What's in the experts' wallets?

By CreditCards.com

Great credit card offers may not be making headlines right now, but they're still out there -- and what better place to look for leads than in financial experts' wallets?

Here are the current favorite picks of six personal-finance experts. Find out why they love these cards, why their picks may (or may not) be right for you, how to qualify for them and which cards have fallen out of their favor.

Liz Pulliam Weston

Weston, an author and personal-finance columnist for MSN Money, carries:

• JetBlue American Express. Points earn free business trips ($40 annual fee).

• Starwood Preferred Guest American Express. Rewards accumulate quickly; there are no blackout days (no annual fee for the first year and $45 thereafter).

Weston is considering the American Express Hilton HHonors Surpass card (no fee), which offers triple points for staying at a Hilton property.

Are these cards right for you? "For these richer rewards cards, you want a FICO of 750 or above," Weston says. You can search CreditCards.com's Credit Card Finder by your credit rating or by issuer. Not sure what your credit scores might be? Use MSN Money's free estimator.

You also should travel frequently enough to rack up points and pay your balances in full each month. "If you don't spend enough and you pay a fee every year, it's not a good deal," says Weston, who estimates she spends at least $2,000 monthly on the card.

Watch out for "tiered" rewards, which require a certain spending threshold for the best rewards, as well as capped rewards. "I spend so much that I want a return on every dollar," Weston says. Look for a return of at least 1% from a card, she advises. Her Starwood card gives her a rebate on hotel rooms in the 4%-to-5% range.

Kicked to the curb: Weston stopped using a Discover rewards card because rewards categories for points changed every three months. "I'm busy enough that I didn't want to keep track of that," she says. "I want very specific hotel and air rewards."

Weston also signs up for issuer e-mail updates and reviews her credit cards annually to make sure she's still happy with their programs. And she practices serial monogamy with her rewards cards: "If you've got a rich reward, you can pretty much figure they're going to water it down eventually. About every two years, I switch to another rewards card."

Scott Talbott

Talbott is the senior vice president of government affairs for the Financial Services Roundtable, an executive forum for leaders of the financial-services industry.

A card he carries is the Citibank Diamond Preferred Rewards MasterCard (no fee).

Talbott likes that points for the card's rewards program can be applied to restaurants, electronics and other goods. He's earned a dryer and a camera with his.

Meanwhile, he's considering a card that contributes cash to a 529 college savings plan.

Are these cards right for you? "It's all about finding a program that fits your personal needs, lifestyle and family," Talbott says. "Really shop around, and remember that no matter how generous the program is, if it doesn't work for you financially, it doesn't make sense."

Kicked to the curb: Talbott used to have an airline rewards card but realized he wasn't flying enough to make it worthwhile. "We found our annual fee about equaled what the airline ticket would cost," he says.

Ron Lieber

The New York Times personal-finance columnist carries these cards:

• Starwood Preferred Guest American Express. It earns 3 to 4 cents per point on hotel rooms.

• Chase Rewards Visa. It gives 5% back for gas, grocery and drugstore purchases up to $300 (no fee).

• Capital One No Hassle Rewards Cash Back. It gives 1.25 cents back for every dollar spent (no fee).

• Costco American Express. It includes 3% cash back at restaurants (no fee with a Costco membership).

• JetBlue American Express. Points never expire as long as you use the card.

Lieber runs every expense except his mortgage, condominium maintenance fees and electric bills through his credit cards (around $75,000 annually) to reap maximum rewards and has set up each account to auto-pay in full electronically.

Are these cards right for you? Be honest with yourself about your needs and how you actually use your cards, Lieber says. Chasing rewards requires that you're able to pay your balances in full each month. That's because rewards cards tend to have higher interest rates; carrying a balance incurs interest charges that more than wipe out the value of any rewards.

"Get your systems in place in your household first, and then think about what would be most valuable to you," Lieber says. "Some people don't want to monkey around with redemption of travel awards -- they want a nice check every Nov. 15 for presents or a charitable contribution. That's simple and effective."

Kicked to the curb: "The Chase Visa is a deal they don't offer anymore, so we're ready to ditch that card the moment they yank that deal back," he says.

Continued: What NPR's expert carries

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