MC/Visa w/travel rewards
 

I saw the recent thread discussing debit cards that earn mileage points, but I am shopping for a new Visa or MasterCard to use to pay my monthly expenses. I recently discoverd that I can pay my mortgage with a credit card and decided I may as well start earning miles since these are expenses I pay eaverymonth anyway. I recently had an offer from MNBA for their WorldPoints Platinum Card, but before I jump on that one does anyone else have any recommendations?

I am new to the whole rewards credit card game, so what should I look for? Do I want a card that allows me to earn points on any major airline?

We quit using cards that gave FF miles when we realized I hadn't been able to book FF seats in four years, despite taking lots of trips and booking a year in advance (and continuing to try to book up until 2 months prior to travel). Part of the problem is we live in Hawaii, a prime FF destination.

We switched to Discover Card, which gives cash back, but is not accepted everywhere.

Recently I found that Bank One now has a "Cash for Free" Visa card...you get cash back, so you can buy a ticket on any airline you want. They have no annual fee and give 1% back. Since my daughter's college takes Visa for tuition, it buys at least one air ticket per year!

I still get enough FF miles when I purchase tickets to upgrade to first class.

You will earn rewards much faster if you choose one airline and stick with it. When you choose your desired airline, go to their FF program site and look for their "partners". It will list both debit and credit cards that earn FF miles, with their affiliated banks.

Please be careful when using a credit card to accumulate mileage. Before you know it, you will owe thousands of dollars, and the cc company will just keep raising your credit limit. Miss a payment or two, and they'll raise your interest rate as high as 29%.

Before you decide whether it is worth it, note that some banks will charge you a hefty yearly fee for using a credit (as opposed to a debit) card.

Also, contrary to what many people think, a debit card will allow you to make payments, even when you don't have money in the bank to cover them, and you can easily end up paying 5-600% for a small purchase.

Be careful, and good luck!

Donna

Hi there--we use a card that accumulates miles only with American Airlines; in conjunction with that we have AA Frequent Flyer accounts so the miles add up quickly. The annual fee is $50 with a mile for dollar credit--also, there are other mile accumulating benefits if you use FTD, Hertz, etc. We pay off our monthly balance so any award tickets are free and clear aside from the annual fee and whatever taxes / fees are assessed on an award ticket. I recently booked Hawaii on award miles--the cost just ten bucks and some change. Last year, I used award miles to fly to London. We've been very fortunate in redeeming award miles and have had no problems (knock wood) so far--next year we're hoping to use miles for Rome....we'll see! Hope this helps :-D

There are scores of recent posts on this subject with many great recommendations for use of credit cards.
Way fewer re: debit cards which may tell you something.
M

At M&I Bank in Milwaukee, they combine rewards points from debit and credit cards into one account, good on any airlines.

Hi here,
We have two credit cards that are Master Charge. They are not tied into airlines, but to gas companies. One is called Chase Freedom, and it allows you to use it at any gas station and get three percent rebate on gas purchases, and one percent on anything else. The other card is a Master charge Shell card. With this one we get five percent rebate, and one percent on anything else. We think this is best use of credit cards. Of course, you should never spend money that you don't have:)

American Express Rewards can be dumped into any airline or hotel rewards program. With so many airlines' future being questionable, look into amex rewards. Then you can decide which airline or hotel you wish to use the pts in. You are not locked into anything! Check out flyertalk.com. They have great info on credit cards and their programs. These are people that just get the credit cards for the trip incentives! They know their stuff. Good luck.