Credit Card Programs - Newbie: Which credit card for MUC > CHI in September 2012

Hello all, I've been reading/searching the forum for a while now and would appreciate any advice given on a possible upcoming trip to Europe.

I'm pretty much starting at square one; the only miles I have are 712 on AA that will expire mid August of this year. I would like to open a credit card to help offset some of the costs for this trip. Though, I'm not sure which card/airline I should opt for and if I have enough time to claim any of the points offered.

Below are the flights I'm trying to save money on. The flight from Munich to Chicago seems to be the most expensive one. Dates are based on the itinerary of friends who have already booked their flights.

9/13/12 - Chicago to London
9/25/12 - Munich to Chicago

Any suggestions as far as which credit card to sign up for and how to use the respective points to my advantage?

Please and thank you!

Welcome to Flyertalk. Your thread has been transferred from the general MilesBuzz forum to the more specific Credit Card Programs forum.

I suggest you begin by reviewing this thread to understand the pitfalls of applying in June for travel this summer:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credit-card-programs/1353083-newbie-signing-up-credit-card-get-aus-jac.html

Hello all, I've been reading/searching the forum for a while now and would appreciate any advice given on a possible upcoming trip to Europe.

I'm pretty much starting at square one; the only miles I have are 712 on AA that will expire mid August of this year. I would like to open a credit card to help offset some of the costs for this trip. Though, I'm not sure which card/airline I should opt for and if I have enough time to claim any of the points offered.

Below are the flights I'm trying to save money on. The flight from Munich to Chicago seems to be the most expensive one. Dates are based on the itinerary of friends who have already booked their flights.

9/13/12 - Chicago to London
9/25/12 - Munich to Chicago

Any suggestions as far as which credit card to sign up for and how to use the respective points to my advantage?

Please and thank you!

It's a little late in the game for credit cards. But here's a couple of choices, either the AA or UA cards. The AA card gets you 50,000 points after $3000 spend and the UA card gets you 25,000 points after 1st spend and 5,000 for adding a user. Both you and if you have a SO can apply for a CC.The problem is you have to do the spend before you get the points to resv. a ticket. But both are good out of Chicago. Do you have any Chase or Amex points that can be transferred to a FF program? Are you planning on a certain airlines? People will look for lower priced tickets on that line. Give people as much information as you can for the most help. Good luck and have a great trip. :)

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

For travel in September, AA will charge 30K AAdvantage miles for each one-way Coach award between North America and Europe, if you can find SAAver/Partner award availability. If you redeem for travel on BA TATL flights, you will also be assessed hefty fuel surcharges.

It's a little late in the game for credit cards. But here's a couple of choices, either the AA or UA cards. The AA card gets you 50,000 points after $3000 spend and the UA card gets you 25,000 points after 1st spend and 5,000 for adding a user. Both you and if you have a SO can apply for a CC.The problem is you have to do the spend before you get the points to resv. a ticket. But both are good out of Chicago. Do you have any Chase or Amex points that can be transferred to a FF program? Are you planning on a certain airlines? People will look for lower priced tickets on that line. Give people as much information as you can for the most help. Good luck and have a great trip. :)

I have no Chase/Amex points that I'm aware of.
I was planning on flying either AA or UA, so both cards are an option. UA is looking more promising, as there is no minimum to spend, correct?

Thanks for your help!