近视手术优惠:The Most Rewarding Credit Card? It Depends

The Most Rewarding Credit Card? It DependsBy TIM WINSHIP, Smarter TravelMay 12, 2011—In Capital One's seemingly omnipresent ad campaign, viewers are asked,What's in your wallet? A better question for consumers, however, wouldbe, What do you want from what's in your wallet?Because while there are cards catering to every need, if not every want,there's no single card that delivers it all. So when choosing a card,it's important to focus on which of the many available perks areworthwhile and which are extraneous -- not least because the cards'annual fees can reach a sobering $450.With more options than ever, the choice is as difficult as it's everbeen. And as crucial.With the easing of the credit crunch, credit card issuers have been on acustomer-acquisition binge, rolling out shiny new cards, adding lusterto old cards with new benefits, and offering ever-more generousincentives to sign up for the cards.And of all the species and sub-species of credit cards, those that awardmiles and points -- the travel-rewards cards -- have come in for themost attention.Today, for travel-rewards chasers, miles and points are a given. Butthey're just the beginning. Want more miles, status, reduced fees, awarddiscounts? There are cards for those, and other benefits as well.Following are the key card-related benefits currently on offer fortravelers, together with some of the cards that feature them, and theannual fees to keep them in your wallet.Airport Lounge AccessPurchasing an annual airport lounge membership from one of thefull-service airlines generally costs between $300 and $500. Or youcould pay $399 to join Priority Pass, which affords members access to600 airport lounges at around 325 airports.Or you could sign up for any of several credit cards that feature accessto the lounges of one or more airlines.The American Express Platinum charge card (annual fee: $450), forexample, gains cardholders entry into the lounges of American, Delta,and US Airways, plus Priority Pass membership.With the Continental OnePass Plus MasterCard (annual fee: $85, waivedthe first year), cardholders are entitled to two day passes toContinental's Presidents Club lounges after the first and subsequentyears. And the pricier Continental Presidential Plus MasterCard (annualfee: $395) comes bundled with full Presidents Club membership.Annual membership in United's Red Carpet Clubs is also a featured perkof the Mileage Plus Club Visa card (annual fee: $375).Card issuers are quick to point out that the high annual fees for thesecards are offset by the value of the lounge memberships. True, intheory. But in practice, only true frequent travelers who actually haveoccasion to check into the lounges will get their money's worth.No Foreign Transaction FeesForeign transaction fees can add as much as 3 percent to the cost ofgoods and services charged when traveling outside the U.S. So forinternational jet-setters, credit cards that don't charge the fees enjoya significant value advantage over those that do.Curiously, since it's never been known for issuing cards targeted atoverseas travelers, Capital One led the industry in offering creditcards free of foreign transaction fees.But today, the fees are being waived by an increasing number of rewardscards, including the following: American Express Platinum and Centurion;United Mileage Plus (Club Visa only); Continental (Presidential Pluscard only); British Airways Visa (annual fee: $95); InterContinentalPriority Club Visa (annual fee: $49, waived the first year); MarriottRewards Visa (annual fee: $30, waived the first year); Hyatt Visa(annual fee: $75); Chase Sapphire Preferred card (annual fee: $95,waived the first year); Citi ThankYou Premier and Prestige cards (annualfee: $125 and $500, respectively).Waived Bag FeesChecked bag fees have become a painful fact of travel life. The cost tocheck a single bag is typically $25 each way, $50 round-trip. Multiplythat by the number of trips per year and the costs quickly becomesignificant.There are credit cards that can mitigate that pain.With the Continental OnePass Plus MasterCard, for example, cardholdersget their first checked bag fee waived when flying on Continental andcharging their tickets to the card. And with the more expensiveContinental Presidential Plus MasterCard, the fee for the second checkedbag is waived as well.The deal is even better for Delta customers who have Gold, Platinum, orReserve Delta SkyMiles credit cards (annual fees: $95, $150, $450) intheir wallets. The first bag is not only fee-free for the cardholder,it's free for up to nine people traveling on the cardholder'sreservation.Taking a slightly different tack, the American Express Platinum cardoffers cardholders a $200 credit toward miscellaneous airline fees,including those for checked bags.Sign-Up BonusesTo gauge the intensity of card issuers' resolve to increase their shareof consumers' charge activity, one has only to consider theunprecedented generosity of their new-member acquisition promotions.Today, an airline card that offers less than the number of milesrequired for a free ticket isn't likely to get a second look fromconsumers who've been trained to expect more. Much more.Sign-up bonuses of 50,000 and 75,000 miles are increasingly common. Andat the top end, two recent offers have reached and even exceeded the100,000-mile mark.British Airways has reprised its offer of 100,000 bonus miles for newVisa cardholders who charge at least $2,500 within the first threemonths. (The promotion ended May 6.)And upping the ante even further, Capital One was offering up to 110,000miles for new Venture card customers who could prove that they'd earnedat least 100,000 miles in any one of many airline programs. Thepromotion ended when the company gave away the allotted 1 billion miles,in just 25 days.Discounted AwardsYet another card-related perk is discounts on award prices.With the Citi AAdvantage cards (annual fees: from $50), cardholders areentitled to discounts on a selection of flights that changes quarterly.Prices for domestic first-class award tickets are discounted from 50,000miles normally to 42,500 miles, and coach awards are reduced from25,000 to 17,500 miles. That's a 15 percent discount on first class, anda 30 percent discount on coach award flights.One negative: the discounted award bookings must be made by phone, forwhich there's a $20 service charge.US Airways recently added award discounts to the list of benefits forthe Premier and Premier World MasterCards (annual fees: $49 and $89,respectively). Cardholders can book domestic coach award flights for20,000 miles, a 20 percent discount from the 25,000 miles normallyrequired.Elite-Qualifying MilesMiles that qualify for elite status have traditionally been restrictedto those miles earned by flying on the airline hosting the program andits closest airline partners, generally those co-participating in one ofthe major global airline alliances.Increasingly, the exception to that rule is miles earned for charges toairline credit cards.For example, the Continental Presidential Plus MasterCard awards 1,000elite-qualifying miles for every $5,000 charged to the card.The Delta Platinum credit card allows SkyMiles members to earn 20,000elite miles annually, and the Reserve card raises that limit to 30,000miles.With the United Mileage Plus Select Visa card, cardholders can earn upto 5,000 elite miles per year.And US Airways' Premier MasterCard allows cardholders to earn up to10,000 elite miles per year.In the hotel sphere, where elite perks are less valued, some cardslinked to frequent-stay programs offer status outright. With Marriott'sVisa card, for example, Rewards members get Silver elite statusautomatically.InterContinental Priority Club Visa cardholders receive Gold elitestatus.Silver elite membership is accorded HHonors members who hold either ofthe no-annual-fee Hilton-affiliated credit cards.And so on.Cards, Programs, and ValueIt would be tempting to sign up for the card that offers the perk ofmost interest at the lowest cost. Before committing, however, considerthe big picture.Credit cards and travel loyalty programs form a particularly virtuouscircle: The programs, with their extensive networks of earning andrewards partners, make the credit cards more valuable; and the cards, byadding a rich source of extra miles and additional perks, make theprograms they're affiliated with more rewarding.In other words, don't put the card in your wallet unless you're equallyenamored of the program it's linked to.Tim Winship is editor at large for SmarterTravel , as well as the editorand publisher of FrequentFlier.com, and a frequently quoted expert onfrequent flier programs. SmarterTravel provides expert, unbiasedinformation on timely travel deals, the best value destinations, andmoney-saving travel tips.