FlyingToFly

100k BA = $75 + 2000 SPG? How does that work? Please forgive me if I missed the instructions on a previous page.

x8mrxjohn8x

First time posting, but long time reader.

If you merge your account, for example, merge 3 people's account into one and cancel 2 of them, would the 2 lose the 200,000 points, or would it remain in the account?

FlyingToFly

Why would you want to cancel the 2 accounts? If you are adding your spouse or child, you may simply leave the accounts dormant until they come in handy at a future date.

GUWonder

40k in coach, 80k in business roundtrip IIRC -- it's not the way I would consider using them.

pinniped

That was in response to an earlier question of what 100,000 BA miles is worth...somewhat suggesting that 100,000 miles on a different carrier would be worth more.

I'm basically saying that I don't know much about BA beyond what I've read on FT, but I'm happy to pay one annual fee and direct $2,000 of spending onto this card to find out.

Even if I later learn that these miles are hard to use and the taxes associated with them are high, I still didn't risk much to get them. Worst case: they get redeemed for two lousy coach tickets to Manchester in an off-peak month...

x8mrxjohn8x

I was planning on canceling so I wouldn't have to pay the $75 annual fees after the first year.

pinniped

Usually, the biggest bonus offers hit you upfront with an annual fee. I know Amex hit me with $75 or $85 on Day 1 when I was starting that $10k for 75k DL run.

If this one effectively waives that until the 12-month mark, the offer is even juicier than I previously thought. @:-)

IMH

You can't "merge" accounts belonging to different people. You can link them to form a household account. The individual accounts continue to exist. Closing one of them with miles in it would mean forfeiting those miles. For more details:

yanxfann

A bit off topic but since FW was mentioned I want to give my two cents worth: As a longtime user of FT I guess I got spoiled a bit as to how civil and polite this place normally is. My experience with FatWallet was the complete opposite, I generally view it as being it as being rude and vicious - basically a complete downer. I refuse to even look at FT anymore as any genuinely good deal that's posted there is almost guaranteed to also be posted on SlickDeals and I've found the people on SD to be much nicer to deal with.

x8mrxjohn8x

Thanks

iahphx

I guess the first thing is getting approved. Citi is suddenly denying folks credit cards for little or no reason, so we'll see with Chase. I don't think I or my wife have applied for any type of card with them in the past year, so I'd guess we'll be OK.

Once we get the cards, it seems like a no-brainer to spend the $2k. There seem to be plenty of opportunties to earn good rewards without having to pay BA's crazy fuel surcharges.

The next question becomes whether to shoot for the 30k spend for the companion ticket. I'm currently thinking "no." First, as I understand it, the companion ticket is only good on BA metal -- which means you have to pay the nasty surcharges. So the "free" ticket is going to cost at least a couple hundred dollars, right? Also, I don't know about you guys, but 30k would be the vast majority of my household's credit card spending in a year. Other than hauling coins to the bank, is there any practical way to get this spend without, um, spending the 30k? I hear rumors that there are other strategies.

Astrophsx

I was wondering if you can upgrade from a Platinum Chase Visa to the BA card? This way there might not be a pull on your credit?

I had talked to a CSR from Amex one time about going from a regular amex to the Delta gold card vs. Delta gold card to Delta Platinum, and they said neither had a hard pull on your credit, that they were considered upgrades since you would be paying a yearly fee.

gpapadop

I got a Chase Sony Card on 11/5/09 & a Continental CC on 10/20/09 (along with two Continental debit cards linked to two new Continental Chase checking accounts). So, to continue my perfect cc streak, do I apply for this one now?

Will this have any effect on my regular Citibank AA cc churning? (so far so good there, but starting to get worried).

FlyingToFly

If a large number of people get approved for this offer, it may be extremely difficult to snag award seats in the coming year.

josephstern

Probably true on BA, but by the time you get to the partner level, I doubt you'd be able to notice the difference.