The Deal Mommy

I know, I know. It seems nuts to pay a $450 annual fee for a credit card…I thought so until last year when I actually crunched some numbers. But even without the bonus points, this card makes sense if you fly with your family more than once a year. Here’s how:

(After the 25k signup bonus, every year you’ll get)

• $200 Airline credit that comes directly back to your card (as in cash back to you) that you can use for baggage, fees, etc, or GIFT CARDS on American, United, or USAir.
• Airline Lounge access: I estimate this saves me at least $20 per flight in snacks, AND more importantly it gives you access to the best airline staff instead of having to wait in a monster line somewhere if you get stuck.
• Access to transfer bonuses with major airlines and hotels.  This means your usual transfer of 1 to 1 on BA, for instance, can go up  as high as 1.5 to 1 or even more with their special offers.  Last year I took advantage of an offer from BA where the 60,000 miles I transferred to Delta became 90,000 that I combined with some other miles to book a 4 tickets to Ireland this summer.
• Instant gold status with Starwood (Sheaton, Westin, etc.) hotels which you can then status match.
• Small Business Saturday: $25 back the Saturday after Thanksgiving
• Frequent Twitter and Facebook Sync promos with retailers: I’ve saved an average of $200/year on these.

There are tons of other benefits, such as the “Fine Hotels and Resorts” program I used last Spring Break to book the Hyatt Chesapeake at a room rate of $179 and ended up with $215 in room credit!  But even if you just use the airline ones, you’ll come out ahead if you’re buying more than four tickets a year with this card.