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As I've gotten another year older, there's something I feel strongly about these days.
The problem is that chasing card perks feels like an Olympic sport.
- Credits you have to hunt down every month
- Credits you need to find and eat every quarter
- Credits to find and eat in the first half
- Credits that you need to find and eat once a year.
There's so much stuff out there that getting a card perk feels like two forward rolls, three backward rolls, turn around and jump off the average, three jumps, turn around and rip your leg off.
Depositphotos: 119209748
I started the miles game thinking, ‘I'm just going to collect some miles to help pay for my trip to Korea, and maybe visit my family for a day or two when I have time,' but it feels like a full-time job, and I'm so busy that I feel like I'm being evangelized.
I can totally relate to how you feel, and after nearly 20 years of collecting miles, it's something I feel every day.
In today's post, I'll give you a quick rundown of why this happens and what the alternatives could be.
Table of Contents
1. The downside of premium cards: success fatigue
Where did this fatigue come from?
There are a lot of different opinions out there, but my personal preference is to use the Chase's Sapphire Reserve card (Chase Sapphire Reserve® )'s success is likely due to the increased competition for premium cards.
The Sapphire Reserve card was first released in 2016, and as we all know, it made a splash right from the start.
Before that, even the premium cards American Express Platinum Card® from Amexwas pretty much the only card available, and at the time, it was a pretty expensive annual fee that made it a big commitment to sign up for, even with a pretty good welcome bonus.
However, the Sapphire Reserve card, which launched in 2016 with a $450 annual fee, was the prelude to a new trend in affordable luxury-or should I say affordable luxury: the democratization of luxury travel, where anyone can enjoy premium benefits when it comes to travel, even if they aren't wealthy.
While Amex has been adding benefits and raising annual fees to compete with Chase, late-comers like Capital One have jumped into the fray, and the result is the “coupon book”ization of premium cards.
If we just raise the annual fee, we're going to lose a lot of customers, so we're going to raise the annual fee, but we're going to give them benefits in return, and we're going to make the whole ecosystem almost like a game, and I think that's what they thought.
But the result is extreme fatigue.
The annual fee has risen sharply, so you have to be diligent to get all the benefits every month. So even if you don't have to go to the airport lounge, you have to wait 30 minutes to an hour to get in, thinking about the annual fee, otherwise you feel like you're losing a lot of money.
So what should you do?
There are three things I can tell you.
2. We're not suggesting you give up your signup bonus.
I think I should start with the most important thing first.
Overcoming miles game fatigue doesn't mean giving up card signup bonuses.
As a reminder You don't earn miles by flying or spending on your card, you earn them through sign-up bonuses on your credit card.
So you could say that ditching a credit card sign-up bonus is tantamount to giving up on the miles game itself.
The important thing is that
- You'll still get the card signup bonus, but the
- While reducing overall fatigue
- The idea is that you only keep the cards you really need.
3. It's okay to keep premium cards you don't need for only one year.
With that in mind, I think it's a good idea to keep unneeded premium cards for just one year.
The reason for the one year is that you basically have to create the card and maintain it for a year or so.
Some card companies make this clear in their terms and conditions, while others don't, but if you cancel your card after receiving a bonus in a short period of time, it can cause problems when applying for future cards, and in some cases, they may even take the bonus back.
And I have to pay a year's annual fee to get all the benefits ;);
The problem is that it will be a year after the card is used.
My recommendation is to only keep the card at a level you can afford.
Amex Platinum these days, Business Platinum (The Business Platinum Card® from American Express I know there are some people who splurge and keep multiple copies because the deals are so good (I'm looking at you, Lululemon).
I think it's worth doing the math to make sure that it's really financially beneficial, and that you're not spending money you don't have to and feeling like you're getting something back.
4. Let's keep it simple.
In that regard, I think it's time to go simple with the cards you hold for a long time.
For example, the Chase Personal Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Chase Business Ink Preferred® Credit Card.
As we all know, to really take advantage of Chase's UR points, you need to have a so-called Dorrance card that transfers to airlines/hotels.
Without a Dorrance card, UR points can only be redeemed for cash.
In that regard, I'd say the Dorrance card is a must, but the annual fee for the premium Dorrance card is way too high.
- Personal Sapphire Reserve Cardnow costs $$795 per year.
- Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ Card The same is true for the $795 fire.
The first year of getting a card is a great time to find sign-up bonuses and other perks that pay for the annual fee, but in the second year, as I mentioned earlier, fatigue can set in.
- The Edit credits are great, but having to do it every two nights is a burden.
- Paying $5 a month for a DoorDash credit is not really worth it ;);
With that in mind, I think it makes more sense now to hold onto cards with Dorrance and low annual fees for the long term.
1) For the Personal Sapphire Preferred Card
- The annual fee is $95, but you can get $50 back when you book a hotel through Chase Travel, so the effective annual fee is $45. Even if you don't chase these credits, the $95 annual fee feels like nothing compared to the $$795 card ;);
- Current offer is 3 months for $5,000 and 75,000 pointsso it's not a huge deal, but it's not a bad deal either.
2) For Ink Preferred cards that are business cards, you can also use the
- It has a $95 annual fee. Compared to the $795 annual fee for the Sapphire Business, which is both a business card and a Dorrance card, this is chewing gum.
- Current offer is 3 months for $8,000 and 100,000 points.
- You can now use the annual fee-free Ink Cash (Ink Business Cash® Credit Card), Ink Unlimited (Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card)has changed its terms and conditions, so Ink Preferred is a good alternative for those who want to add a business card.
| Info | Dorrance cards with low annual fees |
|---|---|
| Recommendations | Both cards have a Dorrance feature that allows you to convert earned UR points to airline miles and hotel points. |
| Annual fee | Both cards have an annual fee of $95 for the first year. The relatively low annual fee is a plus. |
| For more info | Personal cards Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card 75,000 UR points after spending $5,000 in 3 months |
| For more info | Business cards Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card 100,000 UR points after spending $8,000 in 3 months |
These cards don't have The Edit credits or travel credits, but they do have a low annual fee, so you can avoid having to make up trips to get there.
Of course, I know there are plenty of people who use the credit as an excuse to travel extensively, and I've been a ‘miles lead the way" traveler for quite some time, so I know the benefits.
It's just that I'm tired of it (at least at my age) lol.
Let's wrap up today's post.
I wish the world was simpler, but it seems to be getting more and more complicated, and my days seem to be going in circles these days ;);
If you have any ideas on how you keep things simple and organized, I'd love to hear them in the comments.
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38 Comments. Leave new
I completely agree with MileMoA. I have 7-8 cards with annual fees over $300, so I'm spending thousands of dollars a year, and even though they say they offset this with benefits, I feel like I've gotten into a luxury spending pattern that I've never had in my life, such as eating at fancy restaurants, staying at hotels I wouldn't otherwise stay at, and being proud of my Lululemon freebies. Now that the cards are 1-2 years old, I'm reflecting on them and trying to organize them (except for a couple of sick ones ^ ^). Thank you.
I often wonder if I'm taking the easy way out too far these days, since I can get a business round-trip ticket to Korea just by collecting the annual fee;
I'm not sure if it's a good idea to do this, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea to do it at all. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to do it at all, and I'm not sure if it's a good idea to do it at all. ㅠㅠ As Milemoa said, I spend a lot of money on things I shouldn't, and in the end, it's my money...
Milemoa, I heard that the Chase parlor has changed, so if I got the Shari signup bonus, will I not get the signup bonus when I open the Sharp for the first time?
I realized I spelled Shari as Sharp and it didn't correct, so I'm leaving a comment. I've been thinking about posting this for a month now. It would help me decide if I could see the hotel point deductions from Chase Travel.
If you have a preferred date/hotel, please ask on the message board and I'm sure members will be able to help.
Last year, the rules changed and it was said that you couldn't hold both Sharp and Sari.
The rules changed again in late January, and now Sari and Sharp are considered separate, and you can apply for Sharp even if you have a Sari card.
However, there's a problem: the terms and conditions of the card application are still the same as last year's rules, so you might want to wait and see what happens.
I was wondering when this would be posted on MileMoa, but you posted it. You're right, that's why I'm hesitant to sign up for cards with high annual fees. I've been hesitant to sign up for coupon book cards that don't fit my lifestyle for sign-up bonuses since last year. That doesn't make it easy to find and redeem award tickets, but I've kept the Ritz-Carlton card and haven't canceled it.
I think it's a little too much these days ;; I think the card companies need to wake up.
Yes, eventually I'll turn around and be pure lol.
I'm not a fan of the coupon book, it's very tiring and gives me a bigger belly button than my stomach. I miss the days when UR was over Dan Gong.
I don't know if those days will ever come back.
Thanks for the great article. I'm planning on getting Ink Preferred as well, but I'll have to be careful about the activity driven by the benefits of coupon cards.
The first year is fine, but the second year is the hardest.
I totally agree with you. I can't tell you how many times I've traveled not because of miles, but because I'm looking for deals, and it's left me tired and frustrated (hotel prices are too high). I'm going to go back to the old days of slowly collecting miles.
Thin and long seems to be the answer.
I think the days of earning miles easily are gone (are the good days gone?), and of course, it's much harder to spend miles as the economy is tougher than it used to be. I think people who have this as their full-time job have to maintain a certain balance, because it becomes too difficult to keep up with everything while living a busy life, or else you may end up burning out and not being able to do anything.
I'm holding a Sharp, but I've rarely used hotel credit, I think I've used it once, and I just gave up because it's hard to do door-to-door. I'm just buying the transfer function for $95/year. Of course, it's hard for me to find them all, so I can't ask my P2 to do it all. Amex has its pain points, bumps, etc. but I'm trying to find as much as I can, but it's not easy at all. Plus, at some point, there were several cases of unnecessary spending on trips led by miles/accommodation.
I think we're going to have to think about what we're going to do in the future. I think it's still going to be signup eating, but I think we're going to have to eat the ones that have a long enough credit history and aren't going to be around for a long time, and then we're going to have to eat the ones that are not going to be around for a long time.
Thanks for the great article.
You're thinking the same thing I am. It would be nice to have a steady stream of good offers so I can keep it going.
Thanks for the great article.
We're glad you found this helpful.
I'm on 4/24 and was wondering what to do with my last Chase card, so when you posted this, I applied as soon as I saw it.
I've always gotten unconditional reconsideration with a small credit line, but this time I was approved as soon as I applied for the first time! I guess my credit score is slowly but surely improving lol.
Thanks for always being so informative! I'll have to start studying UR now lol.
Congratulations on your approval. Your first mermaid is an impressive one, and we hope you get many more.
I'm one of the first people to jump into the mile game by opening the 2016 Sapphire Reserve with Milemoa and I'm always grateful for it! I've been keeping it for 10 years now (I didn't realize I was so loyal to one brand...maybe I am?) This time, with the annual fee going up, I was thinking about canceling the reserve I've kept for 10 years, but I decided to use the EDIT credit $750 at the Four Seasons in Korea this time and just keep it ;; I often go to concerts and soccer games ($300 per year), and I usually take EPTV and EP Music with me, so I don't think the annual fee is worth it. However, I wish there was a PP lounge at LAX.
If you can find all the benefits without too much trouble, you should keep it 🙂 .
Yes, simple sharp is best for someone like me who can't find too many options and benefits well. I'm not good at finding other benefits and just want the sign-up bonus... hehe By the way, when I applied for Biz Shari, I got a call asking me to verify my business, so I was weak and just gave up without being able to answer... ㅠㅠ Anyway, thank you for posting a good article.
Biz Sari I think you'll get approved if you answer truthfully, because if you say something completely ridiculous, you'll get rejected right away.
Ah, I see... Am I being unnecessarily scared? I'll have to give it another try, thanks for your kind response.
Good luck.
Happy New Year to you too, Mamo, and stay healthy.
I can really relate to your post. They do a lot of things that don't need to be done to make up for the expensive annual fee...:(
I realized that if I saved up all the annual fees, I could get a cash ticket for a business flight to Korea ;);
I don't know when the annual fee goes out because I can't manage it if I have a lot of cards...I end up opening and closing about one a year...Thank you for always good articles.
You're very strict!
Thank you for your article. I'm a beginner magicker in my second year who is very worried about keeping the Sari card. I've been thinking about opening other premium cards that have made me sick several times over the past year, but I kept putting off applying because I thought it would be too much for my business travels and lifestyle, but then I read your post. I think I should go in a direction that's not too much.
Yes. I think it's reasonable to let it work with your travel/spending patterns and not force it.
It's been over a decade since I've read you. I totally agree with this article. I used the Sari card so well for about 3 years when the annual fee was not over $500... When the pandemic hit, I canceled all my premium cards. It's funny, it actually saves me money and I can enjoy more diverse experiences cheaper with Airbnb, for example, when I go to Hawaii. Nowadays, I just use Korean Air mileage earning card. ㅎㅎ
Well done, you've done a great job 🙂 .
Happy New Year Mamo, I can so relate to your post. I'm hesitant to get into the miles game because I feel like it's become one of those things that causes me to spend unnecessarily (although I'm thinking about opening a business Ink Preferred at this very moment.... ) I have both the Ink Cash and Ink Unleashed (and luckily got the sign-up bonuses on both), and the Preferred popped up as preapproved...should I close and open one or the other? I know you said you can't hold them simultaneously because of the change in terms...but I'm worried that if I open the Preferred and then the sign-up bonus comes through, it won't work...? Is this possible?
I understand that you can't have both no-annual-fee Ink cards (when applying for a new one), but that doesn't mean you can't have the Ink Preferred. Since you currently have the Ink Cash and your sister, I think the correct answer is to go for the Ink Preferred.
Lately, I've been getting 5 points per dollar for shell card purchases from Chase Cash Business Card Staples and Office Depot, how's that working out for you?
Oh, I'm not sure about this, if it's true, I'm guessing there's some coding change when using the card.