As the title says, I currently use the Amex Plat and Gold duo which I have been for a few years. I also have the Blue Cash Preferred to round out my wallet for gas and subscriptions.
For context on travel habits/high spending categories:
travel between 6-8 times per year (down tick from years prior)
Boston unfortunately doesn’t have a Centurion lounge, but I try and fly Delta as much as possible to access Sky Club. The Priority Pass lounge isn’t great.
dine out/buy groceries a lot, so I have enjoyed taking advantage of the Gold card.
only other expense is really gas and then subscriptions which are covered by the BCP.
What has me thinking about switching is the increase in the Gold’s AF (although still seems worth it), the limited lounge access, and feeling like I’m net negative with the Plat’s steep AF. I do take advantage of the perks like Uber credits (gold and plat), airline credit, dining credit etc. but still not sure it’s worth it. I’ve seen a lot of discussions highlighting seemingly great duo’s or trifectas (Citi, Chase, Cap1) so seeing if anyone can share their experience with these and what might be the best route, if anything. It’s worth noting that Chase recently put a lounge in Logan which has me thinking about the CSR.
You’re shooting yourself in the foot missing out on a higher bottom line. 2x and out to transfer partners will (should) be worth more than 3% back. Even 1x can be higher.
But you have to tell us more about the transfer partners you use.
I fly 90% domestically and just have always gone into the Amex portal to use points and book that way.
If you mostly fly domestically and like to use portals, definitely look at the Chase Sapphire Reserve. It will probably be a much better fit than the AMEX Platinum.
You should also look at the Capital One Duo: Venture X and Savor.
@davohn
Any specific reason the CSR would be a better fit? I wouldn’t say I necessarily prefer a portal, I just have been lazy and opened it up to book versus transferring to Delta or JetBlue etc.
Have heard good things about the C1Vx and Savor combo, definitely will look into that more.
Beware most of that content is simply advertising to push new credit cards. It might not actually be better and could even be worse than what you currently have. I’d urge caution.
All the lounges are pretty bad from what I’ve seen in real life.
kenrick said: @Elinaah
Was mostly referencing posts in this sub and other people’s real-life experience vs. the likes of NerdWallet etc but good call out for sure.
I suspect sticking with either Delta or JetBlue will give you the best value out of Boston. Amex points cards like your Gold give you points that can top off either program if you want to experiment between the two (I experimented a bit with Delta and determined it was better for me to stick with Alaska, for example). I’d maybe suggest closing the Platinum and Blue Cash. By spending on one program, with the Amex Gold, you’d earn the most reward flights the most rapidly vs. spending a bit here and there. It would also dramatically reduce your annual fees.
On the other hand, if you’re 100% know you’re sticking with Delta, their Platinum and Reserve cards come with better Delta perks as well as annual companion coupons. Domestic main cabin for the Platinum and domestic first class for the Reserve.
@Elinaah
This is a good take, thanks! Never thought about an airline-specific card but I’ll look into them. I’m not necessarily married to one airline vs. the other, was really just prioritizing Delta for the Sky Club.
Certainly have thought about consolidating cards though.
What about Savor (groceries, dining, entertainment, streaming) + Venture X (everything else) + Citi Custom Cash (for gas)? Savor cashback can be converted over to miles for cards in the Venture product series.