airline miles credit card: Triathlon Forum: Slowtwitch Forums (2024)

Jun 15, 05 15:59

I have a United card issued originally through First USA, now Chase. $60 a year and they are reasonably good at honoring flight requests...I get on about 75% of the reward flights I request.

Looking at the big picture however I'd probably stay away from this one. United will probably cease to exist by the time you get your first 25,000 miles logged.

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"A society is defined not only by what it creates, but by what it refuses to destroy."
John Sawhill

Jun 15, 05 16:01

It depends on where you live - I would look at the airline you would most likely travel on anyway with your own money. The miles from your paid travel combines with the miles from your card to get you free tickets the fastest. The problem that I see is people spread the love out amongst too many airlines on their regular routes and can't ever accumulate enough to get what they want.

I live in Albuquerque and Southwest travels to lots of places that I like to go. My wife and I both have Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards credit cards and we get 2-3 free flights a year.

Jun 15, 05 16:02

KeyBank has a great set up with Continental

Depending on the city you live in though - if you choose a card not aligned with an airline that has a hub near you - you could find it tough to get from point A to point B without going through C

As an example - I live in Cleveland - to get from Cleveland to New York with United means I have to go through Chicago - going backwards to go forwards.

Continental has a hub in Cleveland so I am well served with the Keybank/Continental card.

American Express is one of the best in terms of being able to use points earned on just about ANY airline.

AJ

Jun 15, 05 16:03

I agree. We have a United Mileage Plus card and the availability of flights is almost non-existent.

_________________________________
I'll be what I am
A solitary man

Jun 15, 05 16:35

You have to do the math on those: your alternative could be 1 or 2% cash back cards w/ no annual fees. -- Let's say a flight to Europe is 60,000 points on your credit card, i.e. you have to spend 60,000 USD. How quickly do you do that? 2 years+? On a cash back card you would get 600 or 1000 USD (getting 2% w/out limits will be difficult) for the same use of the card. Now, you are also out 120 USD for the annual fee (assuming 60 p.a.). Hence, using a cash back card and paying for a flight of 1,120 USD to Europe will get you the same result and the flexibility of using that cash as you see fit and not be limited to airline miles. -- Now, you may need to re-do the calculation based on the initial mileage offer, whether the credit card waives the first year of annual fee and how many other bonus mile offers they have and how much you spend on an annual basis. -- Basically, do the math and THEN find out which of the airline cards offers you the best probability of getting flights that fit your schedule.

Now, do you want a spreadsheet for that? ;-)

Hope this helps,

C

Jun 15, 05 16:41

Wow...I'm impressed with your rationale! All good points.

My buddy works in Credit Card Marketing. Yes, he's one slimey guy.......

As mentioned above, there are pros and cons. In general, not a good use of your dollar as most flights are blacked out on key travel days...so you either can't use the miles or need to use doulble.

At the same time, if you have NWA FF miles, you better use them quick before they go bankrupt.....

Jun 15, 05 16:45

skip the airline miles cards and get one of the cashback cards. Which would you rather have- Cash or airline miles?

Citi has a rewards card that pays - 1% cashback but 5% for Gas or Grocery purchases. - no annual fee (max $300 rebate per year).

Discover Card, Chase, and AmexBlue also have reward cards.

-on these cards, the interest rates can be high, so I would only get one if you don't carry a balance

you can compare different credit cards here: http://www.bankrate.com/..._ccsearch_rebate.asp

Jun 15, 05 16:46

Christina's post is absolutely right on the money (pun intended).
A cash back card is always a better deal, especially one with no annual fee.

Advantages:

You decide how to spend your cash, not the airline.

If something more pressing than a flight comes up, your miles are worthless; cash talks.

Buying airline flights is highly competitive and fluctuates wildly. Cash on the other hand...

Did I say cash is way better?

P.S. My wife and I have the REI card because we like having toy money at the end of every year. That's just us though. You should take the cash.

Mr. Uncaptured External Costs

Fossil carbon is planetary poison.

Jun 15, 05 18:02

If you plan 6-9 months in advance, the availability is pretty good. :)

We have all of our miles in one basket with United. Mileage plus credit card as well. Hope they don't go under before we manage a few more free flights.

Probably going to look at using another airline in the near future. United is going to hell. I think all of the employees realize the ship is going down, and their attitudes match the situation.

Jun 15, 05 18:13

you should also combine all your hotel points, sar rental points etc into one airline to maximize your miles. Flying to a race paying withthe card, getting the flight miles, the car rental miles, the hotel miles, the points from meals etc can add in a nice chunk to your acct balance.

Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

Jun 16, 05 6:47

I run my business with Visa Chase Bank Rewards. I have also paid for kids colege tuition with it. I rack up 5-8,000 mile per month. $30 annual fee. No blackout dates, Just give them 21 day notice. I think its 25,000 miles for roundtrip in the US.

The $300 max rebate per year wouldnt work very well for me given the high use. Got 5 tickets to Florida last spring for free!!!

Listen, Lupus, you didn't come into this life just to sit around on a dugout bench, did ya? Now get your ass out there and do the best you can.

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