Greetings all I am new to the whole mileage collection game and I am currently a student. I'm looking for a good credit card that I will be able to get to start racking up some miles. Anyone in the same boat or can someone point me to some good cards to help me get on my way?

More likely you should work the debit cards unless you have significant income?

Welcome to FT. Do you currently have credit cards/decent credit? While credit cards offer a massive boost in miles at first, over time they can be a losing game if you're not careful. Annual fees and APRs mean that you will need to carefully consider whether or not you want to go down that road.

Since you're new the game and I've got 5 minutes, I'll go over some basics of stuff to think about. If you've already thought this through, please ignore.

1. Who are you going to earn miles with? Depending on how often you fly and with who, this can affect what card (if any) you decide on. As a rule, you want to have as few mileage accounts as possible with the highest point balance possible. 10 accounts with 7,000 miles each will get you no where, but 1 account with 70,000 will fly two to the Caribbean for taxes and fees. Consider what airlines you fly with and who they are allied with. You can collect all those points into one pot, which will make your life happier. It should also be noted that some programs are more difficult to redeem on. Do your research and choose a card after that.

2. What are miles worth to you? Putting a dollar value on miles makes it easier for you to compare what you're going. For example, I give my miles a base value of $0.01 per mile. In some cases, I will redeem for more than that but keeping my mind set on a low value means that I am not tempted by deals or flights that aren't that great. This $0.01 is just an estimate though, as the real value will be whatever the cost of the ticket you're replacing is, divided by the miles. So, a $250 ticket inside the US @ 25k miles pegs your miles at $0.01. However, if you're getting an award ticket for the same trip when the tickets are hovering by $500, then those miles are worth $0.02 per mile.

Using that, you should also take into consideration how much you'll spend on your credit card and how much it costs to have that card. If you expect to earn 5000 miles per year through the card and annual fee is $50, then you're not really getting a benefit at the $0.01 per mile rate. In fact, with interest you've probably lost money.

Pentagon Federal Credit Union, or PenFed. You'll have to join the credit union and open an account with $5 in it. However, you can co-sign with a parent or other willing wage-earner, get cash back instead of miles, and bonus cash back on gas purchases. Start building a credit history-- it's more important than miles right now, and will help you to qualify for other credit cards.

I might not go for mileage earning cards yet, until you figure out if they are for you. A good cashback card, like the Citi Forward card (5 Thankyou points per $ spent at bookstores (including Amazon.com), restaurants, and movies) could be good for you, depending on your spending patterns.

If you don't already have some type of credit history it might be hard to get a mileage card as a first card.

Here are 2 of my top choices for student cards:

Citi Dividend Platinum Select Visa for Students: 1% to 5% cash back on all purchases.
https://creditcards.citi.com/credit-...lege-students/

Discover Student More Card: Cash back on all purchases
http://www.discovercard.com/student/...CT_STUDENT_TXT

Hey, I'm a 22 year-old student also, so I know where you're coming from.

I guess the first answer we need to know is whether you have any kind of credit-history. If not, then it's advisable that you allow at least a year (or even longer) to establish one before applying for major airline cards with lucrative sign-up bonus.

Before applying, do a lot of research. Applying with a bank that has a connection to the exact miles/airline card(s) that you want in the future may sway the decision-making process to your favor if you've built an impressionable history with them.

However, if you do have a good credit-history I don't see why you can't take a shot with at least one card. It would probably ding your score a bit, but if you're financially independent and mature (and it shows on-paper) then there is a chance that you could be accepted. Just play the game wisely and don't let it play you.

My story--I have a 765 FICO score (that probably doesn't mean much in the real world), a 2.8 year credit-history, a 0-5% revolving balance (I always pay balances in full), a $5,500 total credit-line, less than $9K in total income, and somehow I was approved for the 50K Continental deal. I've seen people with 6-figure salaries and stellar credit-scores initially denied, so you never know what may happen.

Without knowing your credit history and specifics, it's hard for FTers to give more in-depth advice. Check out this thread that may give you some good ideas how to make any strategic plans yourself:

No Annual Credit Card for college top picks.Expert Comments!!

If I were you, starting from zero, I would have focused more on building credit. There are also some old threads over in Other Credit Card Programs Forum that give good pointers for college students to start building credit history. I posted in those threads before but can't seem to locate them at this moment. It probably will be a good idea for you to dive in Other Credit Card Programs Forum for some fun read.

Take note people...this guy is 22 years old. Sometimes it's better to pass up an offer than to try and go for it, further reducing your credit score.

And Welcome to FT S.Marsh!

I'm surprised no one mentioned the United College Plus card specifically for college students. No annual fee, but you only rack 1 mile per $2 spent. Only useful if you fly on United to go home, though, which I did when I was a college student.

I told my sister about that card, so she applied and received that card, too. Although she is no longer a student, she continued with that card and was automatically upgraded to a United Signature card--with no annual fee. Meanwhile, I cancelled the card when it was no longer useful and reapplied when I was back in graduate school. Not sure if I'll keep the card, but I figure that as long as there is no annual fee, I'll hang on to it for a while.