MilesBuzz! - Any way to earn miles with a balance transfer?

I know miles aren't typically awarded when you transfer a balance from one card to another. But are there "loopholes" around this where you can somehow earn miles?

Specifically I have a $1500 balance (on 0% APR but it expires in May) on a Citi card - can't transfer it to another Citi card so I was thinking of somehow using my Starwood AmEx card. I would pay the $1500 off right away so I don't care about the balance transfer APR, I'm just looking to get miles if at all possible.

I believe that there are ways to do it; however, the ones that do offer miles for balance transfers typically charge a fee that may or may not make it a worthwhile proposition.

A search yielded the thread below, which has more info:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=531164

Mike

Well, if you are considering opening a new credit account to earn your balance transfer miles, there are a few that give bonus miles that way. For example, the Mileage Plus Visa Signature Gold card- up to 10,000 miles for balance transfers. I'd check with your airline and hotel partner cards on the websites to see if they offer something. Of course, if you aren't wanting to open a new card, then maybe talking to customer service at some of your existing cards would work? Especially if they do have a balance transfer offer out for new cardholders.
Some people have gotten some mileage bonuses this way with their online investments when new offers came out.
Hope you figure something out!

Juniper Bank's cards usually come with a limited offer for miles with first transfers. Try the US or YX cards...

May or may not be worth it with such a small amount though. Usually transfers for miles are only worth it if you can xfer an amount that reduces the impact of the vigorish to a lot less than you value the miles. So, 10,000 US Airways miles for the $75 max fee is a good deal for most people, whereas 1,500 miles for $45 is likely not.

I've maintained a credit union membership for years just for the freebies that come with membership. One is that will let me get Amex travelers cheques using a credit card, with no transaction fee. Something like that would provide miles and transfer a balance with no cost, except the legwork to take the cheques down to the bank and pay off the other credit card (or deposit them and write a check to pay it off). American Express will let you by a cheque card on line using an American Express card for 14.95, amount up to $2,750. Though whether a bank would accept the cheque card (basically a pre-paid debit card) to pay off a credit card balance is another question.

The Southwest Visa card allows you to earn Reward Dollars on balance transfers up to the first $5,000, as long as it's done within 90 days from account opening. There is a fee. The card is offered through Chase.

I'll echo pinniped's comments about Juniper cards. I just got a Frontier card with 15K signup bonus for $49 and transferred $10,000 over from another card. The transfer gave 10K miles, the fee was capped at $50 and it is 0% interest for six months. So for $99 I got 25K miles, which although I never set foot on Frontier, I am going to use to top off my AsiaMiles account which was initially populated with Ebay AnythingPoints. For lots of good credit card tips see pgary's (http://www.freefrequentflyermiles.com/index.htm) excellent web site - that's where I got the Frontier pointer.

I'll echo pinniped's comments about Juniper cards. I just got a Frontier card with 15K signup bonus for $49 and transferred $10,000 over from another card. The transfer gave 10K miles, the fee was capped at $50 and it is 0% interest for six months. So for $99 I got 25K miles, which although I never set foot on Frontier, I am going to use to top off my AsiaMiles account which was initially populated with Ebay AnythingPoints. For lots of good credit card tips see pgary's (http://www.freefrequentflyermiles.com/index.htm) excellent web site - that's where I got the Frontier pointer.


I have scoured that site for any mention of how to convert Frontier miles into any other program and I don't see what you are referring to. Can you explain how you do this?

Thanks

There are many airline credit cards that offer miles for balance transfers. Most all have a 3% fee on the transfer, but most of those fees are also capped at $50 or $75 per transfer. So the miles received could justify the fee for a large transfer.

To find the cards that have a balance transfer offer, go to my website below, click on Credit Cards in the left menu, then click on Free Cards, click on the page you get (important, to avoid searching on my frame), and then do a word search on "Balance". Reapeat for the Annual Fee Cards page.

There is a limited time offer with Bank Of America USAirways VISA for no finance fee and free frequent flyer miles. It is targeted to existing card holders only, but you can try calling 1-866-8US-VISA to see if they will let a new customer get the same offer.

I have scoured that site for any mention of how to convert Frontier miles into any other program and I don't see what you are referring to. Can you explain how you do this?

Thanks
Sorry, I was mixing a couple of concepts. Pgary's site has all the details on earning miles via credit cards (and other methods). To exchange them to another airline, I am using points.com. The exchange rate is not great, 25,000 Frontier miles yields 12,000 AsiaMiles, but it is free and 12K is just the amount I need to reach an award level. To buy those miles directly from AsiaMiles would cost $360, so I felt $99 was a good deal.

To learn more, search for threads on points.com or AsiaMiles. The Ebay AnythingPoints deal is long dead, but was a good deal at the time.

I recently requested balance transfer using my Chase / United MC and the call center personnel offered me 5000 miles for transfers over $5000

you may want to call Chase to find out how long it is valid. If I remember correctly she say until May06.

I recently requested balance transfer using my Chase / United MC....
Does Bank One/Chase offer United MP Mastercard at all? All these years I thought only Visa is offered. :confused:

I'll echo pinniped's comments about Juniper cards. I just got a Frontier card with 15K signup bonus for $49 and transferred $10,000 over from another card. The transfer gave 10K miles, the fee was capped at $50 and it is 0% interest for six months. So for $99 I got 25K miles, which although I never set foot on Frontier, I am going to use to top off my AsiaMiles account which was initially populated with Ebay AnythingPoints. For lots of good credit card tips see pgary's (http://www.freefrequentflyermiles.com/index.htm) excellent web site - that's where I got the Frontier pointer.
Just a datapoint for anyone interested in how long this takes. I applied for the card and $10K transfer on 4/6. I got the card a couple weeks later, my first statement posted ($99 as above) a few days ago and the 25K miles showed up in my Frontier account on 5/8. So only a month, not too bad. Now I can transfer this over and top off my AsiaMiles account and I'm all set. :)