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.