Hi All,

About me:
I have recently joined the card miles bandwagon and have already scored the following:

- Chase BA - 50,000 miles after $1K spend in 3 months. [Miles have been transferred]
- Chase IHG - 80,000 points with first year fee after $1K spend in 3 months
- Alaska Airline - 25000 miles + 1 companion ticket [still wondering what to do with the companion ticket since I am single :O :O ]
- AMEX Blue cash $100 back, my first card.

Rejected:
- Citi AAdvantage card
- Barclays US Air card
Reasons: Despite solid credit score, have a short credit history. Have high # of inquiries due to the shorter credit history.

Current Strategy:

Since the Chase BA spend target has been met, I am going for the IHG spend limit to receive the 80,000 points.

Future Direction:

I am currently planning to hold the cards for another year [since I have paid the annual fee] but am confused on how to maximize the miles earnings and which cards to target in future. Am very seriously thinking about the Hyatt card which gives weekend nights at any Hyatt property.

Please suggest. Thank you!!!

Welcome to Flyertalk.

You've made an auspicious beginning, but my advice (which not all share...) is to take it slow and easy. Meet your target spend, keep an eye on your credit score so it doesn't dip too low (Credit Karma is a free monitoring service). Learn how to book awards and enjoy your travel.

You might find that the idea of a free ticket appeals to most people, so your companion pass won't go to waste.

Remember that even tho you were rejected for the Citi and Barclay cards, they still resulted in hard pulls.

This is a marathon - not a sprint.

StartinSanDiego / Deant: Thank you for the inputs. I am planning to lie low for next 3-4 months and then go for another card. By then my current balances would also be reduced.

You're carrying balances?

Yes, to build credit history and paying on time or in advance.

Thanks for starting this thread...I've been searching through this forum and can't seem to find an overall strategy thread where people time their credit card account opening and closures to take advantage of annual benefits...I've seen people comment on closing accounts before the annual fee hits (after a promotional first year without the annual fee) and I was hoping to find a single thread that discusses these strategies.

My situation:

Started opening card accounts 2 years ago when I became a traveling consultant.

Corporate card:
- Amex Platinum

Personal cards:
- Amex Gold: going to close this within a month; only had it before I started opening loyalty-specific accounts; then will re-open to get the 25K bonus
- Amex SPG: got the 30K bonus; will close in a few months
- Chase Visa - Marriott Premier: got the 70K a while ago; I really like it; might use this as primary
- Barclaycard MC - US Airways: got the 30K bonus; need to do a balance transfer in the next month to get an additional 10K
- Chase Visa - United Explorer: got all the bonuses and companion tickets; will close within a few months.

I spread out the card openings approx. 4-6 months apart. I was curious how the bonuses work when you close the account and reopen...is there any stipulation about how you can't get the bonus if you've owned the card within a certain period of time? (e.g. 5 years or something).

I haven't closed anything yet and was looking for guidance before starting this process.

My travel/hotel goals:
- Current Marriott Platinum until 2016 (with all my overlap days)
- Starting the SPG Platinum challenge soon
- Current US Airways Platinum (until Feb 2014)
- Just applied through my employer for an AA status match...I'm a bit worried because there isn't much time left to maintain the Platinum until 2015...need 58 more segments this year!

I'm a segment traveler because my work keeps me in my region (home airport is DCA). Mainly travel to NYC, Chicago, and up and down the east mainly.

I'm also single so I don't mind taking 3 legs when a non-stop is available. However, I want to use my award miles for my Mom (lives in YYZ) for travel primarily to South Asia. I got us award tickets on United business class over the winter which was amazing. First/business on Qatar and lounge access was remarkable.

Is there another section in FT where you can post your goals and travel trends and people can just review and share their insight? (not specific to CC or airline forums)?

fayraree, one of the things you definitely need to do is read the terms and conditions of the various CCs that you are planning to "churn". For example, your plan on the AMEX Gold will be a problem. Again, Terms and Conditions are your friend.

Also, look at the cost of your "balance transfer" to see if it is really worth the money. There are two issues, the first being that you should NEVER carry a balance on your credit card. Second is the cost of the transfer is probably more than the miles are worth.

There is no one place for strategy. Too many people want to be spoon fed all the information and not contribute to the community. All of your questions have been asked and answered numerous time in various CC threads.

Good luck with your goals.

A good way to go about this, is to visualize an aim/direction that you want to take.
What do you want to do with these points? Where do you want to go?
And then plan accordingly.

For example, if you're not planning on staying at one of the aspirational Hyatts then getting the Hyatt card for the 2 night certs, makes no sense.

It's not going to be easy especially because of the short credit history.
BUT if you play your cards right, in a year's time, you could get ANY card you want.

Right now, I'd just "garden" the cards. Don't do anything over the top. Let your history build.
Then do an AOR in about 6 months. Choose cards based on your needs.

And remember two things.
1. Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered.
2. Help shall always be given to those who ask.

Welcome to FlyerTalk.