Looking for general miles/points advice...
I'm looking for some general advice on accumulating miles and hotel points now that I've gotten my feet wet. My local airport is Baltimore Washington International. I fly once or twice per year for business and once or twice per year for personal travel. My goal is to actually reap some of the benefits of these programs for personal travel.
For example, I'll probably be heading to Vegas with friends next year and would love to be able to fly for free. Similarly, a trip to Chicago this summer is a serious possibility and I would love to get there for free. I'm thinking about topping off my Southwest account as they fly to Midway (preferred by me over O'Hare as my friend lives closer to Midway), and using that award for the BWI-MDW flight. My current thought is to get the Marriott Rewards CC with 20,000 point bonus and then transfer those points to 4 Rapid Rewards credits. Then one more round trip flight (3 Rapid Rewards credits) on Southwest will get me to a free flight. Here is a summary of my current accounts and balances:
American Airlines AAdvantage 1,863
Amtrak Guest Rewards 1,600
e-Rewards 48.3
Hilton HHonors 2,480
Marriott Rewards 0
MyPoints 2,095
Northwest Airlines WorldPerks 1,500
Southwest Rapid Rewards 9.5
Starwood Preferred Guest 1,188
United Mileage Plus 3,000
US Airways Dividend Miles 18,350
Any suggestions would be welcome!
Thanks!