Hi all,
Please help me figure out what's the best credit card offer RIGHT NOW to maximise my savings as I'm planning to pay for $5k travel tickets. I've no current credit cards and I haven't had any during the past 12 months so I'm pretty sure I'll be eligible for most current offers.
Thanks in advance.
i would use the credit card that has at least 5k on it, it should work with no issues. glad i can help.
American Express Platinum Charge (if you can qualify)
Reason:
CONS:
$1,450 annual fee if you can stomach that cost.
When I applied for this card, I didn't think I would benefit from it. I booked my free night with Sofitel. I used to don't like to go early to the airport but now, I love it because of free food, free drinks, and a place to shower/relax. It really paid off when my wife was injured during a trip. We claimed lost income for 3 months and AMEX Platinum paid my wife's lost income for 2 months (waiting period is 30 days).
I would not keep this card for 2nd year though. The value is still there but I prefer churning to get that bonus points.
Op is spending 5k on his flights I don’t think he wants to spend 1450 on a annual credit card fee
@Wiadro exactly. I was hoping that someone will give me a few options with maximum saving including no annual fee or a reasonable one at least.
Please help me figure out what's the best credit card offer
You asked for the best and Jetkuma provided that.
@Baysew: True, but I asked for "best offer … to maximise my savings". The annual fee on that AMEX is just ridiculous. But thanks again @Jetkuma for your feedback. I appreciate it.
@mc7alazoun: Have a look at Australian Credit Cards - Which cards should you get to have an all-rounded portfolio that suits all your needs?
Jetkuma did put a lot of effort in their reply.
What is your goal? Free travel insurance, airmiles, free gift cards etc?
The goal is to save as much as possible I can on that 5k. It doesn't matter whether it's airmiles, cashback or gift cards. Whatever card will allow me to maximise how I much I get back out of the $5k which could also be $6k as tickets are already increasing day after day.
'What is your goal? Free travel insurance …'
You should definitely factor travel insurance into your thinking/choice OP; and make sure it covers COVID-19-related expenses. Most cards will give you some sort of free travel insurance for that kind of spend, but the policies/degrees of cover will vary dramatically. Some will be largely limited to health cover; but others will include things like lost luggage, cancelled/missed flights, etc.
If you can pay using AMEX for travel the try the AMEX explorer with a referral. It will net you 70k + 30k referral points for a total of 100k MR points worth $500. Which you can use to pay off your flights almost straight away. You also get a $400 travel credit to offset the $395 fee. Since you’re travelling anyways you can use that credit for hotels or other flights. Amex also comes with lounge passes and many other benefits like travel insurance ect. Otherwise the best value credit card hands down is ANZ Frequent flyer black.
https://www.pointhacks.com.au/credit-cards/
Points Hacks has an up to date list of the current offers.
Worth keeping in mind that if you intend to buy tickets RIGHT NOW, flight costs may increase between RIGHT NOW and when you are able to start spending money on your card. So factor the extra cost in your decision.