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Transfers and Bonus Category Credit Cards
Maximizing Credit Cards For Travel
Credit Card 101
The Art of the Sign-Up Bonus
Category and Spending Bonuses
Perks and Benefits
Creating Credit Card Spend
My Three Favorite Transferable Points Programs: Amex, Chase and Starwood
Different Kinds of Credit Cards
Transferable
Strengths: Flexibility, Diversification
Weaknesses: No airline/hotel-specific perks
Cobranded
Strengths: Perks, mileage and points bonuses
Weaknesses: Lack of flexibility, perks same as elite benefits
Fixed Value
Strengths: Reliability and Elite Miles
Weaknesses: Lack of aspirational/premium options
Understanding Your Credit Score
How is it calculated?35% payment history
30% amounts owed
15% length of credit history
10% new credit
10% types of credit
FICO vs. FAKO
Get your credit score for free at AnnualCreditReport.com
You Should Not Get Into the Credit Card Game If…
If you run huge balances, focus on paying them down and putting them on a 0% intro APR card like Chase Slate
Have poor credit
Cannot manage credit
Are taking a major loan in the next 6 months
Alternative - Debit Cards: SunTrust Delta, Bank of America Alaska, PerkStreet Financial Cashback
Business Credit
Tied to personal credit
Personal hard inquiry but once open, business credit line is on different credit report
Fewer consumer protections
Lucrative earning opportunities
Apply as sole proprietor with SSN
How Many Credit Cards Can You Get?
American Express: 4 personal credit cards, unlimited charge cards
Chase: No number limits – overall credit line limit
Citi: No published limit
Capital One: No published limit but stringent on applications
Can you get cards/bonuses over and over again?
Finding Top Sign-up Bonuses
Thepointsguy.com – Top Deals Page
Open your mail! You might be surprised
The forums/social media: FlyerTalk, MilePoint
Follow me on Twitter: @thepointsguy
Top Current Credit Card Offers
Chase Ink Bold and Ink Plus: 50,000 Ultimate Rewards when spend $5,000 in 6 months. $687-$7,000 in value.
Southwest Personal and Business: 50,000 Rapid Reward points when spend $2,000 in 3 months. Value: $3,000 for both.
Citi American Airlines Cards: 50,000 miles when spend $2,500 in 4 months on each – two cards at once. Value: $2,680 for both.
Chase British Airways Visa: 50,000 Avios for $1,000 in 3 months, 50,000 more when spend $20,000 in a year. Value: $1,600-$2,600.
American Express Mercedes-Benz Platinum: 50,000 Membership Rewards points for spending $1,000 in 3 months. Value: $1,250.
Credit Card Churns
AKA the “app-o-rama”
Bundling applications 91 days apart
Factors to take into account:Bonus offer expiration
Value of bonus
Timing of spend threshold bonuses
Category spending bonuses
Prioritizing spend bonuses by time of year
By issuer
Don’t take no for an answer – call reconsideration lines
Beyond Sign-Up Bonuses: Meeting Minimum Spend
Put every expense possible on your card – as long as you’re not paying fees
Charity donations
Buy Gift Cards
Advanced: Payment Services like ChargeSmart and WilliamPaid (generally 3%), Amazon Payments $1,000 per month to another person with no fee
Prepaid Cards: American Express Bluebird
What is it? Like a checking account and debit card combined
How do you fund it? Vanilla Reload Cards
Mint points at very low cost – 8/10s of a cent per point
Limitations
For more information: See our Bluebird series
Category Spending Bonuses
Airfare: Hilton Reserve 5x, Premier Rewards Gold 3x, Chase Sapphire Preferred, Airline Co-Branded Cards
Gas: Citi Hilton Reserve 5x, Premier Rewards 2x, Chase Ink Bold 2x
Grocery: Hilton Amexes 6x, Premier Rewards 2x
Dining: Citi Forward 5x, Chase Sapphire Preferred 2x, Chase Hyatt Visa 2x
Spending Threshold Bonuses
In addition to sign-up bonuses, many credit cards offer additional perks for hitting certain spend thresholds such as:
Bonus Points: American Express Premier Rewards
Airline Elite Miles: American Express Delta Reserve
Hotel Elite Status: Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve
Companion Tickets: Chase British Airways Visa
Annual Fees: When to Cancel a Card?
Keep cards open at least 6 months to avoid red flags
Transfer or use points before closing an account
To renew or not to renew? Do the math.Example: Chase Hyatt Visa gives you a free night at a Category 1-4 hotel each year – more than makes up for the $75 annual fee
What it means for your credit when you cancel?
Call and ask them to waive annual fee – it never hurts to ask!
Don’t cancel, downgrade so you can use as bargaining tool for future cards
Keep a couple no-fee cards around. Best: Chase Freedom
Transferrable Point Programs
American Express Membership Rewards
Pros:16 airline partners
4 hotel partners
Transfer bonuses – Delta, British Airways, Virgin America
Transfers post instantaneously (mostly)
Has added some partners like British Airways, Virgin America (bad ratio)
Cons:Losing transfer partners – Continental, Southwest, Airtran, Priority Club
6/100 cents per point for transfers to US airlines
Earning portal shut downPay With Points Dropping to 1 cent on all cards, except Business Platinum
American Express Membership Rewards
Star Alliance• Aeroplan 1:1• All Nippon Airways 1:1• Singapore Airlines 1:1
OneWorld• British Airways 1:1• Iberia 1:1• Asia Miles 1:1
Skyteam• Aeromexico 1:1• Alitalia Airlines 1:1• Delta 1:1• Air France/KLM 1:1
Other• El Al 50:1• Frontier 1:1• Hawaiian 1:1
Airline Transfer Partners
JetBlue 1.25:1Virgin America 2:1 Virgin Atlantic 1:1
OneWorld
• Positives: Instant transfers, transfer bonuses, some great values from distance-based awards, no last-minute booking fees
• Negatives: High fuel surcharges, segment pricing on awards, hard to search for some awards
• Good awards: Expensive short- and mid-haul flights. Ex: New York to Toronto
British Airways
American Express Membership Rewards
• Best Western 1:1• Choice Privileges
1:1• Hilton HHonors
1:1.5• Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts
23:1• Starwood
3:1
Hotel Transfer Partners
Tip: Transfer points to Virgin Atlantic at 1:1 and then Virgin Atlantic to Hilton at 2:1- better than the standard direct transfer ratio of 1: 1.5
American Express Membership Rewards
Earn 1 point per dollar spent (Premier Rewards is 3x on airfare and 2x on gas & groceries, 4x per dollar with Amex Travel)
Points go into pending status for a month after statement close (can be expedited)
Cannot combine Membership Rewards points
Transfer to anyone!- Link (not enroll!) their account to your account membershiprewards.com -> Points Summary -> Bottom right
- Advance points for free, just earn them back- Up to 60,000 for Platinum
- 15,000 for most other cards (not corporate)
- Buy points at 2.5 cents each, up to 500,000 a year!
American Express Membership Rewards
Pay With Points
Easy, but fixed value: 1 cent (1.25 for Business Platinum)
- A $5,000 business class ticket would require 500,000 points!
- Could be an okay decision for cheap domestic tickets
Earns elite status just like a purchased ticket
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Pros:
Adding partners
Most transfers instantaneous
No transfer fees
Transfer points to anyone else, combine points with anyone else
Points post right after statement closes
Good customer service
Cons:
Limited number of partners
No transfer bonuses yet
Chase Ultimate Rewards Transfer Partners
• British Airways 1:1• Korean Air
1:1• Southwest
1:1• United 1:1
Airline
• Hyatt1:1
• Priority Club1:1
• Marriott 1:1• The Ritz Carlton 1:1
Hotel
• Amtrak 1:1Other
Chase Ultimate Rewards
• Positives: Low points requirements for free nights, great elite perks
• Negatives: Just over 400 properties worldwide
• Good awards: Top-tier redemptions for 22,000 points like Park Hyatt Paris Vendome, only 6,000 points to upgrade paid stays for up to 4 nights
Hyatt
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Pay With Points:
1.25 cents per point in travel (Sapphire Preferred & Ink Bold), 1 cent for Freedom
Transfer to anyone: ultimaterewards.com -> Manage Ultimate Rewards -> Combine Points -> Transfer To Other -> Enter credit card number and last name
Chase Experiences
Starwood Preferred Guest
Pros:
Over 1,100 properties
Cash & Points
Reward stays count toward elite status
30 airline partners
5,000 point bonus on transfers of 20,000 points
Cons:
Member can only transfer to own accounts
No other transfer bonuses
Posting times vary greatly
No shopping portal
Starwood Preferred Guest
Airline Transfer PartnersAeroplan 1:1Air Berlin 1:1Air China 1:1Air New Zealand 65:1Alaska Airlines 1:1Alitalia 1:1ANA 1:1American Airlines 1:1Asia Miles 1:1Asiana Airlines 1:1
British Airways 1:1 China Eastern 1:1China Southern 1:1Delta 1:1Emirates 1:1Etihad Airways 1:1Flying Blue 1:1Hawaiian 1:1Japan Airlines 1:1King Club 1:1
LAN 1:2Mexicana Frecuenta 1:1Miles and More 1:1Qatar Airways 1:1 Saudi Arabian 1:1Singapore Airlines 1:1Thai Airways 1:1US Airways 1:1United Mileage Plus 2:1VARIG Smiles 2:1Virgin Atlantic 1:1
Other
Amtrak 1:1
Starwood Preferred GuestAirline Transfer Time In Days
Delta 1
Aeroplan 3
Air Berlin 4
ANA 4
Virgin Atlantic 6
American Airlines 8
US Airways 8
Alaska Airlines 8
British Airways 9
LAN 9
United 11
Asia Miles 15
Asiana N/A
Flying Blue N/A
Starwood Preferred Guest
• Positives: Low fees, one-way awards, free stopovers in your destination
• Negatives: Ticketing fees, no international stopovers
• Good awards: 40,000 Off Peak awards to Europe October 15-April 15; Cathay Pacific First Class North America-Asia for 67,500
• Alaska: 115,000 SPG Points = Cathay Pacific First roundtrip to Asia for 140,000 miles roundtrip. Other partners: Icelandair, Emirates
American
What’s In My Wallet
The Takeaway
Your credit score is an asset. It is critical and you can leverage it to earn hundreds of thousands of points and miles a year
Think long-term: It’s not just about sign-up miles and points – perks, status, bonuses
Hop on deals when they come – they don’t last long
Don’t bite off more than you can chew
Always set auto-payments – make sure you don’t miss a payment
Strategize Your Spend