Hi
I'm shopping for a visa/master card that has the annual fee waived for a introductory period (6 months or 1 year) which offers frequent flyer miles. know of any such promotion?

thanks
venkat

Venkat,

I believe First USA has an offer with its BA Visa: 5000 BA miles and no fee for the first year. Their customer service number is 1-800-577-0633.
In addition to that there is of course the Starwood Optima. I haven't applied for one yet, but I believe they offer 1000 Starwood points upon sign up, no annual fee, and the rate of exchange is 1=1 (or 1=1.25 if you accumulate at least 20000 points). The advantage of the Starwood Optima is that you can transfer your points to a number of airlines. On the down side, though, it's an Amex, so it's not as widely accepted as VISA.

Hope this was helpful

Honu

Thanks Honu.

I found the following:

British Airways Visa :
1st year annual fee waived

American Exp Sheraton Optima:
no annual fee

AM Ex Hilton Optima:
no annual fee

Please add to the list if you are aware of any promotion.

thanks
venkat

Venkat, I have an offer on my desk from United MP First Card which is for a free companion cert., 1000 mile upgrade and $25 off coupon when you take the card ($60 annual fee). When I called United last week to ask if there were any other promotional offers, they said the person who signed up would have the option of either the companion certificate OR having the annual fee waived. But, I just called again to try to confirm this, and they said it wasn't available. So, if it's something you (or anybody) is really interested in, then email me and I'll keep trying and see if I could get a rep to do it. The one I spoke to tonight wasn't very helpful. This is a "member get a member" offer on which I'd get a referral bonus and I'd be happy to try to get them to waive the fee. Also, if anyone just wants it the way it is, with the annual fee and the companion cert. etc, I'd be happy to refer you!

It's kind of weird that they won't just do this since they waive the fee on the BA card which is issued by the same bank!

Oh yes, and I forgot: First USA also has a Marriot Rewards card with no annual fee the first year.

There are also a couple of bank cards which earn travel points where you get free tix on various airlines but they have to bee booked through a specific travel agency and usually require14 day advance, sat night stay, etc. I can post more details if anyone cares, but I don't think very highly of these cards. Although, some do have short hop flights for 18,000 points which is good, but I don't think these cards offer the kind of bonuses you can get with other cards.

MBNA-NEA mastercard. 1st year free - $20 thereafter. Mention code Q2CS Make sure the card has "Travel Rewards"
15,000 pts round trip contiguous US. MBNA offers other "Travel Rewards" cards besides the NEA. Ask if you qualify for any of them. 800-468-7632

[This message has been edited by wonderer (edited 10-07-1999).]

I thought of another card to add to the list, although this would be most useful to someone who travels to Japan (or lives in Hawai'i). JCB (it stands for Japan Citibank, I believe) has an offer available to US residents: a free card that accrues 1.5 NW miles per dollar spent on purchases. Their number is: 1-800-366-4522. It's a great deal if you want NW miles. If you live on the Mainland, you can still use it to purchase airline tickets, and charge most car rentals and some hotel stays.

Oh, and another one: the First USA card associated w/Priority Club. It's free and comes with a sign-up bonus of 5000 PC points. The accrual rate, 1 PC point per dollar spent on purchases, is not that great, though.