Why is that good? $20k in spend gets a free domestic coach ticket on a limited route network. :td:

It won't get you a free flight on its own, that's for sure. It's good b/c:

1) The greatest # of points you get on a BIS flight is 24. 24x4=96. Just short of a free flight. You can bump that up easily with one month's credit card statement (100-96=4, $200x4=$800 you need to spend).

2) They're really good about transferring the points, and award availability isn't nearly as tight as it is on legacy carriers.

If the routes work for you, it's a real life saver.

7 cards in one day???? Yeesh! You're a braver soul than me, though probably with reason. :)

I just signed up for 2 in one day and was a little worried about it. My credit score was 760+, but I only have 8 years of credit history and I'm sure that I make less (hard not to make less than a med school student, even if I do have some income now. ;) )

Let us know how it goes. I'm curious. With a score like yours, though, I'm sure you'll be just fine. And now you'll be racking up the miles! :D

hey, it's nice to have another medical student interested in flyertalk!

im addicted to the forum even though I don't fly all that much...about 20k/yr

Actually it's been suggested that if you're going to open multiple cards, you should do it all on the same day. The idea is it might minimize impact on your score and also some creditors might not "see" the other inquiries.

I have about 6 years of credit history and had a credit rating of around 750 at the begining of the year.

Since January, I have opened about 7 credit cards (spread out evenly over the past 6 months) and it has not affected my credit score whatsoever. What seems to affect your score more is how high your balance to available credit ratio is and whether you have any late payments.

Since I have low balances on my cc, pay them off each month, and don't have any late payments, the effect of opening mutiple credit cards in a short period of time appears to be negligible.

The IC Visa bonus now appears to be only 10k points - didn't it used to be 30k?

http://www.insideflyer.com/tools/cre...ison/index.php

Yes, there's been a huge cutback in enrollment bonus by IC Visa. However, the site you referenced is pretty bad (or out of date). Most of the better offers are not included there. You can actually get 15K bonus points at IC. You should check pgary's website and it's much more comprehensive and up to date. ^

Best Card!
 

I currently have a CitiBank Platinum AAdvantage card and I normally put from $6000 to $10,000 per month on my card. We use it for everything and pay the the balance off each month. I just got off the phone with an American Airlines representative trying to book a flight to Europe next JUNE (2007) and it was like pulling teeth. I use almost all of my "points" for airline travel and I am really frustrated with trying to use airline miles. Would I be better off with an American Express Card or Capital One Card that is not affiliated with any particular airline? I am open to any suggestions! Thanks.

Welcome to Flyertalk!

Capital One? NO! No. Nyet. No. NOOOOO. Don't make that mistake.

Get a Starwood American Express card (see the first post in this thread) or relieve your frustration a bit by outsourcing your award booking to www.awardplanner.com ... *since your current AA card is far better than the Capital One program).

Perhaps you should try to use some of the partners for your Europe trip. Often you can get a partner airline seat to Europe when you can't get one on AA. Also, often seats open up as the travel dates get closer. In any event, I suspect you will find trying to get a seat through the scam artisits at Cap One harder than with AA (lots harder).

It looks like all true 5% cash back cards have been discontinued. Citibank no longer offers the Dividend Platinum Select nor the AT&T Universal Card. Similar for Chase.
The AMEX Blue Cash card still gives you 5%, but only when you spend over $6500.

Not true. HSBC recently introduced the Direct Rewards Platinum card:
http://www.directrewardscard.com/
5% back groceries/gas/drugstores, $500 annual cap. 0.5% on other purchases < $3k, 1% once you clear the hurdle. And the Chase Cash Plus card is supposedly still available if you apply in a branch.

And also if you apply through certain internet links which are not availible on chase web site. I hope I am correct as I got my card this way last week. It does not mention much about benefits which I will receive with my first statement.

The rumor is the card is an identity theft scam :eek: