Originally Posted by
sider1011
QUESTIONS:
(1) What do "targeted" credit card offers mean, and how do they differ from non-targeted?
(2) I signed up for a Chase United Mileage Plus Explorer card and got the 30k bonus miles. Is there any way to cancel this card and sign up for it again to get the bonus again? (it says the bonus is not eligible for prior or existing members.)
(3) If I wanted to continue getting UNITED miles, what other cards / offers give united bonus miles, or points that will transfer to united miles? (I'm looking for large (20k+) initial bonus mile awards, as I don't spend much money per month.)
(4) Are there any cards that you can sign up for, get the initial bonus amount, then cancel the card and do it again?
(5) Which airline has the best frequent flyer program, in terms of getting the most miles the fastest without spending much per month on a credit card?
Welcome...
(1) They are offers sent directly to someone, based on some combination of credit profile and other data the issuer has. Sometimes only the recipient can apply, sometimes the same application will work for anyone.
(2) How long ago did you apply? Usually Chase will match a bonus offer within 60 days of your signup if you send a secure message. Otherwise, the prevailing wisdom is that it takes at least 2 years after cancellation to get the UA bonus again. However, you could get the business version, as that is considered a different product.
(3) Anything that earns Ultimate Rewards points - so much of the Ink and Sapphire families of cards. You can also earn in any Star Alliance partner's program which, for now, includes US. Their Mastercard has a 35k signup offer, and well as the fact that the SPG card's 25k can convert to 30k on US. (There are also cards for the "foreign" *A carriers, with lots of fees/restrictions that can trip you up if you haven't fully researched their programs.)
(4) Pretty much all of them, the only question is how long you have to wait. Check out the threads for each of the cards for guidance.
(5) None of them are particularly easy from everyday spend. There are folks who "manufacture" additional spend using a variety of methods. There are several UR cards that work well for that. You should spend some time calculating valuations of each type of mile/point - you may very well find that a 2% cashback card is more profitable for you, outside of signup bonuses.
EDIT: Look at that; two independent opinions that are essentially the same. Rare occurrence.