Credit Card Miles | Imamother

doctorima

Sun, Sep 16 2018, 11:15 am

The world of CC points is quite complex. The short answer to your questions is that as a no-brainer, you can get the no-fee Citi Double Cash card that gives you back 2% cash on every purchase (Fidelity offers a similar card, but you need to have a Fidelity account to get the full benefits). There's also the Chase Freedom Plus card that gives 1.5 Chase Ultimate Reward points for every purchase (worth 1.3-1.5 cents per point), and the AmEx Blue Business card that I believe gives 2 American Express Membership Reward points for every dollar (also worth 1.3-1.5 cents per point). I think both of these are no-fee cards.

There are other cards that can give more benefits, but most of them have annual fees (some of which are waived the first year). For example, the Chase Sapphire Reserve gives triple points for dining and anything travel-related and gives $300 a year toward travel purchases, but costs $450 a year. Chase Freedom has rotating categories each quarter that give 5x points and no annual fee, but you must keep track of them.

Honestly, the best way to accrue points is through sign-up bonuses that can be anywhere from 50,000 - 150,000 for spending between $1,000 - $5,000 within the first 3 months you have the card. Points can be sold, but only do so through a reputable place (Sell Miles Now and Get PEYD are both frum, legit places), because unscrupulous places may take your points and not pay, and incompetent places may get you in trouble and cause your account to be shut down (officially, selling points and miles is against the terms and conditions of most programs). The value varies based on what points you have - e.g. Chase Ultimate Reward are worth much more than Delta Skymiles, which in turn are worth much more than Hilton HHonors points. Hope that helps!