Question of the Day - 19 June 2019

I use Discover for most of my everyday purchases. Right now I have $342 cash back built up that will be used for airline tickets when need be (I can get the money at any time and use if for whatever I want, it's not restricted for airfare).  I also have an American Airlines card and a Southwest Airlines card. Those are for my business but the miles/points built up are used for personal flights since I don't fly for business. I use whatever works best at the time. So there's not one answer.

Need to add an MGM, Caesars, similar option.

We use both an MLife card and a Total Rewards card. My first favorite thing is the bump up to second level status on the player's club, which gets me free parking and some special lines at restaurants and check-in. Next is the accumulation of points for food, etc. Also, there are some free nights at the Caesar's properties.

Here's a perspective from an English member.   I use a MasterCard issued by the British Post Office.   The huge benefit is that all foreign currency transactions are converted back to Sterling free of all charges and commissions.   This benefit is worth far more to me than redemption points.

In general, I like cashback.  I use the Costco Card for 4% back on all gas purchases.  3% on Travel and 2% on Restaurants.  I als have the Mlife and Total Rewards cards for Free Parking and some line perks.  I have used Discover Card for the cash back.  But in general, Cashback is the best.

When I pay for my E Bay goods with my Pay Pal Master card,I get 5% "cash back". They also have occasional promotions that will get you 5 -10% off qualified items for sale.Also they hand out Ebay bucks to use on any purchases.
That's called a double dip.

 My Lowe's card use is 5% off all purchases.I buy a LOT of hardware as a home owner and a land lord.
Next month ,my Discover card gets me 5% cash back when I use it to buy gasoline.
I can earn gift certificates on MC and Discover.

Airline miles.  I let points accumulate to cover flights.  

My husband, on the other hand, likes cashback.  Spends it as he earns it.

We travel often, so I have 4 different airline credit cards, and if nothing else, not having to pay for checked luggage makes it worth paying the annual fee.  Some years, it's a wash; but most years it more than makes up for the fees. And of course, we use the points to buy plane tickets.  We use them for any purchase for which we can use a credit card; pay them off every month. Further, we take advantage of the programs for dining and online shopping to take advantage of offers for bonus points besides those earned through the actual purchase.

I would add discounted gift cards. Some cards include discounted gift cards as part of the rewards (e.g. $90 in rewards cash for $100 gift card).

I have both airline credit cards (for three airlines) and hotel points (just one) credit cards. I use the hotel points card the most and my husband uses one of the airline cards the most so that we earn benefits in both areas. My hotel points credit card gives me automatic gold status if I charge $20,000 each year which ensures that I keep my status even when I'm not staying in hotels often enough to earn the status. That allows me to use my points for stays in wonderful places like Hawaii. My airline card doesn't help me qualify for frequent flier status (although it does allow me to avoid the spend requirement when I charge $25,000 each year), so I don't use my miles for free trips. Instead, I use them for upgrades, rental cars, occastionally a hotel stay, and gifting trips to my family. I looked into generic points cards but found that there are too many variables and no opportunity to help me achieve status with a specific travel company.

I use a southwest rewards visa. I get 1 point per dollar and then extra for buying SW airline tickets. I do not use their recommendations for hotels because of the large cost. But I like southwest airlines the best.