Hey, I could use some help. I have been out of the churning game for so long (think 15-20 years) that I don't even know where to start. I live in a small town in Texas where our only full jet service is SW. AA and United fly out as well, but it is their small, regional service planes. We are small business owners and do a fair amount of business travel, so keeping our SW companion pass is really important. I haven't applied for a credit card in many years and our credit is pristine. I often ask clients about the card they are using and what they love most about it, but after I found this thread, I realized this is where the experts live. FWIW, I just recently discovered there were bonus offers I could click with y Chase Disney and SW. What would you suggest?
Current Cards:
Southwest Business Visa (basic one) we always hit the 110,000 points for a companion pass with charges--credits to Mr's SW account
Southwest Visa (basic). never use it. credits to my SW account. Paying 69/yr for really nothing
United Explorer (basic 99/yr). We fly United 1-2 times a year. This card pays for an extra bag for each of us so it is a wash. In the "olden days" we got Priority Boarding. never use it.
Disney (basic) the grocery/misc. card. We get maybe a few hundred a year in reward dollars.
Capital One Business--absolutely no rewards. However, the interest rate is often next to nothing (3%) so it is sometimes used for short term business debt.
Citi Rewards+ Business--didn't even know we had this one until I saw it on our credit report. Never Use it.
Amex Platinum Business (with a second card) pay 599 + 300. We don't fully utilize this card. We keep it for the Priority Pass memberships, Centurion Club, $200 American credit and the rental car protection--really important for overseas car rentals. Once a year, each of us have to rent cars in our own name so we need both of the cards. Plus, it stinks if I am traveling sans the Mr and don't have club access.
Hilton Honors Amex. no fee. This is a sentimental card. It was my first cc over 25 years ago. I let my daughter use it for "emergencies" so it doesn't get any use at all. Since the Mr is the primary for the Amex Plat, he gets automatic gold status and we use his account for everything. This does come with a silver membership.
Goals: we travel quite a bit. We cruise on RC once every other year and fly primarily SW (because of the companion pass). We do a tiny bit of international travel every few years, but I'm not loyal to airlines. It is often whatever one had the best schedule at the moment. We are pretty basic--we might upgrade to business class on occasion. I'm not brand loyal on hotels. The Amex gives us gold status with Marriott and Hilton. I have some legacy status with IGH. We really are DL people, but we make it to WDW every other year. Hitting a minimum spending on any card shouldn't be a problem. I would just stop using the Disney or the debit card on the personal side to hit it.
What would you do in my situation?
