hedge

Your goal of going to the Maldives is very attainable via this game. Fly Etihad to Abu Dhabi then on to Male using AA miles (partner award out of JFK, or IAD if availability is an issue). It's 180k miles round trip per person in First, obviously less in Biz. You'll have to take a seaplane ($500 per person or so from MLE to the resort, can't use points/miles), but this is one of the best resorts in the world: Conrad Rangali Island Maldives using Hilton points.

Here's what I'd recommend:
- AA Citi Personal Platinum
- AA Citi Biz
- Citi Hilton Reserve (for 2 free weekend nights, HUGE value if redeeming in Maldives, plus it gets you gold status which gets you free breakfast there which would otherwise be expensive since it's an island in the middle of nowhere)

The problem with the above is you can't really get multiple Citi cards in 1 round so you'd have to do multiple AoR's.

With this strategy you'd also need Starwood points (which convert to AA with a bonus: 20k SPG = 25k AA). SPG has both personal and biz cards but I see you just canceled one, so you could switch to biz maybe. Not sure how you can get more AA miles besides manufactured spending.

I just wanted to share that option with you, even though it seems like using UR is more realistic for you. The other option for flying is via the Pacific Ocean and take the long way. Korean Air to Incheon comes to mind and then down to Singapore and then to Male using UR/UA points. You could use any Star Alliance partner really where you can find award availability.

While the Hilton hotel option in the Maldives is great, you could also use Hyatt and stay at the Park Hyatt Maldives (another UR transfer partner). Tons of options to the Maldives and same for Bali really.

SPG is a horrible redemption in their high-end aspirational properties as you'd need a ton of their points to stay multiple days. Hope this helps.

FlightNurse

From what I can tell, you have a desination but you still are not too sure HOW to get there. So with that, once you decide then it should be easy. One thing you need to remember is that Sapphire Perferred is an excellent card to have since you can send points to many different airlines and hotels. Also look at the Chase Freedom card, I really think this card is over looked, it is a cash back card but it also collects UR points too, so manufactured spend is basically free on this card... One of the biggest issues I see people do in this hobby is not have a plan on what they want to do with the points... Be specific on what you are working towards. In the hotel game, this is a tough one, the Hyatt card givens you two free nights, Marriot give you 70K points (really not enough for a trip for free rooms) SPG for me is one of the best, I love the cash and points...

It's hard to "help" people on what to get, but once you have everything narrowed down on what you want to do, the plan is pretty clear on what cards to get.

FlightNurse

In regards to manufacture spend, why not? This is really the easiest way to build up accounts and travel how you want. The cards you are looking for are good, the starwood cards are excellent cards to have, for me they really my go to cards, with the flexablity of what you can do with the points. I like the Hyatt card over the Hilton, I like the two weekend nights in ANY Hyatt which means you can stay in some amazing hotels for free.

jonnyd13

Got the same cards on my first aor. Had a freedom and a checking account for several years.

If attempting to apply for 3 cards, you'll need to be able to explain why you want each one as one of the personal apps will automatically be pending further review.

TOMFORD

I have a Freedom already. My main destination is PEK, PVG, and random places in the US, 99% of which will be on United. I looked at the Hyatt card but, but I thought I would save the certificate for when I want to travel somewhere where the hotels are more expensive. But really when it comes to my Dec round of apps, the hotel card will be a toss up between Hyatt, PC, and Marriott.

Also not really sure how I will meet the Ink spending req if I do apply for one that requres 5K spending.

Also... Still undecided on my fourth US airways card... I cancelled my first before applying for the third. Should I cancel my second before applying for fourth?

nrdk

Not necessarily, did 3 Chase personal myself and all were auto approved. Still waiting to see what kind of a hit my credit took here in the next few weeks.

FlightNurse

^^ excellent advice, I don't think people realize how valuable the SPG cards are because of the low sign up bonus it has.

FlightNurse

Do you know about manufactured spend? Here is another place to go check out. These links will explain how to play the game to meet the spends.

PainCorp

I agree they are under-rated, but I don't see them as that valuable compared to the CSP. If a bulk of your spend is dining/travel, like me, you'll get more points out of the CSP with the 2.14x per dollar.

flyfaraway

I guess the main opposition to manufactured spend is the time involved and some confusion on how to actually do it. That is, without sitting on a ton of gift cards or sending money back and forth via Amazon.

Bud Florida

Here is a recap of my last, small, AOR

Currently have the following active cards;

• SPG AMX
• MR Gold AMX
• Chase British Airways
• US Bank Flex Points

I had a Citi AA Visa and Citi AA AMX that was opened in 2011 and closed July, 2012. Credit score 840. Also had a Chase SW personal and business Visa with the same dates.

June 30
AMEX Gold Business MR (50K) - approved instantly
Citi AA Visa (50K) - approved instantly
Chase SW Visa (50K) - approved instantly

July 1
Citi AA MC - denied, and denied again
Chase SW Business Visa (50K) - application placed on hold, VMX said 7-10 days, then letter of denial. Called and answered close to 40 questions about my business and was approved.

DutchRyan

Results of my second AOR...


Citi AA - Approved instantly

Barclay's Frontier - approved after recon call

Chase sapphire preferred - approved instantly

Chase MP Biz - pending... Told to expect long wait

Club Carlson personal - still pending

Amex MB Plat - approved instantly

Delta Amex Plat Biz - pending, then denied. Two calls but I didn't get a chance to answer questions. The reps just kept referring to my credit report from April that had a couple high balances - but those stats are no longer valid.

The Delta card was my first denial ever, and a big shock to say the least. Any thoughts on how I might be able to get them to reverse the decision?

FlightNurse

Total time, not much.
In the beginning yes, learning where to find the cards and which ones to buy, but once you know which ones to buy, takes time, but not much. ANY major Grocery store will have the Visa Gift Cards that will work. Next find a Wall-Mart that has a kiosk can take some time. Learning how to load the cards, not that hard. For me, I have a Fry's Grocery (Kroger) and safeway in which I can buy Visa Gift Cards, and the Wall-Mart is down the road from them. It now takes me less then 5 minutes to load my BB with 2 GCs. When I'm out shopping, I look for Visa GC, always looking for a way to spend.. I have made it into a game, and in the long run it pays off.

So like any hobby, there is a learning curve, and all the info is in this thread on how to load the BB with GC and Wall-mart. Also the bloggers have photos with red arrows to show you how to load them too.

FlightNurse

I manufacture spend on my SPG card, I travel for work, so it is easy for me to get GCs, I'm pretty good at not drawing attention to AMEX on the SPG card..

FlightNurse

Why the Amex MB card, I don't see the real benefits of this card, yes you get 50K MR points but the high card fee makes me wonder...

I would question Amex why they are looking at a old credit report and not the most current one? April is too old in the credit world.