll have to see how it codes when people report in about it.
So glad that I still have my Forward card!
Are the Forward TY points (5x at restaurants) transferrable to the Thank You Premier or Prestige like Chase UR points? If they are I might have to sign up for one of those….
They are. Just got the Prestige today. 8% back on any restaurant or Amazon.com? After the $250 airfare credit on any ticket, pays for itself.
You just need to combine the ThankYou accounts of Forward and Premier/Prestige/etc., not simply “transfer” from one account to the other. After the combination, all points will go into one ThankYou account and points earned by each card still follow their own expiration dates.
Ben, I’m interested to know how Citi codes GCM and other gift-card selling websites, but I doubt they’ll be 3x. I just checked the Citi website for terminology. Specifically, it says 3x is for online purchases at “retail and travel websites”. It then defines that — “Retail websites are websites that sell goods directly to the consumer through an online website and include department store websites, specialty store websites, warehouse store websites and boutique websites.” I would be shocked if GCM falls into that category.
FM, I love what you’re doing here, but one thing you (and every other blogger) omit in your analysis of this is how frequently the banks waive the annual fee or give other incentives to keep the card. For me, the most glaring example is when someone compares the Ink cards to the Sapphire Preferred. I’ve had either the Ink Bold or Plus for 3 years now, and was able to waive the AF twice. I had the CSP 3 years and Chase never waived the AF for me (or anyone else on FT, apparently). An annual fee is not the same across different cards, even if it’s the same amount.
I get what you’re saying, but I would have a really hard time incorporating that into the analysis. I have only limited experience myself regarding which particular banks/cards are willing to waive annual fees and I have no reason to expect that my experience will match that from others. With respect to the Ink Plus, in particular, I’ve heard from many readers who were unable to get any useful retention offer, let alone a waived annual fee, so it is very YMMV.
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Best bet, is to copy the analysis spreadsheet and delete the annual fees where YOU believe that you can get the fee waived and then see how it all falls out.
Any word on how generous the 3x online category on the ATT card is coding? GCM?
I haven’t heard any data points yet, but I don’t expect things like giftcardmall to count.