Advice on best cc to get to earn free miles/points
 

Okay, so I know this topic is probably a little weak, but after my DH just got off the phone with our cc company (for the 3rd time) after which they shorted us 3000.00 miles/points, I decided to search for a new and improved card.

Any suggestions on which card has low interest rates (I have really good credit), low or no annual fees, and more than a 1 for 1 point/mile earned per $ spent.

I have had the Delta SkyMiles card from American Express for several years, and I love it. On many/most purchases you get double miles, and they have special offers throughout the year.

Then again, I fly with Skyteam airlines. It depends on which airlines you use most often.

We use the Amex Skymiles card also because of the double miles, but then delta is a convenient airline for us.
For places that don't take amex, we use AA AAdvantage card. We like that one because they will allow you to upgrade to business class for 1 segment of your flights, though you do also have to pay a fee.

We pay the extra for a platinium card because it allows us the use of the BC lounges and facilities as long as we are booked on a Delta flight no matter that we are flying coach.

They also offer specials , right now I just signed up to pay the fee for this year then next year will be free. Last year they offered triple miles on EVERYTHING purchased from Oct thru Dec. we racked up loads of miles with our month long trip in France.

We also use AA Advantage. We haven't really compared it to other cards, but using their FF miles has always been very easy. We don't charge a lot (mostly groceries, household items, & dining) & always pay in full so interest rates aren't an issue with us. Even with our credit usage, we've managed to fly to Europe twice on FF miles in the past 5 years, plus we were able to get 3 RT tix to Europe this May for myself & two kids. (Hubby had to pay as we ran out of miles.)

check out flyertalk.com; click on the credit card forums.

you will probably find that the starwood amex is generally considered the best - but depends on what you want to spend your points on. after reaching 20,000 starwood points, you can convert them into 25,000 airline miles - on some airlines.

if you use marriott hotels alot, then my sister likes the marriott credit card due to triple points at marriot hotels.

T.

Living in the Atlanta area, Delta is our usual airline, so Amex Skymiles works for us. We pay $135 to get the platinum card, and it more than pays for itself. Each year on renewal, we get 10,000 bonus BASE miles which count towards Medallion status. We also get a coupon for a buy one get one RT ticket in the US, which we always redeem for a ticket ATL_SAT(San Antonio), where one of our kids lives. That route doesn't get true sales very often on Delta, as it's dominated by AA in most of Texas. We always save way more than the cost of the platinum renewal.

For purchases that don't take Amex, we use Capital One No Hassle Rewards card.

We pay our newspaper, cable, and cell phone bill using Amex. We make every purchase over $2 on a card, and the points really pile up! We have redeemed for several RT bus class tix to Asia on Singapore Air, a Delta partner, as well as tix to Europe.

If you haven't been accustomed to charging everything, the first couple of bills are shockers, but I like having a quick reference of all my spending in one place. Amex Skymiles also doubles points at home centers, the post office, gas stations, drug stores and grocery stores as well as the cell phone bill. All that really adds up! Then, when we do buy Delta tix, the points are double for that purchase as well. It's been a great program for us.

Is that true about the Delta lounges and the Amex Platinum?

How about on other SkyTeam flights or if you fly on a Delta codeshare but say Air France metal?

You and a companion can get in DL, CO and NW's lounges, with a regular AMEX Platinum card. Not the Delta Skymiles Platinum.

The Delta Skymiles Platinum card gives you 5000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQM) at sign up, then 10,000 MQM annually only IF you meet the $25,000 spending requirement. Starting in 2007, you get another 10,000 MQM if you spend $50,000 annually.

The business version of this card, which I have, also currently gives a 5% discount on Delta purchases.

Thanks for all of the info. I will look into these.

I agree with RKKWAN--as much as I love my Amex Skymiles card, it DOES NOT give you free access to the business class lounges or the Crown room unless you have bus class tix. The regular Amex platinum card will give access.

Just having an AMEX platinum card gets you into those lounges? I have one, but never knew that. I'm an AA Admiral's Club member, but not every airport has an Admiral's Club.

Neo - You have to be flying that airline that day. And only lounges operated by CO, DL and NW. So can't use the Air France lounge at CDG, for example.

Also, only THE Amex Platinum card, not the platinum Optima, Delta Skymiles, or Hilton Honors cards.

I also live in Atlanta and also use a Delta SkyMiles AMEX (platinum). I charge everything I possibly can and redeem points for flights just about as quickly as they're accrued. Next trip: family of four to Italy this summer.

My American Express doesn't say anything like those things you mention. It just says "American Express Platinum" on it, and it does say "cash rebate" lower down. It is issued by Costco, but that is only noted by a tiny symbol on the back.
Meanwhile since I fly American about 99 % of the time, I guess that lounge deal means nothing -- I just stick with my AA Admiral's Club wherever available.

I have a card issued by Juniper Bank (mastercard) that I got last spring, first year no membership fee, and then I think it is $60. I got at least 15000 miles upon joining and get 1.5 miles for each dollar I spend. I pay off my credit cards in full each month so interest rate is not an issue with me either.

I got a mailing from United to sign up for Chase credit card, again with no charge for first year and 20,000 bonus miles upon card issuance.

I plan on cancelling the Juniper card when I get my first renewal fee and applying for an American Airlines card which I have also received numerous mailings on. I would get 20,000 bonus miles on this one as well

I am not sure how good it is for my credit rating to cancel a card after a year and to take out a new one. I am a little concerned about that

I have discovered that at least one credit card issuer is willing to reduce their annual fee - I had a Bankamerica card for US Airways that I had taken out 15 years ago. I called to cancel it upon the renewal date and they offered to cut the annual fee from $60 to $30.

I also charge everything I possibly can and easily accumulate 25000 miles a year just by using the card. In my way of thinking that justifies the annual $60 fee.

Pam

Yesterday in the mail I just received an offer from United/Chase Bank for a cc. 1st year no annual fee ($60 waived). After I make my 1st purchase I receive 20,000 miles and after my 1st year anniversary I receive another 6,000 miles. The interest is the kicker ... 18.24% but I would plan on paying it off each month so interest would not accrue.

I read the fine print that said no more than 60,000 miles can be earned in one year. Does that sound right to anyone who has this cc already?

My husband and I are FF members with United and live near IAD in Washington, DC (a major hub of United) so if this card is worth it we may jump on it. I'm just not sure of the 'max' miles permitted each year .. whether I read that right or not. Also, does anyone know if this particular card offers double miles like some of the ones mentioned above?
Thanks!

NeoPatrick,
That's not the one. It's the Platinum charge card with a $395 annual fee that offers lounge access.

Jody - what' this about AA Advantage card providing upgrades to business on a segment of flight? My ears perked up at this information....please share more. I've accumulated miles on this card for years but don't know this benefit to which you're refering.

I HIGHLY recommend the Starwood Amex! You can get hotel points at any Westin, Sheraton, etc. and you can also convert the points to airline miles 1:1 with most airlines. And you get bonus miles if you transfer a certain amount of points to miles. So for that reason I like it better than any of the airline mile cards. We're paying for most of our trip to Europe this fall with points & miles from that card!

Re: credit rating when you cancel your credit card: it is a mix of issues. Much depends on any other cards that you have, i.e. your payment reliability; etc. It is helpful to have a long-standing credit card where you have demonstrated responsible credit management. I THINK that a high credit limit on a card that you have managed responsibly is even better. (Like some others who have posted, I pay all my credit cards in full every time.)

I agree with others who have told you re: issue about considering where you fly when choosing an airline cc. Since some airlines have been more difficult to book an award when YOU want, the hotels have been a good option if you want to stay at a chain hotel. Some airlines also allow you to trade airleins points for hotels, but many have tightened up these options.

Also consider: foreign transaction fees, if you travel overseas a lot and spend a goodly amount of money. Cap One has the lowest rate of the cards I know (0,) but this will also be influenced on the specific bank that may add an additional fee. There may be other issues with Cap One, e.g. maximum credit limits, etc. In contrast, some of my other cards have foreign transaction fees of 1%, 2% and the on I recently dumped had an annual charge and a 3% foreign trasnaction fee (affiliate of Juniper.)

Finally, many (most?) cards have limits on how many miles will be awarded from your cc purchases, compared with points earned by flying. The point limit tends to be high, but you are the best judge in any particular cc case.

Thanks for the info. Wow, most of you seem to have the same card(s). I haven't yet researched your, but found this one, what do you think?


http://www.citicards.com/cards/wv/ca...?screenID=901s

Does it sound too good to be true?

Darn it, it didn't work. Let me try this again.


http://www.citicards.com/cards/wv/ca...o?screenID=901

Okay, just in case it doesn't work- it is the Citi Premier Pass Elite.

Hi namaka I didn't spend a lot of time on the Citi website but I didn't see where they say what percentage you are charged when using this card outside of the US. That is something I would want to check into. I think CitiBank charges 3% but maybe different Citi CC cards have different percentages.

loveItaly- I believe it is also 3% to use outside of US. I'm not too worried about that as we will use debit/mc when outside of the country. We also have another Citi card w/an interest rate of like 8.24%, so when needed we can use that. I am just trying to get a card to build my miles/points. I plan to pay it off every month like most others. I think this one looks good but I could be wrong!

I read that link and I'm unclear. Since they claim "no blackouts", etc., it sounds a lot like Capital One cards, where you can only use the miles you have on that card -- they can't be combined with other miles from an airline or from other sources. And they don't make clear how you redeem them -- like cash? -- which is nowhere near as good for me as actual miles with American. But I could be wrong about that.

I spoke with a Citi rep and asked how to redeem the miles/pts. They have a travel agency and they book the flights through them. I called earlier to book a flight using points off a different card and they were real helpful. Any other card suggestions!?

namaka, my question is -- suppose I have 50,000 miles with American and I want to buy a $7000 Business class ticket with miles. Would I be able to do that combining my 50,000 with another 40,000 points earned on the card -- or like Capital One would it cost me 700,000 points instead and no combining with my existing miles?

I honestly don't know! This is all so new to me that I don't have any answers, just questions!

In Canada, I can't get the Starwood AMEX (sore spot for me), and that does seem like a good deal for people in the US. For me, after considering all of the options I put most of my purchases on a cash-back card. The reason is that I can very often get excellent deals on airfare (like mistake fares) and good deals on hotels (through Priceline, extensive searching of other booking sites, etc.) and it's best to just have the cash rather than try to make the points and awards work.

If I were going to get business-class seats, although for me personally the value proposition isn't there, I'd look for a credit card that gave miles on an easily upgradeable airline.