Questions and Answers

Husband and I are looking at getting a new credit card (currently have the Alaska Air card). We stay at Bed & Breakfasts (or boutique hotels) much more frequently than at regular chain hotels. What card would get us the most “bang for our buck” when considering our b&b stays?

Our next (big) vacation will be EITHER a Western Caribbean cruise OR a walking trip in Scotland (we haven’t decided yet). (We typically do two small getaways at b&b’s or boutique hotels per year; one big vacation every couple of years).

THANKS! Hoping to get a decision ASAP before our next annual fee comes up for the Alaska card.

Probably something that will rebate travel well or allow you to use cash back against travel expenses. For the former you’re looking at the Citi Premier, maybe Prestige depending on how the charge is coded, Sapphire Preferred, SPG AmEx or EvDay Preferred if you’re hitting your 30 transactions/mo. category and stays are domestic.

For the latter category, I’d look at the Arrival + from Barclays for your husband and yourself which will give you ~90,000 points or $900 after min. spend and 5% rebate. You could also consider something like the Citi Double Cash or AmEx Fidelity for ongoing spend after the first year since they give you a straight 2% back but more flexibility to use it where you need.

Another suggestion for domestic bed and breakfasts is to sign up for the bedandbreakfast.com mailing list. They regularly sell discounted gift cards that you can use at some nice BnBs.