Are Flexible Point Credit Cards Worth It?

[@ScottSpanbauer]

I love when you break out your long videos into these focused shorter versions. Very valuable info and I really enjoy your style. Two hours is tough for me to be able to sit through. Thanks for these shorter ones. It’s appreciated!!

[@TheCreditFrog]

You're welcome Scott! Yeah, I try to make it more digestible. The 2-hour lives are fun, but I realize not everyone has the time to devote to those or be free on a Sat morning/afternoon!

[@craigmargolies7335]

I had the Gold Amex and now have the U.S. Bank trifecta Reserve, Go and cash back and many other cash back cards. my cash back is sitting in a 4.4% money market growing vs points which over time become devalued. Using the Reserve at so many places and getting 4.5% is the bomb!!!!

[@TheCreditFrog]

I know, right?! It's such a great card to earn that cash back on those mobile wallet purchases and get a great return on a single card! I'm happy to hear you're getting so much value out of it!

[@TravelLoverForLife]

I wouldn't give them up. The transferrable points are worth a ton when used for international business or first class flights. I am 6'2" and pretty large, so long haul econony is not an option for me.

[@TheCreditFrog]

For sure! It certainly depends on your stature, and your goals with your points too!

[@colinyuhl9339]

With two kids I have no choice but to pay for travel, and I’m basically constantly at 4/24 always on the hunt for the right sub. Really pondering getting out of the miles game and switching to a pure cash back setup and using it to purchase points to subsidize travel costs/get an effectively discounted travel experience.

[@SectionChief]

Hotel points are better for family travel than airline milers once you begin to exceed two people that are traveling.

[@TheCreditFrog]

I kind of did that, and although I have some transferrable currencies, I've been using a hybrid setup with some success! I keep around my hotel credit cards for benefits at those chains and can still get some good travel value out of that - just sticking with a few ecosystems, and then redeeming essentially cash back with the USBAR!

[@TheAndyzilla]

Is it possible you eventually could make a all in one video with the hotels cc (hilton marriott ihg) comparing them?

[@TheCreditFrog]

That would be a big undertaking! But that's certainly a great idea!

[@DC_Consulting_DC]

We have been to 17 countries so far this year, from Bulgaria to Uruguay, so we use multiple airline, hotel, and transferrable currencies. My wife always reclines because of her sciatica, and not every one of our 200+ flights has lie flats.

[@TheCreditFrog]

That's pretty amazing! Sounds like transferrable points are the way to go for you and your family. And yeah, if there's a medical condition involved, certainly that's an ok reason to recline your chair back. Sitting for prolonged periods with that is no joke!

[@paquitojhs]

I literally stopped using all my cards (except for current SUB) when I got the USBAR. It is that good.

[@TheCreditFrog]

That was my experience as well. It’s such great card!

[@SledgeIncTeam]

My entire setup revolves around my Hotel cards. Im glad that was your final point. I think😂. Though I the Platinum is still my favorite card.

[@TheCreditFrog]

Nice Sledge 👍! Hotel credit cards give us so many perks and it's an integral part of my credit card strategy too! I prefer them over flexible point currency cards tbh, but that's just me. Platinum is great, but all the statement credits has gotten me away from it slightly. Well, that and there are so many lounges out there that I can use that aren't the Centurions!

[@SledgeIncTeam]

@TheCreditFrog true. But for me, the only two lounges in my home airport are the SkyClub and Admirals Club. So adding the AA Executive card to the Platinum was important for me. At this point, the credits are just a bonus for me and I don't look that deep into them

[@kaina732]

Most of the time I use my Chase points for Southwest and my AmEx points for Hawaiian. On occasion I use either for hotels (Chase- Marriott or Hyatt and AmEx-Marriott or Hilton).

[@TheCreditFrog]

Soon, you'll be able to use your Hawaiian points for backdoor Alaska redemptions (if you want to)!

[@kaina732]

@@TheCreditFrog Yes I actually like Alaska’s options and service.

[@OakandIV]

Due to a family health crisis, I basically have not been able to travel for well over a year. Since then, as much as I could, I have switched over to cashback cards. Even my American Express cards have effectively become cashback cards through my American Express checking account. I am not happy about that, but when a crisis comes and you can’t travel, this is a necessary fallback.

[@TheCreditFrog]

Oh no! Hope you're family is doing ok! I haven't seen you comment recently so great to hear from you! Cash back is definitely the easiest way to go and yeah, if you're not traveling, all those luxury travel credit cards should for sure be put on the back burner. It's nice that you have the cashout option with the Amex checking account!

[@docsays]

Right now im fine transferrable currencies. Mostly URs & MRs. However, in the I wouldn’t be opposed to concentrating on hotel pts & airline miles, since reduce my travel costs.

[@TheCreditFrog]

Yes, it’s the age old question Doc! I personally have found more value in hotel points since I use them a lot faster and don’t have analysis paralysis on what to do with my MRs and URs!

[@invisibleBDK]

I really only fly economy, as I feel business/FC is an unnecessary luxury. Thus a 1.5 cent guarantee is actually pretty strong compared to what most flexible points programs get you usually, and the Altitude doesn't restrict you to only certain airlines/transfer partners and simplifies everything. So for redemptions it is pretty enticing though IDK if it earns as much as a trifecta+ setup would if maximized.

[@TheCreditFrog]

Yeah, if you don't mind flying economy. CSR's 1.5X boost is pretty powerful! As for whether a trifecta+ setup might be better, it's going to depend on the trifecta plus your expected spend in the available categories. There's certainly more availability for 5%, but if you want a single card with 4.5X which isn't too far off, and you want more simplicity, USBAR is the card for that!

[@Gangrenous_Hank]

Due to having a family I find the hotels for a week are more expensive than the airlines for a family vacation. I’m considering ditching my MR stance and just picking up a Hilton duo. Aspire and surpass. Run 45k through them and get 3 FNC. So much value out of that

[@TheCreditFrog]

The Hilton FNCs are definitely the top of the value chain for me! I think that's a solid plan. If you plan on going full Hilton, the business is something to think about for that 5X catch all, but then again, I'd probably rather use that spend towards getting FNCs like you mentioned, at least, that's how I'd play it!

[@Gangrenous_Hank]

@@TheCreditFrog I’d probably get it for sub

[@ConstantPoints]

It used to be a clear cut but in my experience the points for travel have been devalued so much that it really depends on! In these tough times Chase is my go to for everything regardless how I use the points!

[@TheCreditFrog]

Absolutely Kostas! We always have to keep an eye out for those devaluations. Chase makes it very easy which is why I'm sure a lot of people like their rewards program - including myself!

[@andreeldridge8457]

Leaning back in a seat that I paid for is not rude. It’s my right. If you don’t like it you have 3 choices. Don’t fly economy, offer the person in front of you to pay for half the ticket or you buy the seat in front of you yourself!!

[@TheCreditFrog]

We'll have to agree that we disagree. I also paid for a seat where someone's seat back is not 6 inches from my face. If you need more space, you can consider getting yourself a business-class seat where you can recline to your heart's content!

[@cljeleven]

@@TheCreditFrog what do you mean by "paid for a seat where someone's seat back is not 6 inches from my face."? if you fly econ, that's exactly what you pay. its rude to not let people recline.

[@SuperMrgentleman]

I'm at the point where I get just enough value booking coach domestically and the occasional business class to Europe that Amex/Citi points do have me coming out meaningfully ahead, but at the same time it's nothing truly jaw dropping (I value them at around 1.4-1.8 cents per point, maybe a little more when you consider bonuses). Also I'm nearly at points saturation to the point easy cash or basically straight cash redemptions are way better.

[@TheCreditFrog]

Hey a free flight is great, especially an economy ticket at >1.5cpp! I think that should be the standard for domestic flight redemptions depending on the airline given CSR’s 50% redemption bonus. But if you get more value with cash back then that’s great too!

[@mlodyme3675]

It is funny how you called UR and MR points flexible currency, but the fact is there is nothing really flexible about them. Most times people are forced to over spend to get any decent redemptions or are forced to get business class tickets, and/or pick travel schedule that is not the desired schedule.

[@TheCreditFrog]

Yeah, that's definitely true! You have to really work hard to get a good redemption with those points which is why the simplicity of cash back cards and cards like the USBAR are just so much nicer to think about each time I go to make an MR/UR point redemption, haha!

[@mlodyme3675]

@@TheCreditFrog I am 100% agree. I am USBAR and BofA PH hybrid and simplicity is unmatched, especially for my wife. She taps with Apple Pay/ USBAR and if she cant tap, she swipes BofA UCR (at some point we will move up to PR card)

[@TheCreditFrog]

That’s awesome! I have the Sam setup for my wife and I, except with PRE. May consider US Bank Smartly, but depends on if the card has no FTFs or not.

[@SectionChief]

If I'm in coach, I don't lean back. If I'm in premium, I don't lean back. That's just rude. Unless I'm in a lay-flat seat I don't lean back.

[@ab3040]

We all paid for a seat that leans back It's perfectly fair That being said, if someone asks me not to I'll work with them. I'm not as asshole

[@TheCreditFrog]

I agree Sean. I only lean back on a lay-flat seat .. or if someone leans back in front of me, then sometimes I have no choice, but to do the same to the person behind me.

[@TheCreditFrog]

@@ab3040 I get where you're coming from. There's a lot of strong opinions on this topic so there's not really a right answer here!

[@sheilaa1333]

I only lean back on red eye flights - which I avoid like the plague. Trying to learn to accumulate enough points to fly business lay flat!

[@markcorneliuslau]

I see people say this all the time. I call bullshit. You might not recline on a short domestic flight but I did not see a single person not reclining on my YVR-HKG flight on Friday

[@scottshapiro2795]

What are your thoughts on using your cash back to buy airline miles? I've seen a few on sale. I've never bought, as they didn't make sense for me at the time.

[@TheCreditFrog]

If you want to, you certainly can! Just try to do it when there’s a bonus sale!

[@zyzzuschrist3410]

W

[@TheCreditFrog]

👍