Drafting the Dream results: Who got which cards

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Last night, Greg, Stephen, and I made our picks: we each drafted our three-card “dream team” of credit cards for our current #3Cards3Continents challenge. For those unfamiliar with the challenge we’re working on, see this post: Challenge! 3 Cards, 3 Continents. Buckle Up!. The short story is that we ran a live draft to each choose a unique set of 3 credit cards to plan an amazing trip to at least 3 continents — and we’ll be taking our trips in September, so you won’t have to wait too long to see our plans unfold.

If you missed the live draft on Youtube, here’s the replay. We had a lot of fun and got plenty of interaction from the audience in the comments.

In terms of the results, here are the cards we each chose:

Nick

  1. Capital One Venture Card
    • Welcome bonus: 75K miles
    • Minimum spend: $4K
    • Total points earned: 83K
    • Annual fee: $95
  2. Amex Platinum (Schwab version)
    • Welcome bonus: 100K Membership Rewards points
    • Minimum spend: $6K
    • Total points earned: 106K Membership Rewards points
    • Annual fee: $695
  3. American Airlines AAdvantage Aviator Business card
    • Welcome bonus: 80K American Airlines miles + $95
    • Minimum spend: $2K
    • Total points earned: 82K miles
    • Annual fee: $95 – $95 statement credit = $0 effective first-year fee

Nick’s remaining money from $1,000 starting travel budget: $210.

Nick’s remaining credit card spend (can be put on any of his three cards earning rewards at that card’s base rate): $3K.

Stephen

  1. Amex Platinum card (consumer 150K offer)
    • Welcome bonus: 150K Membership Rewards points
    • Minimum spend: $6K
    • Total points earned: 156K Membership Rewards points
    • Annual fee: $695
  2. American Airlines AAdvantage Aviator Red
    • Welcome bonus: 60K American Airlines miles
    • Minimum spend: $0 (bonus after first purchase, no minimum)
    • Total points earned: 60K miles
    • Annual fee: $99
  3. Chase Ink Business Unlimited
    • Welcome bonus: 75K Ultimate Rewards points
    • Minimum spend: $7,500
    • Total points earned: 86.25K Ultimate Rewards points
    • Annual fee: 0

Stephen’s remaining money from $1,000 starting travel budget: $206

Stephen’s remaining credit card spend (can be put on any of his three cards earning rewards at that card’s base rate): $1.5K

Greg

  1. Amex Gold Card
    • Welcome bonus: 90K Membership Rewards points
    • Minimum spend: $4K
    • Total points earned: 94K Membership Rewards points
    • Annual fee: $250
  2. Citi Premier Card
    • Welcome bonus: 80K ThankYou points
    • Minimum spend: $4K
    • Total points earned: 84K ThankYou points
    • Annual fee: $95
  3. Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card
    • Welcome bonus: 5 free night certificates each good for 1 night up to 50K points
    • Minimum spend: $5K
    • Total points earned: 10K Marriott points + 5 free night certificates
    • Annual fee: $95

Greg’s remining money from $1,000 starting travel budget: $560

Greg’s remaining credit card spend (can be put on any of his three cards earning rewards at that card’s base rate): $2K


Each of us clearly thinks we can plan a pretty incredible trip using the cards we have, but that’s going to be easier in some cases than others.

Who do you think “won” the draft by walking away with the best set of cards? What would you have picked? Can you guess the trips we’re going to build?

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