mppaul271

Contemplating when to apply for my next 2 (no more than 3) credit cards...looking for a solid value-add travel card(s). I expect to be in the garden until April 2023

Current stats:
FICO 748
AAoA 9yrs
TU report I have 5 inquiries, 3 new credit card opened in 2021
Cap1 Willams Sonoma (3/2021)
Fidelity Rewards (11/2021)
FNBO Evergreen (11/2021)
EX report I have 3 inquiries, same 3 new credit cards.
Home Airline Airport Chicago
Loyalty programs United MileagePlus, American Airlines, Marriott Bonvoy
Accepted Mar 4, Amex EDP upgrade SUB 40k MR points/2k spend/3 months/prorated AF(hits 4/21)

Future stats:
4/2023 will be 2/24 for purposes of Chase consideration
9/2023 TU inquiries will be 3, EX inquires will be 1

To optimize my approval odds and capture a card(s)to round out my travel reward opportunities, should I:

space out applications, one or two in April and then one or two in September

(already have CFF, Chase Marriott Bonvoy Premier considering CSP, CFU or United Explorer) and/or contemplating Citi Premier (already have Citi CC, Citi DC) or Amex Gold (already have Amex EDP and Amex BCP). Other thoughts???

toofast

Apply for Venture X ASAP, as it's an excellent card, and the SUB is about to be reduced.

mppaul271

Thanks! I think that SUB min spend is out of my league 🙂

guv1976

OP: It's tough to make a sound recommendation without knowing a little more about your travel and spend patterns, and what you value most: frequent-flyer miles? frequent-guest (hotel) points? cash credits that can be redeemed for travel?

mppaul271

Thanks! I'll continue to research and determine some of these variables and come back to look at a card for travel...as I said I'm new to this so I don't know what I don't know

Boogywoogy

I would go with the CSR or CSP, since you can transfer UR points to MileagePlus and other programs like Rapid Rewards. If not those, I would go with one of the United cards. In a couple of days, the SUB will change with the Venture X, maybe to a more manageable one, like 3000 within 3 months.

mppaul271

Thanks! this is super helpful...didn't realize I had options to transfer to other partners depending on where I accumulated the points. Will keep this in mind as I continue my learning journey. I can definitely wait on a Cap1 card to be more desirable. Never liked the 3 report pulls for what I considered 'meh' cards in the past.

mia

American Express, Capital One, Chase, and Citi all have programs which earn points transferable to airline and hotel programs. They each have their own partners, with some overlap. None of these programs transfer to AA. Only Chase transfers to UA. Both American Express and Chase transfer to Marriott. Typically you must hold a "premium" card to use the Transfer feature. For example, to Transfer from Chase Ultimate Rewards to airlines or hotels you need one of these cards: Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred or INK Preferred. You can include points earned with other cards, but you need one of those cards to access the feature.

guv1976

Even if you get a card that only earns miles on just one airline, you can still redeem those miles for travel on many other airlines (subject to award-seat availability). AA is a member of the oneworld alliance, and also has a number of non-oneworld redemption partners. UA is a member of Star Alliance, and also has several non-alliance redemption partners.

Each FFP has its own redemption rates, rules, and fees. For example, in some cases, it's cheaper to book a flight on AA with British Airways Avios, than it is to book the same flight with AAdvantage miles. That's why it's so important to get a better sense of your flying patterns, both on tickets you pay cash for, and tickets you hope to get by redeeming miles.

mppaul271

Well at the moment, I'm using my AMEX cards more than my Chase, so I'm accumulating MR points and thinking about a trip to Las Vegas late summer. Would I need a premium AMEX card to transfer to a particular airline flying out of Chicago to Las Vegas?? I'm using this planned excursion as my test scenario for how I want to go forward with accumulating points and miles, that's why I projected out to 2023 for capturing the appropriate travel card. But I'll keep looking at my spending and preferences to help sort through all the options. As long as it continues to be fun, I'm fine with trying something, not liking it, and trying something else.

mia

No. American Express Everyday and Blue Business Plus are free cards which include the Transfer feature. If you have Everyday Preferred you are set. Read more here, start with the Wikipost at the top of the thread.

Transfer Membership Rewards points to which airline or hotel program?

guv1976

In late August, the majors (AA, UA, and WN) are currently charging $195 for a one-way in Economy CHI-LAS. But on several dates, AA is offering an Economy "Web Special" award on selected nonstops on that route for just 6,500 AA miles + $5.60. That's a redemption value of almost 3.0 cents/mile, which is pretty good for domestic Economy Travel. So maybe go for a Citi or Barclays AAdvantage card for now. (And holding either card would give you a free checked bag on AA domestic flights.)

Boogywoogy

Good point. With AMEX MR, the only domestic airlines you can transfer to are Delta, Hawaiian and jetBlue. Delta Skymiles aren't that valuable, especially when it comes to international travel. I don't know about Hawaiian. jetBlue is a partner of AA, so you can book AA flights via jetBlue with MR points.

guv1976

Amex charges a fee when converting MR points to miles in domestic FFPs. No fee when converting to foreign FFPs, some of which can be used to secure award flights on AA. But no other FFP is going to give you a redemption rate of just 6,500 miles for ORD-LAS on an AA flight.