Originally Posted by
Slybone
I definitely don't have the credit history to start churning cards...
My credit history started w/a Discover More Card in December 2010 and 6 months later I opened a Chase Freedom card.
Currently both card limits sit at 5k. I spent 50k on my Discover last year and another 50k on my discover in the past 3 months. Chase just set my limit to 5k so I haven't really been using it that much. I've been reading the board posts here and there while at the office but it looks like I'm going to have to start sifting through them with more diligence. I did apply for the Capital One Venture card...but got declined due to lack of history.
I know this may be a bit frustrating, but this is a long-term game. Seeing a thread like this has got to add to the frustration. It's like seeing someone living in a 10-bedroom oceanfront house and saying, "I want that, too!"
Well, you can get to it, but it'll take time. You have shown that you understand you need to build a credit history, and believe me, a good credit history will eventually put you in a better position in life than any amount of points you might get through the kinds of deals found on FT.
Nevertheless, you're here because of the possibilities offered. Here is a strategy I might consider. Most folks focus first on airline miles credit cards, and understandably so. On the other hand, because of the high benefits offered, these kinds of cards may be more difficult for you to get. Concentrate for the time being on fee-free cards that offer some travel benefit, such as hotel cards. Hilton has a couple through Citi, Barclay's offers a Choice Visa. You won't be able to fly anywhere yet (the transfer of hotel points earned through these offers will yield a miserable number of airline miles, I'm afraid), but you'll have some free hotel rooms that you can use on a driving trip. Check the forum here on bidding sites, like Priceline, to see how you could combine a low-cost bid room for a couple of nights with the rooms you earn through cards to string together a week someplace nice for perhaps no more than $100.
And, if you want to fly, I'd pay attention to the Mileage Run forum. There can be the occasional mistake fare that might get you on a plane somewhere you want to be.
Once you build a bit of credit history, consider fee cards with minimum spending requirements. Last year, I took the Chase CO Mastercard, Chase Southwest card, and Barclay's US Mastercard, each of which gave me a good chunk of miles without having to spend a lot of money.
Churning is out for you, and in fact, in what is undoubtedly FT heresy, I might encourage you to hold onto one or two of the fee cards, even paying an annual fee. Why? At this point, you need not just a credit history, but a history with a bank or two.
You're going to have to build a bit of a foundation for the future--not just for your travels, but for everything else credit can do for you, such as buying a car, buying a house, or getting a loan from the bank to fund that really great business idea you have.