Best CC for Skymiles other than Amex?
 

Hey,

I have a Delta Skymiles account and the Delta Skymiles American Express card which I earn miles from. I am looking for an additional credit card because I am taking a trip to Europe in January and Amex isn't accepted everywhere over there. I would like a Visa or Mastercard but want a card that I can somehow earn skymiles from. I know many different rewards programs can be converted to skymiles and would like a card that gives me the best conversion ratio and gives me as much of a reward as the Amex does, ie 1 mile for every $1 spent. Does anyone know what is the best card to get? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Kaiser

Unfortunately, DL's program is tightly linked with Amex. You could get the SPG Amex, which allows transfers into DL, but that doesn't solve your problem.

I'd just get some free Visa that gives you cashback and/or low currency conversion fee. Check the Frequent Flyer Wiki for extensive discussion of foreign exchange and cards.

To my knowledge Diners Club is the only USA issued Mastercard which generates Skymiles 1:1. Diners Club Mastercard earns one Club Rewards point per dollar. $1000 = 1000 points = 1000 Skymiles. There is a 25% bonus on transfers to Delta, but this ends 12.31.2007. No idea when it will recurr.

http://dinersclubus.com

http://dinersclubus.com/dce_content/...ewardscompared

To earn your miles, another option would be to buy some Visa/MC gift cards using your American Express. However, I would still recommend getting an actual Visa/MC credit card for traveling outside the US.

However, buying MC/VC gift cards is usually a bad deal because the fees are more than the miles are worth.

Although there are routes to get miles into Skymiles, you usually get a terrible devaluation doing it. The best I found was the Choice Hotels Visa, which would get you 1 Skymile for $3. You'd be better off with a cashback card. Depending on the spend level, you might want another Skyteam card, like the Continental MC. You could redeem the miles for travel on Delta, but you wouldn't be able to pool the miles with your Skymiles.

asadf

Is this Greek or Latin? :)

Well, you can always go to Mexico and apply for the HSBC Visa Delta Skymiles with no anual fee and 1 mile for every 1 USD or its equivalent that you spend. This is one of my two primary cards (being the other the AA Citi-Banamex Mastercard with 1.5 miles for every 1 USD you spend and a $75 USD anual fee) and it works very good with the Visa network and the other is a MC and is also accepted more than AMEX.

Hope this helps.

I'm assuming the Banamex MC is also not available to US residents?