^^ So he finally responded? What rate did you get?

^I don't have the card but it looks like they are xferred to a third party account.
Not too familiar with European loyalty programs though.

http://www.miles-and-more.com/online/portal/mam/at/homepage?l=en

5/6/2013 4:07:00 PM

$635 for 51k Amex

5/6/2013 4:24:45 PM

^You can bargain with him a bit. Both times i offered him points, he accepted a counter offer.

5/6/2013 4:27:55 PM

Yeah, def think I'm going to start selling off pts. Just doesn't make sense to keep them for myself unless I plan on doing some international business flights.

5/6/2013 4:30:31 PM

Trying to decide if the HHoners 60k sign up bonus is worth it. does anyone know if you can trasnfer those points?

5/6/2013 4:32:28 PM

Yes, you can.

5/6/2013 4:34:27 PM

Seeing as how we can turn airline points into cash (new revelation to me), should my next card be something other than the Chase ink with it's 3 month/$5000 requirement?

Also what sites detail information like this besides Million Mile Secrets?

5/6/2013 6:15:48 PM

I think it's going to be pretty hard to beat $500 cash assuming you already churned the The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN. The only card I can think of worth substantially more than that is the Chase Southwest when they are doing their 50K pt deal. You could always get some quotes on some of Chase's travel partners, xfer the 50K pts there, and then sell them for >$500

5/6/2013 8:24:10 PM

Already have the Chase Southwest with a bunch of points...might get rid of some of those too. Can you actually churn that card? Close the card, wait X number or months and get some miles again...even if it's only 25k?

Haven't done the The Business Gold Rewards Card yet though, and I know Chase Ink is still available. I guess I'm looking for any cards that I can get $300ish+ in reward points or miles I can sell that have a lower 3 month spending requirement...like $3000 or less.

Barclays 40k card?
Citi Aadvantage has 30k points with only $1k spent
Citi Gold Mastercard has 20k points with only $750 spent

..etc

There are a bunch of travel cards here...are most of those offers valid? Look pretty juicy if so...
http://millionmilesecrets.com/credit-cards/airline-credit-cards/

5/6/2013 10:40:14 PM

I think chase southwest has 4 versions out of the same card and I've gotten 2 of them thus far for 50K each. They have a 50K version out about 50% of the year so I wouldn't bother with the 25K version. I've heard Chase is hard to churn, but some people on here have said it's doable.

When I first started out I targeted the offers where the ROI was highest but now I mainly focus on whatever card has the largest bonus. I'd rather just have to worry about getting approved for one card vs two.

The citi aa 30K offer is crap. Last I checked you could get 40K with the same spend and 50K if you were willing to do a $2500 spend. Also, the citi gold mastercard offer I last found was for 30K pts, same spend. Pretty sure there are better offers in the link you posted. I kind of forgot about the citi aa deals since I just churned them a few months ago which I considered pretty late to the game.

5/6/2013 10:58:53 PM

Quote :

"Trying to decide if the HHoners 60k sign up bonus is worth it. does anyone know if you can trasnfer those points?"

Coming from a HHonors Diamond member: HHonors points just aren't worth that much. The standard (~25k points?) Starwood offer is better.

[Edited on May 7, 2013 at 8:02 AM. Reason : d]

5/7/2013 8:01:10 AM

Agreed, but the starwood offer seems to only be 10k right now.

5/7/2013 8:56:06 AM

^^How much is 60k worth?

5/7/2013 10:31:04 AM

It's shit. Like $200

5/7/2013 10:34:53 AM

So I have a question. I have the Citi AA Amex card (50,000 miles), and im using the miles on a trip to Europe this summer (I didnt do the whole 2 card offer hack). I have considered getting the Business card if it still has the 50,000 miles for a trip down to South America next year.

The thing is I dont plan on keeping the Citi AA Amex card, mainly because im not a huge fan of Amex, since I cant use it to pay for a majority of things I was hoping to (rent, etc; I got that one because its the only thing NC State takes for tuition). If I got the business card, and then ended up canceling them both, how much will that kill my credit score? I just really dont want to pay the annual fee when it comes around to that. Im worried that it will take a really big hit to my credit score if I cancel all of the large credit cards I have. Im not planning on making in major purchases in the next few years (assuming something terrible doesn't happen to my car). A house purchase is atleast 5+ years out. Any recommendations?

5/7/2013 10:50:51 AM

You could always transfer that credit line to a no fee based credit card

5/7/2013 10:53:23 AM

Could I do that with both of the cards if I got the business one? How does that work, would I just call into CS and ask them? Sorry for the noob questions.

5/7/2013 10:56:03 AM

Your credit won't take a huge hit and will rebound shortly assuming you have plenty of other open (preferably older) cards.
Lots of times they'll offer to xfer the credit to another card (after begging you not to close the card). I've never bothered to ask thus far, but it's nice when they offer since it keeps my utilization low.

5/7/2013 11:12:56 AM

That question seems to come up a lot. Here's my credit karma info for anyone interested.

Scores

May 31, 2012 747
May 7, 2013 757

Activity

Apr 25, 2013 There has been 1 account reported as closed on your report.Accounts Activity
Apr 17, 2013 There has been 1 account reported as closed on your report.Accounts Activity
Mar 11, 2013 You have had 1 new account added to your credit report.Accounts Activity
Feb 28, 2013 You have had 1 new account added to your credit report.Accounts Activity
Feb 21, 2013 You have had 2 new accounts added to your credit report.Accounts Activity
Feb 11, 2013 You have had 1 new account added to your credit report.Accounts Activity
Jan 23, 2013 There has been 1 account reported as closed on your report.Accounts Activity
Dec 21, 2012 You have had 1 new account added to your credit report.Accounts Activity
Dec 5, 2012 You have had 3 new accounts added to your credit report.Accounts Activity
Nov 19, 2012 You have had 1 new account added to your credit report.Accounts Activity
Nov 9, 2012 There has been 1 account reported as closed on your report.Accounts Activity
Oct 15, 2012 You have had 3 new accounts added to your credit report.Accounts Activity
Sep 14, 2012 There has been 1 account reported as closed on your report.Accounts Activity
Aug 21, 2012 You have had 2 new accounts added to your credit report.Accounts Activity

5/7/2013 11:31:49 AM

Yea so I only have one other credit card which i've had for several years through my bank. So if I cancel the Citi card, then i'll only have that one left. Im thinking that maybe I shouldnt get the business card?

5/7/2013 11:31:52 AM

If you're 5+ years out, I'd just say go for it, but I'd also sign up for no fee cards like Chase freedom so your score will take less of a hit when you have to close the fee cards.

5/7/2013 11:43:41 AM

Sounds good. I'll research it tonight, but I think it would be good to open up one of the no-fee chase cards. Do I need to space out the Citi AA Business card and the case (or other no-fee) card? If so how much?

And finally how long should I keep the Citi AA Cards? Should I hold onto them until right before the year mark, or wont it make much of a difference?

5/7/2013 1:07:02 PM

I think if you apply for them the same day you only get one hard inquiry on your credit report.
Ignore my constant need for new ccs. I'm just trigger happy.
I usually hold onto mine right before the year mark and then make a small purchase to restart the expiration clock for the miles.

5/7/2013 1:11:57 PM

^^just my .02: I wouldn't start playing sign-up bonus games until you've got well-established credit. Meaning, not just sufficient history but history with multiple lines.

Your best bet, IMO, is to open cards that will establish a nice "core" group of cards that you will use everyday. Here's a few to get you started, in order of awesomeness. You can do your own research as to the benefits of each:

Citi Forward
PenFed Platinum Rewards
US Bank Cash+
Chase Sapphire / Freedom / Ink

I'd try to get at least one card from each major issuer, in order to establish a relationship with them. Use these cards and pay them off responsibly for a year or two, then you're ready to graduate to milking signup bonuses.

5/8/2013 8:15:38 AM

so your recommending that I not get the Citi AA business card, and pick up a couple of no-annual fee cards?

I already have one Citi card (the AA card, which I will probably cancel right before the year mark, or maybe i'll see if I can transfer my credit line to a no-fee citi card to keep the credit line and history). I am planning on signing up for the Chase Freedom to keep. Other than those the only other card I have is a credit card through secu (which I dont think even shows up on my credit report).

FWIW, I checked credit Karma, and my current score was in the 720s

[Edited on May 8, 2013 at 10:16 AM. Reason : ]

5/8/2013 10:15:08 AM

I say go for it. When I started I had no history with Citi or Amex, yet in the past 18 months I've gotten 6 Citi cards and 8 AMEX cards.

5/8/2013 10:27:56 AM

^^the simple fact is: the better established your credit history (total credit line + average age of accounts), the less impact credit inquiries / account openings / account closures will have on your credit score.

Not saying you can't successfully play the sign-up bonus game right now, just saying it might not be the wisest move.
It's not like the large bonuses are going anywhere, I've been doing this for the past 9 years or so...

Also, I would def. recommend getting that Citi line transferred rather than canceling it. See if they'll let you open a Forward card. Closing your only other line is going to have a big impact on your score.

[Edited on May 8, 2013 at 12:37 PM. Reason : d]

5/8/2013 12:35:36 PM

Damn, 9 years....but still, a lot of good deals have gone away, like most of the 75K offers, Citi two browser trick, and other tricks like buying coins from the mint

[Edited on May 8, 2013 at 12:41 PM. Reason : ]

5/8/2013 12:40:02 PM

^^How much do you think you've made in that 9 years?

5/8/2013 12:53:47 PM

so much good advice....so many options...cannot decide

5/8/2013 1:34:28 PM

^^^offers come and offers go, it seems (to me), in cycles. About 2 years ago, all the offers had seemingly dried up and then they came back with a vengeance. All in all, it seems like the sign-up bonuses have actually gotten better, whereas the 'standard' rewards programs have decreased. They've figured out it's too expensive to maintain high cash-back programs, and instead try to lure suckers in with a big one-time bonus that will be eclipsed by fees once most of them fail to pay back on time. Which is another reason, IMO, to get a good stable of "core" cards with 5% back on certain categories: most of the time you're grandfathered in when they finally nix the program, at least for a while.

^^I used to keep track, in the beginning. Then, it just got to be too complicated (how do you assign value to miles,etc). If I had to guess, I'd say it's close to $100k. I've cashed out over $30k worth of Citi ThankYou points, for instance (you can actually go back and look at your history there).

[Edited on May 8, 2013 at 2:36 PM. Reason : l]

5/8/2013 2:34:43 PM

Nice. I've been doing it a little over a year and I'd say I've made about 8K thus far.

5/8/2013 4:54:56 PM

Quote :

"Won’t Last! 75,000 Points (~$750+ in Travel) With The American Express Business Gold Rewards Card"

http://millionmilesecrets.com/2013/05/08/75000-points-750-in-travel-with-the-american-express-business-gold-rewards-card-wont-last/

5/8/2013 5:34:14 PM

^already back to 50K.

5/9/2013 10:27:45 AM

I had to try different browsers/modes/etc. Took a while to get the 75k to come up.

[Edited on May 9, 2013 at 10:37 AM. Reason : but can't get it now, so I'm inclined to agree with you ]

5/9/2013 10:36:09 AM

Got the 75K deal a few weeks ago. I want to say it lasted a few hours, tops.

5/9/2013 10:38:15 AM

How did you notice it? Luckily I just started following MMS on FB and saw it there...

5/9/2013 11:01:39 AM

http://millionmilesecrets.com/2013/03/14/50000-mile-virgin-atlantic-75000-point-amex/

5/9/2013 11:06:17 AM

Bump. Looking to open a credit card account with my wife. Any good offers out there? The card will primarily be used for groceries and dining. Thinking about going with the Amazon card since we buy a lot of stuff through them (3 points for every $1 spent on Amazon.com), 2 points for dining, gas, and groceries, 1 point on everything else. Points can be redeemed for cash and $0 annual fee.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007URFTYI/ref=us_creditpage_cbcc_1?ie=UTF8&plattr=CBYA&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-4&pf_rd_r=14K49EGZ80854KYJEYZF&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1396987962&pf_rd_i=1266766011

Anything better out there right now?

5/9/2013 1:15:21 PM

I was looking into the amazon card, but I decided to go with the Case Freedom card. Still may get the amazon later on.

You get $100 cash back after signing, and 1% on everything. Also, you get 5% cash back on bonus categories which rotate each quarter.


Also no annual fee.

The biggest gripe i've found with the Amazon card has to deal with the 3-point Amazon purchases. To get the 3 points it has to be purchased directly from Amazon, and not through the Amazon Marketplace. If Amazon.com is the seller, you'll get 3 points. If its a 3rd party (even if its prime), you only get 1 point.

[Edited on May 9, 2013 at 1:25 PM. Reason : ]

5/9/2013 1:20:59 PM

^I actually have that card as my primary and like it. The 5% rotates though, and sometimes the categories aren't that useful.

5/9/2013 1:22:18 PM

^^^These are my two primary cards

Citi Forward
5% back on eating out, 5% back on Amazon

Penfed Platinum
5% on gas, 3% on grocery


Just learned about a Blue Cash Preferred that does 6% on groceries...
http://www304.americanexpress.com/getthecard/learn-about/BlueCash-Preferred

[Edited on May 9, 2013 at 1:25 PM. Reason : ]

5/9/2013 1:23:23 PM

Only thing is that carries an annual fee.

btw what does this mean:

Quote :

" ANNUAL FEE $75 for maximum cash back."

The annual fee varies for people?

5/9/2013 1:28:00 PM

Quote :

"^^^These are my two primary cards Citi Forward 5% back on eating out, 5% back on Amazon Penfed Platinum 5% on gas, 3% on grocery Just learned about a Blue Cash Preferred that does 6% on groceries... http://www304.americanexpress.com/getthecard/learn-about/BlueCash-Preferred "

Does 5% mean 5% cash back? From what I've read, 100 Citi points != $1 like it does at most places. Some places it have it as low as 100 Citi points = $0.625.

5/9/2013 1:31:50 PM

Last thread I did a full breakdown of how much you have to spend to make the 6% Blue Cash Preferred with $75 a year annual fee be better than the 3% normal version.

Breakdown is about $35 a week in groceries. That ignores gas.

My two main cards are Blue Cash Preferred and CitiForward.

5/9/2013 1:35:26 PM

You are right about the Citi points not being worth that much in actual cash, however you can get .01 per dollar when booking travel, sometimes a tiny bit better, and .01 per point when buying gift cards

Are gift cards the same as cash? No, not exactly, but you just have to have a little foresight about what you might want to buy. If you are planning on getting something from Best Buy or Amazon, get the gift card first

5/9/2013 1:36:33 PM

Quote :

"From what I've read, 100 Citi points != $1 like it does at most places. Some places it have it as low as 100 Citi points = $0.625."

You can redeem your points for a mortgage payment or a student loan payment dollar for dollar...eg get a $25 payment for either for 2500 points. Good enough for me.

I looked at a Lowe's gift card and that was a $50 card for 60,000 points. Instead of getting dollar for dollar you're getting 83 cents on the dollar, making the 5% cash back rate a 4.15% cash back rate if you don't own a home and don't have any student loans. Still not too shabby!

[Edited on May 9, 2013 at 1:46 PM. Reason : ]

5/9/2013 1:40:50 PM

Yeah, they didn't ask for proof, just cut me a check in my bank's name.

5/9/2013 1:43:38 PM

Quote :

"Yeah, they didn't ask for proof, just cut me a check in my bank's name."

SECU was confused when I showed up with one of those. Do they normally just cash/deposit those for you, or do you actually have to apply it towards your mortgage? I'm assuming the former...

Quote :

"Last thread I did a full breakdown of how much you have to spend to make the 6% Blue Cash Preferred with $75 a year annual fee be better than the 3% normal version."

I average $5,000 a year in grocery stores (what do you all spend there?), so with my 3% back I'm getting $150 a year, 6% would net me $150 additional, minus the $75 fee. So I was thinking about getting the card just for groceries, but I think I'll pass...


[Edited on May 9, 2013 at 1:55 PM. Reason : ]

5/9/2013 1:47:44 PM

I used CFCU They let me deposit it directly into my savings account.

5/9/2013 1:54:38 PM