Jedi Girl

Hi,

I'm pretty new to this whole arena and have been attempting to research which program would best suit my needs. Every time I think I've made a decision, it is swayed by new information. So, hopefully, one of you can help out. The airport I'd be travelling from would be San Jose, CA. I make yearly trips to Mexico and am planning a trip to Indonesia in the next year, and to Japan and the Philippines in the next several years. I was thinking of applying for the AMEX card and of using a Visa/MC in conjunction with this. What might you recommend?

Bourne

Hi,

Welcome to Flyertalk!

I would recommend AA. Lots of domestic and overseas flights from the Bay Area. If you do go ahead with AA, the Citibank Visa would be the recommended card.

This should help you get started.
http://fewmiles.tripod.com/AA/index.html#1

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum1/HTML/004699.html


[This message has been edited by Bourne (edited 06-15-2001).]

LIH Prem

Instead of Amex, consider Diners Club.

-David

Nanook

I, too, recommend starting your mileage earning with AA. They're a definite presence in SJC. You can get the Citibank AAdvantage M/C or Visa and earn miles. If you're not averse to paying another card fee, I'd also get the Diners Club card. Good insurance coverage when you charge your air tickets to DC, and they have baggage insurance as well that covers you on a trip. AA has good partners. I'd stay away from Delta.

rmccamy

I'll throw in another AA recommendation... As much as I personally avoid UA, I suppose you should compare their Asia network to Oneworld's before making your final decision. UA has a big presence at SFO.

If you go with AA, then the Citibank Visa/MC is your choice. $50 annual fee, 10,000 bonus miles at signup. Diner's Club is also a great product - $85 annual fee and 24,000 bonus points distributed over the course of your first year. DC customer service is worth the annual fee by itself; if you ever have a problem or question, you will be talking to a human being within 3 or 4 seconds of placing the call.

I have an Skymiles Amex that I'm dumping as soon as the bonus miles post. Amex customer service is horrible, period. There doesn't seem to be much upside to carrying an Amex unless you either have an ultra-premium card with ultra-premium service - or you are gathering Skymiles.

Jedi Girl

Thank you all so much for taking the time to reply. I appreciate all of the info!

dgordon

The AMEX starpoints card, until this point has had no fee and has been praised by many of us on this board. The Sheraton Starpoints program gives a 5000 mile bonus when you transfer 20,000 miles to your AA (or any) account. There is some future change going on and I think I read that they may not be allowing new application during this period )???) I don't know what they changes will be. You can check on the American Express web site. Also, the fee for Diners Club is $80, not $85, and this is a referral bonus for new customers, and any of us that have cards would be glad to refer you. Just e-mail the person you wish to refer you and they will tell you more details. You get 12,000 miles and the referrer gets 3000 miles.

------------------
DtG

ElvisNYC

IMO, it depends very much on the airline you choose to go abroad and will use frequently. Well, if you're planning to use AA then consider the AAdvantage MC/Visa card because you'll accumulate miles faster. But if you're planning to use other airlines, then pick Diners (let's you transfer to AA also) or Amex. Both cards allow you to transfer points to most FF programs. For me Amex is much better. Why ? Diners is not accepted as much as Amex, while the same goes for Amex against Visa/MC. Anyway Diners is usually accepted more abroad than in the US, so I really wouldn't get the card if the places you go to or companies you use are located in the US don't accept Diners.

What's also great about Amex are the travel certificates when redeeming a specific amount of MR points. When I travel abroad, I usually redeem 9,000 MR points to receive a companion certificate for $149 to Latin America when flying CO. This award is valuable to me and my GF.. And there are many other offers like that..
Good luck !!






[This message has been edited by eperaltaotero (edited 06-18-2001).]

clanson

95% of your needs can be met by the AmEx Starwood card. No annual fee and points are transferable into nearly every FF program with a 25% bonus at 20,000 point/miles increments. However the best use is earning the Starwood points and spending them at their hotels (Westin, Sheraton ect.)