Information Overload!
 

Okay, for the past 3 days I have been trying to figure out where to start! I want to maximize miles, and create a slow and steady plan to pull down some points.... nothing crazy- if I can get 75K a year, I would be far more than elated. I don't mind to work for it... but don't want to spend too much money for it!

A little about myself: I dont get to travel much for my job so I collect maybe 1500 miles from flying a year. I have a US Airways debit card through BOA and I get about 12K a year from that. I usually sign up for a credit card a year to get flier points. I'll do US airways every couple of years, get the points and shut it down. I just opened a delta card and will get the points then shut it down. I am probably getting 30-35K a year in points currently and I am looking to bump up.

After reading threads on this site, I think I have not been streamlining and strategizing like I should. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to start from scratch, and start a program that will benefit me more than I have been?

Many Thanks!

Sign up for offers that are 50k+ bonus miles but make sure you would be able to meet spending requirements.

Dont forget to create FF accounts before you apply. That way you know your FF account # and have login info etc

I think when each one of us started, we said 75k a year would be fine LOL. Trust me, once you get into this hobby, if you don't get 75k in a month then your depressed.

Then it goes from 1-2 sign up bonuses a year to 10-15.

To start off, this is what I would suggest a newbie to do IMO

1) Citi AA Visa/Amex - 150K AA miles - wait 60 days and apply for business ...net 225k
2) Fidelity deals (read the thread) Possible 50k AA, 50k Delta and maybe 50k MR - 150k total

Depending on your credit score, I'd get the Chase AARP 5% card and Chase Sapphire for 50k bonus

That's 425k miles in one shot..

If you're starting from scratch, you might want to beef up a bit of your knowledge about credit: http://creditboards.com/forums/.

Assuming for the moment that you have credit scores that can bear applying for several cards at once, I think it's a good idea to keep goals in mind, such as where do you want to fly, in what class, and who flies from your airport? Those questions aren't as silly as they first appear. Although you can ultimately fly on a number of carriers using a number of rewards miles from airlines that might not even fly from your local airport to your desired destination, it's always a good idea to identify your travel goals.

Then, try to figure out which airline (or alliance) helps you get there. If you have several good options from your airport (and most of us do), then look through the various airline threads here at FT to get an idea about awards availability. The short hand answer: American's not bad, Delta seems pretty iffy (except, possibly, for short-notice redemptions), and United/CO seems in between. British Airways has generally good availabilty, but taxes and fuel surcharges may offset the attractiveness of the use of BA's miles. There are plenty of other airline options; use the FT boards as a resource.

I understand the information overload. Keep in mind that you have plenty of time to answer these questions. Believe me, if you have good credit, you won't focus on just one card. I'd suggest you spend a week poking around FlyerTalk--keep looking at the MilesBuzz forum, but look also at the credit card and airline threads. Looking at the hotel threads is also not a bad idea.

And there are some internet resources that may also focus your thinking. A few suggestions:

http://thepointsguy.com/
http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/viewfromthewing/
http://millionmilesecrets.com/
http://www.freefrequentflyermiles.com/index.htm
http://www.onlinetravelreview.com/
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/

That should keep you busy for awhile. Keep reviewing the threads here. Don't rush into any decisions. Keep an open mind. Understand that conclusive statements, such as "SkyPesos are worthless," may be true for many--but perhaps, not for you. The research is worth it; just ask a fair number of people who hopped on the BA 100K deal and then discovered that for many routes, BA's fuel surcharges made the deal look a little less attractive than it first appeared--although the program has many features that I personally very much like, and I have no problems with the surcharges.

Here is a list of cards that might be worth your investigation, but this is certainly not an exhaustive list:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...t-2-first.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...0k-points.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...-up-bonus.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...-open-all.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...romo-back.html (for this one, the 100K promo is expired, but there's currently a card with 50K miles out there).

That's a lot of work to do. One helpful pointer I follow in reading any long thread: read the first couple of pages and then look at the last three to five pages. The first couple of pages will give you the general outlines of the deal and many times a web link; the last few will give you the current landscape of the deal. Many of the intervening pages, especially in threads hundreds of pages long, contain repetitive or expired information. The thread on the AA cards is especially well maintained--definitely follow the instructions in the title that direct you to read post #2 first.

Good luck. In six months, you'll probably be asking yourself, "so where do I get my next half million miles?"

OP please note that requirements for Citi AA VISA are MUCH higher than Amex and Biz. I was denied AA VISA but approved for AA Amex AND AA Biz Visa

Now that is what we call "Information Overload" :D

Jokes apart.Good post :)

A possible case of the cure being worse than the disease. . .:D

I'm honestly in the same situation as you. I certainly don't want to go overboard with multiple card churns every 90 days or 6 months or whenever. I'm fine picking up a chunk of miles here and there to fund my one or two trips per year.

With that said, I've already gone overboard (in my own eyes).

I applied for the U.S. Airways card (40K miles after first charge, no annual fee for first year). Both for my wife and I. That one was easy.

Then, I applied for the Chase Sapphire Preferred for myself. $3K in 3 months. Not hard.

I kept reading and reading, and couldn't resist. I applied for both AA cards for both my wife and I. $4k and $1500 minimum spends in 6 months.

That is all I'm doing for the next year.

I should be able to make these minimum spends, and after I do my wife and I should both have 40K U.S. Airways miles, and 150K+ AA Miles, and I should have the 50K Chase Sapphire Points. That will be plenty of miles for us for the next two years. I plan on waiting until after I renegotiate these cards in 1 year until I sign up for anything else.

WOW! Thanks to everyone on helping me get started. I say that I have been lurking for 3 days, but really in that 3 days I have been reading for about 24+ hours . I just needed a consolidation of data before I bit the bullet: I have applied for the Visa and Amex for the AA miles and was not declined. Now I have to fulfill the spending requirement. I am not sure how hard that might be, but I am telling all my buddies to call me if they are spending on big ticket items.... 6 months I feel I should have this in the bag.

One question is regarding car notes and mortgages, how does this work? Is it based on which mortgage servicer I am using? I have read they could possibly count as "cash advances"? How will I know besides waiting 2 months for the points to clear?
Thanks again!

Auto and home loans are generally not payable directly to the lender by a credit card. There are services that will make these payments but will charge you a fee for doing so. And even those lenders who will take the payments by credit card will charge you the credit card fee (roughly 3%) for the privilege. It's generally not worth the expense to do this--as you can figure out, the more you pay these fees, the less money you'll have for other credit card bonus spending requirements.

Look at your monthly after-tax income. Figure most expenses after auto and home loans and your savings can be run through a credit card. Utilities tend to be split, with power companies in many areas again imposing a fee on payments by credit card while communications companies (cell and home phones, internet services, cable services) do not. Many insurance payments may be made by credit cards without incurring a fee. Do a budget that you can run through a credit card, and you'll then know how much you can afford monthly in meeting bonus spending requirements.

As you've also already figured out, it's not a bad thing to be the banker for friends who are making purchases--just keep in mind the two dangers here. First, your friends have to be reliable--cash (or check deposited into your account) up front. Second, you've got to be disciplined with the cash (or your suddenly larger account balance)--spend this money on something other than paying off your card, and you'll start incurring big interest charges, fast.

If you are only traveling 1,500 miles per year I probably wouldn't be chasing only miles cards. I would move toward points or cash back cards. In most cases you can get airline tickets with points cards.

I would like to learn a little more about points and cash back cards.... I'll do the research and try to figure out how to fit it in..... I have 2 more crucial questions... My girl does not have enough credit to pull down the US airways card.... I am not sure the qualifications on that one. I am wondering if there is a card out there that takes a very minimum requirement so she can start building points and at the same time credit?

My 2nd question is not as altruistic- I am a surfer, and am trying to figure out how I can bring my board on flights without paying the absurd fees. i haven't found a thread that lends itself to my issue.... My girl and I are going to Nica in 20 days on Delta, and the thought of 150 each way disgusts me.. any tricks or lessions that anyone can offer?

Thanks!

or
 

I bet he will fly more than 1500 miles if he can book free award seats...start with coach so you dont get spoiled on free first class too fast. (you wont want to go back to the cheap awards) If the flight is over 8 hours you will want to see the difference.
also consider a hotel card or 2 in the mix to get free rooms, cash back cards arent what they used to be, some hotel bonuses are getting better...I got the 80k priority club offer, and 30k SPG for personal and business are great offers. It is overwhelming at first, but once you spend the time and read a bunch of the great info here, it gets more understandable.

Here are a couple more sites to add to the list.
http://www.milemaven.com/
http://www.smartertravel.com/frequent-flyer/
http://www.frequentflyerbonuses.com/
I would say this site (FT) is the most comprehensive, but the others are helpful in learning.

I'm new to this as well. 2 questions:

-I'm seeing that many people apply and get approved for multiple credit cards with FF introductory offers. Do you folks cancel these cards eventually and start the process over of applying?

-Isn't this business of applying and cancelling cards detrimental to one's credit?

It does effect your credit, but not too much. Each credit pull can cost 2-5 points on your score. Consider each application a pull. In some cases, if you don't have a huge amount of credit already, getting more credit may actually improve your score. It all depends.

Bottom line: check your scores, and check them often to make sure you aren't doing damage.


Some people cancel quickly, but that isn't the preferred method. If a card doesn't have an annual fee, leaving it open is the best option. If it has a yearly fee, you can call when the first year (usually free) is up and try to negotiate either eliminating the fee, or getting a "retention bonus" to pay the fee and stay on board. If they are unwilling to oblige, cancel the card if it isn't worth anything to you.

All of this information is around on the links above. I'm just starting as well, but things are looking good already. Happy travels!