In this podcast episode, we’ll talk about how Bilt is going cardless (but with more cards). We’ll see how Etihad is making unfavorable decisions, vying for our Bonvoyed of the year “award”, and we’ll talk about which credit card is the best for all kinds of travel expenses (since the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card might night make sense for non-flight, non-hotel travel expenses anymore.)
Correction Note: the 3x transit category that we mentioned on the Autograph Journey and Autograph cards is only on the Autograph card.
Our next all travel card
Watch here:
Or listen here (or click “Follow” on the player below to select your preferred podcast app instead):
Giant Mailbag
(01:16) – “In a recent episode, Greg and Nick talked about checking flights you already have booked to see if the [award] price has gone down…”
Find our free checked bags via credit card resource here.
Card News
(07:01) – Citi Strata Elite to be launched in the third quarter of 2025
Read more about the Citi Strata Elite card here.
(08:14) – Bilt switching from Wells Fargo to Cardless next year; adding two premium cards
Read more about Bilt’s new direction here.
Bonvoyed
(11:06) – Alliant cashback card changes to flat 1.6% everywhere on 9/1
Read more about the Alliant changes here.
(12:15) – Etihad makes award changes & cancellations even more confusing and punitive
Read more about Etihad adding award fare buckets and increasing change fees here.
Awards, Points, and More
(17:06) – Greg easily booked a Preferred Hotel with points transferred from Citi
Main Event: Our next “all travel” card
(21:11) – Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card 3x grandfathered until Oct 26. Airlines, hotels, motels, timeshares, car rental agencies, cruise lines, travel agencies, discount travel sites, campgrounds and operators of passenger trains, buses, taxis, limousines, ferries, toll bridges and highways, and parking lots and garages…
(23:26) – So what should our broad travel card be now? Here’s what we’re looking for…
(24:13) – What about Chase’s other cards?
(27:45) – Travel cards that didn’t make the cut due to narrow definition of travel
(29:35) – Travel cards that almost made the cut
(31:49) – Broad “Travel” definition cards
(42:36) – What’s our pick?
Question of the Week
(48:32) – What’s the best strategy to go about closing cards with the intention of opening new ones? This listener offers the Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card as an example.
Read our complete guide to credit card application rules here.
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Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder
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The Autograph and Autograph Journey are not the same in terms of definition of “other travel”. The no-AF version is much broader and because it’s free, it should be the no-brainer pick for anything that’s not a hotel, flight or rental car (for the primary insurance) so that the lack of travel protections doesn’t come into play.
There are DPs about product changing a BofA PR or PRE to a Customized Cash card and inheriting the no FTF. This opens up the possibility of getting 5.25% internationally, albeit a cap of $2500 per quarter.
You could open a PR, downgrade to the CCR after a year, then open a PRE. You’d get 5.25% on travel, or 3.5% when you want travel protections. I’d likely still use a points card for cash flights and hotels, but this is great for general travel and transit.
All this assumes you have Platinum Honors of course. In general I prefer transferable points but that much cash back is attractive. Greg has previously stated he’d rather have 2.625% instead of 2x for a catchall card because it’s like buying points for 1.31cents. 3.5%/5.25% makes the CSP not very attractive for general travel.
Hi guys, thanks for the great discussion about the next travel card. I do wish you had addressed where you would assess the Capital One Venture X. Sure, it only earns 2x, so I think you would likely not find it appealing enough, but I’d be interested in hearing your assessment on 2x everything (including all travel categories) plus their insurance coverage-travel protection. Your evaluation of the VentureX travel protection was the thing I was hoping to hear in this episode the most.
Thanks for all your content!
While the Sapphire Reserve has become a card that’s pretty good for me personally, but terrible to recommend to the average traveler, Venture X is the opposite: It’s not right for me, but it’s my first recommendation for many people now that the Sapphire Reserve isn’t in the running.
i never trust the credit card travel protections. good luck collecting when the dollar amount of the claim is significant. I prefer AMEX premium car rental protection and non-credit card medical evacuation coverage.
I have collected twice, one for a cancelled trip $8k and another for medical expenses $3500 , both from CSR.
I am impressed. Congratulations.
A matter of perseverance and patience. Waiting on another $6k.
Sorry that you are having to file a claim. But I hope to hear that you were successful. I have gotten claims approved for $2,000 and $5,000 and it was a difficult process. Not Chase Bank, but I suspect that all the major banks use the same Claims Administrator.
Yes but thankful I charged everything to that card. Chase used to use eclaimsonline but now they have switched companies so we will see how that goes.
Nick uttered priceless words of wisdom near the end: (paraphrasing) it’s not worth obsessing over getting the best earn rate in a given spending category. (This was regarding accepting 1x on a rental car in order to receive the more important travel protections.)
Prioritize what’s important and cover the big stuff. Simplicity has value.
Thanks for the details on travel cards! It sounds like trip insurance and delay insurance are important to you in making a decision about which card to use for travel. I know some people pay for annual travel insurance plans, which could cost as much as a high annual credit card fee and cover things like emergency medical needs. It’s possible that pairing a low fee card like the autograph with a travel insurance plan could get you coverage and points. Any thoughts?
Nice video. A couple of questions and comments.
1. As a New York resident, I am confused regarding the primary vs secondary rental coverage. I know the csr is now secondary- which I think is due to a change in nys law. Not sure if venture x, etc are still primary. Nick, what are you doing for rental cars currently?
2 I pay a bunch in parking and tolls- I live in manhattan. My plan is to move those charges to Amex business gold- it also seems to cover many of the other incidental travel charges at 4x including trains and ferries. Thoughts?
Listening to the Main Event this week, I can’t help but refer back to an episode a year ago about Which hotel loyalty program is most rewarding on paid stays? (https://frequentmiler.com/which-hotel-loyalty-program-is-most-rewarding-on-paid-stays/) So Greg and Nick – would you really plop down a Chase Sapphire Reserve to pay for a Hilton over your using your Aspire or at a Hyatt over your Hyatt chase card that both get 16% return? Also, in this game, how often are you/we paying for flights vs using points? Per Nick, he uses his Ritz as his go-to for the travel benefits/coverage. I just feel like in reality, today’s main event of what card to use for travel is more of in rare travel spend than normal hotels/flights. (Sure, beyond Hotel/Flights, you talked about other travel like cruises…but those are free for good ole St Nick??)