I am considering getting a credit card that offers frequent flier miles. Does anyone have any opinions on the best card (in your opinion, I know best is relative). I believe there is a website that gives information on all the credit cards that offer FF miles. Does anyone know what it is?<BR><BR>Also, has 9-11 effected the frequent flier industry? Thanks for your responses. <BR>

Amy--The frequent flyer credit card issue is not too complicated: first, figure out which airline you are most likely to use, factoring in the city you live in and places you may commonly visit; then, decide if you want to put all your miles on one card. Most of the major airlines have cards that accrue miles for every dollar spent and some, like Diner's Club and American Express offer the ability to convert points to miles on many different lines. I live in Atlanta and fly mostly Delta, so I chose the Amex Skymiles card rather than the regular Amex program, because they offer double miles on many categories of spending. It's paid off for me--next year's trip will be a freebie! If you live in Dallas, you'll probably look at Citibank's AAdvantage card, and so on. The key is to buy everything you can with the card; my newspapers, cellphone, cable, magazine subscriptions, doctor co-pays, groceries, and almost everything else goes on the card--even $5 at the grocery store(double miles). Of course, the first month you get the bill after putting everything on it, you nearly choke, but it's a good way for me to track my spending.

FYI, some banks also offer debit cards with ff miles tied to an airline<BR>Chase has one with Continental

The Capital One card allows you to use the miles on any airline. We used our miles on Air France with no problem. The card costs $19/year, which is reasonable for miles cards. The interst rate is good, too, if you carry a balance. Hope this helps.

United's frequent flyer credit card with First USA Bank is offering a free companion ticket if you sign up now. Annual fee is about $65 but may be worth it for companion ticket.

Be sure to read the fine print for the companion ticket. I've been given three of those over the years for various reasons and have yet to use one. Usually after you pass the blackout periods and various other blocks, you'll find that it is only good if you pay a full fare or nearly full fare for the first one. Everytime I've tried -- even being very, very flexible -- it was still cheaper to buy two special fare tickets than to use the one free one.<BR><BR>But now for the big question. In light of all those other current posts about the 2% charge that most credit cards make for foreign purchases -- which of these frequent flyer cards does not?

Caveat credit user: These FF cards are only a bargain if you charge quite a bit (all your expenses per month) on just the one AND pay it off. Last year I went through my bills and added up the interest on an average balance of about $750. per month along with the annual fee and I think the total for the year was something like $280 (this on a Citicorp American Aadvantage Visa)! You can get a RT ticket to a lot of places for that, and remember that FF miles don't help you get to "Gold" status in most cases. <BR><BR>If you don't pay off your cards each month, or if you have more than one card (gas, dept. store, etc.) to spread your expenses around, you might be better off getting a card with a much lower interest rate, no annual fee, and bank the interest per month.

I agree with Patrick. The companion coupons are (almost) worthless. I've thrown all of mine away. Beware.

Also beware that Capital One's miles may only be used to purchase a ticket, not to upgrade a purchased ticket. I don't usually mind buying the ticket, it's the large sums required when I want to upgrade for extra long flights that I mind.

I use American Express Rewards Plus. I charge almost everything to it. You get a mile for each $ which can be transfered to the frequent flyer program of your choice.

Agree they can be a good deal, BUT and it is CRITICAL, you MUST pay the balance in full every month. DO NOT carry any balance or the interest will eat you up. I use a card (to remain unamed) and charge everything on it, and I mean everything. I seldom write checks anymore. Now, when the bill comes each month if is usually quite high (always more than $1000, sometimes much more) and I write one of my seldom used checks to pay it in full. If you can not pay the bill in full each month you should not have a credit card of any kind period.

Excellent advice, Sam. I, too, put EVERYTHING on my card and pay it off every month. Did you know that you can pay your AmEx bill online and write one less check? I like AmEx because I can use it to "top off" miles earned on a variety of airlines.

Many places do not accept American Express charges. Therefore if you have an American Express card, you also have to carry around a MasterCard or Visa card.<BR><BR>I have an airline-miles Amex card, but frequently have to use my MasterCard instead, because of all the places that refuse to accept Amex.<BR><BR>

Hi<BR><BR>Remember frequent flyer cards target the business user.<BR><BR>Points in economy are low.<BR>Small print is enormous.<BR><BR>If you fly NY - Tokyo 30 times per year , business class it is great.<BR><BR>Odd economy trips don't pay.<BR><BR>Ex business traveller !<BR><BR>Peter<BR>

I use the Citibank card for paying business expenses and the miles really add up fast. Plus I have a United card to spread it around to 2 airlines. <BR><BR>One caveat: If you really rack up miles like me beware that United only allows 10,000 miles in any one month and 60,000 total for the year unless you ar premium with them. I quit using my United card last year because I reached the limit. I just put it in a drawer and pulled it back out on January 1.<BR><BR>My Citibank is Platinum and it allows unlimited miles for month and year. I ran up over 150,000 on it last year. I pay it off each month and use the miles to upgrade or fly free. Works great with some prior planning.

I have a Capital One card that I've used for several years. Be warned --- the mileage requirements for a domestic trip in the 48 states will increase from 25,000 miles to 25,000 miles this July. I'm looking for a better deal with other companies --- I haven't decided upon another company yet. Good Luck in your search.

Whoops --- that should read "increase from 25,000 to 35,000 miles" .<BR><BR>sorry

Thanks for all the responses. I'm wondering if it's worth it since the card will only be used for personal expenses--maybe $5,000 per year on it.(We usually use cash for purchases--easier to budget that way!)<BR><BR> Also, it seems like every card/ has a different number of miles required to get a ticket or upgrade. When I looked at the Capital One card, it said that you needed 80,000 miles for an international flight. At my rate, it will take me 16 years to earn a flight to Europe!<BR>Anyway thanks for all the great suggestions. I'm still looking!

Amy, it's not the card, but the airline that sets the mileage.<BR><BR>You CAN budget and discipline yourself to put everyday expenses on the card, if you put your mind to it. Most of us can manage $1000 per month, if we put on gas, groceries, medical copays, etc.<BR><BR>Many cards or airlines have special offers that can double your miles or earn extra miles by a variety of means, from answering surveys to changing your long-distance provider! For example, AmEx frequently (well, like one or two month each year) runs a promotion in which they give double miles for using the card for groceries or gas -- presumably to get people into the habit of using the card for those!

Amy, I'm really confused by the statement that paying by cash is easier to budget. If you have budgeted to buy a new refrigerator one month, or new underwear for the kids, or stock up the pantry or freezer -- why wouldn't it be even easier to spend the same amount of money, but put it on a credit card instead of getting the cash out of the bank? In fact, you benefit by not having to pay that bill for up to a month later. If it makes you feel better, go ahead and pull the cash you need as you put things on the card, then you know you have the money to pay in full at the end of the month. <BR>If you spend $100 a week on groceries, why use cash? Put your $400 for the month back and charge it all, then pay with one simple check at the end of the month.