Credit Card Programs - Looking for a second credit card

Hello all, I read the Read Me first so I hope this is the right place to ask this.

Anyway, I currently have only one credit card, a regular ole AMEX Blue, and I am looking to get another card, preferably one in which I can gain airline miles. I'm not that interested in hotel points unless they can be used for airline miles. I'm more of a hostel person.

If any of this is relevant:

I am a US citizen but I have lived/worked overseas for two years and plan on doing it for another two years and the bulk of my travel is around the Middle East and Asia with a trip to Europe maybe once a year. I also visit the states once a year or so.

I am a member of Skywards, Mileage Plus and Royal Orchid Plus(this doesn't get used much unless traveling around Thailand)

My credit rating is excellent with a paid off car and I make substantially higher payments than the minimum on my CC on time monthly.

I have looked at the United Visa but also the Citibank Emirates/Skywards Ultimate Card offered through Citibank UAE but I think I wouldn't be eligible for that since I am not an UAE citizen(though I could be wrong).

I am looking for either a Visa or Mastercard.

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated!

I am a US citizen but I have lived/worked overseas for two years and plan on doing it for another two years and the bulk of my travel is around the Middle East and Asia with a trip to Europe maybe once a year. I also visit the states once a year or so.


Sounds like you could use a card with no foreign transaction fees. If that's the case the Chase Sapphire Preferred would probably be your best bet. 50,000 points after you spend $3000 that are redeemable 1:1 for miles including with United. Additionally, if you're looking for easy miles I'd suggest applying for the 50,000 miles United Explorer card since you'll get those after your first purchase (sign up for this through your United Account, there should be a link available for 50k rather than the 40k that you see everywhere else).

My credit rating is excellent with a paid off car and I make substantially higher payments than the minimum on my CC on time monthly.



I would not recommend signing up for a mileage card unless you are paying your entire credit card bill off every month. Otherwise you will pay too much interest, since the interest rate is higher on mileage cards (in addition to the annual fees) in order to offset the rewards. I'd rather have a car loan than a credit card with a balance.

Agree that some of the rewards cards don't have the best APRs, so if you are carrying a balance, do take the interest rate into consideration. Otherwise, the Sapphire Preferred does sound like a good one to consider in your case.

You might also want to consider the Capital One Venture card. There is no FX fee on that, you get 2% back, and there is a signup-promo going on now. If your balance is big, though, I am not sure it's got the best APR (though maybe still better than your Amex Blue).

Avoid Capital One at all cost.

As others have said, select a "no foreign transaction fee" card. Also, you need a couple more cards. It is very risk to only travel or carry only one card. I would suggest securing a Mastercard and Visa to compliment your Amex. This will give you some protection if something goes wrong with the Amex or it isn't accepted somewhere.

Which cards you get are up to you, but please diversify with a Mastercard and Visa.

What kind of interest am I looking at on a mileage card?

I still have a sizeable amount on my AMEX that I haven't paid off. I'm just slowly paying it off instead of all at once so I can build my credit. Couldn't I pay a chunk of the AMEX with a mileage card and then pay it off every month?

Working/living on a military base here in Afghanistan I don't really have to buy anything except when I go on vacation, which I generally just use my VISA debit card for purchases anyway so in theory I could use the CC for vacation expenses and then just pay it off when I'm done.

I also plan on getting a new car in a year or two after I leave here so that would be a new auto loan to add to my bills.

I like the United card since the miles don't expire and seems like it's easier to gain miles. I'll have to do some more reading on the Sapphire and the Mileage Plus card.

Thanks for the help!

What kind of interest am I looking at on a mileage card?

I still have a sizeable amount on my AMEX that I haven't paid off. I'm just slowly paying it off instead of all at once so I can build my credit. Couldn't I pay a chunk of the AMEX with a mileage card and then pay it off every month?

This will not help your credit in any way. All you're doing is throwing away money on interest. It is better for your credit to pay the bill in full each month.

If you want a US-based card, I suggest Chase Sapphire, Capital One Cash Rewards, or Chase United Explorer.

You don't need to carry a balance on a credit card to build your credit.

Say you spend $500 a month on your credit card, the billing cycle closes, and you pay the entire balance off before your due date. The credit card reports a balance of $500 to the credit bureaus, and that you paid on time. Your credit score is calculated based on a mysterious formula involving length of credit history, utilization percentage of your total credit available ($500 out of $5,000 is a 10% utilization, the higher the percent, the riskier the bank thinks you are), payment history, credit inquiries, etc.

If you are still building your credit, you may not be able to get a premium card like the Sapphire Preferred which requires a $5,000 minimum credit limit. I would look for a card with no annual fee that you can hold long term to help your credit. I would consider Chase Freedom, Hilton Visa, or maybe a Capital One card as they have no foreign transaction fees. I would think the United Explorer or Sapphire Preferred would be perfect for you, but if you get tired of paying the annual fee (waived for the first year) and close the card, you would lose the length of credit history associated with the card.

Creditkarma and Creditsesame are free services that will give you an approximation of your credit score (to get the real FICO scores, you have to pay.

I like the United card since the miles don't expire and seems like it's easier to gain miles.

United miles do expire after 18 months of no activity. Activity to keep your miles active could be a purchase on a United card or a purchase of an itunes song through the United online shopping portal.