gijoe985

Long story short, I've got a friend who would like to have him and his wife go on a trip to Israel with us in February 2018. They don't have, nor make, a lot of money, but he knows that I've done a lot of free travel via miels I've gotten from card deals. I'm trying to help him pick out the best cards so he can get two economy tickets from SEA to TLV, without having huge spending requirements. Some annuals fees are ok, but like the Chase Premiere would not work, too much to spend and too high a fee (though a good value). My gameplan is that he and his wife would be getting the same cards. I need to check on their credit though. I'm hoping it will be ok.

Thanks.

mia

Do you know which airline(s) you will (likely) be flying, and would it be best if your friends were on the same flight?

gijoe985

It honestly doesn't matter, as long as they get there around the same date.

Probably would like to avoid BA because of the fuel surcharge fees.

EmailKid

Bolding mine.

From what I have read, days of churning and Manufactured Spending have seen better days, so with little money to spend, it will be much harder.

That said, Alaska cards seem to have some of the lowest spend requirements around to get the initial bonus, and Alaska partners with a plethora of airlines, and hopefully could get your friends to Israel (obviously not on their planes over Atlantic).

gijoe985

Yeah, I mainly worked with bonuses. My wife and I don't have a substantial combined income either, but we did a Thailand trip in 2012, with a value of over $60k, using about 800k points, but when all was said and done, we spent under $1k. Including food, gifts, fees, etc. Those days are probably over, but I'm hoping to get some good deals. My line of thought, who flies there > who are they partners with > who has the best card deals. Alaska is my first bet right now. A Sapphire card for the untied miles would be good for one way...

particlemn

so I did a kayak search and saw some flights sea tlv for 738 others for about 1000. they could both get the Barclay arrival plus card(no annual fee the first year), after spending 3k each they will have $560 towards air line travel, just find the cheapest flight and book using cards then apply the points to credit the account.
if the apply now and meet the min spend then each charge 1k per month nov-april (april is the time they will probably buy the ticket) they will have $680 in travel credits each 500 for the sign up bonus plys 180 for the 9k each they spend in 7 months, 3k the first month and 1k each additional month.

gijoe985

That's a pretty good plan.

gijoe985

You know, if only he got a Chase Premiere card, he could almost pay for both tickets... He might be able to pull off one...

mia

Do you mean Chase Sapphire Preferred or something else?

garykung

What is your gameplan anyway?

I read your post several time. Can someone tell me what OP is trying to ask?

EmailKid

Believe this sums it up.

OP, correct me if I'm wrong.

gijoe985

Nope, I think it was that simple.

gijoe985

Sorry, too many cards on the brain. I meant the Reserve card by Chase, not the preferred. The 100k bonus card.

garykung

I thought OP has a list of cards at first and wanted to ask opinions.

Nevertheless, a CSR will take care of all issues (for each person).

ninim2200

A lot of people look at the results of traveling with miles and think its an easy thing to do, these days its far from easy, this Hobby requires a lot of work and not for everyone, if you cannot afford something, you shouldn't do it, and travel in general is never free, there is still cost involved. I vacation 4-6 times a year, i am actually in Copenhagen right now, my friends ask about my hobby and i ask them if they are willing to do the work, because its work, its never free, it cost time and money, most of them want the end result without the work few are willing to earn it, but since you asked a question i am going to give you my 2 cents .

Check Delta/Amex cards, delta economy ticket is 35k one way these days, there are many offers for Amex cards that can get you there if your friend can do the spending, it would be hard for anyone to do the spending if they don't have money/make money/spend money, but 140k can be achieved in 2-3 cards.