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"*Note: if you really want to get advanced, check out the routing rules on Cathay. You will get a stopover in Hong Kong for "free" (that is to say, for the same 110k miles per person). So you could visit family in Saigon (stay with relatives) and then spend a few days vacationing in Hong Kong for free (free stopover, free hotel with Starwood points)."

Sorry, no.

When redeeming AA miles for travel on CX (or any other carrier), it is AA's award rules that apply, not the other carrier's. On international one-way awards obtained with AAdvantage miles, the only stopover permitted is at the North American gateway.

So, then, could he stop-over in HNL instead of HKG? Just wondering if AA considers Hawaii part of North America for NA-Asia flights (I know they do for Europe).

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Yes, HNL is considered within North America for AA's award purposes. But to get a stopover in HNL on a LAX-SGN award, the "over-water" carrier would have to have a published, through fare between LAX and SGN, and the rules of that fare would have to permit a routing via HNL. That's how AA works it on international awards involving partner carriers.

I'm suprised that no one has mentioned the Chase Ink Bold card. It is a business card, has a great sign up bonus (50K) and has some bonus catagories where it gives more than the typical 1 pt/$. I don't have the card myself (no business) but it seems like it would be a good card to consider for the OP.

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Stopovers allowed only at the US gateway (LAX in this instance), but this means that if Cathay has valid routing through LAX to another US city, OP can get a free domestic round trip out of this.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.601 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

Nope. When using AA miles on an All-Partner award, he cannot get even one stopover in HKG.

ok i'm still new at this so i'm a little confused about all this talk of not being able to stop over here and yes, you can stop over there. can someone please explain to me what exactly is everyone talking about? why would i want to stop over anywhere? wouldn't i want to get to my destination as quickly as possible?

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"why would i want to stop over anywhere? wouldn't i want to get to my destination as quickly as possible?"

Some people want to visit only one destination on a trip, and get there as quickly as possible. Other people like to visit two (or more) destinations, especially when on vacation.

At this point, don't worry about the stop overs. I think some people have taken your original topic/question a bit off track.

But for your reference a stopover would acts sort of like combining two trips into one award ticket. For example a flight to Saigon on Cathay Pacific would have a layover in Hong Kong, and normally you would fly from Los Angeles to Hong Kong, have a couple hour layover in Hong Kong (never leaving the terminal), and then continuing on to Saigon. If you added a stopover, then you would fly from Los Angeles to Hong Kong and spend a couple of days or weeks there. Then you would continue on from Saigon to Hong Kong where you would spend a couple of days/weeks. Finally you would return home with the normal couple hour layover in Hong Kong (not spending extra time there). Instead of having to buy two separate tickets or awards, you can book it as a single trip from Los Angeles to Saigon with a stopover in Hong Kong.

Again, that's just an example of how a stopover would work, and I don't know if you can actually do this or not. For now don't worry about the stopovers, open jaws, or other types of bookings you could potentially do. Just figure how you will get the miles, and keep reading here at FlyerTalk. You'll pick it all up soon.

I think your first order of business is to see if your vendors will accept credit cards, and what kinds of credit cards, for your purchases. Even if one or two of them will, it should be possible to meet the minimum spending requirements for initial sign-on bonuses, some of these cards.

Some of your vendors might take Visa but not American Express, for example. Or, they might charge an extra "convenience" fee for using a cc vs. paying by check. (That fee would be to compensate for the extra processing fees a credit card charges, which is only fair).

You would need to crunch the numbers to see if the extra miles and points you earn would be worth the extra convenience fees those vendors might charge you.

http://travel.usatoday.com/alliance/...nders/569692/1

has a good overview of "big spenders" ie business instead of just personal credit card spending.

Also, it was mentioned earlier in the post, but after reading more in the other forums about your credit history, paying via check, etc... I think a BankDirect account is the way to go (along with maybe one card like the SPG Business or an Citi AAdvantage Business/Personal card).

http://www.bankdirect.com/programs/aadvantage.aspx
One Time Bonuses

• 1,000 miles upon opening a checking account. Open this and use it as your primary checking account. Keep the cash balance as high as possible.
• 1,000 miles upon opening a money market account. Open and fund with $1,000 and leave it alone.
• 10,000 miles for setting up direct deposit into your checking account. You probably don't have direct deposit, but if you do then great.
• 5,000 miles to use their bill pay service. Set up 3 bills to pay, easy!
• 5,000 miles to use their Visa check card. Pay using your debit card as you already do, easy!

Monthly Earnings

• Earn 100 miles per month for every $1,000 of the monthly average collected balance in your Mileage Checking Account up to the first $200,000 on deposit. Earn 25 miles per $1,000 for all balances over the first $200,000 on deposit.
• Earn 50 miles per month for every $1,000 of the monthly average collected balance in your Mileage Money Market Account up to the first $200,000 on deposit. Earn 25 miles per $1,000 for all balances over the first $200,000 on deposit.

This is a great option for you because you can continue to write checks and use your a debit card for payments while earning miles. Ideally you would use this in conjunction with a card like the SPG AMEX. Vendors who will not accept AMEX can be paid via check from your BankDirect checking account.

great article by the way, thanks for the advice. i think my problem right now is that i have too little credit. i have looked at the amex website and they require you to have excellent and well established credit. in fact a lot of the cc mentioned (ie chase, citibank) require execellent credit history. so i'm totally lost as to what to do. if anyone has any ideas besides a secured cc then i'm all ears. but the ironic thing is that you would think that these cc companies would want a costumer like me who always pays his debt and is responsible with money. unfortunately i just cant prove it to them it they don't give me a cc to show them. there in lies the catch 22

I agree with the sentiments expressed by many here. You need to take a look at your business and examine your habits before jumping in.

How much you can earn via credit cards depends a lot on what type of business you are in. If you are paying cash (which is not at all the same as paying with a check) then you may get a lot of resistance from your vendors to using credit cards because cash is a resource they wont want to loose. Checks can be traced and Cash can not. So if you are truly paying cash I would be surprised if your vendors will let you switch to Credit Card payments with out a fight.

So if you are in the restaurant business and you are going down to the Fish Market and the Wholesale produce market and that is where your money is going your chances of switching your purchase power to a credit card may be fairly low. On the other hand if you are buying stuff online and from Vendors you know take credit cards then that is a whole different matter. As mentioned above those credit cards charge a fee to the vendor so that means that they might also raise your prices if you use the credit card. Many of my vendors give a 2% discount for a check vs. a credit card. Find out before you switch over.

Also know that Amex charges a higher percentage of the transaction than Visa or MC to the vendor so many will only take Visa of MC. It's about 2.5% of the transaction on Visa or MC but 3.5% of the transaction on Amex. When my customer try to pay ME with Amex I always try to steer them to something else to save that extra percentage point. This might mean you get both and Amex and a MC.

Much depends on what type of business you are in and whether or not your Vendors find you to be an anomaly or business as usual. Do your homework. On the other hand you need to also consider what habits you can change to max your CC spending. For example do you go down to Costco when ever you need something and buy office supplies with a check? Consider buying from Staples or Office Max with a CC and waiting to purchase what you need till you have a $150. order so you can order online get free delivery PLUS a spend with a CC. You need to examine your business and your habits to make the most of this opportunity.

One more thing: Pull your own Fico score at myfico.com before you apply. You think you have little credit: you should find out for sure before you go this route. You may have better credit than you think (or maybe not). It's worth $14.95 to know so that you either choose to build your credit if you need to or you apply in a way that makes sense to your situation!

When I was first applying for credit cards (2 years ago) my first year of college, I had zero credit. However, I was still approved for an AMEX charge chard the Premier Rewards Gold and through that card, I was able to slowly build up my credit. I think a charge card is good for you since you stated that you don't like to carry debt and charge cards have to be paid in full every month. IMO I believe that obtaining a charge chard from AMEX is easier than an actual credit card since you pay it off every month. A couple months later, I applied for and was approved for the Continental mastercard and the American Airlines visa and I am approaching my next set of applications soon.

Another factor that can help as well is if you have any home mortgages and/or auto loans. These loans can be beneficial for you in obtaining credit cards.