Sarinalove

Background on myself:

I currently carry:
Capital One Venture
American Express Blue Sky
and just recently signed up for the Barclay Arrival Plus

Now we all know there is a ton of ways to earn points and I've been reading up on it and trying to understand it all but I want to make the best decisions and so I'm reaching out to people on here to see what you all have to say.

I travel more for our fun and sometimes for work but overall I travel approximately 3-5 times a year only on average including domestic and internationally. So I'm not hardcore traveler as maybe some of you guys are.

I also don't always stay at the typical hilton or starwood hotels. Sometimes I stay in boutique hotels or an airbnb. I just look for places that look really nice and modern and unique and a good price.But if I had a preference, it would be high end places like starwood locations.
As for airline, I never had status on any airline. Again, I just look for a good deal and go with it. I prefer jetblue or virgin america/atlantic if I had a choice though.

Based on this information, I'm toying between the idea of getting a Chase Sapphire and/or the AMEX Platinum and/or the AMEX SPG card.

I've had my BLUE SKY AMEX for a LONG time now and racked up over 100k in points. But it's just 1 point for $1. So I feel like it's time to retire that card and put my dollar into something new. I am planning a honeymoon trip this Christmas to Europe and currently saved about $1300 with my AMEX and $500 with my capital one Venture.What else can I do to help maximize my travel rewards and experience?

What do you think? Am I going into the right direction with the credit card options I mention?

I'm new to this and I want to really learn from everyone here!

guv1976

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

Welcome to FT!

It's unlikely that you can do much between now and Christmas to make any more of a difference on your honeymoon. First, you would have to get approved for one or more credit cards. Then, you'd have to meet the minimum-spend requirements on them. Then, you'd have to wait for the bonuses to post, and hope that the flights/hotels you want to redeem for are still available. How much could you (and your intended) charge to new credit cards in the next month?

Going forward, you first have to decide whether you want free flights (if so from where, to where, and in what class of service?); free hotel nights; or both. Because of differences in FFPs, the very same award seats on the very same flights can cost very different amounts of miles/points. Some examples: a one-way Coach award on an AA nonstop from LAX to Hawaii costs just 12,500 BA Avios year round; the same award seat costs 17,500 or 22,500 AA miles (depending on season). But on the flip side, a Business Class award seat from LAX to NRT on JAL would cost just 50,000 AA miles; BA would charge 105,000 Avios (plus cash surcharges) for the same seat! So the specific routes and classes of service of your future award travel is important to know in order to figure out which miles/points would benefit you the most.

If your future spouse is credit worthy and can also obtain credit cards, you can double the sign-up bonuses the two of you receive.

Churning credit cards can be a very good way to keep travel costs down. But you should avoid churning if you plan to apply for any type of loan (new house, refinance, new car, etc.) within the next couple of years.

Good luck!

Sarinalove

I already own a house and have no plans to buy a new one. If I do it'll be about 4-5 years from now. I also have excellent credit Over 800!

I kinda figured I wouldn't earn much by this December but I do want to start a good foundation for future travels as next year I plan on going to Europe, Asia, and Orlando.

I guess I want to focus on airline points and miles and perks regarding airline. Hotel is quite difficult since I am not partial to a specific brand. I like airbnb and boutique hotels.

guv1976

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

"I plan on going to Europe, Asia, and Orlando."

But from where? Dallas? Juneau? Syracuse? It makes a difference -- as does desired class of service.

You may find that one FFP is better for one destination, and another FFP is better for a different destination. You can certainly acquire miles in more than one FFP, and/or use cards like Amex PRG, Amex Starwood, Chase Sapphire Preferred, and Citi ThankYou that let you transfer points to a variety of FFPs. But unless you charge many tens (or hundreds) of thousands of dollars every year, the miles/points you obtain from sign-up bonuses will far exceed what you obtain just from regular accruals from everyday spending.

Segments

Many boutique hotels are also under a major program umbrella. Check out Marriott for their Autograph collection for example. You can earn points and get elite status recognition while staying at unique / boutique properties.

Otherwise consider booking via hotels.com where you can earn credits toward future stays.

garykung

Before you want to start something new, look at the programs you have now first.

AMEX MR is not bad if you know how to make it work for you.

It takes thinking and planning to make things work.

sdsearch

You may want to apply for the American Express Everyday card right now (while it has the 25k offer):
before Amex "forces" it on you (and thus prevents you from ever earning a signup bonus on it) by converting your Blue Sky to an Everyday:

B747SP

Thanks for the heads-up! I have not received the letter of a forced conversion for my Blue yet, but signed up for the Everyday using the above offer just in case.