Best Mileage Cards?
 

Hi there, thanks for such a great resource. I know I’ll be annoying to some of you regulars, but I’ve tried looking through the website and have never seen so many messages in a forum, so I’m a little lost. I’m looking for any credit cards that you guys (the experts) recommend for accumulating miles. I usually fly from LAX to PIT and sometimes to Atlanta, DC, and New Orleans. I take all kinds of airlines – United, American, US Air, Southwest, Delta, AirTran, etc. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Why do you want to accumulate miles? You could get a cash back cc and buy the tickets you want with the cash you save.
You can get a credit card that allows you to "buy" tickets on any airline.
You can get a credit card that gives you miles on a particular airline.

I've chosen to stick with one airline and get status on that airline. I get free baggage, early boarding (great if you have carry-ons), and "preferred seats." That means you have to stay with one airline (or alliance). Occasionally I get upgrades.

My sister and BIL don't fly a lot, not enough to make elite. They have a cc that lets them buy tickets on the cheapest airline. Because my BIL puts all his business expenses on that, they have plenty of points to fly to Europe once a year.

What is best for one person may not make sense for another.

Hi Manneca, thanks for the response. Sorry for the confusion. I do intend to get a card giving miles for a specific airline. Thanks again.

Probably AMEX Starwood since you could transfer their miles to many airlines + may times with bonus.

... and if you want to redeem for hotel rooms instead of miles, it's an even better value proposition.

moving to MB & welcome to FT! :)

As a previous poster mentioned the SPG Amex is the default card of choice for many FT'ers, as you get better at managing all the moving parts you can rotate different cards in depending on category bonuses and spend requirements. If you do end up deciding to go with the SPG Amex I'd be happy to provide you with a referral in order to ensure that you receive the best sign-up offer currently available (and AMEX also provides me with a nice little bonus for referring you :)) Private Message me if you're interested

Thanks all. I have gotten the 75,000 Citi American card, plus the Chase United with 30,000 or 35,000 miles, and applied for the US Air card as well. Just looking for ways to build my miles. Thanks!

rwalia99, Welcome to FT. As many posters have already said, there are several factors to consider when getting a Mileage card. May not hurt to get more than one either. Here is a blog post I wrote on this very topic. Hop it helps you makde a decision: http://boardingarea.com/blogs/unroad...t-card-part-i/

What card is the US Air card that you are talking about and what kind of deal does it give you (welcome bonus etc)?

Thanks

+1 for the Starwood Amex.

Nothing out there gives you the flexibility of the starwood amex cc.

The US Air credit card is through Barclays I believe. 35,000 miles with a balance transfer and $750 spent in first 90 days.

One more vote for the SPG Amex card!

Delta Amex cards have some decent built-in benefits ($25 lounge access, free checked bag, extra MQM offers), but the downside is the overall devaluation of Skymiles. I have the Platinum card which packs a $150 annual fee up front, too.

+1 to AMEX starwood preferred guest (SPG)

By moving SPG point to an airline in buckets of 20000 you get 1.25 miles per dollar (except on United and Continental). If you move point to ANA then you can get some really nice deals to Europe. ANA has different award prices depending on the length of you trip and they often come out much cheaper than the standard carriers. And they partner with Virgin Atlantic (and you pay less in fees to ANA than with Virgin)

This year my SPG points are going to fancy hotels in Europe at roughly 3-5 cent per point.