DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Best Travel Rewards Credit Card

I am looking for a good travel rewards credit card. One that I can redeem points for things like flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises, etc. I have heard a lot of bad/good things about Capital One no hassle miles, but I have no idea.

APR is not an issue because I will pay off my balance every month. I would like the card to have no annual fee.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

I have the Chase Continental (Mastercard) card, and average about 3 flights every two years out of it.

Pro's:

Get a mile for every dollar you put on it
depending on the promotion - get 15-21K milkes just to sign up (25K is a free flight)
Get multiple miles from using the card at certain retailers - I get it primarily from Macy's, Best Buy, CVS. Have gotten 10:1 points before from doing Target online, and Heinens used to have a .5:1 program.
They give you double miles on every flight bought in a year and 5% off flights.
Easy to use your miles via continental.com

There's also http://www.e-miles.com/home.do and http://www.rewardsnetwork.com/

Cons:
$65/year
Continental just upped it's frequent flier flight from a $5 charge to a $25 charge
Many of the mileage bonuses I used to get 1-2 years ago - certain restaurants, Heinens, etc are done. Never came back. Take that for what it is.

Starting in '09, Continental isn't giving a 500 FF mile trip, it will be the actual amount of miles flown. Ex. - ~330 to Chicago used to be 500 miles, now it will be 330.

I just use my AMX green card...it builds points per dollar that can be used for trips, merchandise....costs $95 bucks a year...has all the emergency features and coverages I need, and has been in my wallet since 76.

I do belong to hotel clubs..Hilton is a good one...as is Marriott....I also just got my first Red Roof certificate...10 stays = a free night...I sometimes stay there on Browns weekends when traveling alone...if you are looking for a $49 room...Red Roof is the place to go....at least if you are in Westlake, Ohio...they run a clean operation.

I also have Chase Mastercard with Continental miles....My wife and I are leaving for Argentina on Monday with the miles I saved up over the years (100,000 miles total - $2800 in flights)....i guess the $65 a year is worth it. We also have enough for another 100,000 mile trip that we are trying to plan for next year...we're thinking Spain, Italy, or Croatia...

Never been to Croatia......both Spain and Italy are great....of the two, I prefer Spain....vastly underrated as a travel destination.

Peen -

That's what we're thinking...Spain for 7-10 days. Start in Barcelona and travel South to Seville and the Andalusia region.

Any regions you would suggest?

Sounds like you are starting north towards the French border heading south....I liked La Manca the best...sounds like you are going to hit the high points....the castles in the north are interesting...It is a great trip pretty much wherever you go.

You doing it on your own or are you going Caravan or some other tour group??

We are not set on anything yet...very early in the planning stages, but that is our general thought. I'm not huge into tours, so I'd prefer to just book our flights and get a car and travel when and where we please. We did that in Ireland and really enjoyed it (just booked hotel in Dublin and then free spirited the rest when we arrived). Spain may not have the quantity B&B's like Ireland (?), we'll most likely at least have to have our hotels planned out in advance.

We're thinking of flying from Milwaukee to Barcelona and then travel south or vice versa (south up to Barcelona)...

Where is La Manca in relation to this?

Central region. You have to see the famous windmills.

The Alhambra is another must, in Grenada.

Do you or your wife speak Spanish??

It's one thing to head out into the country being able to read and speak the language as you could in Ireland...not that you can't find English speaking people.....I myself like tours in countries I don't speak or read the language...but those with plenty of personal time during the tour...and will usually add a few days before and or after to linger in one of the bigger cities....Rome, Madrid,Paris etc....it isn't as much of a problem in the urban areas.

As someone from that region of the world, I can highly recommend Croatia. It is where all us European folk go(when I used to live there) when all these Americans storm our continent.

There are many beautiful cities there such as Split, Zagreb and of course Dubrovnik(where my parents had their honeymoon).

Let me know if you have any questions, I'll be more than happy to help.