Originally Posted by
Miles Meyers
Thanks guys. I do really appreciate all the feedback, very thorough answers. And though I just officially joined today I have been browsing through the FT forums now for a couple weeks trying to soak up as much knowledge as possible, and this has been very helpful.
As far as my current mileage situation/goals, I have a Discover Miles card, Capitol One Venture card, and the two most recent Citi AA 50k point that I have applied/received in the past 30 days, which is a total of all my cards currently. I'm trying to figure out how many more I can grab within the next 11 months to boost my miles. My goal is to travel to China, Thailand, Japan, and Australia (I live in the US), so trying to get enough airline miles -or combination of- to make that happen.
If you have a specific goal (goals are good!), then look into which airlines fly to the places you want to go. Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines probably cover most or all of where you are looking to travel. Figure out on which of their partners you can accrue sufficient miles for the trip. Then figure out how many miles you will need. If, for instance, you are flying Cathay Pacific, you can use American miles. You are on track to acquire 100K, if you get a business card or two over the next six months, you'll have 150-200K. Check out the forums on the airlines that service your destinations to get tips on creative routing to minimize miles costs.
Also look at which hotel chains are in the areas you wish to visit and think about how many points you would need to stay in comfort during your trip. That may actually require more points than the air. Look into your Discover and Capital One cards to see if they can cover hotels, or maybe a Sapphire Card.