Ways to maximize points?
 

Hey all. I realize this topic has been beaten to death so I'm going to apologize in advance but I have done a lot of reading and a lot of the posts are of varying quality and age so I'm not sure what's changed and what hasn't.

Some of what I've read included buying coins from the fed which is a loophole they apparently closed.

I've read about using shopping portals (which I've subsequently researched) and other things that net you small increases but is there anything to do to say... game the system?

Mostly I'm leaning in the direction of purchasing gift cards and reselling them or even purchasing travelers checks (if possible) and cashing them to pay the bill. There's a lot of discussion on this but not a lot of definitive opinion either one way or the other.

I own a business so I have a bit of an advantage in that I spend about 10 - 15k a month (currently on an Amex platinum) on that. So I have a healthy start but I'd really like to build off of that.

Currently I'm putting the majority of my purchases on an American Express platinum but from what I gather, the points don't transfer 1:1 to airlines. I'm not entirely keen on that. Is there a better card to have?

I plan on getting the BA card with the 100k avios as well as the two Citi AA Advantage cards for their signup bonuses. In addition, I also have a IHG Priority Club Visa w/ the 60k signup bonus.

So, is there an ideal card I want to sign up for that both optimizes my points earnings, gives me a decent signing bonus and transfers 1:1 to a wide variety of partner programs or am I trying to find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow here?

Also, am I on to anything with purchasing gift cards to accrue points?

First post... My business has me flying a lot this year and even before I could really relate to most of what's discussed here, I found myself lurking the FT forums for a few years just because there's a lot of interesting information to garner from the site.

til the end of May these transfer 1:1.5 to BA Avios. then it's back to 1:1. While not as many airlines as they used to transfer to, many are 1:1.

I'd get a Chase Ink Bold for your business as well as a Chase Sapphire.

Welcome to Flyertalk.

American Express Membership Rewards points transfer 1:1 to the 15 airlines listed here:

http://www.membershiprewards.com/cat...readcrumb=true

The transfer rate is 1:1, except for airlines such as Jet Blue and El Al which do not use "miles" as a unit. Note that it is not necessary to transfer to the program of the airline on which you wish to travel. Most airlines belong to one of three international alliances. Transfer to any airline in an alliance and redeem for travel on any other member of the same alliance. This does NOT mean that the miles can be transferred between programs in the same alliance, you must redeem according to the charts and rules of the program which hold the miles.

Examples: to redeem for flights operated by US Airways or United Airlines transfer to Air Canada, ANA or Singapore Airlines. To redeem for flights operated by American Airlines transfer to British Airways. To redeem for flights operated by Alaska Airlines transfer to British Airways or Delta Airlines.

DO NOT TRANSFER ON SPECULATION, Wait until you have an award flight reservation on hold, and make sure you understand the cash fees that the program requires for your specific redemption.

Plat is a good card for many reasons, but not the best for earning miles. Preferred Rewards Gold gives:

• 25K signup with modest spend
• 3X on airfare, 2X on gas and groceries
• 15K bonus if you spend $30K in a year

It can be worth having in addition to Plat - first year is free-free, then $175 a year.

Some Delta Amex cards have other spend bonuses, for example, I think the Skymiles Plat ($150 fee, maybe more) gives 10K miles and 10K Medallion qualifying miles for spending $25K, and I think (not sure) this bonus again if you spend $50K.

There is also the Amex Biz Gold card which gives (I think) 3X on airfare, 2X on shipping and gas, maybe some other bonuses, check their site. The usual signup bonus on this is 50K points, but sometimes lower, and occasionally they have one-day promos for 75K. You have to spend $10K in 5 months, but that seems like not a problem to you.

If you want the Preferred Rewards Gold, PM me for a referral that will get you the 25K bonus with a lower spend than you'll usually find on a non-referral link ($2K in 3 months to get the bonus).

Just an FYI, I activated a new Priority Club Visa today and told I would be getting 80k points on first purchase over the advertised 60k. And that 'a lot of people seem to be getting the 80k award level'.

I asked, but she didn't know what variable determines an 80k award. This isn't my first Chase card and I've got other hotel specific travel cards not through Chase (SPG Amex). No complaints :)

Thanks all for the responses. I'm quickly learning that my AMEX probably isn't the best day to day card.

Here's hoping... I got the 80k email probably 5 days after being approved for the 60k. I completely my first purchase but still don't see any points.

Edit: Just checked and I have 60k pts. I'm going to call in and see if they can bring it up to the 80k since I was so close.