I'm a bit of a planner so I usually map out my churns at the beginning of the year and when I look at my options for current signup bonuses my reaction is too shrug my shoulders. Nothing really strikes me as too exciting. With the exception of getting a couple of cards I know I need I think I may just sit on the sideline next year and go for any big promotions that might pop up. Am I alone in feeling that way? I think I must be crazy not getting excited about the plethora of 50k signup bonuses, but it has become such the norm that it is almost a disappointment, "eh, just another boring 50k signup bonus."
I think that planning in advance for "specials" to show up is probably an exercise which will lead to disappointment, mostly because the specials aren't generally announced way in advance.
I don't know, if you are on a quarterly schedule and do three 50K cards each churn you are looking at 600K miles/points a year. Not a horrible haul. I still like the 2X Citi 50K AA Personal or 50K HHonors cards at a time. Ink cards for 50K are pretty good, too.
The one card that has got me curious is the Fairmont card. If my wife does that too that would be 4 nights at Fairmont Maui which is a pretty incredible hotel. My one hesitation about the card is I'm not sure how available they make the free nights.
I agree. I've been searching, but no clear winning offer. Wondering about the Hilton 65K no fee amex, though
That one is only good until the end of the November, and as some have said, the value prop is less for that one card than for the 2 Citi personal Hilton cards. If you went for all 3, and added in the 2 Hawaiian cards, you could be looking at quite the Hilton haul. (say that fast a few times)
I mean, I still got that deal, because I didn't want to press my luck with Citi after the 2 AA trick in the prior quarter, and it also opens up both AXON and GLON awards, as well as the 6x points for Vanilla Reloads @ CVS, so the value prop was a little higher for me, also because it's a no-annual fee card, and I plan to keep this one forever. You really need to assess your own value prop to the cards. I was excited about the United 65k card though.
I got the Fairmont card hoping to use the nights in Maui, but it didn't work out for us. (Initially, the middle night wasn't available, so I booked elsewhere because our trip was coming up and I needed the planning to be finished; eventually the space did open up.). Look for the "Fairmont" room category; that is what you can book with the certificates. if you book far enough ahead, and/or have flexible dates, you should be able to find space.
That is what it all comes down to - personal choice of mile/point value, based on our destination needs in a particular time frame.
