Which card(s) to apply for?
 

I am interested in applying for a new card. Right now I'm deciding between the 50k Sapphire or getting the Chase SW card and the 30k starwood card. I can't do sapphire and starwood at the same time due to the 3-month spending requirement (even with all the little tricks I'm nowhere near spending $2500/month).

I am more interested in airline travel than hotels because I usually stay in hostels or budget motels, and want AA miles for an around the world ticket but nothing on the market (other than the citi cards 75k x 3 I've already applied for) gets me closer...

Apply all of them, why not? You can also get Citi AA 75K (they are still alive), Citi ThankYou Premier 50K (-$125 annual fee), Chase BA 50K (not as good as the 100K offer which expired but still good, -$95 annual fee). Apply them on the same day to avoid hits on credit scores. To reach spending requirement, with Mint dead, well just buy Amex Giftcards for future use!

SPG can be transferred into AA miles at 1:1. iF you do 20K you will get 5K bonus, essentially 1:1.25. Sapphire can't be transferred into AA, but they can be transferred into BA, CO, Hyatt, etc.

Check out my website for detailed card analysis.

Hi, thanks for the reply. I can't apply for citi for another 2 months (they told me that over the phone). I already have the chase 100k BA, so I'm really deciding between the Starwood + Chase SW card OR just the Chase Sapphire. I can't do two spending reqs simultaneously otherwise I'd churn a whole set at a time.

The Chase Sapphire, if transferred to partners, is worth about $1000. The Starwood is worth about $1200 using the points for cash & points redemptions, which is a great value. And it also a once a year offer from Starwood. The WN card is worth about $800. I'd go for the Starwood and WN cards.

Cards that require very little investment on your behalf
All cards have first year fee waived.


1) Priority Club Visa 60k offer (or 80k targeted in your inbox). I hear nights start as low as 5k miles. You get 1 free hotel night per year if you stay a member of their card. 10% rebate on point redemptions. I think you get like platinum membership status or something. The point is for $49/yr you can get a free hotel room at the very least, and for all Intercontinental Brand hotels you will get a pretty decent award (I think 5 points per $ spent). No spending requirement
2) Southwest 50,000 mile card. No spending requirement. $95/annual fee. 6000 point award every year on your anniversary
3) Continental OnePass 50k - $95 annual free. 2 free united club passes per year. free checked bags for you and anyone in your party. the club passes alone are worth like $90-100. No spending requirement
4) Hilton has at least 2 cards and Marriot has at least 1 card, both of them with some decent sign-on bonuses, some free night per year stuff, etc.



AA 75k Visa
AA 75k Amex, and the other AA deals are pretty decent. But commit yourself to too many of these cards and you will find yourself looking for ways to hit the spending requirements.

I do not have any "unofficial" cards, e.g. Sapphire, Ink, Bold, Amex 75k sign-up.

Those cards are all worth checking out as well

Keep in mind the Chase SW card only requires a first purchase to get the bonus. In addition, given that the Starwood Amex truly is an unusual offer for them, as $15,000 spending in six months rather than $4500 in three has been the norm, I'd jump on that deal. That means you only need to spend $1500/month to qualify for both of these offers. The Sapphire Preferred is a better option than it was several months ago as Chase has increased its earning power to 2 UR points per dollar for travel and restaurant purchases, but I'd follow jcmitchell21's advice and then see what the Sapphire Preferred offer is in a couple of months. The 50K may be gone soon, but I wouldn't think you'd see much worse than 25K later this fall--and you might get lucky and see the return of a higher offer.

And let's not forget the current SPG AMEX offer. Referral is no longer required.

30K points for a 4.5K spend in 90 days. Best offer by them in the last year.

The sapphire card does not transfer to AA, so if you want AA miles then it is not for you. SPG card does transfer to AA so that makes more sense in you situation.

Man, I know exactly what you are talking about when it comes to hotel points. I've never thought that they would be worth it. This SPG Amex card has changed my mind.

In fact, I posted about that today. I feel like I would rather stay in a cheap hotel, so I look at the Cash and Points option and say that it would be a waste. I would rather pay for a lesser expensive hotel and the points would be wasted because I could have rather had more air miles.

Sometimes I feel like my trips are always centered around the largest cities, because that is where the flights go to. This card has opened my eyes to seeing smaller cities that have beautiful things to see in places like Dornbirn, Austria, Bolzano Italy, Lenggries, Germany, and Genova Italy. You could totally spend 8 nights in Europe without paying a penny for your hotels. For this reason I am a believer in the SPG card.

www.worldwanderlusting.com

If you participate in 2 frequent flier programs (say, United Mileage Plus and WN Rapid Rewards), wouldn't it make the most sense to get one card, get the bonus miles, use it for one year, cancel it right before the annual fee hits, and switch to the other for the next year? How long do you have to go without the card before you'll be invited to reapply for a new set of bonus miles?

Thanks for all the great advice everyone. It seems like the consensus is SPG + chase southwest card, so I'll go with that.

A word of warning: If anyone is doing the Citi AA cards, make sure to not order AMEX gift cards, I got charged as a cash advance on those before...

that is interesting. I bought $1,500 Amex GC with Citi AA last year and it was counted as a purchase.

Where is the link for the Continental OnePass 50k? All I see are 40k links.

opus2002 - the Chase CO 50K offer is targeted. Some people got an invitation to apply.