Over the past week, I have been asked a few times which
mileage earning credit I would recommend. In college, one of my favorite
professors use to say, “If you have a question on something, it is high likelihood that others in the class have the same question. So ask the
question.” Using that logic, I thought I would share my opinion.
If you are looking to add a mileage earning credit card to
your wallet, you should ask yourself the following questions:
1) What
credit cards do you already have?
2) What
is your end goal in collecting miles? A free flight? A free hotel? A dream vacation?
3) Looking
over the last two years, what airline did you fly the most? What hotel chain
did you stay at the most?
4) How
many flights did you take this year?
5) How
much money do you spend in a given month?
Let’s use my friend Clay as an example:
1) What
credit cards do you already have, Clay? Chase
Marriott only.
2) What
is your end goal? To go on vacation with
my girlfriend.
3) What
airline and hotel did you fly the most over the last two years? United and Frontier and Marriott.
4)
How many flights have you taken this year? About 5, equally split between the two
airlines.
5) How
much do you spend in a given month? A
couple thousand a month between rent, utilities, & personal expenses.
With the answers to these 5 questions, we have learned a
lot. For instance, since Clay’s end goal is that
he wants to go vacation, we
know he will need flights and hotel nights. Since, he already has the Chase
Marriott card and stays at Marriott, we can assume he has Marriott points;
therefore, eliminating the
need for hotel nights.
Now redefining the end goal as free flights, we can focus
our attention on credit cards that earn miles.
Looking at his travel patterns
over the past two years, we see he spends time on both United and
Frontier Airlines. I suggested him focus only on United, as it is a member of the Star Alliance giving
him access to 20+ airlines.
There are a few credit cards that come to mind that allow
people to earn miles on United: United
Mileage Plus Explorer Card, United
Mileage Plus Club Card and Chase Sapphire. To decide which
credit card fits
Clay best, one needs to look at the benefits of each card; ie free bags, lounge
access,
priority boarding. After a quick conversation with Clay, I learned that
he does not need free bags
because work pays for them on his business trips and he flies home
normally on Frontier. With that
information, I told him he should apply for
Chase Sapphire (40,000 Ultimate Rewards after spending
$3,000 in three months) and have the ability to transfer to many airlines (United, Korean Air,
Southwest
and British Airways.)
The last of the five questions is to determine if you can
meet the spend threshold to get the sign-up
bonus. If you can’t hit the spend
threshold and snag the bonus, then don’t apply for that particular card.
The sign-up bonuses are where you are going to get the most bang for your buck.
The ability to hit a spend threshold was critical in my
recommendation to another friend. This law student
flies exclusively on US
Airways and has a limited budget. My recommendation was a no brainer – the
Barclay US Airways Dividend Miles MasterCard with a 30,000 mile sign-up bonus
after your first
purchase.
If you are questioning which credit card should fill your
wallet, answer the five questions above honestly
and the answer will become
much clearer. The first step in succeeding in the frequent flyer game is to get
a mileage earning credit card, so you leave no points behind.
Happy Applying!!!
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