What card next?
 

I seem to be getting bombarded with credit card offers (who isn't, I suppose), and I'm wondering if any of them are worth acting upon. My credit scores are solid and have no major purchases (i.e., house, car) planned.

I have had the Starwood Amex for a while and that's my primary card. I also got the Starwood Business Amex for the 30k point promo they were running over the summer.

I took part in the recent Citi/AA special for 75k miles (I got the email offer early and applied before reading the thread and learning that two personal applications needed to be submitted on the same day. Oh well, another 75k miles lost). I may try my luck with a business Visa.

I recently got the Southwest RR Chase Visa for 32 RR credits.

I also have a BofA Visa and CapitalOne MC that I have had for years and just use once in a while to keep active. And a corporate Amex that I have to use when I travel.

I know there is a Delta Amex offer for 45k miles that expires today. I don't fly Delta much, but it's 45k miles.

Sitting in my inbox are offers for:
- The new Hyatt Card (2 free nights, Platinum status, etc.)
- 80k Priority Club points & free night
- various Continental offers (Pres Club membership, 30k miles)
- various AA/Citi offers

I primarily fly American & Southwest, but would fly Delta, United/Co, etc. on reward travel.

Hotels are a little more fluid. I try to stay at Starwood, but often end up at a Marriott or Hilton for work, so my points are more spread around. I have over 100k Starwood points that I could redeem or transfer to AA one day.

I'm probably not going to see any more AA miles through Citi, so branching out might be wise. Then again, I could sit tight instead of just racking up miles and points for the heck of it. But what fun would that be!

I'm not sure what I am asking, but I guess I'm wondering who else in in the same boat, planning the next move.

Double down with a Chase Continental and a Chase United card for a play on the merger? For fun, meet the spend threshold on the Continental card by ordering and distributing coins?

Triple play with all 3 possible AA cards from Citi (debit and business)?

Double down with an AirTran card to play off the merger with Southwest?

First off, I would recommend getting a Citi Business card for 75000. That's what I did when the personal wasn't available for me (existing card).

And getting both United and Continental cards makes lots of sense. If you do that, then definitely jump on the Cont. Debit Card NOW before it expires Dec. 31. If you do them all, you can quickly get close to 100,000. Actually best to wait for the Cont Mileathon before getting that credit card.

Personally I go back and forth between adding miles where I want them the most (AA) and getting miles where they are easy to attain. Some months ago I decided to stop trying for Delta miles. I used up what I had, canceled my Delta AMEX before the annual fee was due and took my account down to 0. Then the Suntrust deal fell in my lap, got the 45000 business AMEX today, signed up AMEX singleidentity for 5000. Voila my Delta will soon have 175000 - more than any of my other accounts. And the process was nearly effortless.

Why not have the flexibility of miles in many programs if it's easy to attain?

I've been gathering miles all year while making only one airline trip all year. Seemed crazy at first (except that I am enjoying the process), and now I have at least four trips to make next year for weddings, etc. I enjoy knowing I'll be able to make all those trip for close to nothing dollarwise.

hmm.. Only have 1 US Airways MC but am looking to start earning miles in other accounts using cards. It seems like now would be a great time to earn CO and UA miles with the merger. The only 2 CO offers that I saw was the chase debit card for 25K and the onePlus credit card with the 25K after initial purchase and the potential to earn more. Anyone tried both and just canceling the CC after the miles post and before the annual fee kicks in? PS Both of these need to be applied for before the end of the year or do you think the offers will extend?

Also, if you guys have any suggestions about other opportunites that would be great. I have never had a citi card and it seems like the best strategy starting from scratch would be to go for 2 personal 75K miles on the same day and the 75K business card as well.

I should probably look into the UA card deals too, to maximize the accounts combining once the merger is done.. what do you think?

Where did you see that the Continental debit card would end on 31 Dec? I was just thinking yesterday of switching to that.

On the application form it says:
"Offer valid through December 31, 2010."
https://www.chase.com/ccp/index.jsp?...&ID=0000010494
Also, Chase has already announced it will no longer offer this card after Feb. 2011. So, speculation is this is the last chance to get the 25000 miles if you haven't already done so.

Well, I applied for the Delta Business Amex last night and was approved. I also applied for the personal Amex and the application is pending.

Will try the Citi AA Business card next, as AA would be my first choice for any miles/points. I did apply for this in August and my application was rejected for too many applications, even though I hadn't applied for the business card before. It's been more than 60 days so I'm probably safe to apply again.

And looking for the best CO/UA deals seems like a good option.

The Hyatt card is intriguing if only for the 2 free nights.

I wonder if I can apply for a Southwest Business Visa for 16 credits even though I already have the SW personal Visa? I don't know how Chase operates with regards to personal/business apps for the same branded card. 16 more credits would bring me to 70, which is getting close to Companion Pass. (God, I can't believe I actually fly SW that much, but it's the only good LA-OAK choice).

Are 80k Priority Club points worth anything? I don't really stay at those hotels, but I guess that could be a couple nights at an Intercontinental.

Funny story on my Delta Amex Personal card application. I actually ended up submitting FOUR personal applications because the form kept going to the home page after I submitted it and I wasn't sure if it went through. Then I remembered the application status check page and sure enough, there were four applications sitting there. I called and spoke to a nice rep who said the first one would be processed, the others essentially ignored. They couldn't give me a decision right away, he thought it was because I have a few Amex cards and they might be looking at my total credit line. I'd shift around some limits if it would get me the card.

Who isn't? Those of us that have opted out. You can do so at:

https://www.optoutprescreen.com

This is a one-stop place where you can stop all new credit card offers that originate from lists purchased from a credit bureau, which in my experience is about 95% of them. A small number still arrive that come from other sources, such as FF program membership, bank accounts, etc.

But, assuming that you don't want or need more credit card accounts, or if you find the bonus offers you want through places like FT rather than waiting for them to come in the mail, this opt-out program is wonderful in cutting down the clutter that the mailman brings. Plus, it's a lot less stuff in the mail that an identity thief might be interested in.

If you go the Continental/United Airlines Star Alliance route, don't forget

• Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa credit card, listed on the Bank and Other Travel Cards page of the Credit Card section of my website below. Up to 25,000 points transferable to Continental Airlines miles 1:1.
  
• The various American Express Membership Rewards cards. Some waive the first year annual fee, and give you mega bonus miles. Listed on the Annual Fee Cards page of the Credit Card section of my website below.

You should be aware that the Southwest, United, Continental and Priority club cards are all issued by Chase. So, it would probably be good to stretch those applications out over a few months and to prioritize which is most important (in case they limit the amount of cards they will issue you).

I use BWI a lot so I was tempted by the SWA/AirTran double down. Then I checked and decided it wasn't worth it. Air Tran credits expire in 12 months. To extend them to 24 months you have to pay the renewal fee for their card. SW isn't a lot more generous. Even after you get an award coupon there's time limits on use. Plus the whole point of SW & AT is they're cheap to pay for.

CO/UA has the most programs to rack up non-expiring miles on a premium carrier with no 1st year fees. The United card for 30K, the CO card with 30K plus $50 credit and lounge passes, the CO checking account for 25K (churnable each year), the AmEx Premier card with 25K, the Chase Sapphire card with 25K, the Amtrak card with 30K, the Netflix 4K for UA, and all the free OnePass promotions for up to 1K each.


Of course the Citi AA bonanzas are great too but only one dip each. Citi does allow the Mint game though. In addition the AmEx SPG's are great for converting to AA miles.

As for hotels the Marriott 50K plus night cert for $65 is good and for the $65 annual you get a cat 1-5 free night every year.

The Suntrust business card for up to 125K for $250 is good for Delta skypesos.

But until you exhaust the CO/UA linked bonuses, I'd concentrate on those.

What card it this and where can it be found?

The Continental Mileathon program will probably offer points and thus extra miles for applying for a Continental credit card. Registration will begin January 1, 2011, and activities will begin February 1, 2011. Consider waiting for this promotion before applying for a Continental credit card, at the risk of the current offers disappearing.

Good point - I participate in 30 programs and always have at least 3-4 free flights available. SPG and AMEX are good to use to top off miles to the lesser used programs. And you can accumulate SPG and AMEX rapidly through assorted techniques.

Any specific things that you have done that work well?

I think there's a well-viewed thread that discusses this in detail. :)

I wish there was something similar to stop the deluge of those &$(# "convenience" checks. Between the unsolicited app and those checks, the Big 5 Banks account for about 75% of the wear on my shredder.

The checks are a serious fraud risk. I have called ShitiBank and others and asked them to stop sending them, but they still come 2-3x a week.