Originally Posted by tonrob

Ok - so you have a good variety of choices flying from SFO. The best card offer out there in general right now (if you can meet the spend) is the Citi AA Executive card giving 100,000 miles after spending $10K in 3 months. I wrote about that one recently. Mrs tonrob and I have 2 each already and counting.

That said, AA (or BA) will levy steep fuel surcharges on trans-Atlantic trips, so United could be a better bet.

I always advocate making more of a strategy out of this than simply applying for one card. While Chase offers a United card with a 50K bonus, also look at the Chase cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points, as these can be transferred instantly to United, BA, Delta, Southwest and quite a few other programmes. The beauty is that you hold your balances inside Ultimate Rewards until you need to spend them, so you have flexibility of pushing points towards any of a potential list of programmes depending on where you need to go and which airlines have availability for miles. There are also several cards that earn UR, and you can apply for each and every one of them spread over time, so you can earn far more in bonuses than simply getting the United card only.

Google Chase Sapphire, Freedom, INK (several varieties of that one). I've written about UR and the associated cards quite a bit in this thread so far so go back and have a rummage around. I have all of these cards, and they all give bonuses for spending money on different things, but still pool the points in one big pot all together for me to use. So I carry a few of them in my wallet and pull out whichever one gives me the best return for the type of transaction I'm going to make. For online shopping I also go through the UR shopping portal to earn even more points there.

Have a read of this blog entry from One Mile at a Time.

Originally Posted by g1ant

Just back from a 2 week trip to Europe to visit family and chill out over a few $1 beers in Prague on the way back.

AUS-DFW-FRA on AA First Class 60,750 AA miles + $5
2 nights in the Excelsior Hotel next to Frankfurt Hbf = $140 paid with Barclaycard points

FRA-LHR-MAN = 4,500 Avios + $27
LBA-PRG = £87.50 paid with Barclaycard points
2 nights Best Western Hotel Moran in Prague = 60 Euro paid with Barclaycard points

2 nights Suite in Radisson Blu Alcron Prague - 66,000 Carlson points

PGR-LHR-AUS in Club = 57,000 Avios + $324 (my biggest expense on the trip)

All in all a pretty cheap holiday. I'm happy enough.

Originally Posted by tonrob

Nice haul! You're really getting into this!

Originally Posted by g1ant

apply for the Chase Fairmont card and use the 2 nights signup bonus for the Fairmont Copley Plaza????

Originally Posted by Bob

That is a much nicer hotel and right on the T...you'll be able to have a lot more fun nipping out and doing stuff.

If the tunnel work hasn't accidentally collapsed the hotel

Originally Posted by tonrob

Ok kids, this is officially the best credit card deal that I've seen for a fair while (assuming you're set up to make the spend).

Citi has an offer for the Executive AA Mastercard that gives 100,000 AA miles after you spend $10,000 in the first 3 months. There is also a $200 statement credit (after spending $200 on anything) and an Admiral's Club membership. Annual fee is $450 (not waived for first year).

People have been successful in multiple applications for this card. The general unwritten rule seems to be one application every 8 days and no more than 2 in 65 days. This offer is too new for people to have been credited the bonus on their 2nd card, but many have received two or more of other types of Citi card in the past (myself included) and received the bonus each time.

There are also multiple reports from people who have canceled the card after the first statement hits (after hitting the spend and receiving the bonus) and receiving a refund of the $450 fee.

With everything in the 2 paragraphs above, these are unpublished rules that have been ascertained through trial and error by a fair number of people. Your mileage may vary (and Citi doesn't care what you read on the internet so please don't go pointing any of this out to them).

I'm just polishing off the spend on my first one, and then will likely apply for another for myself (2nd) and Mrs tonrob (1st) at the weekend.

MommyPoints has an application link:http://boardingarea.com/mommypoints/....qiZEaFNm.dpbs

Originally Posted by tonrob

Yes. Airport Hilton is absolutely fine - if you want to stay at the airport. Otherwise pick somewhere downtown. Do you have any SPG points? I like the funky rooms at the W.

Originally Posted by Dodgykeeps

Was thinking of getting one of these as we're planning a trip back to the UK next summer. There are 4 of us going so I was hoping this could get us 2 free flights (from LAX).
Is this still as good a deal in light of the changes that AA is making from June 1? If not, any thoughts on something better?
Thx

Originally Posted by tonrob

AA Award availability is apparently going through a bit of a dry spell - before launching into this do you know whether it's common to see 4 Saver-level award seats available on one flight on that route? When you say next summer are you talking about a couple of months away or do you mean 2015?

While it is the best credit card deal out there IMHO, there is always a good amount of risk if you do something like this pinning your hopes on one outcome only.

Originally Posted by tonrob

Rumour has it that SunTrust bank will stop offering their Delta debit card for new accounts sometime in June. Existing Delta debit card holders are fine for now apparently.

I love (I mean love) this debit card as it can do things a credit card cannot, including being used at Walmart for bill-pay. Using this card you can pay your MasterCard and Visa (but not AMEX) credit card bills at WalMart MoneyCenters, which means not only do you earn miles for buying stuff but you also earn miles for paying your bills as well. There are small fees involved, always under $2 per bill.

I have earned shitloads, I mean shitloads, of Delta miles this way, so if anyone wants in on the action then get your finger out now. I live many hundreds of miles from the nearest SunTrust branch, but was able to open my account online via live chat. There have been stories of SunTrust purging accounts that are outside their regular catchment area, but many accounts seem to fly under this radar. I have my salary deposited there each month, which I figured couldn't harm.

Originally Posted by RICH

Forgive my ignorance. I have a suntrust account, incidental to my mortgage. The card is an s/t gold check card. I assume a delta account is different?
If I were able to convert to this Delta card and use it extensively, I would be able to earn shitloads of delta airmiles, right?And delta airmiles get me what?, given I don't fly much- can I put them towards a flight to uk somehow?

Originally Posted by tonrob

The Delta debit card is a standalone product that can (must) be paired with one of a small number of ST checking account types. I think mine is called Balanced Checking, but ask ST whether your account qualifies. There's a $75 annual fee for the card, but that's peanuts if you use it right.

I've never redeemed Delta miles to a Europe, only domestically. Delta have a reputation for offering poor value per mile, but I've found that hasn't mattered to me given the ease of earning. Buyer beware - research needed. That said, I've redeemed for quite a few domestic first class flights, sold some on the grey market and am still earning more. Before you go stockpiling there are changes afoot to Delta' program in January so some Googling required. I won't research and write an article on Delta redemption because there's so much already written out there. Check out some of the blogs I regularly link to, including View from the Wing, Points Guy, Frequent Miler and Milevalue.