Credit Card Offers Galore

Is it just me, or does it seem like the credit card companies have been really active lately with their emails and mailers for the 'Best Credit Card Offer Ever (ever...ever...ever...)'?!?   OK.  It's not just me.  Whew! 

So, what do you do when you're bombarded with all of these offers in a short amount of time and decide you actually *do* want a new credit card?  My answer is:  you geek out on the data in the offers to figure out what the best ROI on that new credit card is.  Data?  ROI?  From a credit card offer?   Absolutely.  Let me explain-and we'll use Credit Cards with some type of Travel affiliation (hotel points-like Hilton or frequent flyer miles like American Airlines) to explain.  

Each of these offers will have 3, 4, 5+ benefits-and quite possibly a 'boosted benefit' if you spend a certain amount in a specific timeframe- that you can quantify (and attach a dollar value to), and on the flip side, there is likely an Annual Fee which has to be clearly spelled out in the offer.  If you divide the value of the benefits by the Annual Fee,  viola:  An ROI on the offer.  Sometimes, you have to quantify the value for yourself to come up with that ROI (like...what will 80k frequent flyer miles get you, personally?), but it's all very do-able.

Here is a recent example from an offer I received from Chase for their British Airway credit card.  The benefits from the offer:

• 10% off all British Airway flights from the US (we fly to England at least 2x a year-and almost always on BA, so this is indeed a value.  It maxes out at $600 annually, but know I'll easily hit that number given the cost of flights.  So, this benefit is worth $600.
• You can also get a free companion ticket (of the same cabin class) with $30k of charges on the card in a year.  We're doing a renovation this year in our kitchen...so, I know what credit card I'll use for that...so, bish bash bosh:  There's another $1500 in flight benefits I've estimated (which is likely conservative, but that's OK) for that free ticket.
• In total, I estimate $2100 of benefits.

...for a card that will cost $95 a year.  If I divide 2100/95, I get 21.05.  From what I've tracked now for over 3 years, that's a solid ROI-for a credit card I would genuinely use and benefit from.  Done!

There are several major caveats/points worth appreciating if this is a game you're going to play tho:

1. I only know this offer is a good ROI because I have been tracking the ROIs of Travel Credit Card offers for several years. And interestingly, the ROIs have gotten better over the years.  ROIs when I first started tracking were as low as 2.52 or 1.85 (looking at you, Delta!).  But as of late, I am seeing more generous offers.  My point is (and I'll say this with a lot of my tips):  Don't pull the trigger unless you know the trends to know what really is or isn't a good deal.  On the surface, the first Credit Card offer I ever tracked in my spreadsheet-Sept 7, 2023 from American Airlines- *seemed* like a good deal:  100k points PLUS Admirals' Lounge Access.  Not too shabby!  But, the $595 annual fee made this -to me-an offer only generating a 3.11 ROI.  I've seen way better offers later-including better offers from American Airlines.  I'm glad I didn't pull the trigger on this.
2. Be honest with yourself about what, in the Credit Card offer is of *real* value to you.  FREE TSA pre-check-about a $80 value-?  Sounds great!  But, for me...this is of no value as I already have that benefit from another credit card.  But, the companion fare on BA?  That's *huge* to me.
3. Note where the offer includes a $0 fee in the first year, and then charges you a fee later.  I suggest this for two reasons:  A:  The subsequent fee could be crazy-high.  Like, to the point that you regret getting the credit card when the fee hits your balance after a year.  B:  You may decide early on that you'll only get the card for a year to capture the benefits of signing up, so that the 2nd year fee is moot.  Either way, be aware of the $0 first year fee and make sure to clock the 2nd year fee and how that impacts your ROI.  For me? I decided early on to calculate ROI off of just the first year, so there are certainly times when the deal seems really good-but I do then double check the annual fee as a sanity measure.

So, if signing up for a credit card offer is something you want to do, I urge you to track the offers you receive for a while so that you'll come to understand when you get a really good deal.  Here is a little snippet that shows what I track-for some folks, you may decide this is too much/not enough, but at least the snippet can serve as some inspo:

While I didn't include this in the screenshot for simplicity, I also track the website link in the offers (when received by email).  As, it's worth noting that sometimes, the offer in the email says one thing...and the website landing page might show additional offers to consider).  When that happens, I leave myself a note (like 'Note other card offers/options on LP) as a memory jog.

OK. Well, that's a little glimpse into my brain and how I think about the mountain of credit card offers I get.  What about you?  What do you evaluate/consider to make a decision?  I'd love to learn from you, so drop your ideas/thought process in the comments and let me know!