Bullajami

I have established accounts with:
-Delta SkyMiles
-United Mileage Plus
-AAdvantage
-Southwest Rapid Rewards
-AwardWallet

I now have 9 bookmarks on my browser for travel-related information

I have learned:
-My 'travel points Visa' through my credit union is not helping me with one of my main goals, which is UPGRADES
-The deal I got for signing up for a US Airways MC was OK, but not great
-If you register for AAdvantage Dining with the same CC you used for SkyMiles Dining you are disenrolled from SkyMiles Dining
-There will be credit card churning in my future
-The more I learn the more I realize I don't yet know
-There are some AWESOME people here at FlyerTalk Forums

Here is the minimum I hope to learn today:
-How to convince the wife I am not a lunatic for pursing this (she got visibly upset when I mentioned changing our primary credit card away from the old tried and true credit union Visa)
-Which additional accounts I should open first
-Which forum this post should have gone in!

Million Mile Secrets

- The wife will come around once you take her on a First or Business Class international trip...or stay in a fancy hotel.

- If you mean credit card accounts, well, you should open the Citi AAdvantage 75,000 mile accounts for $4000 spend each within 6 months. That's 300,000 miles between you and the wife if you open 2 Citi AA cards each!

The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card for 50,000 points each after $3,000 in spend is also good since you can transfer these to Hyatt and stay at some really cool hotels.

The SPG Amex card with 10,000 Starpoints after first purchase and 15,000 additional points after spending $15,000 within 6 months.

I would also apply for Chase's Continental Airlines credit cards quickly - especially since Continental Airlines will not be around for much longer. And once Continental Airlines merges with United you could apply for a United card as well!

- Don't forget that you can earn miles for everyday purchases if you shop through an online shopping portal. Check EV Rewards for the best shopping portal. I wrote a blog post on EV Rewards today.

Hope you earn many more miles today!

UA Fan

Welcome to the club, hope you have time to spend here, as it can get addictive. Here are more credit card specials:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...er-thread.html

fstop75

just beware that with wives, or at least my wife, each higher level of luxury experienced becomes the new minimum acceptable standard! Can't say you weren't warned!

Henry82

SO TRUE!

How are you coming up with 300k miles between two people?

Stubtify

Probably 2 apps (at least the visa and business card) each.

UA Fan

I lucked out in this regard.

OttoMH

Just wait until you book your first 'Mileage Run'... then she'll really go nuts

UA Fan

OP, if you subscribe to this thread, when an FTer posts an offer, you will be updated. Let me know if you have any questions.

lwildernorva

Look at this post: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/14386923-post2.html. Do what's set forth in that post exactly. Repeat for your wife. That adds up to 300,000 miles.

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm still in learning mode. One of my early lessons was to overcome the reticence I had to apply for two 75K cards at the same time as described in this post. I undoubtedly cost myself 75,000 miles as a result of that mistake. Just be sure that you can afford to spend the $6000 on the cards required to qualify for all four of these bonuses in six months.

rajuabju

1) GREAT Start

2) I was able to convince my wife very easily... I told her the following:

Do you want to travel? (answer: yes)
Do you want to travel to nice destinations? (answer: yes)
Do you want to stay in nice hotels? (answer: yes)
Do you want to fly in business or even first class for long flights? (answer: yes)

Well, then, hunny, the ONLY WAY we will ever be able to do all the above is by squeezing every mile and point we possibly can. (answer: lets do it!)

Million Mile Secrets

I edited the post to be clear that husband and wife should BOTH apply for 2 Citi AA Cards at the same time. That's 75,000*2 = 150,000 per person. Or 300,000 per couple.

toomanybooks

I thought the Continental card availability went away May 15, though I do see it still at chase.com. Maybe they gave a reprieve.

Also, Chase is not as apt to approve multiple CC apps in quick succession as it used to be. With Hyatt, Marriott, Amtrak, Southwest, United, Priority Club, etc., etc., available you should decide which cards you want most and get them in order. Perhaps the wife gets some and you get others. If you have family members who don't care about points/miles, add them as additional cardholders.

And, yes, the WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) is often a big hurdle to overcome in this pastime, and it rarely totally goes away. But it gets better. Two $45 Hyatt Place stays becoming a free $500 Park Hyatt room or four $39 Hampton stays for a free $1100 Conrad stay in a double-upgrade room are instrumental in this process.

I urge you to consider coming to one of the big gatherings, like the one linked in my signature, or the one in NYC. You will learn more in a couple days than you will in weeks of looking through FT. And you will meet hundreds of folks willing to help you and trade advice.

Million Mile Secrets

You're right that Chase will not immediately approve multiple apps in quick succession and will send you a denial letter.

But calling the reconsideration line and offering to move lines or cancel cards will almost always get you the new card!

We've had the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Southwest, Priority Club, and Continental credit cards within the last 6 months.

That's 4 cards each within 6 months!

Don't give up if you get a denial letter from Chase - they just want to see how badly you want the card

I wrote a blog post yesterday on how to get reconsidered by Chase if you get a denial letter from them!

I agree with you, though, that one should choose carefully amongst the Chase cards while applying.

2tall4economy

Wife and I got one each submitted Sunday, approved Monday.

The United card is on hold though, unfortunately, likely declined. I do plan to call all the card companies back (after beating them up for the best intro offer) and split up my credit line to the other cards and see if they reconsider...