Hi,

I am relatively new to churning cards. I have a tuition payment coming up for $8000, and I want to take advantage of it for a large amount of travel I am planning on 6 months from now. So far I have only acquired one card, the Citi AAdvantage Platinum card, and that was 6 months ago. I have owned another credit card for 5 years, and pay it in full each month. I have a high salary, and don't have any late payments. Thus, I think I have really good credit (never verified).

Which cards should I get to maximize flight rewards to South America and Asia (Thailand, India, etc)? The options are overwhelming, so I'm looking for advice :

Welcome to FT!

Assuming you have already earned the bonus in your Citi AA card and is somewhat well padded, you should be all set for travel to South America. Go in off season so it's even cheaper on the miles. For Asia, I would add another $2k to your spend (total $10k) and get the Citi ThankYou Premier, Prestige, and Chase Sapphire Preferred. This would net you 140k points outright, 10k additional for the spend, and 5k additional if you add a second user to CSP. Transfer to SQ and you could be in Suites. Maybe some positioning flights. Like you say, the possibilities are endless but be sure to jump on one of the Citi cards mentioned. Good luck!

I would not apply for any card until you check your credit score. With identity theft common you need to make sure you are OK before you add potential problems.

Tell us which airport you'll be flying out of and if you have a preferred airline.
Welcome aboard!!

Also, what is your points balance with AA. furthermore, double check that your school doesn't charge a fee to use credit card.

Thank you for your willingness to help!!

More info:

Just signed up for CreditKarma.com.
Credit score is very good.
1 hard inquiry in the past 2 years for Schwab debit card (2 days ago).
Preferred airline: DFW Airport/Love Field (Dallas)
Plan to travel for an entire year in 6 months. Destinations include South/Central America, Southeast Asia, India.
School does not charge a penalty for credit card payment of tuition.


IncaTrails - that sounds like a very good option!! But what is "Transfer to SQ and you could be in Suites?" I have no desire to earn points for hotels. Only for plane tickets.

Thanks for the help!!!

I don't know but we have some credit card programs forums that may help you out. They are near the bottom of the miles and points section

Anyone can check their credit reports scoresfrom each of the "big three" credit reporting agency free of any charge annually- the easiest way to do that is to request one every four months, alternating CRAs.

There's one place to do that officially; other offers are generally tied to fees, offers, etc. www.annualcreditreport.com. Avoid all others unless you're willing to sign up for fees, auto renewals, spam e-mail, etc.

Here's an article on why you should do this: How looking at your free credit report can save you money

Why are credit scores important? Fair Isaac Corporation, original developers of the FICO score, give a good illustration here.

(That having been offered, and in full disclosure, though I've worked as a contractor to FICO and know they're reputable, they're selling information via their MyFICO site and I'm recommending only visiting for the free information unless you genuinely want to purchase their MyFICO products.)

Suites: Some airlines now offer "Suites" in First Class.

And, new friend, it's not a good idea to post your credit scores on any public forum. You may want to delete those, as it's definitely not any of our business.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

If you're willing to travel in Coach to South and Central America, redeeming BA Avios on AA nonstops from DFW can provide excellent value. Look at the Amex PRG card; the Chase BA Visa; and the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. All can earn BA Avios -- either directly or by point transfers.

See the FT Amex and FT Chase forums for discussion of current bonus opportunities.

I actually thought that you could not get your "scores" for free from www.annualcreditreport.com? I thought you got the reports... but if you want your official scores, you had to pay the fees requested from the agencies?

Has this changed recently?

No, you are correct. I needed to check hard pulls so I recently got all three reports. None offered FICO scores for free, but all offered for a fee.

Sorry I used the term inappropriately; one can get their credit reports for free annually. Scores can often be had for asking if one is buying a vehicle or other action calling on a credit score. Gad! This retirement thing is adding my brain!

Welcome to Flyertalk Jacob1234098,

This topic arises often on FT as many of us are looking to maximize our benefits with what we spend. We're moving this post into the forum dedicated to this.

~beckoa, co-moderator Information Desk

Between the British Airways Visa ($2000) and Chase Sapphire ($4000) the OP will eat up most of his $8000 tuition payment. Also consider getting the Chase Freedom card. It has a low sign up bonus, but the "points" transfers to the same pool as the Chase Sapphire, which can then be transferred to BA for use on AA or LAN.

For the rest of your spending, I suggest looking at hotel cards? However, I'm not sure what hotels chains are common in South America, or if you are planning to slum it (hostels, guest houses), or ball it (5* hotels, resorts).

You need to apply for 2 credit cards with the highest spending requirement now, as it normally take 2 weeks to get the card, and you need to get the card before your tuition fee is due...

Besides earning points you need to read up on redeeming points. Depending on how you want to use them (hotel vs. airline) there are a lot of tricks to getting the best value. Also, not all airline partners are viewable online, so just because there is no availability displayed on the airline website does not mean there is not any availability.