I agree with your past statements that these setups are very personal, so my setup won't work for someone else, and that's fine. There's room for everyone to have their own opinion and "best" setup. To me, I like Marriott and Hilton points, so having the Custom Cash card or Savor card is useless because they do nothing for me, even though they earn points well. I love the idea of simplicity, and knowing what you want to get out of your spend is imperative to getting the setup that works best for you. You need to know your "why". Because unless you know your why, these other credit cards that earn 5x points or whatever in a currency that doesn't align with your goals is merely noise and a distraction from what you really want. I was guilty of chasing fads and going with other's setups, but later I find out those don't work for me, and I have a glut of points that don't work for what I want to do.
Point taken! I absolutely agree that you really need to know your "why" because that will help you figure out where you're going. Sometimes it's hard to answer these questions because there's not a complete picture, but assuming the person is ok with cash back along with points, it's always interesting to see the types of setups that come up! As long as you know what you want, that's what important! Because then, it's like you said, you end up with a bunch of points that are useless for your situation.
That’s fair. But if you lock in Hilton points and you have a lot of them, is it really the end of the world? Something has to give, but yeah I get it, Hilton points are not that valuable compared to most flexible point currencies.
The Surpass is my primary card (get Diamond as well) and have Costco as well. My set up is similar. Also have the Marriott Amex business - just a great card for benefits and big SUB. Also have Chase Amazon Prime. My big fee card is AMEX Platinum. For spending, Surpass is great. Are there better? Sure, but not much.
Yeah, what this setup taught me is that I should look into what it would be like to use the Surpass as a primary card. It’s pretty simple and you get a lot out of it if you stay at Hiltons (at least once per quarter!)
Great video Stan! I used my surpass this year as a catch all to work on getting the FNC. Im surprised no one talks about the PayPal 5% back debit card. Seems like an easy way to fill in any gaps in a cash back setup. It’s up to $1000 spend a month /$50 back and you pick your category every month.
Thanks! Yeah, the Surpass is an excellent catch all card, getting a lot of points, and earning towards that FNC! I actually have never looked into the PayPal debit card. I guess it just flies under my radar since I typically don’t take debit cards seriously. Thanks for letting me know about it!
Those Hilton points really add up - but they are normally worth less than .05 cents a point and rarely a bargain in my travels. Same with IHG - the points really add up. And they are normally worth way more than ,05 cents a point in my travels - but IHG does not have locations with points availability compared to Marriott and Hilton. By the same token, I can generally get over a penny a point with Marriott and normally 1.25 and if it's below a penny a point I normally spend cash.
I need to learn how to get regular redemptions with Marriott around 1.25cpp. That would be ideal, but I find that my Hilton and IHG redemptions are much better at 1cpp or higher. I'm the same though - if I can't get a good redemption, I book the hotel in cash or using FHR.
@@TheCreditFrog You "need" to be retired like me in order to have options like I have. I don't redeem unless it's over a penny a point with Marriott. And I don't redeem when I can get a Marriott for $100 and get 3-5K points for a one night stay. 100 = 1000 Titanium = 750 welcome B 1000. or 500 Bountiful 1000 Credit card 620 = 4420 or 3940 So even if I could get the room for 10,000 points for a penny a point I would not do it . I know you dismissed the Bountiful card but I get about 35k more in points yearly compared to the $95 card I had for years; plus the 50K room.
I think so yes that 3x everything else is clutch, also the Business Hilton with the 5x everything else is very good! The 5x categories on the Surpass fit most folks spend.
5X is actually pretty good. The issue is that the $195 Hilton Business card doesn't have anything else going for it unless you can use those $60 quarterly credits! At that point, another card is probably a better option, but it depends on what you're looking for!
Hilton surpass card AF is $175 less then the Amex gold and $400 less than the aspire. You could buy approximately 35000 Hilton points for $150 and 80,000 Hilton points for $400 . Something to consider..
I am getting close to being eligible for SUBs on the Amex Marriott cards but because I’m increasingly invested in Hyatt and Hilton I’m wondering if it’s better to wait until I can stay there more frequently. Plus I still seem to be in perma jail on any Amex personal cards without a NLL link. If I wanted to upgrade to a Ritz I’d have to downgrade then upgrade again which is something I’d rather not have to do
I would wait for an elevated offer before applying because you’re right, don’t want to spread yourself too thin! Stick with Marriott once you get on that train, since you’ll probably get some FNCs with the welcome offer!
Since Marriott gold isn’t really worth it if you could only get one would you get? the bonvoy brilliant for the platinum status or get ritz Carlton card and try to get enough nights to earn platinum?
Adding the gold card provides flexibility, so if an opportunity comes up in another system you can take advantage of it. I don't think hotel points will transfer well to say airlines.
I am converting my Hilton Surpass into a pseudo business card next year and will spend $15K under "Online Retail" at 4X. I don't like having 2 HH personal cards. If my free night is worth $500, then I would have to spend $100K at 5X on the actual business version to break even!
Very nice!! It was so unfortunate when the Hilton Business card lost the $15k FNC - it really devalued the card hard, and I can see people just using the Hilton Surpass as the business card instead. Would be ok, except it would report to personal credit so have to make some early payments if that's important. So I definitely see your dilemma!
@@TheCreditFrog East Coast looking toothed continents, so LAX unfortunately is no longer in my plans. Maybe for a trip to Taiwan. I must say that the Weston - North Fort Lauderdale, while it does not have a lounge they do have a nice little bistro, great pool with sauna, and somewhat close to a five star breakfast buffet free for Plat and up. And they have a lot of suites and I almost always get one of them, just more room and a sofa and windows/views.
An interesting comparison. $325 Gold AF would equal 65k additional HH points. Which would be 24% in additional points for the gold, however that is assuming 100% spend is dining/grocery. The Surpass is really surprisingly strong and simple!
@TheCreditFrog do u still have your amex hilton honors credit card with no annual fee? 🤔 I have 4million hilton honors points I'm 5,000 points away from 5 million hilton honors points 🤔
Costco card is absolutely useless. He should replace it with another Visa such as Active Cash, Signify Cash, Venture X, Venture, Altitude Reserve (for Costco ), Wyndham Business (for gas at Costco)
Core is Marriott - personal and business - titanium - lifetime Plat. Secondary: Hilton Surpass, IHG premier and Wyndham business earner. Bucket list: Hyatt IHG business Hilton Business Best Western Choice
I'd like to think that I'm the same! Nice that you're life time platinum though, makes things more flexible with the Brilliant card. Definitely love Hilton and Surpass being secondary. Haven't had much experience with Wyndham.
I agree with your past statements that these setups are very personal, so my setup won't work for someone else, and that's fine. There's room for everyone to have their own opinion and "best" setup. To me, I like Marriott and Hilton points, so having the Custom Cash card or Savor card is useless because they do nothing for me, even though they earn points well. I love the idea of simplicity, and knowing what you want to get out of your spend is imperative to getting the setup that works best for you. You need to know your "why". Because unless you know your why, these other credit cards that earn 5x points or whatever in a currency that doesn't align with your goals is merely noise and a distraction from what you really want. I was guilty of chasing fads and going with other's setups, but later I find out those don't work for me, and I have a glut of points that don't work for what I want to do.
Point taken! I absolutely agree that you really need to know your "why" because that will help you figure out where you're going. Sometimes it's hard to answer these questions because there's not a complete picture, but assuming the person is ok with cash back along with points, it's always interesting to see the types of setups that come up! As long as you know what you want, that's what important! Because then, it's like you said, you end up with a bunch of points that are useless for your situation.
Dang where do you get value out of Marriott points?
@SuperMrgentleman Still trying to find out!
I’m with Uncle Luke, give me the points and make them flexible, I will make my own trip.
I would never lock myself into a program.
That’s fair. But if you lock in Hilton points and you have a lot of them, is it really the end of the world? Something has to give, but yeah I get it, Hilton points are not that valuable compared to most flexible point currencies.
Great job on RUclips ♥️
Thanks!
Thank you, Stan, for another very informative video.
You're welcome! Glad you enjoyed it!
The Surpass is my primary card (get Diamond as well) and have Costco as well. My set up is similar. Also have the Marriott Amex business - just a great card for benefits and big SUB. Also have Chase Amazon Prime. My big fee card is AMEX Platinum. For spending, Surpass is great. Are there better? Sure, but not much.
Yeah, what this setup taught me is that I should look into what it would be like to use the Surpass as a primary card. It’s pretty simple and you get a lot out of it if you stay at Hiltons (at least once per quarter!)
Great video Stan! I used my surpass this year as a catch all to work on getting the FNC. Im surprised no one talks about the PayPal 5% back debit card. Seems like an easy way to fill in any gaps in a cash back setup. It’s up to $1000 spend a month /$50 back and you pick your category every month.
Thanks! Yeah, the Surpass is an excellent catch all card, getting a lot of points, and earning towards that FNC! I actually have never looked into the PayPal debit card. I guess it just flies under my radar since I typically don’t take debit cards seriously. Thanks for letting me know about it!
Those Hilton points really add up - but they are normally worth less than .05 cents a point and rarely a bargain in my travels.
Same with IHG - the points really add up. And they are normally worth way more than ,05 cents a point in my travels - but IHG does not have locations with points availability compared to Marriott and Hilton.
By the same token, I can generally get over a penny a point with Marriott and normally 1.25 and if it's below a penny a point I normally spend cash.
I need to learn how to get regular redemptions with Marriott around 1.25cpp. That would be ideal, but I find that my Hilton and IHG redemptions are much better at 1cpp or higher. I'm the same though - if I can't get a good redemption, I book the hotel in cash or using FHR.
@@TheCreditFrog You "need" to be retired like me in order to have options like I have.
I don't redeem unless it's over a penny a point with Marriott.
And I don't redeem when I can get a Marriott for $100 and get 3-5K points for a one night stay.
100 = 1000
Titanium = 750
welcome B 1000. or 500
Bountiful 1000
Credit card 620
= 4420 or 3940
So even if I could get the room for 10,000 points for a penny a point I would not do it .
I know you dismissed the Bountiful card but I get about 35k more in points yearly compared to the $95 card I had for years; plus the 50K room.
I think so yes that 3x everything else is clutch, also the Business Hilton with the 5x everything else is very good! The 5x categories on the Surpass fit most folks spend.
5X is actually pretty good. The issue is that the $195 Hilton Business card doesn't have anything else going for it unless you can use those $60 quarterly credits! At that point, another card is probably a better option, but it depends on what you're looking for!
Hilton surpass card AF is $175 less then the Amex gold and $400 less than the aspire.
You could buy approximately 35000 Hilton points for $150 and 80,000 Hilton points for $400 .
Something to consider..
For sure! You could add that to the equation, but it can also get a little messy depending on how you value the credits on the Amex Gold and Aspire.
$40k on dining😳😳
It exists!
I am getting close to being eligible for SUBs on the Amex Marriott cards but because I’m increasingly invested in Hyatt and Hilton I’m wondering if it’s better to wait until I can stay there more frequently. Plus I still seem to be in perma jail on any Amex personal cards without a NLL link. If I wanted to upgrade to a Ritz I’d have to downgrade then upgrade again which is something I’d rather not have to do
I would wait for an elevated offer before applying because you’re right, don’t want to spread yourself too thin! Stick with Marriott once you get on that train, since you’ll probably get some FNCs with the welcome offer!
Love my surpass. not that high of annual fee. usable spend categories and coupons to discount the annual fee,
Absolutely! With all the Hilton card changes, the Surpass came out on top for most people IMO.
Since Marriott gold isn’t really worth it if you could only get one would you get? the bonvoy brilliant for the platinum status or get ritz Carlton card and try to get enough nights to earn platinum?
Bonvoy Brilliant. I would just never stay enough nights to earn Platinum by itself. But I would get Hilton Gold before I went Bonvoy Platinum.
Adding the gold card provides flexibility, so if an opportunity comes up in another system you can take advantage of it. I don't think hotel points will transfer well to say airlines.
That’s for sure! Aner another reason to sample the trifecta setups to see if that would be a better move!
I am converting my Hilton Surpass into a pseudo business card next year and will spend $15K under "Online Retail" at 4X. I don't like having 2 HH personal cards. If my free night is worth $500, then I would have to spend $100K at 5X on the actual business version to break even!
Very nice!! It was so unfortunate when the Hilton Business card lost the $15k FNC - it really devalued the card hard, and I can see people just using the Hilton Surpass as the business card instead. Would be ok, except it would report to personal credit so have to make some early payments if that's important. So I definitely see your dilemma!
Let me know where the Weston Club is. I'm 0-3.
There's definitely one at Westin at LAX. Used that one a bunch of times, and it's pretty nice!
@@TheCreditFrog
East Coast looking toothed continents, so LAX unfortunately is no longer in my plans.
Maybe for a trip to Taiwan.
I must say that the Weston - North Fort Lauderdale, while it does not have a lounge they do have a nice little bistro, great pool with sauna, and somewhat close to a five star breakfast buffet free for Plat and up.
And they have a lot of suites and I almost always get one of them, just more room and a sofa and windows/views.
An interesting comparison. $325 Gold AF would equal 65k additional HH points.
Which would be 24% in additional points for the gold, however that is assuming 100% spend is dining/grocery.
The Surpass is really surprisingly strong and simple!
Absolutely! Definitely some good food for thought with this one! 🍎
3X uncapped at Costco is probably why the issuer of USAR cannot afford new applicants
I can definitely see that! Such a great earning rate there!!
Not just at Costco, it's everywhere
If your in this game, there is no such thing as a 1 card setup
I know what you mean, but it's so simple!
3rd
You got it Dalton! 🥉
First?
First!! 🥇
@TheCreditFrog do u still have your amex hilton honors credit card with no annual fee? 🤔 I have 4million hilton honors points I'm 5,000 points away from 5 million hilton honors points 🤔
I do! Wow that’s a lot of points! Better start using them!
@@ToboeKey309 Wow. At bare minimum that’s like $20K worth of stays
Costco card is absolutely useless. He should replace it with another Visa such as Active Cash, Signify Cash, Venture X, Venture, Altitude Reserve (for Costco ), Wyndham Business (for gas at Costco)
Lots of great choices here Yuri!
Okay. Sloppy seconds !
Ew. But valid. 🥈
@ somebody has to say it. Also, always look forward to your content. The jump in me when credit frog is on is unrivaled.
Core is Marriott - personal and business - titanium - lifetime Plat.
Secondary: Hilton Surpass, IHG premier and Wyndham business earner.
Bucket list:
Hyatt
IHG business
Hilton Business
Best Western
Choice
I'd like to think that I'm the same! Nice that you're life time platinum though, makes things more flexible with the Brilliant card. Definitely love Hilton and Surpass being secondary. Haven't had much experience with Wyndham.
@@TheCreditFrog I'm looking at Wyndham for USA road trips where Marriott and Hilton are not. They can be another good option for overseas.