I am looking to apply for a credit card with which i can earn miles. i know there are tons out there so i wanted to see if anyone knew which one was the best option, as far as annual fee, perks for signing up etc.. thanks for the input. also, i am a student, so if anyone knows of good programs for students let me know. thanks.

[This message has been edited by TrevMan22 (edited Jan 21, 2004).]

I'm pretty new here myself and I was recently going through this analysis and considered many cards. I decided to go with the American Express rewards green card as my primary card.

There were many reasons for this choice. Like many mileage cards, I receive 1 Membership Rewards point for each dollar spent on the card, which is what it seems most airline cards give you. The advantage here, however, is that these points can be converted to FF miles on just about any airline I would consider flying so I am not restricted. Moreover, this card gives you 2 MR points per dollar spent at supermarkets, gas stations and wireless cell phone bill. So that's a plus over airline cards for me.

Before choosing a card, you have to consider what you primary goal in getting rewards is - that is, which airline you would like rewards with, etc. Since I live where I can use EWR or JFK airports (both big hubs for some major airlines and pretty competitive markets), I decided airline awards tickets aren't worth very much to me. Thus, my goal is to try to obtain Hilton HHonors points. In my opinion, Amex is a great card for such a thing.

I admit there are a few disadvantage to the Amex green card. The signup bonus for my card was 5000 MR points, which isn't as big as some airline mileage cards. Also, the annual fees, from what I've heard, are pretty hefty - I don't know exactly, but maybe $60 - $80 or so. I was pre-approved for this card and got it fee free for one year - it may be possible to get the card fee free for a year if you go to the website or call.

First, welcome to Flyer Talk

I would suggest the Starwood Am Exp card instead:

1. Its free the first year and $30/yr after
2. You can transfer points to 30 plus airlines on 1 for 1 basis.
3. If you transfer 20K points to a airline, Starwood will add a 5K bonus.
4. If need a room on points, Starwood hotels do not have inventory limits on award nights

If need more info, check Pgary's site:

http://home.earthlink.net/~pgary/MilesFrame.html

I use MBNA Elite Rewards. No annual fee's, 25,000 point for domestic and 50,000 points for int'l tickets.

My vote also is for the Starwood AMEX - I've been using it for years. You also get a 50% off coupon each year.

...which has limited value since they are 50% off full rack rate and most commonly available rates beat that anyway. moreover, some properties don't even accept the coupons.

please refer to the starwood forum and search under "50% off" or "SPG50". the coupons aren't much help in the US but can be useful in europe.

[This message has been edited by fly co to see the yanks (edited Jan 22, 2004).]

Aphrodite, you should know that Amex offers a Hilton HHonors Platinum American Express Card, which can be used everywhere your green card can. It has no annual fee and you get 5 HHonors points for each dollar charged at Hilton properties and 3 HHonors points for each dollar charged elsewhere. It seems that it would be a better card for you given your goals.

It depends on how many $$$ you plan on spending annually, but no matter how much you spend, the MBNA cards are worthless.

- You receive zero credit up to that first award threshold. If you log 24,000 "MBNA points" you get nothing.
- The "MBNA points" are not transferable like Amex, Diners or Starwood points to other programs
- There may be an expiration on fantasy point programs like MBNA's, such that you will never be able to hit your goal
- The "award" you receive from MBNA is really a discount off of a ticket that you purchase through them, with all of the accompanying restrictions
- The awards are difficult to transfer to make changes to, once you've redeemed them

Definately the SPG Amex. Best card on the market, I have had it for a year and a half and my only regret is that I did not sign up sooner.

Hard to make a blanket statement like "MBNA cards are worthless". Yes, home-grown points cards seem to be thrown out on the market with half-baked systems, processes, and support, and as such tend to change willy-nilly.

But...a very high CC spender with a travel profile that matches the awards offered (e.g., someone who flies domestic routes that rarely drop below $350-400) who would earn and burn the points rapidly could achieve a good yield on the card. Just know that when the devalue your home-grown program - and they will, guaranteed - you can redeem your last reward and get out. (As many will point out here, your reward flight earn miles as it is a regular airline ticket purchased by the travel agency that manages the program.)

Most of us don't fit the profile for home-grown points cards well - either we don't earn/burn that fast and would be at risk of losing out big time when the program gets trashed, or we fly a lot of domestic routes that we get for $200 or less anyway, making the reward less valuable, but don't write off the cards as worthless without considering them.

For most people, SPG Amex is a great choice. (Semi-off-topic: anyone know of a good sign-up bonus for SPG Amex that doesn't require a lot of direct-booked Starwood stays?) Even if you have uncertainty in your future miles/points strategy, your points can go for free hotel stays in a pretty well-thought-out program that isn't likely to evaporate overnight.

For a contrarian view....

If you do a lot of foreign travel, Amex is a poor choice as they jack you on the exchange fees and use bad rates. Plus their customer service is notoriously poor (see www.amexsux.com), and they are now charging additional fees for point transfers. Not to mention that many merchants don't accept amex because they get jacked with high fees.

Last year I acquired a Citibank AAdvantage card and have been delighted with the service. 10K signup bonus plus 10K for balance transfers. Citi credits my miles as soon as my statement is generated. Not to mention the frequent bonus mile promotions such as the 5K Sheraton deal and the 5K Q1 bonus for booking at aa.com And the AA miles are far more useful than Starpoints, particularly if you book most of your vacation rooms on priceline (as I do).

Of course, Citibank also jacks you on the exchange rates, which is why you need yet another card (e.g. Capital One) for use overseas.

Well, I hate to go against the grain. I have given this much consideration over the years and I decided I would prefer to get cash rather than miles, so I got myself some cash rebate cards.

I have two Visa cards from Citibank. One pays me 2% in cash and has a $20 annual fee. The other is 1.5% and has no fee. I also have an Amex card that gives 1.5% (no fee) in cash. At the end of the year I get a couple thousand dollars in cash rebates, which is I desire, I can buy an air ticket with. I believe Chase also has a cash back card.

When I did the math and when I considered how flexable air ticket prices are (and award miles requirements are not) the cash deal just seemed better. Don't get me wrong--I have taken my family on many trips using miles and I love it... I just could not convince myself the miles were a better deal than the cash.

Just my 2 miles worth.

That's true, but I figured that since the Green Amex gives double points for spending at supermarkets, wireless cell phone bill and gas stations, the whole thing will average out to about 3 HH points per dollar anyway and the Amex is a bit more flexible in case I want to redeem a Marriott reward instead or something to that effect.

On another note, it really seems that the Amex cards have the best rewards programs whether it be an SPG, HHonors or Skymiles card. I suppose they have the most vested interested in their cards being used since they charge the merchants such a high amount compared to other cards.

After looking into SPG's program, it does seem that SPG points are very flexible and not many are needed to redeem a free night plus the card has good benefits. I wasn't planning to have the green amex for longer than a year and now I'll probably get an SPG Amex once my fee free period ends.

I think my webs site (below) would be quite useful to you, especially the pages on Credit Cards, Student Programs, and How to Begin.


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Free Frequent Flyer Miles

Also, TrevMan, I'm not sure how close you are to graduating, but United Airlines has a College Plus program (I think that's what it's called) and if you send your transcript after you graduate, you receive 10,000 MileagePlus miles.