American Express Blue Sky CC??

[klacey1]

I just got an offer in the mail for one of these. The lack of annual fee caught my eye. I've been reading up on it and it seems like a great deal, but I'm just wondering if I'm missing something?

So $1 = 1 point. You can only redeem when you have 7,500, so you have to charge $7,500 before you can redeem anything. That $7,500 is worth $100 "travel" dollars, correct? So lets say I put a few months of bills on the card, earn 7,500 points, book a flight for $100 using the AMEX. Then I submit online for a reimbursement of points-- which come to me in the form of a $100 statement credit. Is that the correct process? (And then will I have earned 100 more points from that flight purchase or do they cancel out?)

We take a big vacation once a year and have a weekend away about twice. Not sure if this card is for us...

For background, I have a Disney Visa that I charge everything to, but as we only go to Disney every other year, I was thinking a more generic card might be more beneficial. (My credit score is high and only debt is student loans, which are very manageable.)

I'd appreciate any help-- thanks!!

 

[ValpoCory]

Does the card give you special access to
http://disneyland.disney.go.com/dis...ure/walt-disney-imagineering-blue-sky-cellar/
??

 

[JessM]

You are correct on the process just be aware that if you have earned $100 credit and the flight is $101 you can't use the credit. You have to have enough credit to pay for the entire flight not just a portion of it. I didn't realize this and I wasn't able to use my credits to pay for a portion of a $325 hotel bill because I only had $300 worth of credit.

I like it because its flexible and there is no annual fee.

 

[benniecooper]

You are correct on the process just be aware that if you have earned $100 credit and the flight is $101 you can't use the credit. You have to have enough credit to pay for the entire flight not just a portion of it. I didn't realize this and I wasn't able to use my credits to pay for a portion of a $325 hotel bill because I only had $300 worth of credit.

I like it because its flexible and there is no annual fee.

Are you sure? I also have this card and just redeemed a $100.00 credit and my total charge was over $700.00. You do have to wait until the transaction post onto your bill.

 

[klacey1]

Are you sure? I also have this card and just redeemed a $100.00 credit and my total charge was over $700.00. You do have to wait until the transaction post onto your bill.

Everything I've read says that you do not need to pay for an entire purchase in credits. That wouldn't make sense, since the credits only come in $100 increments.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts!

 

[mdsd8700]

I have had this card for several years and like it very much. It is very flexible and nice to be able to use it for "travel" in general.

I have also used it in $100 increments that didn't cover the full amount of the charge without any problems.

 

[kristenrice]

I've had this card for about 5 years. It was a no-brainer since they offered 30,000 points after making $500 in purchases. Hmmmm...I spend $500 that I would have spent anyways and they are going to give me $400 towards travel with no annual fee?? Yup, no-brainer.

One thing we like to do is use our AMEX as our room charge at WDW. Then, at the end of the stay, we apply any Disney Visa Rewards dollars to our balance and the rest gets charged to the AMEX. Since it is being charged by the front desk, it shows up as a "resort" charge which falls under the "travel" category and we can redeem points to cover it. I haven't tried charging at the individual stores or restaurants because I am not sure how it would be categorized. I have also found that UndercoverTourist.com is a "travel agency" so any tickets purchased through them are also categorized under "travel".

DH and I are going to WDW in November for F&W and the 1/2 marathon. Right now, we have $300 in rewards so that is going towards our food budget. I'll just charge everything to the room and we should be good.

 

[Couchy]

This card is extremely flexible. Once the travel charge posts to your account you can apply the credit to the charge. ANY travel charge and in any amount. I love it

 

[Disney Princess]

You are correct on the process just be aware that if you have earned $100 credit and the flight is $101 you can't use the credit. You have to have enough credit to pay for the entire flight not just a portion of it. I didn't realize this and I wasn't able to use my credits to pay for a portion of a $325 hotel bill because I only had $300 worth of credit.

I like it because its flexible and there is no annual fee.

Ours worked the opposite way. You can apply the credits toward travel purchases in $100 increments. If you book something that is less than $100, you can use credits, but not partially. So when we booked a $75 flight, we COULD HAVE used credits, but we would have "lost" $25 in credit. We save until we have a big purchase.

We have the card and like it. Beware, when we tried to buy theme park tickets for Disneyland online, it popped up as "entertainment" not "travel". Not sure about WDW.

 

[platamama]

Have you considered the Capital One Cash Rewards card?

- no annual fee
- 1.5% cash back (after the 50% bonus at the end of the year), you can redeem at any time, don't have to wait til you reach $100 worth
- VI/MC accepted at more places than AMEX
- no foreign transaction fees
- currently a $100 signup bonus being offered
- online shopping portal gets you bonus 1-10% back if you shop & pay thru there

The AMEX Blue Sky gets you 1.33% cash back and some places don't take AMEX. I think the Cap1 CR card is superior to this particular AMEX for general spending.

 

[platamama]

If you're not allergic to annual fees, the Barclays Arrival Mastercard looks like a great card. Currently there is a $400 signup bonus which would off-set the annual fee for a number of years.

 

[jel0511]

If you're not allergic to annual fees, the Barclays Arrival Mastercard looks like a great card. Currently there is a $400 signup bonus which would off-set the annual fee for a number of years.

Thanks for the recommendation. We currently have the Capital One Venture card, which has similar benefits to this one, but you need to get rid of individual transactions rather than one blanket credit. So, I'm VERY interested in this.....

 

[klacey1]

Have you considered the Capital One Cash Rewards card?

- no annual fee
- 1.5% cash back (after the 50% bonus at the end of the year), you can redeem at any time, don't have to wait til you reach $100 worth
- VI/MC accepted at more places than AMEX
- no foreign transaction fees
- currently a $100 signup bonus being offered
- online shopping portal gets you bonus 1-10% back if you shop & pay thru there

The AMEX Blue Sky gets you 1.33% cash back and some places don't take AMEX. I think the Cap1 CR card is superior to this particular AMEX for general spending.

This does sound better than the AMEX-- thanks for the recc!