My Least Favorite Card Gets A Little Better

One of my least favorite airline credit cards is the Barclay's US Airways Mastercard.

Personally, the credit card is only good for its primary benefit of miles after one purchase. At the moment, one can earn between 25,000 to 40,000 miles after one swipe of the card. There are multiple different offers out there. Very few credit cards give benefits like this any more.

My dislike for the card comes from its secondary benefits or the lack there of:

Notice something missing?

Most airline credit cards offer a free checked bag when purchasing the ticket with the credit card. United's card does. Delta's American Express does as well. American Airlines's card offer the first checked bag benefit as well. US Airways' credit card has not offered a free checked bag.  The benefit is so common that I often forget that US Airways doesn't offer it - costing me $$$ to check a bag.

Well that's all changing April 30th.

Maybe its time to rethink this card?

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Preparing For The US/AA Merger

With the DOT giving its blessing, the AA/US Airlines merger is in its final stages. Late 2014 or early 2015 will see the end to one on my favorite frequent flyer programs, Dividend Miles.

Dividend Miles was the first frequent flyer program that I ever signed up for. Its the program that I earned the most miles with. Its been a fun ride. I am going to miss you, my friend.

The loss of the Dividend Mile program is a win for you. Why? Any miles that you earn now will later turn into American Airlines miles. Therefore, it is time to start thinking about earning Dividend Miles.


The most obvious place to earn Dividend Miles is by getting the Barclay's US Airways Mastercard. This credit card is definitely going away. The "New" American has already stated that they are going to be issuing credit card from Citibank. If you never had the card or had the card a while ago, why not apply for this card one last time. The current public public offer is for 30,000 miles. However, there are reports of 40,000 mile offer. A quick search will lead you to a landing page. Applying for a US Airways credit card is a great start of earning miles.

Similar to US Airway credit card, many other partnership will likely be discontinued. The best partnerships to target are the ones with overlap between US Airways and American already. When partnerships overlap, my best guess is that the US Airways program will be shut down or merged into the American program.

Here are some examples of programs that I am sure with go bye-bye:

Dining Rewards

 - I wrote about this program here. The current sign-up bonus is 1,000 miles.

eMiles

- More about the program can be found here. Check your email for bonus offers. American Airlines does
  not participate in e-Miles.

eRewards

-This is an invite only program, which I described here. Invites are sent out via email all the time. Check your  email for an invite from US Airways. AA does participate with this program, so you may be able to get

 two bonus eventually. 

Insurance Quotes

- 21st Century will give 200 points for getting a car insurance quote. 

Conclusion 

There are probably other partnerships that will end before the merger. The key to get double bonuses will be transferring points out and canceling the membership before the end of the program. My guess is that some of the programs above will merger with their AA Counterparts. Others like eMiles will simply stay put, but turn into AA affiliated. 

The biggest question is when will this merger with partnerships occur. Some might send emails to you letting you know its coming. When you get one these emails, make transfers quickly. However, the best indication is when you hear that US Airways Mastercard being turned into the Barclay's Arrival. This is the best indication the end is near.

The end of US Airways can be a great thing for the community. 

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The Negative Effect of The Miles Game

The points and miles game is a dangerous game.

I would be lying to you if I told you this game has not changed me for the worse. This game is addictive. Its a drug that you can't kick. The addiction with no cure and so on, and on, and on.

One of the ways this game has changed me is that I no longer can have long-term relationships. The need to increase my miles/points account balance consumes me. I spend my nights reading blogs and surfing message boards looking for the newest and latest trick to earn points. My weekends are spent on mileage runs or hunting for ice cream at drug stores. There is little time left to truly invest into developing relationships.

Please don't feel sorry for me. I am not a shut-in. I have relationships from time to time. Actually, in the past few years, there has been times when I have been involved with multiple partners. Its not easy balancing multiple relationships at the same time. One night, you go out to dinner with one. Then the next night, you are at the movies with another. And on the weekend you are on a road trip with the third. Each wants your attention and will do anything possible for it. They will try to lure you in with all the tricks in the bag.

There is a cycle to my relationships. Each starts out with excitement. Excitement of future possibilities. The first date is always fun because its new, unknown.  The excitement typically continues through the first month of the relationship, where both of you want to be together every moment possible. At some point, that excitement fizzles and you see each other less and less. Eventually, I just stop calling them. To make it worse, from time to time, I may call them out of the blue to hook up. However, only when it benefits me. Yes, I know. Its Ok. You can call me a pig!

My family won't say it, but they are getting increasingly concerned. The one that worries the most is my mother. She worries that I will never find a true love. "He's 28, when is he going to settle down already," she will say privately to her friends. The truth is that I like my current relationship status.

However, sometimes you need to man up and officially put an end to the relationship. I try to put off the official end as long as possible. The signs are there, but I try to avoid them. Out of site, out of mind.. For the past month, I have been avoiding ending three relationships. We had a lot of fun, but I think its time to see others.

Its time for me to official end my relationships with my United, US Airways and American Airlines
credit cards!

                                                                 

The past year has been great with all three of you. However, you three can't give me what I need at the moment. It's not you. It's me. I just think its best that we see other people.

Yes, the miles/points game has caused me not to be able to commit to long-term relationships. Long-term relationships with my credit cards!

Sometime you just need to say "good-bye!"
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My Thoughts on Picking Your First Points or Miles Credit Card

Keri at Heels First Travel wrote an amazing post about Picking out Your First Points or Miles Earning Credit Card. The post has 6 questions to determine how to pick your first credit card out. I agree with most of the questions, disagree with one of them and have one more important suggestion. 

One of the most important things to consider before getting your first points/miles credit card is your ability to pay your credit card on time. If you do not pay your monthly balance off every month, please do not get a points and miles credit card. The interest on the monthly balances will wipe out any benefit you might earn from the points and miles earned. Please read my post Young People and The Chains of Credit Cards to learn about the effects of credit card debt on your life.

The question that I disagree with is, "How many are you comfortable having?" This question leads you to think applying for more than one credit card at a time is what you need to do. I doubt this was Keri's intention. My belief is one credit card is the correct number to apply for the first time.  Don't feel pressured into needing to apply for more than one credit card. Its ok to apply for one credit card. This month was the end of my 90 day applying period and I only applied for the Chase Ink Bold. The only way to feel comfortable about credit cards is actually to use them. Can you handle the minimum balance in the required time? The points/miles is not a race, but a marathon. Slowly and steady is a great tactic.

My final suggestion in picking your first points/miles credit card is to pick one without an annual fee. Why you might ask? One component that comprises your credit score is the length of time of your credit history. The longer that you have a particular credit card the better your credit score will be. In the points & miles game, you frequently get a credit card and one year later close it before paying the annual fee. This type of opening and closing credit cards won't destroy your credit, but it won't help you obtain the highest potential score.

To help you achieve your highest potential credit score, I would recommend getting a points/miles credit card with no annual fee. By getting a credit card with no annual fee, there is no reason to cancel the credit card ever. As years pass, this one credit card will help grow your credit score higher and higher. This especially true for young people with limited credit. The longer you hold onto a credit card, the more attractive you will be to future credit card issuers. Win-Win situation for all.

Here are three suggestions for no annual fee credit cards:

1) Hilton American Express - 40,000 mile sign-up bonus

2) Barclay's Arrival - 20,000 Point Sign-Up Bonus

3) Chase Freedom - 15,000-25,000 Sign-Up Bonus

Keri's post on the 6 questions to ask yourself before getting a points/miles credit cards was dead on. I wish I had come across a post like this when I first entered the game. All I would add is caution to go slowly with new credit cards and add a no annual fee credit card to your wallet.

Welcome to the Game! It's a fun ride....

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US Airways - American Talking To Both Barclays and Citi

I was googling "US Airways," and an article came up from Bloomberg that caught my eye about the US Airways / American Merger. According to the article, US Airways and American are in talks with both Barclays (US Airways credit card issuer) and Citi (American's longtime partner).

            “As we bring two strong currencies together, we’ll have one, stronger currency,” 
              Andrew Nocella, US Airways senior vice president for marketing and planning, said 
              yesterday at a conference. “We are working with all our banks. Every single one 
              wants to work with us.”

From all the gossip in the community, it was always seen that the new airline would go with Citi and drop Barclays. The article makes it seem that the new airline might have multiple issuers and even better multiple cards.

There was no confirmation from either bank in the article. Therefore, I have a feeling that this is US Airways keeping Barclays at the table before they say goodbye. However, if this is the "new" American trying to keep both partners, this may be an early win for us in the points community.

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E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com