I just don't have the time and every time I try to use miles to fly I have to double the time I fly. Not worth it. I just use 2% cash back for both and cash my checks.
On Sat, Aug 6, 2016, 6:26 PM Forrest Christian (List Account) < [email protected]> wrote: > For redemption purposes, I value chase and starwood points at 2 cents per > point, although I regularly use points for more than that amount. That > means that for the chase ink I'm getting at least 2%, usually a bit more. > Except for the higher-cash back amount categories. > > If you want cash, then you need to use a 1 cent per point for your > calculation. So everyday spend on the chase business card would be 1%, and > others would correspond to the higher point value. If you're willing to > book your travel through their portal (which has at least as good of > pricing as everywhere else), then you can use 1.25 cents per point if you > have a sapphire preferred, otherwise still the same 1 cent per point. > > I'm guessing you're using the capital one cash back card since it's 2%... > The potential challenge with cash back cards for the business is that > the official IRS stance is that the cash back needs to be treated as a > reduction in the purchase price of whatever it is you're buying, or if it > ends up in your pocket it needs to be treated as income. > > Miles and points, they don't currently care about, unless you take cash > back. > > My strategy is that the business always earns points. I want the benefits > in my pocket directly, and I don't want to argue with the IRS about not > accounting for the cash back. Which means I end up earning points. > > The personal side, I have a 2% cash back card that I was using for > everything other than travel and the 5% category. Right up until chase > released the 1.5 points per dollar card, which I can use for 3%+ of > redemptions. > > I agree that maximizing these rewards is a bit of a pain. So is packing > around a thick wallet. It isn't as bad as you'd think though once you get > used to it. Especially once you become aware of some of the tools. See > http://awardmapper.com/ as an example. > > On Sat, Aug 6, 2016 at 12:01 PM, Travis Johnson <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Hi, >> >> This is all great information... but I would still like to see a point >> value vs cash back. My main business card gets me 2% Cashback (which I have >> a check mailed to me personally about every six months, so it doesn't >> appear anywhere on the business) and my personal card also gives me 2% >> cashback (which I can just apply directly to my balance every 3-4 months). >> >> So if you were to spend $5k on a single card that generates points/miles, >> what is the actual cash value of those points or miles? I'm asking because >> I would like to see if there is much difference, without playing all the >> transfer games. At some point you have to factor your time into all this as >> well... if you spend hours each month trying to move points around, that is >> costing you something as well. Personally, even when I just started out in >> the WISP industry, I figured my time was worth at least $100/hour (that >> would have been 20 years ago). >> >> Not to mention trying to track every single purchase and use the proper >> card for every item is too confusing... and then having to pay 4-5 >> different card balances each month would be a huge pain as well. :) >> >> Travis >> >> >> >> On 8/5/2016 10:17 PM, Forrest Christian (List Account) wrote: >> >> This gets somewhat complicated. Let me try to explain, with some >> background: >> >> I have the following for business purposes: >> >> 1) Chase Ink. This earns chase miles, at a rate of 1 point per dollar >> for most things, plus 5 points per dollar for office supplies, cellular, >> internet, cable, and 2 points for gas stations and either restaurants (ink >> plus) or hotels (ink cash). The ink plus has an annual fee (I Think $95), >> and the ink cash doesn't. There's another bonus of the ink plus, I'll get >> to in a minute. >> >> 2) AMEX Starwood Preferred Guest Business Card. This earns 1 starwood >> point per dollar, plus more at starwood hotels (aka sheraton, westin, >> etc). ($95 Annual fee) >> >> 3) AMEX Business Rewards Gold. This earns 1 membership rewards point per >> dollar for everything, and 3 points per dollar on one of : Airfare from >> airlines, advertising, gas stations, shipping, and certain computer-related >> purchases. The remaining categories get 2 points per dollar. $175 annual >> fee. >> >> I use the Amex gold exclusively for shipping, and for everything else I >> alternate between the starwood and chase ink depending on which type of >> points I need. Mostly the starwood points, since I'm swimming in chase >> points right now. >> >> For personal I use the following cards: >> >> 1) Chase Sapphire Preferred. $95 annual fee. Earns *2* chase points per >> dollars on travel (hotels, airfare, etc, but not gas) and restaurants. 1 >> point everywhere else. This has the same bonus as the ink plus above... >> again, description in a minute. >> >> 2) Chase Freedom (original). NO annual fee. Earns 5 points on a >> different category every quarter, and 1 point everywhere else. The >> categories so far this year have included grocieries, movies, and right now >> costco and restaurants. These are limited by $1500 per quarter, BUT gift >> cards and similar count. So during the groceries month, we stocked up on >> canned goods, and then bought safeway and albertsons gift cards. Same for >> the movies (we have a few hundred dollars of gift cards now from the movie >> theatres). >> >> 3) Chase Unlimited. No annual fee. 1.5 points everywhere. >> >> I use the sapphire for all travel purchases, business or not. Bonus is >> that it includes primary auto rental insurance, along with a few other >> interesting travel benefits (no foreign transaction fee, etc). I use the >> Freedom for the first $1500 of whatever category it's earning on. I use >> the Unlimited for everything else. >> >> So here's the reason why I use the above cards: >> >> They all earn 'transferrable' miles. This means that you can transfer >> these points to other rewards programs where they can be worth more. >> >> For instance, Membership rewards points are transferrable to delta for >> delta miles, which is the primary reason I continue to earn membership >> rewards points. Most of the other transfer partners are kinda Meh, but a >> list is here: >> http://thetravelsisters.com/amex-membership-rewards-airline-hotel-transfer-partners/. >> >> >> The starwood points are also transferrable to a lot of other programs. >> See >> http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2015/08/12/starwood-transfer-partners-airlines/ >> for an example list. Personally I use the starwood points primarily for >> hotel rooms with starwood itself. As an example, I booked the westin Grand >> in berlin for 5 nights a total of 40,000 starwood points. Booking this >> same room right now would be $937.13 USD for the stay, which means each of >> those starwood points are worth over 2.3 cents per point for this >> booking. If I'm earning them at 1 cent per point, then this is a 2.3% >> redemption. >> >> The chase points are also transferrable, IF you have a premium card. >> This is the sapphire preferred or the Ink plus. A recent redemption for >> me was to move some chase points to hyatt, and book three nights in SLC at >> the hyatt place out by the airport. Total number of points, 15,000. That >> particular weekend, I couldn't find a decent hotel for less than >> $120/night, which means this redemption was worth 2.4 cents per point. >> This multiplication factor is why the transferrable programs are so >> useful. Without either of the premium cards, you basically get to redeem >> at 1 cent per point, making the points way less valuable. >> >> Chase also has a really nice portal for reserving rental cars, hotels, >> and airfare, often with prices below what you can obtain elsewhere. You >> can also use miles to pay for them, but only at 1.25 cents per point, which >> is fine if you've got more miles than you know what to do with. >> >> So, if I was starting from scratch, I would: >> >> 1) Get a chase ink plus card. This is no annual fee for the first year, >> and gives you 60,000 bonus miles after a $5K spend. >> >> 2) Get a chase sapphire preferred card. Excellent travel card. 50,000 >> bonus miles after $4,000 spend. No annual fee first year, $95 after. >> >> 3) Get both the sapphire freedom (original) and sapphire freedom >> (unlimited). Pay attention to signup bonuses. >> >> In a year the annual fee applied, I'd call chase and ask them to change >> either sapphire preferred or the ink to a no annual fee product. (This >> gets you the bonus, and a year of figuring out if you want to keep the >> sapphire or ink). >> >> Note the above should get you at least $1100 worth of travel at 1 cent >> per point, or $1375 if you use the rewards portal to book, or probably at >> least $2K if you are picky about your resumptions. >> >> I'd only consider the amex gold card if I knew I was spending enough on >> one of the categories for it to make sense to pay the annual fee. >> >> In relation to the starwood card: Starwood just got bought by >> Marriott. There are a lot of questions regarding the future of this >> program. >> >> Two final notes: >> >> Chase has a rule known not-so-affectionally as the 5/24 rule. This means >> that if you've opened more than 4 credit cards across ALL providers in the >> past 24 months you will be denied. So, you'd need to verify the timing of >> any cards you have applied for (including authorized users). Probably >> safest to look at 'date opened' on your credit file to determine if you're >> eligible. >> >> And finally, if you don't want to play the points game, I'd probably >> still recommend the chase ink, and then use either the new costco card or >> the citi double cash for personal items - or one of the the capital one 2% >> cards if you want to use your points for travel. >> >> Two websites which should become part of your reading: >> >> http://www.thepointsguy.com/ - higher end points travel, but good to >> know about what's going on in travel and earning. >> http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/ - similar focus, but more about 'budget' >> travel as opposed to getting high end travel for free. >> >> >> >> >> On Tue, Aug 2, 2016 at 2:34 PM, Chuck McCown <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> A few months ago we had a pretty good discussion about the best deals >>> for credit cards. >>> Today, I am looking for a better deal for company purchases. I like my >>> Capital One Visa that gives good miles. I use the miles and like to store >>> them up for my annual trips to England. >>> >>> But I figured I may as well start getting either miles or dollars or >>> super low interest or something for the company credit card. >>> Anyone have favorites for company use? >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> *Forrest Christian* *CEO**, PacketFlux Technologies, Inc.* >> Tel: 406-449-3345 | Address: 3577 Countryside Road, Helena, MT 59602 >> [email protected] | http://www.packetflux.com >> <http://www.linkedin.com/in/fwchristian> >> <http://facebook.com/packetflux> <http://twitter.com/@packetflux> >> >> >> > > > -- > *Forrest Christian* *CEO**, PacketFlux Technologies, Inc.* > Tel: 406-449-3345 | Address: 3577 Countryside Road, Helena, MT 59602 > [email protected] | http://www.packetflux.com > <http://www.linkedin.com/in/fwchristian> <http://facebook.com/packetflux> > <http://twitter.com/@packetflux> > >
