I'm just a normal joe who travels twice maybe three times a year. I put alot on my credit card but pay it off every month. Just tired of getting nothing from al the cash I run thru it. Looking for air miles, I primarily fly Northwest, but have access to most every airline if I drive 60 miles to the "mega airport". My credit is great, which card would be a good fit for me. I was looking at the Capital One No Hassels or the VISA Signature that Northwest has available with 15,000 bonus miles. I am a Northwest WorldPerks member too.
Any ideas?

Thanks

welcome to FT

starwood amex gets you 1.25 miles per dollar spent on almost every major airline, except UA and CO. plus great hotel awards. basically free @ $30/yr

you also get starwood gold status if you spend $30K/yr on the card

Stay away from Capital One otherwise you will still feel as though you are getting nothing for your spending. Starwood AE is prob your best bet.

I would choose Starwood AMEX if you plan to travel on Northwest. The fee is less than a Northwest credit card and you earn more points per $. Plus you get a 50% coupon each year for Starwood hotels.

If you fly more than 7,500 miles per year (possible, depending on your destinations) I would definitely look at the Premier Pass - Elite (Citi) ($75/yr fee, but a "base" redemption of $0.01/Thank You point on gift cards, so the 7,500 flight points will pay for the annual fee. If you redeem for flights, you can get a much better redemption rate (fixed flight awards)). You also earn 2 pts/$ on certain categories of merchant, plus you can get bonus points through the shopping portal. Thank You is an alternate award currency, but many people are very happy with it and you can rack up a bunch of points quickly if you keep an eye out for bonuses.

IMO for a newbie to the miles game I think the Starwood would be a better choice than the Citi alternative. No doubt both are very good cards though.

I would suggest you get the PP card - the free one...which gives you the flight points....1 flight point for every 3 miles....that way you do not have to spend a lot on the card....and this way you have a backup card when you go somewhere that does not Amex....

then use the Starwood AMEX for all other purchases....

good suggestion, ill remember it ^

This week I am upbeat about TY rewards. I used 31,400 TY points to buy a Tumi briefcase. The bag would cost $335 + tax in the store OR 47,000 DC points OR 35,000 MR points. Considering that I earn 2 to 6 TY points per $ on my Chairman Card, this is an awesome reward. (In case anyone is wondering why I spend points on merchandise, I have tons of airline and hotel points. I don't need additional free travel. The way I see it, this reward just paid the annual card fee.) Heck, I earn 10,000 points per year just for banking with Citi.

its all about the flexibility you want/need.

annual fee/earning limit is another factor.

I am in similar circumstances with the op, and have flubbed around over the years... accruing points but not always satisfied how I did it.

I have an AMEX platinum for use in access to the crown rooms for Delta, NWA and (I forget) one other airline. It's important to me and psychologically worth the money.

It also gives me gold status with SPG and Hertz, among other things which has value to me.

I also have a Citicard American Airlines Master Card for places that dont' take AMEX. I've over the years accrued enuf miles that I just booked 2 tickets for my son and his fiance to Hawaii for their upcoming honeymoon.

But I've been displeased with AMEX's limitation on the airlines I can transfer to... esp since I don't think Delta has the award availability on skysaver awards... so I would love to have been able to transfer those Membership Rewards miles from AMEX to AA so I could have given my son and his bride first class seats.

Based on that and also the prospect of getting the bonus points for my first purchase, I just applied and was approved for the SPG AMEX credit card.

In it's simplest form, I'd want the SPG card for it's flexibility of redemption and a MC as a backup for where AMEX is not accepted.

Rita

IMHO, SPG AMEX is superior to the Citi AA cards (and Membership Rewards) for several reasons:

1. You earn 1.25 mile per $ versus 1 mile per $, plus you can transfer to other airlines besides AA
2. You earn SPG Gold status with $30k annual spend
3. You get the annual 50% off coupon
4. No annual spending limit
5. Lower annual fee

Depending on your annual spend consider the Merrill+ card. If you spend $20k you earn matching status on AA. If you spend $50k you earn a REAL Delta Crown Room or Admirals Club membership. This is more valuable than the AMEX Platinum lounge access. The downside is that the only airline that you can transfer miles to is BA. Also, you can buy a DL or AA club membership with 35,000 Merrill+ points.

rkt10, amex MR can be redeemed for AA flights via mexicana