Hi All,

Newbie here! hope I'm in the right forum. I have been lurking around here now for over a week but unable to find any situations kind of like mine so I thought time to go to the pros. I’m hoping to get kind of a strategy for earning miles and points for someone who doesn’t have that excellent credit that I keep seeing on so many posts.

I have a modest goal of maybe traveling overseas a couple of times a year, as I don’t work for myself, so only get a few weeks a year off. I would like to make it business or first class and hotels can be middle of the road or less. I am very flexible when it comes to traveling. Here is currently my status so you know what I’m working with. Single, live in U.S. Have a credit score average of 700 as of 8/12, so I don’t think I can qualify for the bonus CCs (just got shot down by Citi AA). I do however have a Discover Escape card which will earn me double miles on everything I buy (annual fee $60). CC churning and bonus cards won’t be an option for me unfortunately. I’m looking for a strategy for maximizing my escape card. Reading on here, I know I can pay most bills (about $1300 if I can swing the mortgage on there) on the card to get mileage and of course pay for everything else with the card (another $400 to $500) as well as pay my card in full monthly. Also read about signing up to dinning programs and using my card to get the double dip affect. I am signed up with at least 1 airline FFM on the 3 alliances and signed up with one SPG program. Given this scenario, are a couple of trips a year doable in style (at least on the plane)? I welcome any and all suggestions, including the ones saying am smoking crack cause it can’t be done lol.

Welcome to FT. Honestly, if you can't qualify for new credit card bonuses you're probably out of luck. You'd have to do a LOT of spending to accumulate the miles you need. I'd work on my credit score first and then, after you get up around 740, start applying for cards with big bonuses. Check myfico and creditboards for ways to raise your score.

+1. Get credit score up first, then work on applying for the bonus cards. Do plenty of research on exactly what award you are looking to book first. Check your home airport to see what the most efficient routes are that you'd like to take and what programs provide the best coverage for those routes in award travel, and once you've addressed the credit issue, you'll be able to start finding the right cards to get your bonuses. I'd personally focus on the flight part first because I think the hotels are easier to deal with later.

See also: http://boardingarea.com/blogs/mommyp...es-and-points/

the only other thing I can think of is, IF you can get a big pile of cash to put into investment accounts like fidelity. but I guess that's a very big IF, maybe borrow the cash from your rich parents? :P

but fixing up your credit score is the way to go though

What they said. If you are not a huge spender and if you can't get sign-up bonuses, it will take you years, but...

Do start working with 700, but not with City. Try good Chase and Amex cards and go in slowly. Do not do any app-o-Ramas for now and try for 1-2 cards at a time. The funny thing is--contrary to popular believe, your score might very well improve with every new card despite the pulls.

You can pay mortgage by plastic but it'll cost you something in the neighborhood of 3%. The service I know is called Charge Smart. I would never do it for rewards, though, because the fees will negate any benefits.

And also, it's my personal opinion, and I know most people here will disagree, but don't get obsessed with premium class flying. Seriously, at least until you have a few hundred thousand miles under your belt.

Hey 42levels,

Welcome to FlyerTalk,

With a score of 700, you should be able to get in on a bunch of cards, at least in my experience. I know you were just rejected from AA but did that involve you calling the reconsideration line?

I've been "rejected" for the American Express SPG and Chase Sapphire Preferred, but after calling received both cards.

I have an American Express Gold Rewards, Delta, Citi AA, SPG, And Chase Saphire Preferred.

I'd also suggest you join Credit Karma to get an good idea of your score for free..

I agree with what others say, you'd have to spend an extraordinary amount to reap the benefits you want off your discover card.

Not to pile on, but OP's question is a bit like someone asking how to lose weight without doing exercise or significantly changing one's diet.

OP--I think you need to downscale your desires to fit the reality--it is far from modest to travel overseas in premium classes several times a year using a discover card. At this point you probably would be best sticking with one airline/alliance until your credit profile increases. I'd suggest American if you can talk them into giving you the card or (in 3 months or so to distance yourself from the citi inquiry) apply for a United card and start building that relationship with chase. As you suggested, put all your spending on that card. Read more on this board and in general about other creative ways of meeting/increasing spending. At this point your goal should be 1 or 2 international economy trips in the next 1 to 2 years. When you have increased your credit profile in 2-3 years and can start churning with the best, the sky is the limit.

Except for the very serious road warriors who travel 100-300K miles a year and get 100% or more bonuses on flown miles due to status or class of service, anyone with your ambitions is going to have to do it on bonuses. Just because you got turned down by Citi doesn't mean you're out of the game. Premium class travel will never work on cards with pseudo-miles (i.e. points that convert to cash) because you might need 200K points for a $2000-$2500 ticket (discount business class) vs. 100K for real miles.

The USAir card gives 40K miles iwth no spend requirement and an extra 10K each year after that when you pay the $89 annual fee. You can get off-peak Envoy class for 60K less 5K for having the card, so in theory you might be able to get to Europe in business class after two years and $178 in annual fees.

No one here wants to be discouraging. If you can churn cards, it's well within reach. This year my wife and I will (hopefully) each get 55K UA plus about 45K Sapphire preferred, 100K AA, 40K US, and 50-75 Amex, so if you assume we can churn these once every 3 years, we could take an overseas business class trip every year. But that's really the only way to do it.

I'm not so negative on the project as the others since while I do have a great credit rating I have relatively low spend -- paid off house and car, etc., at this stage of life there's nothing to "spend" on. With your spend and your decent credit rating, you should be able to get a free ticket somewhere every year, especially since it's just one of you. Well, not with Discover, but if you qualify for Discover, you certainly qualify for another credit card that offers better rewards, you just have to figure out what it is. I don't know what Citi's problem is. We haven't had any problem with them but we're long time homeowners. As others say, it is worth calling them and politely asking them to take a second look at you, especially if you hold no debt other than your mortgage.

You may not be starting at the top with business class international tickets twice a year but you can get a free ticket somewhere, and I doubt you expected to start at the top of your ultimate goal anyway. Hotel for the single person is easy -- there are couch surfs, airbnbs, friends and relatives who will put you up for an night or two, on and on, to help you avoid the chain hotel trap. Your first free trip or maybe even your first free trips may be domestic, but you should be able to take a free air trip every year and probably twice a year since there is only one of you. It might not be international right off the bat you are lucky to live in one of the largest, most diverse countries of the world, so rather than sitting at home, you should take at least one trip a year just to get your feet wet and get the instant gratification reward that keeps you working. It can't be all grim credit repair or people lose motivation.

Also some people generate "spend" by doing a lot of churning of moving cash around different payment processors, the Fidelity bank account, other bank accounts. I personally don't see the logic of it, since it seems TO ME as if the cost of defending an audit will wipe out the value of the extra miles, but there are a lot of people earning the miles that way so if that's what you're hinting at...yes...people are doing it. Whether it's worth it for some air tickets is a question only you can answer. Some of them know that SARS (suspicious activity reports) have been filed by banks, stores, etc. with the Dept. of Justice on their activity, and apparently they just shrug it off. I sure don't advise it but you will certainly see the activity hinted at on this site. If you're asking for more details, I would say take a closer look at Miles Buzz and then find the bloggers and follow those who give the most detailed guidelines. For myself, I prefer to stand apart from that particular activity. But, admittedly, some of these guys have millions of miles...so it's up to you whether it's worth it.

You don't indicate where you are located in the US, but your location may influence your choice of one airline program to concentrate on. (Other factors, such as your preferred destinations for award travel are also important.) I'd suggest registering your Discover card with the dining program of whatever airline seems best to you, and filling out a profile at the website of that airline's dining program. In most cases, doing so will get you a 1,000 mile bonus. That's not a lot, but it's easy to get, and the dining miles keep your account active.

It can be done, but not by a newbie. Focus first on coach travel (mileage runs) and getting your credit score up.

OP, a big part of designing a miles/points strategy depends on travel habits. Some travelers, as part of their business or lifestyle, travel frequently... and have the right credit cards as SUPPLEMENTS to their strategy.

You mentioned that your schedule limits you to a few weeks of travel a year. Then your main (perhaps only) source of miles and points income would be via credit card bonuses. For that, as everyone else has mentioned, your biggest asset is strong credit. Try to get at least one credit card per bank (Citi, Chase, AMEX, etc.) and work from there. Discover is kind of off to the side as they don't have a strong travel/reward program.

Alternatively, you could consider making mileage runs to rack up butt-in-seat miles the old fashioned way. The miles you earn this way, supplemented by a co-branded credit card's sign-up and spending bonuses can get you where you want to go... literally.