You might find this thread helpful in answering that question: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...nt-2011-a.html.

Good info IW.

On a side note, has anyne used the virtual credit card number that Citi offers? For coin buying, is it better to use the virtual number? Or it won't matter?

On one of my rental properties, I pay electric & water. I pay the water using an rewards CC and usually debit on the electric. (electric charges $3 for CC). (HUD pays me a fixed amount on the utilities--I come out ahead). If I need to get to a spending threshold on a CC, I will prepay about 5-6 months of estimated electric bill ($1K or so) using a CC as $3 is trivial for that amount. (0.3%).

Check out Big Crumbs and gift cards.

I run just about all of my normal spending through the different cards I'm using. All cards get paid in full every month so never any interest paid. The only things that get pulled right from bank account would be the mortgage and car payments.

Gas - $300/mo
Phone/internet/TV/Wireless - $300+/mo
Groceries - $400-500/mo
Eating out - $100-150/mo
Prescriptions - $80/mo
Any other shopping/spending - $500-1000/mo

So far this year I've been able to get 150k AA miles on both Citi cards, a Chase Southwest card with 1 free ticket & $500 gift card and my wife just completed both Citi cards and will have her 150k miles by the end of the month. Now to go get the next card and get some hotel nights so we can use those miles!

Any good hotel promo? I see the Hilton and SPG, but the miles they give aren't tempting enough. I'd love to got o the Maldives one of these days. Redemption is a bit expensive and hotels are outrageously expensive. So the Points might come in handy, but again they are probably top category redemptions, so you'll need a ton of points!

Hawaiian Air transfers to Hilton at a 1:2 ratio... so the 35K Hawaiian offer that is out there could be considered a 70K Hilton offer.

Get the Hilton Gold status with a Visa Signature card as well. Do three stays by the end of August and have Gold status with Hilton till 2013.

I thought only AMEX HHonor card(s) have the feature to achieve Gold via spending and Citi's version does not. But you are saying Citi's HHonor also can achieve Gold via spending?

I have the gold status. Might need to do a "hotel run" a few times. I don't stay at Hilton much but it'll be nice to have Gold Status until 2013!

Can anyone confirm that a too many inquiry rejection automatically results in a credit pull ding? Or is it just chase's way of screening apps before the credit pull occurs?

I'd like to try to apply for the sapphire also but don't want to get the too many inquiry rejection and also take a hit on my credit score.
I signed up for CO in april and BA in May.

How do you pay your home owner's insurance with your credit card? Aren't most rolled into escrow?

Most people do not have to escrow their taxes and insurance if they down at least 20%.

That's the option most people prefer because you don't have to come up with a big lump sum once a year. Easier to budget. Some municipalities will not let you pay with a card. YMMV, of course

Similarly, AA miles transfer to Hilton at a 3:5 ratio, so the 50k/75k/100k AA miles offers out there are essentially 83k/125k/166k Hilton HHonors Points offers.