IkeEsq

All of the miles and points I got this year are convertable into AA miles, which is why I chose those cards and did not apply for others. The goal is ~600K for me and ~300K for my wife in 6 months.

50K gets you Business-class one-way US to Europe. Fly a different airline on the way back or use a partner's miles to get a return flight on the same airline.

allanfan

Mind sharing which cards you got this year that's convertible to AA? I don't see a lot of these options without significant devaluation of points/miles, e.g. HHonors points to AA.

IkeEsq

SPG 1:1.25
MR 5:2

Depends a lot on how you value miles/points from various programs as to whether you feel the devaluation is worth it. Still hoping AmEx will have a special on transfers to SPG. A guy can dream.

saacman5033

Welcome to FT!

Without a US address, you likely won't be able to apply for the US cards. I would check out this thread:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...-citizens.html

As for having points scattered in various programs, I only target points that I can find a use for without losing value in transfers. I certainly wouldn't turn my nose up at getting 50k in a new account though as I can almost always find a use for 50k points!

AlohaDaveKennedy

Points are scattered across 35 programs here. Since the world is my private checker board, the inventory is indeed valuable. Even have 25k of your Aeroplan Miles for an eventual trip to PEI. When clearing countries off the todo list a scattered approach works as no one airline can cover.

saacman5033

Exactly!

Yuengling

I'd love to get to this level of cc rewards.

wc4572

What's the general concensus on open/closing cards? Specifically:

1) How much does one card impact your credit score upon opening? I've read 3-7 points.

2) How much does one card impact your credit score upon closing the card in 10-11 months?

3) If you open a card and close it in 10-11 months, how long until your credit score returns what it was?

4) If each card subtracts an average of 7 points from a credit score, how high are your credit scores those of you that are opening 5 or more cards?

I've never applied for any cards and am relatively new to this mileage hobby, so any help is beneficial.

AirForceFlyer

+1!

MDtR-Chicago

Please spend some time learning how credit scoring works, before you make a mistake you'll regret. Start with myfico's own explanation.

The "hard inquiry" the bank pulls to determine if you get the card costs a few points and stays on your report for two years.

Each card generally stays on your report for 7 years after you close it. The card itself has both negative and positive impacts:

POSITIVE effect on overall utilization, positive payment history, possibly on number/type of accounts
NEGATIVE effect on average age of accounts, number of new accounts, possibly on overall metrics like "number of accounts with balances"

For the first few accounts, these effects are often quite positive. After that, they are often slightly negative.

Score is only one of several metrics a lender, especially for a mortgage, will examine.

AlohaDaveKennedy

BTW, in 39 programs, using 35. Some, like ANA, I got in for information value only. Others, like TACA, sit idle and I don't participate anymore since I have already been to everywhere they fly.

robyng

You normally have to be a first time person to get stuff. At age 60+ - having had many cards - and membership in many reward programs - and miles/points transfers - and some pretty nice rewards - I am eligible for almost nothing in the way of bonuses that are of interest to me. 25k miles on Alaska airlines - thanks but no thanks. Although there were/are more available to me this year than in the past. Probably the result of CO leaving AMEX - and Delta staying. So there's a "loyalty fight" going on (and other credit card companies/airlines are circling around the fight like vultures - trying to pick up some pieces of the fallout). Since Delta and CO are my 2 primary airlines - and AMEX has been my primary credit card company for 30+ years - I have been a beneficiary of that fight.

You have to wary of the fine print. A lot of non-US carriers (don't know about BA) charge ridiculous fuel surcharges for reward flights. If you get AMEX MR points - you'd better know where they're going before you have to pay an annual fee (first year's fee has been waived on a lot of these deals). Because you'll lose your MR points if you cancel your AMEX. I suspect that Chase Sapphire will work the same way.

Also - you have to be aware of expiration dates on various programs. This year - Delta went from X months to no expiration date. CO - after its merger with UA - is doing the opposite - going from miles that never expire to miles that expire in 18 months if your account is inactive (unless you get or keep a CO or UA card).

I have 2 cards that charge annual fees. AMEX (MR Preferred) and CO OnePass. Total of $270/year. New Chase Sapphire is waived for a year - and I don't know what I'll do with it next year. Or with the CO OnePass for that matter. Because I'll have to see how the CO/UA merger works out in terms of how I travel. For some people - a "premium card" like an AMEX platinum (at > $400/year) makes sense. Especially if you fly a whole lot and don't otherwise - through an elite program - have club access. Doesn't make any sense at all for me.

In the last 5 years or so - I've gotten free front of the plane rewards from JAX to Tokyo (1 ticket - paid for the second) - London - Paris - Berlin and Los Angeles (all 2 tickets). I am currently "saving" for 2 front of plane reward tickets to Asia - probably 300k miles each. 50k miles standing alone are kind of worthless to me. But - for someone who is taking regular domestic flights from A to B - perhaps to visit family - they might be valuable - assuming the carrier(s) in question offers convenient connections from A to B. I know I have driven to Orlando (2 hours) to get a great reward ticket to London - but doubt I'd be willing to make that drive for a flight to Houston. Everyone's mileage varies in terms of how often they travel and how they travel. This is certainly a case where one size doesn't fit all.

And remember - airfare is usually only a part of the cost of a trip. There are hotels - and maybe rental cars as well. I usually stay in luxury hotels - and don't usually deal with reward programs there (although I stayed at the Boca Raton Resort last week - not quite luxury - but double Hilton Honors points even without a Hilton CC). Don't rent cars that often either. But - if you're kind of middle income - it is perhaps best to combine an airline program with a hotel program. And cards that might give you deals on rental cars. We are renting a car in Los Angeles next month - and it's about $500 for a week (reckon there are cheaper - but my husband wanted to try a Prius).

FWIW - I don't have a clue what my FICO score is. But have never been declined for any kind of credit. So that isn't an issue for me. But chasing deals just for the sake of chasing deals doesn't make much sense IMO. I wouldn't buy a bag of dog food even if it was buy 1 - get 2 free - because I don't own a dog . Robyn

bratsantom

what about average account age?

I have seen relatively little discussion about this here except that every time it is brought up it is flagged as an important thing...

Well if you have been doing 10 cards a year for 10 years and had 10 20 year old cards you would be in the 5 year range. With less history it gets worse. So does everyone who is playing this game have 40 years of credit history or is the average account age actually not that important (or more likely am I missing something)?

MDtR-Chicago

It's important but it's not generally the most important thing, by a long shot.

In general, all factors within "Length of Credit History" and "New Credit" are only about 25% of the score.

And remember, it's generally at least partially offset by a lower utilization and a broader diversity of credit lines.

yngdiego

Is there a current list of churnable cards and their approximate cycle time?