I am going to realign my credit cards - get out of some I rarely use or don't care for (USAIR); apply for (?????) and/or upgrade (AM EX) to some new ones.

The ad at the top of FT :

Top Mile Credit Cards
Frequent flyers pick 2008s top cards for airline & hotel points

caught my eye - and seems to have a fairly good summary of cards, pro's/con's etc. They recommend the SPG AmEx (but I am a Marriott Plat) and the DClub looks good................does anyone know if their recommendations are fairly on target?


Does any of you FT'ers have any strong recommendations?

it's very hard to answer without knowing a little more about anyone's spending patterns.

just as an example, the hilton amex offers 5 points per dollar for gas purchases. So if you use a lot of gas but don't fly alot, it can offer advantages (though some people point out that discount cards may offer more)

United has several different cards that cost up to $140 a year, and the most expensive gives you more United points and extra eqms for United tickets, and 5,000 eqms for taking the card, but is only advantageous if you buy a lot of united tickets or need the 5,000 points to get status.

in addition, many people use the airline cards to reach a certain point level to get a trip to europe or wherever, so where you are on points now and where you want to go, can also affect what the right choice should be.

all that makes it hard to advise without a lot more information

but i think the summary in the thread you reference is still pretty accurate

Bear in mind that any site which advertises lists of "recommended" credit cards is likely to be earning an "affliate" referral fee which may influence the recomendations.

Starwood Preferred Guest credit card is useful for earning airline miles even if you never stay at a Starwood property. I wouldn't let your loyalty to Marriott discourage you from using it. Diners Club Mastercard is an excellent companion to the SPG card because it transfers to many of the same airlines and is accepted by more merchants, but overall SPG delivers more miles to more airlines for a lower annual fee.

In the Other credit cards program, the "thank you points devaluation thread" offers a tremendous insight into a fantastic opportunity, that still exist. Enough said for now.

For whatever card you choose, be sure to get the best upfront miles, points, and cash bonus deal, probably listed on my website below in the credit card section. I strive to list the deals with the most miles or points offered for first purchase, and list some cash bonuses for card acquisitions that are not offered anywhere else as far as I know.

Here's what I'm signing up for: http://www.southwest.com/freeticket/

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrAOK

it's very hard to answer without knowing a little more about anyone's spending patterns.....
all that makes it hard to advise without a lot more information.....
but i think the summary in the thread you reference is still pretty accurate

OP here -
excellent points. I probably spend the most on Marriott hotel rooms ; but as they are (& will continue to be) charged to that card, I am covered there.

otherwise, charges are fairly across the board - funny that you mention gas, as that is the only I don't charge {as I have} a company car w/ a co gas card. airline tickets are about twice a month, but mostly east coast, so not in the thousands, and other charges are "normal" - nothing excessive or extremely high ticket.

as for what I want with miles/points - I think flexibility is the answer. there is no one thing we are striving for - which is why the DC and AMEX appealed to me - lots of transferability. MIA makes some good points on SPG, so will re-visit that one, too.

I will also say that I am not a person who can spend hours a week trying to figure out how to get the most out of points/travel - I need to make good selections/decisions up front, and then let them ride, with perhaps an annual review.

as is always the case, TIA to FT'ers who are answering/helping!^

and from reading that fourm, I think I am one of a few who beleive that the PPE and Citi Amex are a much better option than SPG Amex for airline miles.

Are those Hilton points, or Amex points? If Hilton points, does anyone know of a card that would offer Marriot or SPG points?

With a fill-up approaching $40-$50, that's a lot of points!

Steve B.

SG,

Please check out the credit card info at Gary's site, freefrequentflyermiles.com. He has a ton of affiliate information that will get you paid, as well!

Mike

1) Starwood AMEX - nuph said.

2) Citi AAdvantage MasterCard - Citi cards like this one do not have limits on how much you can spend as long as you pay it back in 30 days. If you go over the credit amount they give you and you do pay back promptly, they will increase their allowance for you to do this again. They also sometimes have deals on related accounts you can link together such as mile sign up promos and the like for associated banking accounts. Citi cards like this one still give offers like 25k AA miles on sign up and it seems churning for them is still doable. One of the few left!

3) Bank of America Visa Debit Check Card that earns miles on Alaska Airlines (partners with AA and NW, which means it crosses with two alliances.) - Is also only card that earns miles on PIN transactions, even though it's just a 2:1 rate. If you ever need Debit, this is the card to have. They have one that earns with US Scare but nah, we don't need no stinking US Air.

Them's just my thoughts.
MM

just curious if GAS can mean buying like 23 chocolate bars, a bag of pretzels, two cups of coffee and 4 gallons of gas at Mike's Quick Mart?

If so, can we like return the unopened snack bags and get a gas gift card in receipt, to use for next time but still keep the points???

bummer. does that mean we'd have nothin to talk about over coffee?
anyway, I suggest possibly revisiting your selections to ANYTHING point/mile more frequently than just once a year--for what it's worth. Thes programs and policies are changing faster than a NBA basketball game's late 4th quarter score!

Go Celtics!

It's Hilton points, not Amex points. You also get 5 points per $1 for purchases in grocery stores (and drug stores and restaurants, I think).

The Hilton Amex is free. $20,000 spend gets you Gold status (I think SPG Amex may be better in that regard - I think gold status is automatic.)

Hilton recently eliminated blackout dates and seems to have moved toward SPG's approach re availability of regular rooms for award night bookings. Hard to say how it's working so far but that could be a good deal for a year or so, until the inevitable devaluation of points occurs.

With the Hilton Amex, you're eligible for a special reward category - 4 night stays in the range of 25,000 points per night. (There's something similar available to elites but it's for stays of 6 nights or longer.)

No, SPG Amex requires spending $30,000 in a calendar year to receive SPG Gold status. (Perhaps you are thinking of American Express Platinum Card, annual fee $450, which does include SPG Gold status.)