Good morning all, I know this has come up before but in my search the threads I've seen are a few years old, which is actually relevant to what I'm pondering.

I currently have a rewards points card - Wells Fargo Autograph (used to be WF Propel) and I'm starting to look into travel rewards cards to start saving for an overseas trip we intend to take in a few years. There are a few current offerings out there that seem to be the best at the moment, but it seems like travel rewards have cooled off a bit in value compared to regular points. Example:

My Wells Fargo Autograph card has no annual fee, and gives me 3x points on all travel and restaurants, among other things, and 1x points on everything else. It seems like the current offerings basically offer the same rewards points scale just in miles instead of cash back, or at least it doesn't seem like the difference is enough to switch. We put about $2000 on the card per month. We use the card for everything and pay it off every two weeks. We don't book a lot of hotels and rarely fly. 850 credit score.

Wells Fargo Autograph - No Fee, 3x points on dining and travel, 1x on everything else. No welcome bonus to consider (been having it for years). Limited transfer partner list.

CapitalOne Venture Rewards - $95 fee, 2x on everything, 5x on hotels through their portal. Kicker is you have to book through their travel portal to enjoy those higher rewards. Not sure how much I can trust their portal. Welcome bonus is 75,000 miles + $250 credit. Great transfer partner list.

CapitalOne Venture X - $395 Free, 10,000 miles per year bonus, 2x miles on all purchases, 10x for hotels and airline travel. Plus a $300 annual credit through their portal. Welcome bonus is 75,000 miles. Great transfer partner list.

Chase Sapphire Preferred - $95 Fee, 2x on travel, 3x on groceries, 1x on everything else. 60,000 miles welcome bonus. Decent transfer partner list.

It seems like years past there was more value for travel rewards than a regular points system, but now it seems like they are pretty much even. I'm having trouble deciding if it's even worth getting a travel rewards cards or sticking with what we have. I don't mind paying an annual fee on a card since most cards make up that difference within their benefits. Am I missing something?

This post was edited on 8/14/24 at 12:19 pm

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Posted by notsince98

KC, MO

Member since Oct 2012

20185 posts

Posted on 8/14/24 at 12:45 pm to TheBoo

cash is king.

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Posted by NaturalBeam

Member since Sep 2007

14647 posts

Posted on 8/14/24 at 1:23 pm to TheBoo

From a cash equivalency perspective, you'll probably do better with a straight up cashback card.

There are some other perks with travel cards, such as free checked bags, potential for upgrades, etc. that make miles reward cards more valuable, though it doesn't sound like you travel enough and/or spend enough on the credit card for that to make sense. IMO.

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Posted by TheBoo

South to Louisiana

Member since Aug 2012

5147 posts

Posted on 8/14/24 at 1:55 pm to NaturalBeam

quote:
From a cash equivalency perspective, you'll probably do better with a straight up cashback card.

There are some other perks with travel cards, such as free checked bags, potential for upgrades, etc. that make miles reward cards more valuable, though it doesn't sound like you travel enough and/or spend enough on the credit card for that to make sense. IMO.

This is what I'm leaning towards. My main reason for looking is the big miles bonuses on some of them that would come in handy toward the future trip.

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