thanks, itsme & writetorich! I've been a lurker for sometime but finally decided to signup and post a big thanks to gleff for this post! :)

writetorich: you mentioned "For frequect fliers or those desiring international premium cabin flights on leisure "...i think i fit into that category(and my spending on this is going to be between 20-70k ) so which one is a better fit...SPG or hilton?
One other card that I'm considering is Citibank PremiumPass Elite. I do fly international sometimes and I think i can convince some of my friends who fly to buy tickets on my card :D (so that i get the flight points from the miles they fly..)

To what you have asked regarding "SPG or hilton," you should add, "And why," or "please explain." There are different views on the relative merits of these cards and it is of limited usefulness to just get categoric assertions as to which is better without meaningful analysis. I went with SPG because of what others said about it and my familiarity with Starwood properties over the course of years, while Hilton's affinity card seemed to get less favorable ratings. But read what others have to say about the cards here and in other threads on the subject, then decide for yourself.

Point noted. thanks!

Just realize that you have to have purchase points to match the flight points you receive, right? Now for the first 15,000 flight points it's pretty much free because of the 15,000 point bonus for the cards signup. But after that you will need purchase points = flight points before they are released to the Thank You network.

thanks for the clarification. I was under the impression that those points were purchase points! :confused:

Inital signup points are treated as purchase points. So once you sign up for the card you will receive 15,000 points. Your first 15,000 Flight points will automatically be available for transfer into the Thank You network.

But any flight points after your first 15,000 will have to have purchase points to transfer into Thank You Network. But don't forget once your buy tickets that's purchase points too. It will add up, but don't expect it to go too fast if you do much more flying than buying.

Redeeming the Thank You points is good though and easy, I was able to get a flight to Mexico for 30,000 points when the cheapest price I saw online was $505.

I see what you mean. thanks again for the explanation ^

Does the Starwood AMEX or Citi AA MC offer travel insurance? I'm about to book a trip and can't decide which to use?

Citi AA MC Platinum Select offers free trip cancellation/interruption insurance, but not all Citi AA MC do.
http://www.citibank.com/us/cards/car...t-svbenits.jsp

If you want the details, you have to contact the underwriter (Virginia Security?). Citi reps couldn't tell me by phone. I think I have a scan of the document if you'd like to see it.

AMEX Green/Gold Advantages
 

I would argue there are some advantages to Amex Gold/Green with full membership rewards.

In the past 12 months they have probably had double points at least 8 months and some months they have had triple points, though the offer terms are often confusing and vary as to whether this is triple points on everyday spending or everything. They offer double points on everyday purchases standard, if your 5% card rewards are done. Some of these promotions have seemed to overlap and I have gotten a lot of points so the triple points work and/or overlapping promotions double dipped.

They also sometimes have 20-35% bonuses for transfering to Delta or Continental, though I have not seen a bonus lately.

They have very good signup bonuses. I got 25K points and first year free through a targeted offer and I have seen better offers.

Amex Delta is also good but has less bonuses and sometimes they are lame like 20.06% extra points.

Amex Delta and Gold/Green occasionally give you free points for things like agreeing to have the option of not paying in full for travel charges or adding other cardholders.

SPG is great if you want to keep things simple but if you are in a phase of getting signup bonuses and having several cards SPG loses value because you have some other card with double points most of the year. If AMEX Gold/Green keeps having all these offers it is probably competitive with SPG in a lot of situations if you have the time to check sites for promos.

At a minimum I would say it makes a lot of sense to sign up for a Amex gold introductory offer and convert it to SPG after the first year for new cardholders without the highest spending levels.

BP Visa - $75 bonus, 10% gas, 4% travel rebates, + more
 

For those who have not previously had a BP visa, the new BP VISA from Chase Bank offers:

A $40 BP gift card for first use of the card within 3 months of account opening (but the expiration date of 8/31 might shorten that).

An additional $35 BP card when you use your card for transactions totaling $1000 within the first 3 months of account opening (but the expiration date of 8/31 might apply).

PLUS you get double rebates for the first two billing cycles after receiving the card. Standard rebates (which will be doubled for the first two cycles) are 5% for "participating BP locations" , 2% on "eligible travel and dining" (the fine print says "retail establishments that classify their merchant location for Visa/Mastercard as Dining (excluding establishments classified as Fast Food Restaurants), Airline, Auto, Rental or Lodging), and 1% on "all other eligible purchases". I love the idea of 4% cash back on air travel, hotels, car rentals and restaurants for 2 months.

You do not get rebates on balance transfers and other types of cash related transactions, nor on non-BP gas purchases. There is no limit on the amount of rebates you can accumulate. Rebates are redeemed in increments of $25 as BP gift cards, a check, or a donation to The Conservation Fund.

The card has no annual fee and 0% interest on purchases and balance transfers for the first 6 months, but the usual horrendous interest rates after that.

The offer is valid only for first time BP Rewards Visa cardmembers. Existing BP Rewards Visa cardmembers are not eligible. If your account is not open for at least 6 months, BP and Chase reserve the right to deduct the Double Rewards from your BP Rewards Program account.

You can apply on the web at http://www.newbpvisa.com or by phone at 1-888-312-7247 (offer code 69LL)

Gary, please point to where you have the details on the 25,000 FF miles card?

Just applied for 7 cards!
 

This is a great community and this thread in particular is a great source of information. I normally fly about 2 - 4 flights a month, mostly short trips on the East Coast, out of Boston. I've been meaning to apply for some of these cards for a while but kept getting side-tracked and also was concerned about getting rejected (a residue from when I moved here from Canada and had a hard time getting a credit card).

So now I've gone completely the other way and applied for 7 cards between yesterday and today! Got approved immediately for all of them except Marriott which said they would get back to me in 30 days. My credit score was 742 before all this, let's see what effect all these applications have on it!

I fly US Air a lot (and some CO) so applied for the Juniper card. Also got 2 cash back cards from Citi, Amex SPG and the business and non-business from Priority Club.

Thank you everyone for the great information!

DB

Nice!! ^ I applied for 5 cards in one day about a year ago. Loved all the signup bonuses rolling in all at once. ^

I'm really surprised no one has mentioned the jetBlue Amex. My LDR necessitates a million IAD-OAK runs a year, so this works out really well for me. 200 points = 1 Trueblue point and 100 Trueblue points = 1 free flight. Restaurant/fun place (i.e. movies, amusement parks) charges cash in for double points, so it accumulates pretty fast.