Originally Posted by
joer1212
Yes, I am aware of the Fidelity offer, but I didn't jump on it because I have my money invested primarily in a 457b/401k at work, and in a Roth IRA with Vanguard, which makes a lot more sense for me financially.
The trouble with the United and USAir cards is that, while they require a very low spend, in the end, you still only have 40k miles and 50k miles which cannot be combined. Neither of these is even close to enough to redeem for an international business class flight. To me, this is almost a deal-breaker. In fact, I don't know if I even want to get into the miles game anymore, in light of this. I was really counting on being able to combine miles from different credit card bonuses. It would have been a bonanza. But, I guess the airlines are not that stupid.
I've been taking my family of 3 on 2 or more international trips per year for the past few years, thanks mostly to CC bonuses. I don't have a very high income nor any sizeable investments. It just takes a bit of work and using tools to get spending up without actually purchasing things or costing you more than necessary. It's a fun game but it does take a bit of time to manage.
Also, consider focusing on FFPs that allow one-way awards at 1/2 the RT price. US is not one (sadly) but UA and AA are for example. This in essence provides you with leverage that is in the end, the same as you're looking for as far as the final result. Also use stopovers strategically to stretch your redemptions.