Long-time lurker, first-time poster here...

I haven't seen much discussion about the AMEX Blue Sky card, but I feel like it doesn't really get the attention it deserves. It's pretty easy to understand their point structure for this card ($1 = 1 point), but the kicker is that you can redeem 7,500 points as a $100 statement credit towards any travel purchase.

If you work this out, that's $100 for every $7,500 spent = $100/$7500 = 1.33%

Granted, you have to wait until 7,500 points are accumulated before redeeming, and you can only redeem the points in a month when you have made an air, cruise, hotel, rental car, etc. purchase, but if you make those purchases fairly often, it's not much of an inconvenience. You can even redeem the points on their website.

Of course, if you have the PenFed 1.25% Cash Back card, the marginal added Cash Back benefit might not be worth the additional hassle. But considering the excellent purchase and warranty protection, travel insurance, etc... it's really a great card.

Anybody else have any thoughts on this card?

What Credit Card Should I Get ? FAQ

Several general purpose cards that give better than 1.33% reward.

Thanks for the links guys...

BTW, I know you can get better than 1.33% if you carry multiple cards and use each card only for its particular "bonus" category such as gas, groceries, drugstores, office supplies, utilities, etc. That is what I do, but for purchases that don't fall into any of the "bonus" categories, I need an all-purpose card.

The AMEX Blue Cash with 1.5% after $6,500 is decent, but only if you spend a lot in non-bonus categories. The Fidelity is good if you have a Fidelity account, and the Emigrant card is good if you don't mind being locked into their savings account and minimum balance requirement.

Other than those few cards, I don't see anything offering more than 1.33%. My guess is a lot of people skip right over the Blue Sky figuring it is a "travel" card, but in reality, it's a pretty decent all-purpose card.

okwiater said:Thanks for the links guys...

BTW, I know you can get better than 1.33% if you carry multiple cards and use each card only for its particular "bonus" category such as gas, groceries, drugstores, office supplies, utilities, etc. That is what I do, but for purchases that don't fall into any of the "bonus" categories, I need an all-purpose card.

Fidelity 1.5% flat Cash Back. Not only is it 1.5%>1.33%, you can actually earn interest before you use the money. Of course you can use the money to buy airplane tickets but you can also spend it on anything you want or just invest it.

No minimums on the Fidelity account that goes with the card.

Steps...
1)sign up for Fidelity account and get $100 bonus
2) remove all but $1 from Fidelity account
3) sign up for Fidelity 1.5% card
4) if you really hate Fidelity, pull out the Cash Back as soon as it shows up

Seems like the $100 would make it worth your time and really doesn't tie up any of your money if you think Fidelity is that horrible.

I don't know of any public promos for Blue Sky, but I received a targeted offer for it back in April. The sign-up bonus was for 30,000 bonus points after charging a total of $1,000 to the card. The 30,000 bonus points are equal to $400 worth of travel expenses.

I broke the $1,000 barrier back in May. Now I'm just waiting for my bonus points.

habibbijan said:I don't know of any public promos for Blue Sky, but I received a targeted offer for it back in April. The sign-up bonus was for 30,000 bonus points after charging a total of $1,000 to the card. The 30,000 bonus points are equal to $400 worth of travel expenses.

I broke the $1,000 barrier back in May. Now I'm just waiting for my bonus points.

I also got this a few months ago. First time, I just threw it away thinking there had to be a terrible catch. The second time I actually read the terms and couldn't believe it. Then they sent me the exact same offer again a month after I signed up but don't think I can double dip.

bump?

5,000 Bonus points!!!!!

https://www201.AmericanExpress.com/cards/Applyfservlet?csi=7/16478/b/221

We've almost put $1000 on the card. I'll definitely post back when the points are credited to our account (they said 8-10 weeks or something crazy).

It's a HOT deal to get the free 30,000 points. It will definitely take a nice chunk out of our next vacation.

The charges have to be in their travel spending category (airline, travel agent, rental car, hotel)

The card isn't for everyone, but if you get the offer for free $400 (30,000 points) in travel expenses I'd imagine most people could find a good way to put it to use