dpakman91

In the last 6 months I've successfully applied for and met spending requirements for the personal AA card (40k miles), biz AA card (50k miles) and Exec AA card (100k miles). Being under the impression that the biz AA and or personal AA cards might be churnable, i applied for them again, but was told it was an offer for first time members only.

What would you recommend next? I thought of maybe going to US Airways cards under the assumption that they would be added to my AA cards at some point soon, but I'm not sure when that is slated to happen.

What would folks recommend? Are US air cards my best bet? When could i reapply successfully for the AA cards i've already had? What else might you suggest?

diver858

Wife and I both added US CC last year, assuming they would eventually be converted to AA.

One of the nice upsides is the $100 companion pass, which we used in January this year for a family event. My only concern is that companion tickets have been limited to US metal, will become more difficult to use after July 1, when AA and US begin cross fleeting - hope the US metal restriction will be lifted sooner than later.

Cardholders also receive a 5k discount for mileage redemption - also currently limited to US metal, same concerns as above. MUCH better than the Citi 10% for domestic saver awards.

We have also received multiple targeted mileage promotions for min spends, categories - many are quite good.

JHunter

Another consideration might be lifetime status. AA no longer counts anything but BIS towards lifetime status, but there may be a chance (likely?) that all US Airways miles-to-date could count towards 1MM/2MM status when the programs are merged. If so, the bonus miles on US might be much more valuable than AA miles.

If I wasn't still ~900k miles from the next threshold, I would consider getting a US Airways CC or two just for this reason.

RobH

I'm about to start flying MSN to DFW regularly. Despite the fact that I've been giving most of my business to other airlines, and I've got zero status on AA, the direct flights between these two airports is so compelling that I've got to switch loyalty. I do have both AA and US Airways frequent flyer accounts.

In order to earn miles, get first checked bag free, and "priority boarding," it seems like a good idea to get a branded credit card. I can't decide if I should get the AA or the US Airways card (or both). Comparing the US Airways® Premier World MasterCard® with the Citi® Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® World Mastercard® suggests to that the US Airways card has a slight edge, because of the companion certificate and an additional 10,000 miles of bonus (although the annual fee isn't waived in the first year).

• If I decide to go with the US Airways card only, and I use my Dividend Miles number for earning miles and status, will I get full reciprocal benefits on AA?
• If I decide to get BOTH cards, which should I apply for first? (I theorize that there's a higher chance of denial on the second application)
• Is there any benefit to accumulating miles in one program or the other? (currently have zero balances in both, higher lifetime miles on AA).

I appreciate advice and feedback. If this information is already documented in another thread, I apologize. There's such an overwhelming amount of information here that it is sometimes hard to find exactly what you're looking for.

Buffaloflyer

Bear in mind the recent changes to the US Airways Mastercard indicating that the companion pass and 10K EQM deals are going away in 2015. However if you sign up now you may be able to use the passes this year.

See this link for more info about the changes and strategies

http://thepointsguy.com/2014/05/us-a...nging-in-2015/

KimQT88

I just recently got the Citibank credit card for AA. Signup bonus 100,000 miles! Annual fee $450, but got back $200 statement credit after spending $200. This card includes Admirals Club membership for the year. Those 100K miles will get me 4 domestic roundtrips in the US for only $250!

WRCSolberg

Of course, the caveat to that is you have to spend $10k in three months, which can be difficult if you're of average means or you're not completely dedicated.

I'd ignore the former US Barclay's card and go for one of the Citi cards. As mentioned above, the Exec car is a good choice and there's a 60k mile flavor available if you don't think you can pass $10k through your card in three months.

sdsearch

You should definitely get the US Airways card first if you[re going to get both.

But I don't say that because the US Airways card is better, I say that because Barclays (who issues the US Airways card) is more likely to deny if you apply for it second than if you apply for it first, while Citi is equally likely to approve you whether you apply for it first or second.

Barclays is one of the toughest banks in terms of looking at other applications you've done recently and denying you based on those. So you want to have the US Airways card in your hand before you apply for any Citi AA.

Citi AA is by comparison much easier, so it won't care that you applied for Barclays before. Citi (typically) only cares if you have more than 6 hard inquiries (that they see on whichever bureau[s] they pull) in the past 6 months. If you haven't been applying for credit much recently, then 1 pull for the US Airways card won't both Citi.

RobH

I've made my moves. I applied for the US card first, and AA second. I was approved for both.

Going forward my plan is:

• Use the US card once and pay the annual fee in order to get the bonus.
• Use the AA card for AA airfares and in-flight purchases only. I'll be flying weekly and I'll easily make the minimum $1,000 spend requirement.
• Continue to use my existing United Presidential Plus Card for everything else, in order to continue increasing my UA balance and earning United EQMs.
• Abandon all hope of getting any kind of meaningful status on AA. I'll be flying 2 segments a week on an RJ, so the status won't be that valuable. I'm starting out mid-year so there's no chance I'll get to a high level this year.
• Plan on moving back to UA when I move on to a non-DFW project. Use my EQMs to buy myself back to gold or possibly platinum, if I have enough EQMs by then.
• Since both cards will renew with an annual fee at the same time next year, reevaluate if I'll keep one or the other. It almost certainly won't make sense to renew both.

SIDE NOTE TO AA: Here's your chance to impress me. UA hasn't been too impressive lately.

JPG3392

I can comment only on my own experience, but my remarks may be relevant to your situation. About 2 1/2 years ago, I obtained an AA Citi credit card, mostly because of the bonus miles. The annual fee ($89, I believe) was waived for the first year. When 12 months passed and I phoned to cancel, AA made a new offer without my asking: I would pay the annual fee, but receive a refund of the total amount as well as a bonus of 750 miles for any billing period in which I spent at least $750. Twelve months after that, I received a similar offer to renew, though now the bonus is 1k miles for each period in which I spend $1,000. I don't always qualify for the bonus, but I have found it worthwhile to keep the card under the circumstances.

relangford

If you are going to travel the new AA a lot, the Citi AA Executive gives you AC membership for the same cost as a regular AC membership, plus the miles. I recently cancelled my Barclay's US card to concentrate on the AA Executive (at renewal, I got an offer of 1000 extra miles every month I spend more than $1000 (which is every month) for 16 months).

sdsearch

Did you sign up for a 50k offer or a smaller one? All the 50k offers I'm familiar with have a $3000 spend requirement.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...ost-first.html (in the Credit Cards forum)

RobH

I think I made a mistake and signed up for the 30000 mile bonus with the $1000 spend.

That may be a blessing in disguise, my high annual fee UA card provides trip insurance, if I get delayed I get reimbursed for out of pocket expenses for hotel and meals. So I'm considering using that card for my AA flights once I meet my minimum purchase.

sdsearch

I hope you're carryon only, since I don't think the 30000 card is a $85/year-or-more card (not counting waivers/credit offers), and that's what's required to have benefits from the card like free checked bag, priority boarding, 10% rebate (up to 10k annually) on redemptions, etc. (Unless you have elite status with AA, that is, in which case that trumps all those 50k card benefits except for the 10% rebate.)

And, btw, those card benefits don't require you too book with the card, they require you to have the right card. (So if you had the right card, you could still book with a UA card and get the AA card's benefits when flying AA.)

jeffhacker

Actually, the OP should contact AA and ask about an elite challenge. They'll give him a trial Gold status for about $200 for 90 days and if he meets the mileage requirement, he'll be gold through the year. Couple that with either the AA or US credit card and a good deal.