You have told me and us about Asia Miles and this card for quite some time and I for one think that what you have discovered and compiled for us here is genius. Haven't bitten yet on this one myself, but am seriously considering it.

So thank you once again for that reminder and plug! (If you are in sales--and if you work for one of the 3 entities mentioned (EAP, MBNA, Points.com)--then you are gonna get my biz soon, perhaps...

BUT, What happens if Points.com or EAP either (A) changes its terms or (B) fails to post and something goes haywire with this partnership/wormhole?

That's just about my only reason for having not yet jumped in the Asia Miles pool. Been working for you for a while now, but what if?...

I have seen deals change just like the next guy, but this one involves a series of things and I know you have seen two of them screw up royally in the past. I don't really have any doubts about Asia Miles and I think they will continue to be a good thing, and I have no problem with MBNA either...

Just a thought.

:)MM

How is this better than the Starwood card?

QL

Cathay's awards are cheaper. That seems to be the main benefit.

...that's only an AMEX. This is MBNA visa or MC (not sure which) and that means, if there are ever any cool new gift cards to be had out there, the likelyhood for more free miles awaits!

...which is why I will consider this card!

:)MM

I can understand how the EAP card can be a good one to have in your wallet for promos. I have it sitting in a drawer at home with the sticker on the front of it (I got it with 12 months' free money).

For general usage, SPG Amex is still the way to go - even if your end-goal is CX. $1 = 1.25 Asia Miles if you want 'em. Plus you get the intangible benefit of flexibility - you can go a couple dozen different directions with your points, whereas EAP pretty much puts you at the whim of Points.com's rates with their small list of partners. Finally, Starpoints - when redeemed for even moderately-priced hotel rooms - are quite valuable in their "native" state.

Yes - I also agree the SPG Amex is the best card for spending. It is my primary card. (I also recomended it in the Asia Miles primer I linked to).

However my largest expenses don't take Amex - thus I find it very important to have a good Visa or MasterCard option. And MBNA is preferable for me and anyone who travells internationally since they don't charge extra for the exchange. Using the MBNA EAP MasterCard for all international purchases and non-Amex accepting US merchants with SPG Amex for those who take Amex seems to be the best points strategy at the moment.

And no MM - I do not work for any of the companies involved - I'm a FF who knows what the best value is (for those with spending and travel patterns similar to mine) and have been repeating myself because it seems many FTers are still oblivious to Asia Miles and the fact it could be the best deal for them. I simply want to share what I think the best deal is - especially for anyone with a high spend. Why spend more when less would suffice?

You bring up a very valid point - my strategy Ebay Points --> Asia Miles may not remain such a good deal in the long run. I probably wouldn't recomend this card to someone who only spends $1K/month - by the time they spend enough for a free ticket the program may have changed. But anyone who has a high spend can quickly earn free tickets this way. I know quite a number of FTers have a high CC spend between personal and business expenses. While 1 cent/$ spent is far from ideal, being able to cash out on eBay at 1 cent/$ spent is a nice way to not lose everything if things change. So just as I previously recomended Amtrak for UA miles, today I recomend EAP for Asia Miles.

So based on all I have read on FT over the past couple of months, I went with SPG Amex on Friday...Thanks... ^

I am traveling to Spain in May...Will be using the CC a lot...since it sounds like AMEX is not accepted at most places, and AA MC has the additional fee, is there a good reccomendation other than the MBNA World card?

Do you know does the Delta card charge the additional fee???

Absolutely agree about keeping an MC and a Visa backup. While 95+% of my monthly volume is with merchants that take Amex, I sometimes find myself using the MC/Visas to complete specific promos as well as at the rare place that doesn't take Amex. There have been enough "3 stays with a Visa" or "Buy your AA ticket with an MC" bonuses recently that it's worthwhile to have the cards in your wallet.

As for EAP, if the whole exchange scheme breaks down (which it inevitably will), you still have effectively a 1% rebate card. It's not like you will totally be left holding the bag. I know we like our miles better than we like money to spend on eBay, but it's better than nothing.

AMEX charges 2% conversion I believe - MC/VISA charge 1% plus many banks sometimes tag on addition.

I keep a Capital One card for travel because of this - last time I was in Europe (last spring) they did not have the additional charge. But it is not a rewards-type card...

Something else to consider
 

I just did research on a new credit card that would accrue points to be used for travel on any airline. I chose MBNA for three reasons--they have a reward system that allows you to accrue points and then use their travel agency to book award flights on any airline, based on dollar ceilings (and since it is a purchased ticket, you get to accrue ff miles), they don't have an additional charge (just the 1 percent VISA charge) on currency conversions (my old card added another 2 percent) and no annual fee.

Question on World Points
 

There appears to be several World Points, WorldPoints and World cards. Are they the same? Are MBNA World Card and Charles Schwab WorldPoints Card different point systems/accounts or can they be combined.

Since I asked this question in another thread: did you actually confirm this with MBNA? Is it any airline that is a licensed commercial carrier? Ones that MBNA has set up a corporate partnership with? Ones that show up in a certain reservation system?

Or simply: is it legacy 6 only, or does it include the LCC's, regional carriers, and other small airlines?

Like most of the posters, my go-to card is the AMEX SPG. But since I have a load of SPG points (>250,000) and since there are some places that don't accept AMEX, I've been using the Merrill + Visa card. Once I hit $50,000 for the year (about 6 months), I'll have those 50,000 points and, in addition, get 4 nights at any Ritz Carlton. That alone is worth over 3 cents per dollar spent, and I will STILL have the poiints.

I'm still an SPG man (Centurion too), but there are lots of options out there. We do what works for us.

I checked with MBNA
 

After your post, I called MBNA to double check this point. They have criteria to meet--making reservations 3 weeks in advance with a saturday nite stay, and a dollar value for the specific award--for example, 25000 points for a domestic flight with a value of $400. If you meet those criteria, you can give them a specific carrier, flight number etc and they will book that for you. And you do get the frequent flier miles since they buy a ticket.

Capital one is a good travel card because they do not markup the exchange rate (1% charged by VISA/MC). They are also helpful in resolving disputes with merchants.

Amex does not use the interbank rate and then adds a markup as well. My brother just received notice of a class action lawsuit against amex for these practices, which apparently were not properly disclosed in its cardholder agreement. IMO Amex is highly unethical but YMMV. :p