Pick a CC for me!
 

Ok I'm new to this site and was hoping for a little help. I've been reading up on all things that have to do with air miles, but it's very overwhelming. I would love some help or to be pointed in the right direction.

Info about what I need in a card.

1. I'm a small business owner with about 10 employees.

2. I want to give 2 or 3 of them a card under my name for business related expenses.

3. I dont mind paying a fee every year.

4. I have a ballpark cc bill of about $3,000.00 to 4k every month.

5. I pay my credit card bill in full every month.

6. I would like a card where the miles do not expire.

7. I would be flying out of a US Airways hub in central PA.

8. I would like to be able to save miles up for an overseas trip with my wife.


Any advice on which card to go with would be greatly appreciated.

Although not a business card, the Travelocity Mastercard gives you 4% of spend back in anything bookable on Travelocity, The best deal in $400 blocks so you have alot of flexibility and you still get the airline miles on anything you fly.

For US Miles, too bad you missed the 250% bonus in Nov/Dec for shopping.
JudyJFLA

I hate to preach the old Flyertalk gospel but...Starwood. It's the best for everything. You can transfer the miles to USAir if you want at 1 SPG point for 1.25 miles on US or any other carrier. If you are looking for a referral, I could use the 5,000 miles bonus :D

I agree with the last post, Starwood is great for multiple airlines and hotels. You can also get a personal Starwood card to gain additional miles. No fee for the first year on both cards.

There is also business U.S. Airways card from Barclays.

Starwood is not the best for everything, but it seems like the Starwood Small Business card is what you want. Every $20,000 means 20,000 Starpoints which converts to 25,000 USAir Miles. You'll also make the current bonus, 15,000 extra points for $15,000 spending in the first 6 months.

If you want to travel internationally, for yourself (not your business) you should also apply for the British Airways 100,000 mile Visa now, since the link is back open.

starwood card for you my friend

Take a look at where you want to use the card. I have vendors that won't take AMEX. I agree that Starwood is a good deal, but not if you can't use it. Also, check with your vendors. You may find that you can switch lots of your current payables from pay by check to pay by CC, thereby increasing your monthly spend considerably.

Also, if your main objective is travel to Europe, take a look at the BA Chase Visa. I think the 100K sign-up is gone, but it's still 1.25 miles/dollar and, IIRC, there's a 2 for 1 award ticket deal if you spend > 30K on the Card.

I like the generic travel reward cards, like the Travelocity card (I have one from US Bank that has worked well for me). Having said that, IME these cards are best for domestic redemptions, not TATL travel and definitely not TATL travel in a premium cabin...so if your planning to save up for a luxury ride across the pond, I would look elsewhere.

Whatever way you go, a points/miles card is best. Stay away from cash back cards for business expenses (or so says my tax guy ;)).

Don't forget about the Virgin Atlantic CC from BoA, just for the sign-up deal. That will get you a TATL RT.

A similar card to the Travelocity one is FlexPerks from US Bank. It will get you upto 4% back on airfare and there are many rewards. That is better than AmEx for those types of spending and when using air travel as reward.

Starwood, you will also earn gold status based on your average spend in case you decide to redeem for hotel stays.

I agree with the poster that mentioned that you need to determine if your vendors accept AMEX because if they don't, then you obviously want to find out what card is best for you that is actually accepted at your vendors.

I don't have a business or anything, but I find that most places accept AMEX, but I do keep a Visa & Mastercard for those occastions when AMEX is not accepted.

I agree with the Starwood card-keeping in mind that if your travels take you off US, Starwood only transfers at 2:1 to UA and CO.

Because it is an Amex,you will need a Visa or MC for those places that won't accept the Amex.

Do YOU fly at all on US? If you fly, get the Business MC from Barclays for US
Gets you 10k elite miles. Then get the Personal card as well for home use - 10k elite miles
Waives baggage fees (and rare free upgrades). If you spend 50k x 2 = you will be *A gold and get free lounge access.

If you really never fly on business, get the Starwood Business version.

There is a US Airways hub in CENTRAL Pennsylvania?

I'm shocked at the response that i've gotten. I thought that I might get a reply or two, but wow this community rocks! Thank you all for the great advice and please keep it coming.

I never even really thought about having my vendors take CC. Man that would be a HUGE bump in the miles that I would get.

[quote] Do YOU fly at all on US? If you fly, get the Business MC from Barclays for US
Gets you 10k elite miles. Then get the Personal card as well for home use - 10k elite miles
Waives baggage fees (and rare free upgrades). If you spend 50k x 2 = you will be *A gold and get free lounge access.

If you really never fly on business, get the Starwood Business version. [quote/]

I only fly in the US maybe once or twice a year. I dont fly for business at all. I own a bar,campground, and a laundromat. I'm mainly interested in my wife and I flying to Asia, SE Asia, and Eastern Europe.

I've heard about this miles stuff for a long time now, but never really looked in to it, but let me tell ya over the last few days i've been like a sponge soaking up all the info that I can.

With the amount of money that I spend on the business. I know that I could be getting a lot more bang for my buck. Right now I'm just using a plain old BoA Visa for everything that I buy.


A few more questions if you dont mind.

1. Would the Starwood card be good for the overseas destinations that I'm looking at?

2. Whats the difference between elite miles and normal miles? I looked sorry and couldn't find anything. :)

Normal miles are usually referred to as redeemable miles or RDM for short. These are used to book award tickets. They can be earned by flying, through CC spend, online shopping, various promotions and many other ways. Since you don't fly much and want to get international award tickets, this is what you need to focus on.

Elite qualifying miles, or EQM, determine your elite status with an airline. These are usually earned only by flying. You usually need to earn at least 25,000 EQM in a year with the same airline to qualify for things like checking free baggage, seat upgrades and other perks.

Flying usually gets you both RDMs and EQMs. All other mileage-earning activities usually get you just RDMs.

Hope that clarifies things for you a bit!

Why do people think starwood is so good if it's 2:1? Maby i'm reading that wrong. Does it take 2 starwood points to get one US Airways mile?

It's 2:1 for United and Continental.US Air is 1:1

Just to clarify, ffI's original question was if you fly on US--i.e., the IATA code for US Airways. Here on FT (FlyerTalk), we tend to use a lot of abbreviations, especially when it comes to airlines and airports (i.e. "you'll fly on US out of PHL," instead of "you'll fly US Airways out of Philadelphia").

The potential confusion between US and the U.S. is one reason I always use periods after the letters when referring to the country, but not everyone is so meticulous. ;)

More info on our lingo can be found at these two links:

http://www.flyertalk.com/glossary/
http://www.flyertalk.com/acl/

The Barclays card for US Airways (code: US) offers some generous perks to people who regularly fly US Airways (code: US), which is the point ffI was originally making,