What credit cards should I apply for?
Oct 21, 2014, 6:47 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 7
What credit cards should I apply for?
For ever and ever I have had one credit card, Chase Freedom, and never seen any reason to have more until now.....LOL. I live in Chicago and would like to work toward taking my family to Hawaii. Can anybody help me when it comes to what CC I should start applying for. TIA for the help.
Oct 21, 2014, 7:51 pm
#2
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How many in your family? Must you all travel on the same flights, or can you split into two (or more) groups? How soon do you want to travel to Hawaii? If it's within the next 330 days, you can check award-seat availability right now on aa.com (which will show availability on AS, HA, and US, as well), delta.com, and united.com.
How many in your family? Must you all travel on the same flights, or can you split into two (or more) groups? How soon do you want to travel to Hawaii? If it's within the next 330 days, you can check award-seat availability right now on aa.com (which will show availability on AS, HA, and US, as well), delta.com, and united.com.
Oct 21, 2014, 9:21 pm
#3
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Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 7
Hi guv1976. I am starting out slow. So my goal will be when I acquire more points. Definitely a year or so from now. I did apply for the Chase Sapphire and met minimum spend and received my points on that card. We are a family of 4 and we do not have to travel on the same flights. I was just wondering which cards I should apply for next. It seems that it would not be a good idea to put all my MSing on one card.
Oct 21, 2014, 9:50 pm
#4
Join Date: Aug 2012
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You might already know this, but don't forget about your spouse applying for credit cards, too. You are allowed to claim household income on your application. I would first start looking at any cards cards that feed into AA or UA programs and that includes Chase URs and Amex SPG as well as actual AA or UA cards. Delta is also an option with Amex cards as the partner. Many people deride Delta Skymiles for their lack of Saver Awards, however, AA and UA (own metal) have become just about as tough to find within the last year or so. We have a family of five and have never had to split up onto different flights while traveling in economy.
Oct 21, 2014, 9:58 pm
#5
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I would concentrate on acquiring AA and UA miles. Look at the FT credit-card forums for the latest deals on Citi/AA credit cards, Barclays/US credit cards (US Dividend Miles are expected to be converted to AA miles in 2015), and Chase/UA credit cards.
If your spouse is credit worthy, then each of you can get a card and get the sign-up bonus, as long as each of you can meet the minimum spend requirement. And you can each apply at different times, to space out the spend requirements.
In addition to the Citi/AA cards, the SPG Amex card earns Starwood points, which can be converted to AA miles. But the Amex/SPG card rarely has a great sign-up bonus.
I would concentrate on acquiring AA and UA miles. Look at the FT credit-card forums for the latest deals on Citi/AA credit cards, Barclays/US credit cards (US Dividend Miles are expected to be converted to AA miles in 2015), and Chase/UA credit cards.
If your spouse is credit worthy, then each of you can get a card and get the sign-up bonus, as long as each of you can meet the minimum spend requirement. And you can each apply at different times, to space out the spend requirements.
In addition to the Citi/AA cards, the SPG Amex card earns Starwood points, which can be converted to AA miles. But the Amex/SPG card rarely has a great sign-up bonus.
Oct 22, 2014, 12:11 pm
#7
Join Date: Apr 2004
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Sorry to complicate things, but many folks on FT these days find that Hotel awards are often easier to get and more valuable than Airline rewards. So you may want to do a quick review of whether it would be easier for you to get the hotel free via CCs and pay for the airfare as opposed to the other way around. Every situation is different so there is no right or wrong answer.
Oct 23, 2014, 5:41 am
#9
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Oct 23, 2014, 2:15 pm
#10
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If the OP is ok paying for some tickets, check out the AS card, as it grants both miles and an annual $99 companion certificate. This can greatly reduce overall costs.
If the OP is ok paying for some tickets, check out the AS card, as it grants both miles and an annual $99 companion certificate. This can greatly reduce overall costs.
Oct 27, 2014, 2:39 am
#11
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For ever and ever I have had one credit card, Chase Freedom, and never seen any reason to have more until now.....LOL. I live in Chicago and would like to work toward taking my family to Hawaii. Can anybody help me when it comes to what CC I should start applying for. TIA for the help.
Thanks
~Moderator, Information Desk.
Oct 30, 2014, 6:36 pm
#12
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 67
One of the bloggers (MMS) suggested to use Korean Air miles because its new Skyteam redemption table shows that you need 25,000 miles within North America, and Hawaii is considered as North America.
You can transfer Chase UR points to Korean Air miles.
You can transfer Chase UR points to Korean Air miles.