New to this, questions
 

Hello,

Last September I signed up for my first credit card to get in on Delta's 70K bonus miles. A few questions...

1. I had about 30K miles in my account before I started, so after the miles I was at about 100K. I booked a RT to china for 75K. If I did cancel the card in the near future would the 25K still in the account be safe or could they take them back?

2. If I cancel the card do I call and ask to be moved to a card with no fee or just close the account? If I move to a card with no fee would I be elgible for a new bonus offer in the 2 years?

3. If I stay with the card and pay the yearly fee can I still get a new bonus in a few years or is it from the point I cancel the card?

4. What's the number of miles offered by most airlines that make it a good deal to sign up for? I know some people get the bonus miles frequently, but do they then cancel each card yearly or pay he fee?

Thanks for any help, new to all of this.

1. Once the miles are in your FF account, the credit card company would have a very hard time rescinding them (in most cases). In your case, no issues.

2. Often it is worth downgrading the card to a no fee version to keep average account age up (and your credit score up). I'm not sure of the time for re-applying for Amex cards before being eligible for the bonus again, but 2 years is probably a safe bet.

3. Not sure on this one. Some cards are from the date it was opened, others are from the date it was closed. Someone else will have to answer.

4. This is all opinion and depends on how you value miles. Most people have a specific airline or two they prefer, so different offers are more lucrative than others. I generally jump on offers that are 50k+ though.

Amex is pretty clear on this one, you can not have owned the same card for 12 months (i.e. it has to be closed 12 months ago) and you cannot have a "similar" card for 3 months. A similar card typically refers to the same family, i.e. charge cards, Delta cards, etc. Just click on one of the applications, the T&Cs there spell it out.