For traveling around as a tourist, I agree. My comment was about longer stays of weeks/months outside the US. The longer the stay, the more your purchases approach the same as at home-supermarkets, books, clothes, etc., etc. most of these are non-bonused, or bonused on cards with forex fees that make using the card uneconomic.But what, exactly is that? Hotels and restaurants are pretty much it and even taxis and public transit probably earn bonuses.
Got it. We lived abroad for two years and have spent a month or more on occasion. When we lived in Hà Nội, we knew nothing of points, miles or fees. Now we have a bunch of cards without the fee. It burned me that AX Hilton Honors has a fee, so I couldn't use it abroad. could but chose not to.For traveling around as a tourist, I agree. My comment was about longer stays of weeks/months outside the US. The longer the stay, the more your purchases approach the same as at home-supermarkets, books, clothes, etc., etc. most of these are non-bonused, or bonused on cards with forex fees that make using the card uneconomic.
I think you may not realize that most US issued cards are chip and signature, not chip and pin. Arrival+ is one of the few last I checked.I have the Arrivals + but have shelved it thinking CSR is superior with 3X on hotels and restaurants no forex fee and like all of my current cards is chip/pin
Even as tourists we still do grocery stores and buy a ton of souvenirs. And entrance tickets; those that aren't arranged in advance (which might score 2% with some cards, others not). Books! Yes. So there are still plenty of tourist expenses that can't find a bonus.For traveling around as a tourist, I agree. My comment was about longer stays of weeks/months outside the US. The longer the stay, the more your purchases approach the same as at home-supermarkets, books, clothes, etc., etc. most of these are non-bonused, or bonused on cards with forex fees that make using the card uneconomic.
Nice! We are old and don't have children so saving is not a huge priority. Also we don't buy anything other than the odd tiny souvenir. We never go to grocery stores except for water which is usually given in abundance at hotels. We have had $25000 trips with less than 150$ spent on non-hotel/restaurant feesEven as tourists we still do grocery stores and buy a ton of souvenirs. And entrance tickets; those that aren't arranged in advance (which might score 2% with some cards, others not). Books! Yes. So there are still plenty of tourist expenses that can't find a bonus.
So the math (for me) is if an additional 1% of all of that spend exceeds the $89 a year fee and exceeds it enough to warrant worrying about it. For me, it doesn't work well enough but I certainly can see how it might for others. This is also my second Arrival+ card and bonus. Which wouldn't be possible if I had kept the first.
Right. And as I spelled out above, "my plan" was to spend exactly $3750 and no more on each card to get a full $600 in rebates with minimal remainders. I was very successful with this on my own card ... I have $600 in travel credits already claimed with 508 points left ... I will ignore these. I had a bad 2-visit experience with my local Simon Mall and ended up using gc.com (and overspending a little) to finish my wife's card. We've claimed her $600 but have a 1200+ point balance. I am also going to ignore those and not advance it.also, those of you looking to optimize the redemption to the fullest, remember the minimum redemption is $100/10K miles
I think that's a different situation, as the new Aviator that became available in late December 2016 is considered a different product than the [edit: old] Aviator that Barclays issued as replacement for converted US Airways cards.I got approved for Barclay Aviator few weeks back, while still had the old one open. Never tried on Arrival +
DoC and other sources advise waiting six months between Barclay apps. That's always worked for my loving wife and me, until the above note where I jumped the gun and applied after five months and got rejected.3 months later, denied again.