As of right now points are not taxable as they are considered a rebate on spending, not a cash incentive.

It sounds like the rep is getting you to downgrade the Chase Sapphire. The Sapphire can't use points to redeem to partners, it can only use points to get statement credit or use through the UR travel portal at 1.25c/ea.

The Ink Plus can transfer points to partners, so you should put them all on the Ink Plus for now.

Does anyone know any cards with no annual fee that also have no foreign transaction costs?

I opened a regular Chase Sapphire awhile ago, I assume this makes me ineligible for a sign up bonus for Chase Sapphire Preferred so it doesn't seem like the best option for me to do.

i actually don't think it makes you ineligible,they're 2 separate cards.

I typically "opt out" of everything when opening credit cards, i.e., I don't wan to receive promotional emails, don't allow CC companies to share info. with other companies, etc..

Can I assume this is reducing the amount of bonus sign-up offers I get from various cc companies? I rarely if ever receive offers to open a new account and receive 40,000 bonus miles or whatever--instead I hear about these offers and then search them out & apply for the card.

Also, while I realize that there is no absolute "best card" for everyone, I'm wondering if the Fidelity Amex card (no annual fee, 2% cashback deposited into your Fidelity account) is the best card for me moving forward?

I have roughly 2 million points/miles on various cards (mostly Cap 1 & Chase, but others as well); time to diversify?

Opting out will definitely reduce the number of offers you get. I love the Fido Amex. Also the Old Amex Blue is a great workhorse card if you are happy to buy $500 giftcards from drugstores and use those as spending - hard to beat nearly 4% everywhere with no annual fee.

If you have even half a million ultimate rewards points your in great shape. But definitely time to diversify. Thank You Rewards are getting much better, Membership Rewards are not bad either. As always, depends on your goals. In your shoes I'd probably do a quick series on AA/US Miles to cover oneworld. It's pretty easy right now to get 100k-300k miles on AA in the coming months.

Correct. They're separate cards, but the CSP is not annual fee free. Maybe the best without an annual fee is the Discover IT or the Discover IT Miles? I may be forgetting something. The Fido Amex above is 1%, which is pretty good for its earning rate.

Cap1 QuickSilver, Cap1 Venture One. Barclay Arrival.

Mind the exchange rates though. I have heard Cap1 typically has the worst.

In your shoes I'd probably do a quick series on AA/US Miles to cover oneworld. It's pretty easy right now to get 100k-300k miles on AA in the coming months.

Thanks for the reply JL; however, I'm don't know the reward lingo & so did not understand your advice re "do a quick series on AA/US miles to cover oneworld.

Mind explaining it to me like I'm a 5 year old?

almost every card i ever signed up for has been through fatwallet anyway. you're not missing much by opting out of promos.

Yeah i just mean a series of applications - whether all at the same time or spaced out.

Something like Citi AAdvantage Visa or MC for 50k AAdvantage Miles after $2k spend, plus a Barclays US Airways card for 50k US Airways miles after first purchase (US Air is merging with AA and these will become AAdvantage miles in a few months, so act now!).

You can add in a Citi AAdvantage Business card if you want for 40-50k, or you can just wait a little while after the above and get the Citi AAdvantage card opposite to the one you got before. If you got the visa, now apply for the MC.

Thats 150k miles in maybe 3-6 months. If you have a partner that can do the same its 300k in as much. Even without a partner you can get the bonus multiple times on the Citi AAdvantage cards and there are other options out there too (Amex verison, Executive version, etc).

Feel free to PM me directly if you need some help.

I think opting out is a leak because you will miss out on targeted offers that don't go through affiliates. For example I am pretty sure the only sign on bonus for the double cash was targeted when they were testing. It's not super common but I imagine it happens.

Just read the Discover it and the Discover Miles also fit the bill. But I wouldn't be feeling great about going overseas planning on just using a Disco.

Yeah I have Discover IT, but I'm going to Italy and I'm reading mixed reports on how widely it's accepted over there. I'll probably just do Sapphire Preferred if I can get the bonus

Thanks everyone for the info

re: cancelling cards with AFs:
You need to weigh the cost vs benefit for you personally. For example, I pay the $49 AF for my IHG card because it gives me a free night, which is much more valuable to me than $49, and I know I will use it. Southwest gives you anniversary points that cover the AF, but I cancelled mine because I'm hoping to get the signup bonus again in the future.


The advantage to transferring UR points to a travel partner (I transfer to Southwest) is that you typically get more value per point from the travel partner than you would with straight cash. For example, 50k UR points = $500. 50k Southwest points gets 2 people across the country and back, which would otherwise cost something like $800.

Keep in mind that travel partners sometimes have devaluations (Southwest has one coming up) and once you transfer points to them, you can't transfer them back. Personally I don't transfer points to a travel partner until I'm ready to book my trip.

Another potential pitfall is that if your credit profile is littered with cards cancelled one year in, you look like a churner. That can be a problem, especially on manual reviews. So if the value is close to worthwhile, consider keeping for a second year.

An even better option (if possible) is to get a product change to a card with no annual fee, and stick it in the sock drawer. Buy a pack of gum or a small Amazon gc or something every few months to keep it active. Then you don't look like a churner, and you help your profile by having more available credit (good for utilization) and by keeping the card on your file indefinitely.

it might be but i got so sick of getting all of those cash advance checks in the mail i had to shred.

although it was fun using the prepaid envelopes to mail boxes of tile back to the banks at their expense when i had some leftover half used boxes in my kitchen.

this is why i'm gonna cancle my ihg card. you could get 16 free nights with the 80000 points if you play your cards right.

Went to Italy last summer and was only ever able to use my Discover IT card at the big grocery chain. Not even at museums or tourist traps.

The PenFed Visa mentioned earlier ITT has no foreign transaction fees and no annual fees. Also 5% uncapped all the time on gas, so it's good even when you're not traveling. I had to set up a money market account through them with $25 though, and if you've never been involved in military/government service there might be some additional work required to get an account.

I'm familiar with the fatwallet site but had not been on it in a long time; just went on it but did not see where the cc info was.

is it in one of the forums, or did you sign up for fatwallet and they send you promotional emails for cc offers?

i just look at the finance section once every month or two when i'm ready for a new signup bonus.

NEW YORK, February 26, 2015 — Effective June 1, 2015, American Express is enhancing its Premier Rewards Gold Card, adding more value with 2x Membership Rewards points for purchases at U.S. restaurants, a $100 airline fee credit for incidental charges such as baggage fees, and a personalized travel service. Card Members will also no longer pay foreign transaction fees when spending abroad.

AF going up from $175 to $195 though.

So $100 credit every time you fly?

Interesting. Are all those scam fees besides baggage implemented by airlines these days considered incidental fees too?

AF is still way too high though.

Ya is booze included? Lol

The $100 is a yearly thing. You could buy a $100 gift card from the airline of your choosing with it right off to make sure you maximize the value. Assuming you have use for it, that makes for an effectively lower AF. I don't go anywhere so I'll still have to cancel mine, but this is intriguing for anyone who travels a lot I reckon.