Credit Card Advice
 

Hi all,

I just found this forum after returning from a two-week trip to Taiwan, and I am now kicking myself in the leg for not doing any further research on travel tips, airline benefits, etc as outlined here by so many of you.

To prepare for future trip and to take advantage of airline perks/card benefits, I'm trying to find a credit card that's right for me:

I'm based in Los Angeles and travel about five times a year domestically, but will be flying to Taiwan every year going forward to visit the parents and family members. I prefer to fly EVA as opposed to China Airlines.

As I read in other posts, to "spend" my way for points, it appears that the SPG AMEX is best. However, others have pointed out that having an airline-specific card will also provide perks such as lounge access. I've flown UA before and have no complaints thus far, so I'm thinking of going with a MP card (not MP Explorer). I know that both UA and EVA are part of *A, and I also fly with ANA (another *A member) every once in a while.

In my search for the right credit card(s), I've narrowed to SPG AMEX, UA MP, and Chase Sapphire Preferred. I need help in selecting the right cards and would like some input from you knowledgeable folks out there.

Any help is much appreciated!

Thanks!

MP is a pretty good card gives you some priority on United and lounge access. It all comes down if its work the $500 a year in fees.

MP Explorer is $95, MP Club is $450 or $500, don't remember, but both get miles, and MP Explorer gives you lounge passes for your anniversary every year.

You're in luck! EVA Airlines just joined the Star Alliance on June 18th!
If you go with a United branded card, you will be able to use your United points towards EVA (although I'm not sure if the transfer will be 1:1).

Personally, I travel to Taiwan yearly as well and stick with EVA as they have the Deluxe class which is a nice step up from coach, but not the tremendous rip-off of business class:(

There would be no transfer, you would book through UA at UA's redemption rates. Transfers are for things like SPG and UR.

Just in a leg. You're letting yourself off too easy:p

OK, if you're serious about getting free travel for the foreseeable future, then "a card" won't take you too far. Think plural. First, I would concentrate on travel with United and Star. There is a variety of reasons for that, first it suits your business pattern and it also helps that United and Star normally have a better award redemption availability than their competitors. Here are a few cards that could get you started.

1. Chase United MP for, I believe, 55K miles (if you have miles in your United account, you might receive that offer). Check it out on United.com
2. Chase Sapphire Preferred for 40K Ultimate Rewards points (transferable to United at 1:1).
3. Chase Ink Plus and Chase Ink Bold for 50K UR points miles each (transferable to United at 1:1)

All these cards waive 1st year annual fees, but there are caveats of course. You must meet considerable spend requirements in short period of time, and you can't apply for all of them simultaneously. You should start reading the corresponding threads here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/chase...e-rewards-722/

Good luck and welcome to FT!

I definitely could be wrong, but it looks like EVA isn't a Starwood transfer partner? I'm guessing there is some airline that is also star alliance, but one thing to keep in mind is the transfer ratio from SPG to United is lousy (2:1). Not that it isn't a good travel card in general.

Assuming you are going to focus on United to fly on EVA, you've identified your best options. Most people on these forums have multiple cards, so you could get one now and one ~ 3 months from now. But you probably want to know which one to get now. How much are the United MPE perks worth to you? I'd say the CSP is a better all-around card, since technically it even out-earns the MPE on United flights (2.14x vs. 2x, if you factor in the annual dividend). There's also the 2x points on dining.

stainlesspoints - Thanks for pointing that out! I did a search on SPG flights and do see EVA flights listed as redeemable (a search just now reveals that a flight from LAX - TPE from 01/10/14 to 01/24/14 will cost about 115,000 points). This does sound different than transfer SPG points to UA MP miles.

I was thinking that I'd use the SPG cards for hotels only (since I mostly stay at SPG properties) and enjoy the 5x points, while use the CSP card for everything else. Perhaps this is a bad strategy? Should I keep all expenses out of a single card for the time being?

Also, I see that many have responded that a single card will not be enough, and that perhaps multiple cards would be required. Wouldn't one want to concentrate spending on one or two cards to rack up the points/miles?

Of course - thanks again for everyone's input so far! :)

You should spend some more time reading, and all of your questions will be answered....

Absolutely - second day on FT and still deciphering what info is out there and how things are organized.

Would appreciate it if you could point me to the right direction.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...scription.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...e-archive.html

Much appreciated.

So it appears that many folks churn cards for the bonus. Just trying to figure out whether that will be detrimental over the long-term with respect to credit scores...?

FYI - I ended up receiving approvals for SGP AMEX and the CSP cards... thanks everyone!