Rewards Credit Cards in 2024: A Brutally Honest Review [Roundup]

by Gary Leff

News and notes from around the interweb:

  • Absolute legend.

  • Hits hard: The 2024 Hater’s Guide to Credit Cards Read the whole thing.

    Platinum. You spend whole days each year trying to “break even” on a $700 card. You probably earn 1x on almost all spending you put on the card. You lie to yourself, claiming that you use Equinox and Walmart+. You probably tell everyone that this is “the most premium card you can apply for,” when really it’s just a huge profit driver for AMES. You self-justify during the two annual occasions in which you use an overcrowded Centurion Lounge, and purposely book red eyes to avoid the lines. You don’t even get primary auto rental insurance.

    …Sapphire Reserve. You live in fear of Hyatt being discontinued as a Chase partner. You struggle to justify the $250 effective annual fee. You tell AMEX folks that, at least, you don’t have statement credits to work through. But you do — there’s Lyft Pink, DoorDash, Instacart+, and Peloton — but you aren’t aware that you need to use them. You’ve also never used a normal priority pass lounge — your main airports may not even have one. You wish you had an AMEX Platinum every time you pass a Centurion Lounge. But those Sapphire lounges have to be coming soon, right?

  • I think she’s joking but all women should do this tbh.

  • St. Regis New York refuses to honor elite breakfast benefit while they renovate their restaurants the property highlights paid room service as the only breakfast option. Marriott so far appears to be backing them on offering elites only 1,000 bonus points instead.

  • United Airlines, clean your planes.

  • Delta will finally update ancient Boeing 737-800 interiors. No new, bigger overhead bins though.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  3. That’s 5% only for a single category that rotates every quarter. And only for first $1,500 in purchases. $75 cash back every 3 months is not worth the hassle. Hate is deserved.

  4. “You google “Citi Strata update 2024” three times per week.” Hilare but for me would replace with Hyatt Premium!

  5. Good grief, I think my Sapphire Reserve is under priced. I live in fear that Chase will close my account because they must certainly lose more than $550 with me.

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