FT newb here. I hope I'm putting this in the right forum. If not, please tell me and I'll move it.

My wife and I are planning a trip to Spain and want to use points as much as possible. Currently, we'll have about 70k+ UR points by the end of 2012, once I get my CSP spend finished, and 27k UA miles. I have the Chase Trifecta in place, so the UR balance will continue to grow. I can probably get one more app spree in before it's time to book everything - perhaps in February or March of next year. I was borderline on the CSP approval, but will be in better shape by then, with scores in the 720-740 range. I put about $2k/month through my cards, so most spends are within reach, outside of some of the larger business card spends. That said, I may app for an Ink card this week and if this whole Ink/Bluebird/Vanilla Reload thing works out, my UR points balance may inflate significantly.

I expect we'll want to stay in some more rustic places, so I think the points would be better spent on airfare, rather than hotels, and we can pay for accommodations wherever we may end up. My thought is to focus on *A points. I signed up for the Aegean 2k bonus and should be able to get *A Silver through them by the end of the year. How can I best bump the miles/points to maximize value and get a nice flight out there? App spree? Which cards? SPG? UA Explorer? I guess we could also do a pair of Citi AA cards and fly one way on *A and back on Oneworld, although I won't have any status with AA by then.

Thoughts? Thanks!

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You say you want to book in February or March. When do you want to travel, and from where? AA Coach awards between the U.S. and Europe have different rates for peak and off-peak travel. Or are you hoping to travel in Business Class?

Sorry. I should have mentioned that.

We could travel in April or over the summer. I suggested February or March as a good app spree month for me. I wanted to travel in October. My wife had a two week fall break from school and I understand that AA does off peak rates then. Unfortunately, the school is likely to shorten that break. One week isnt enough.

We would be flying out of Denver, so plenty of UA flights, but not much in the way of AA. Business class would be nice if we could swing it, but the destination is a higher priority than the fare class.

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While it's impossible to predict what will be available when you are finally able to book, it might be worthwhile to see what is currently available for travel during the periods when you might travel. (Of course, you might have to wait a few weeks before you can see October, 2013, availability.)

It's true that UA offers more service out of DEN than AA does. But each of the cities that AA serves from DEN has nonstop service to Spain on either AA or IB. You can check AA award availability at aa.com; to check IB award availability, you will need to call AA.

AA's partner BA offers nonstop service between DEN and LHR, but long-haul award flights on BA come with hefty fuel surcharges, so it's best to ignore BA award flights that show up on your aa.com award search.

Good luck!

best time to go weather-wise is june to sept. i know u mentioned staying at some "rustic" places, but i suggest u get the SPG Amex since they have an abundance of great Spanish hotels.

San Sebastian - Hotel Maria Cristina
Elciego - Marques de Riscal
Barcelona - Le Meridien
Madrid - The Westin Palace
Seville - Hotel Alfonso XIII
Valencia - The Westin Valencia

Good suggestions. I'm open to AA. Just not familiar with it. UA may involve two stops - EWR and MUC. An IB award would be nice if it eliminates one of the stopovers. Now, a business class award could eliminate that problem.

Also, I had my eye on an Amex BCP next year for general grocery shopping. Maybe a 3-browser with the SPG personal and Business and the BCP is in order.

What 3-browser? If you don't have an EIN you will get denied by SPG business for duplicate application anyway and will have to call. It doesn't matter how it's done.

Applying for a card that doesn't have a great sign up bonus--especially with a low monthly spend like yours and limited time frame--is a waste of pull, time, and brand, IMHO, and by brand I mean you can only have so many Amex cards total. There are much more valuable Amex products than BCP, but it's up to you, of course.

I appreciate your insight. I have an EIN, so nothing to worry about there. I'm open to reconsidering just about everything, including the BCP.

Also, I got the Ink Bold today, so the Vanilla/Bluebird churning will commence in about a week when that arrives. The V/B combo eliminates any spend problems, too, so I'm not worried about an SPG spend in the future.

Well, lucky for you then. In my metropolis, Vanilla is, sadly, an extinct spice.

Bummer on the extinction. I have a plethora of Office Depots nearby that I can check and some travel planned this month that will let me search in other cities as well.

I think you're missing out and the quickest/best/easiest....have your wife apply too. Her being an authorized user on your accounts does not preclude her from getting cards and bonuses also.

BCP got a lot less exciting with the grocery store limits being placed.

UA Explorer, Ink Bold, Citi AAx2 and AMEX SPG for her would easily pay her way.

Unfortunately, my wife is a Dave Ramsey fan and refuses to use credit for anything except online transactions. She finally became comfortable with my bonus chasing, but won't do any of her own.

I'd fly Iberian using Avios. Make sure to create an Iberian account now though, if you plan on using them, as I believe there is a 3 month hold before award flights can be booked. I could be wrong, but it doesn't hurt to get that squared away.

Opened an Iberia Plus account and found a link for 125 free avios (allegedly) which will activate my account. I did see the 90-day waiting period somewhere.

Glad I could help. I've never flown Iberian, but good luck.