Free Frequent Flyer Miles - Annual Fee Credit Cards

		Annual Fee Credit Cards Most airline credit cards charge an annual fee. But most also offer a large number of bonus miles for first purchase on the card, and many waive the annual fee for the first year. In some cases, when the first year fee is not waived, the bonus is large enough to make the fee worth paying. I mention some offers for Canadians, but probably the best resource for miles producing credit cards for Canadians is the Rewards Canada Bonus Mile Promotion Directory. Caution: Most cards have a limit on the number of miles you can earn in one year. If you plan to charge a lot on a card, be aware of this limit.
American Airlines MasterCard, Visa, and American Express cards		Citibank offers American Airlines credit cards. They come in the form of Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Business cards. The annual fee is waived for the first year - so cancel before the year is up and apply again for another bonuse after 60 days. If my link doesn't work, you can usually find these offers by going to www.aa.com and hovering over AAdvantage in left menu, then Partners and Mileage Programs, then Credit & Debit cards. Note: By accepting the 30,000 mile offers for the Visa personal and business cards and charging $750 on each within 4 months, you will have at least 61,500 American Airlines miles. If the 25,000 mile Personal or Business Platinum Mastercard or American Express card offers still work, that's another potential 77,250 miles. 60,000 miles will get you a cattle class ticket to Europe. 90,000 miles will get you a comfortable business class ticket to many international destinations. 35,000 miles will get you from the U.S. to as far as Central America, Peru, or the Caribbean - and you do want to see Machupichu before it falls down, right? I see no reason why you can't apply for all of the cards, though there is some current evidence that you might have to spread out your applications 60 or 90 days apart. I suspect that personal and business cards can be applied for at the same time. The only limitations would be the annual revenue you tell them you have for the business card (though the seem to have eased up on their requirement recently), and your ability to charge $750 on each within 4 months. Charging that $750 is easy - just buy U.S. Dollar coins at cost from the U.S. Mint. The coins usually arrive before the bill is due, especially if you buy them just after your statement closes. Simply deposit the coins in your bank account and use the balance to pay off your credit card bill. Caution: A reader warns that they tried to bill her the annual fee after ordering a free card. She says she had to send them a copy of the offer. So be sure to make a copy, just in case. Keeping a copy of any offer you accept from any company, along with its URL, is always essential. Caution: I am hearing that Citibank is sending something called a "yearly summary" to card holders and billing them $15 for it. Readers are complaining that they did not order and did not want this summary. They tell me the fee is reversed when complaint is made, but I suggest you tell Citibank up front that you don't want the summary. Citibank occasionally offers these cards on their main page with increased requirements or lesser awards. But they will often leave up the better offers for awhile. So I list specific offers I have come across below. Be sure to make a copy before applying. There is a Mastercard Easy Savings program available for businesses. I leave it to you to investigate the terms and conditions, but it looks promising. Apparently the 30,000 mile, first year annual fee waived offers for the American Airlines Mastercards and American Express card have disappeared. This is very strange, since the same offers for the Visa personal and business cards were recently extended. Please tell me if you find a link to a current American Airlines Mastercard or American Express card offer that waives the first year annual fee. Thanks. Platinum Select Visa Signature Card and Business Visa card. Note: If my link doesn't work, try this one. 30,000 miles each after making $750 in purchases on each within 4 months of getting the card. Charging that $750 is easy - just buy U.S. Dollar coins at cost from the U.S. Mint. The coins usually arrive before the bill is due, especially if you buy them just after your statement closes. Simply deposit the coins in your bank account and use the balance to pay off your credit card bill. 1 mile/$1 spent. No annual fee for first year, $85 a year thereafter (Probably $75 for the business card). Available as a personal Visa card, and/or a business Visa card. I see no reason why you can't get both. No promises, though. The offer page says this expires February 28, 2010, but it was still online March 7, 2010. American Airlines Visa Credit Card. 20,000 AAdvantage bonus miles (maybe 25,000 miles) after you make $750 in purchases within 4 months of becoming a cardmember. Charging that $750 is easy - just buy U.S. Dollar coins at cost from the U.S. Mint. The coins usually arrive before the bill is due, especially if you buy them just after your statement closes. Simply deposit the coins in your bank account and use the balance to pay off your credit card bill. No annual fee for the first 12 months. 1 mile/$1 of purchases on the card. The small print of this offer says that this offer expired December 31, 2008, but it was still online March 7, 2010, and neither the application page nor the terms and conditions mention an expiration date. Since the fee is waived for the first year, I see no downside to trying for this offer if you need it. Be sure to make a copy of the offer and application pages, and the terms and conditions. It may be possible to get both the Mastercard and the Visa card. Citi Gold Advantage World MasterCard. 15,000 AAdvantage bonus miles after you make $750 in purchases within 4 months of becoming a cardmember. Charging that $750 is easy - just buy U.S. Dollar coins at cost from the U.S. Mint. The coins usually arrive before the bill is due, especially if you buy them just after your statement closes. Simply deposit the coins in your bank account and use the balance to pay off your credit card bill. No annual fee for the first 12 months. 1 mile/$1 of purchases on the card. The small print of this offer says that this offer expired December 31, 2008, but it was still online March 7, 2010, and neither the application page nor the terms and conditions mention an expiration date. Since the fee is waived for the first year, I see no downside to trying for this offer if you need it. Be sure to make a copy of the offer and application pages, and the terms and conditions. Citi Bronze Advantage World MasterCard. College student version. No annual fee. 1 mile/$2 spent. No miles bonus for first purchase. No minimum income or co-signer required. Special Student Deals. Access to credit education tips and tools. Regular version. 2,500 miles for first purchase after $125 in purchases within the first 4 months. 1 mile/$2 spent. No annual fee. Maximum miles that can be earned is 25,000 miles per calendar year. If the link disappears, try the standard number for applying for Citibank American Airlines cards, (800) 359-4444. If that doesn't work, call customer service at (888) 766-2484 and do not respond to any of the prompts. Instead, wait (several minutes) until the system gives up trying to understand you and sends you to a human being. In both cases, you will most likely have to ask for the card by name. Most reps say they have never heard of it, but they all have the means of looking it up. Note the differences in the maximum miles that can be earned in one year. These offers change all the time. Please tell me about your experience trying to get any of them, or about any new offers you know about. American offers credit cards worldwide. Mexico. 10,000 mile bonus last I looked (August 24, 2006). Royal Bank of Canada, for Canadians. Expensive, but it includes a very interesting travel medical insurance policy that would cause the card to be a very good deal for those who travel outside of Canada. This is probably the same insurance policy offered with the Canadian British Airways card. That policy is described below. TD Canada Trust, for Canadians. Also expensive. 10,000 miles up front bonus, plus lots of other goodies I leave it to you to read about. Central America (and the southern tip of Florida and Grand Cayman Island). (The page that the AA page links to does not mention miles. Ask.) United Kingdom. No annual fee, 6,500 miles up front, last I looked (June 23, 2006). Japan Bermuda Other countries. Bonus Offers: American Airlines offers limited time, heavily restricted reduced mileage awards for holders of American Airlines credit cards. I received an email from Citibank on April 15, 2003, offering 250 miles for accepting on-line statements, but I can find no mention of the offer on line. Ask customer service after you get your card. To change to on-line statements, log into your account, click on "Manage My Account", go to "Stop Paper Statements", and enroll. Cancelling the card: A thread in FlyerTalk offers a good discussion on what you might expect when threatening to cancel the card. A reader writes: "If you call and threaten to cancel the card after using it for 3-4 months, they will now give you 5,000 miles more to keep it. Then you can cancel it anyway a month later." She was referring to the free platinum card mentioned above, but this might apply to all cards. After I posted this note, another reader confirmed that this works. On December 23,2004, still another reader wrote "upon telling Citibank that I was going to close my Mastercard account with them (their normal customer service number) as my annual fee was due, they went ahead and gave me 4000 AA miles to keep my account open..." On March 1, 2004, a reader wrote: "I called Citibank today to cancel my AAdvantage card because the annual fee is due soon. I was offered a $50 certificate to offset the annual fee so I can keep the card for another year, continue to earn miles and have no fee to pay."
United Airlines Credit Cards		Caution: Most United Airlines credit cards have lower than usual limits on the number of miles or choices you can earn per month or per year by using the card. Carefully read all of the terms and conditions for the offer you are considering. Chase Bank, the issuer of United Airlines credit cards, will allow only one bonus for each type of card (personal signature, personal gold, and business) per person. Supposedly this is per life, but this policy has not been in effect long enough to test this by waiting a few years after cancellation and then applying again. You can get a bonuses for each of the personal signature and gold cards, and a business card. I have received the bonuses for both the personal signature and the business cards after the bank policy came into effect. I haven't tried for the gold card yet. On November 3, 2008, a reader wrote: "My wife and I both received the 25,000 bonus miles, this after churning other United cards from previous offers. My most recent bonus from Signature cards came back in April. While Chase has rejected recent bonuses for United Credit Card bonuses, the miles from the Gold Card posted to both of our accounts this evening." Before you sign up for any card, be sure to read my section on More initial miles below, so you can avoid accepting extras without getting all of the miles you can for them. United Airlines has several free and annual fee offer of interest: Free Offers 30,000 mile offer for the Visa Signature card. This is the best offer I have seen for a United Airlines credit card. It was in an e-mail from United Airlines specifically addressed to me, but I see nothing in the e-mail or the terms and conditions that says that the offer is targeted or otherwise restricted. The e-mail says to apply by February 28, 2010. but the offer page does not mention this deadline. It was still online March 7, 2010. Be sure to keep a copy of the offer and its terms and conditions. No annual fee for one year. $60/year thereafter. The no annual fee can be seen by scrolling through the terms and conditions near the bottom of the page. 30,000 miles after $250 of purchases on the card. Charging that $250 is easy - just buy U.S. Dollar coins at cost from the U.S. Mint. The coins usually arrive before the bill is due, especially if you buy them just after your statement closes. Simply deposit the coins in your bank account and use the balance to pay off your credit card bill. 1 mile/$1 spent purchases, with no earnings cap. Please tell me when this offer changes or disappears. Thanks. 20,000 miles offer 20,000 miles after first purchase - no minimum purchase requirement $25 travel discount certificate 1 way 1,000 mile one class upgrade certificate Annual fee waived for one year. You may confirm all of the details of this offer by calling 877-273-7138 and mentioning the referral offer with Promotion code MPF327. A script will be read to you. Please do this before asking me to refer you. To receive this offer, I must refer you. I get 5,000 miles for doing so. Please be advised that I have a serious limit of three people I can refer. You must absolutely promise me that you will apply for the card through my referral and that you no of know reason why your application will be refused. Be strongly advised that if you have at any time in the past received a United Airlines personal credit card, you will be refused this offer. Please do not cause me to waste my referral. 17,500 mile offer for a Gold card. No annual fee for one year, $85/year thereafter. 17,500 miles for first use. I am not certain how many miles/$1 spent. Call (877) 339-0292 and mention source code BPPC. If they ask, tell them you saw it in the in-flight magazine. This is the phone number give to me by a reader. It appears to be a number for signature card applications. The first time I called it, the rep was able to look up the offer via the source code. The second time I called the number, the rep was unable to do this. So you may have to call back several times to find a competent rep. The reader who sent me this offer speculates that since the bank allows only one bonus offer (perhaps in a lifetime, or perhaps every few years - it remains to be seen), if you have already have received such an offer for a signature card, you may still be able to get this one for the gold card. Please tell me about your experience with trying this. Thanks. 15,000 mile + $50 offer for the Visa Signature card. No annual fee for one year. 15,000 miles for first use. $50 statement credit after your first purchase. 1 mile/$1 spent purchases. Other goodies of dubious value. Annual Fee Offers: A September 21, 2006 post on Flyertalk says: I received Email offering 5000 EQM for 1st purchase + 5000 EQM for spending $ 35,000/year + 1 EQM for every $ on United tix for upgrading United visa to platinum It costs $80 more than standard card but as I was close to Premier this will put me over the top for a reasonable cost. Call the # on the back of the card to upgrade. This may be useful for those close to achieving status with the airline. United offers a Mileage Plus Visa Signature Card offer for 15,000, 17,500 or 20,000 miles up front and one mile per dollar spent up to 60,000 miles per year (Mileage Plus Premier members have no cap), and possibly useful other goodies. It costs $60 a year, which means that those 15,000 miles cost only 0.4 cent/mile, the 17,500 miles cost less than .35 cent/mile, and the 20,000 miles cost only 0.3 cent/mile. Good deal, but be sure to remember to cancel the card before they charge a second annual fee. (When I called to cancel in January, 2003, they extended it a year for free.) Caution: Neither the application form nor its terms and conditions mention the up front bonus. Be sure to make a copy of the offer, in case you have to argue to get your miles. 30,000 mile offer. 30,000 miles after $250 in purchases. Charging that $28/50 is easy - just buy U.S. Dollar coins at cost from the U.S. Mint. The coins usually arrive before the bill is due, especially if you buy them just after your statement closes. Simply deposit the coins in your bank account and use the balance to pay off your credit card bill. $60/year fee. So, if the 25,000 mile offer with fee waived for the first year is still available, you would be paying 1.2 cents/mile for the extra 5,000 miles. 20,000 mile offer. I am unable to navigate to the 20,000 mile offer from either the airline or the bank website, but when I posted a similar offer here previously, it was used successfully by many of my readers. Another 20,000 mile offer. This one costs $85/year (0.425 cent/mile for the bonus), but it offers the additional advantages of 2 mile/$1 spent on all united.com airline ticket purchases made with the card. 2,500 Anniversary bonus miles. But you would have to pay the annual fee again to get them. The maximum number of miles you can earn on card purchases with the United Mileage Plus Gold Class Visa Card is 100,000 miles per calendar year. However, there is no mileage cap for Mileage Plus Premier, Premier Executive, or Premier Executive 1K members. Plus, earn 1 Elite Qualifying Mile for every $1 spent on united.com airline ticket purchases, up to 5,000. (Typical of United offers, it is not clear if that Elite mile is in addition to the regular miles you would earn anyway, or if it just means that the regular mile qualifies as elite.) Other goodies of dubious value. 17,500 mile offer. Click here or here. The offer was on the front page of United's website on June 25, 2005. 15,000 mile offer. This is the current standard offer. Note: If this is the only available offer, please tell me this and allow me to refer you. I would get some miles at no cost to you. Do check my What's New page to see if I am traveling, so you will have an expected response time. Alas, the maximum number of up front miles you can receive if I refer you is 15,000. Please tell me if these offers are cancelled or modified. Thanks. An interesting offer for the Mileage Plus Business Awards Visa. 20,000 bonus miles after first purchase Earn 2 miles/$1 spent on United travel and services Earn 1 mile/$1 spent on all other purchases Earn up to 250,000 miles per calendar year No mileage cap for elite members Yearly anniversary awards 5,000 bonus miles 2 Red Carpet Club passes Membership in Perks Plus Program with additional corporate travel rewards options. Travel certificates for free* United travel One-class, one way upgrades Premier and Executive Premier level membership Additional Mileage Plus miles $125 annual fee, $25 for each additional card United offers a Platinum Class Visa Signature card for $140/year. It has several worthwhile extra over its regular Visa Gold card: Best offer: 20,000 bonus Choices after your first purchase. Second best offer: 15,000 bonus miles after your first purchase. 5,000 Elite Qualifying Choices or Miles after your first purchase. 5,000 Elite Qualifying Miles when you spend $35,000 each year with your card 1 Choice or mile/$1 spent. 2 Choices or miles/$1 charged on groceries, dining, gas at the pump, and home improvement. 2 Choices or miles/$1 charged for United and Star Alliance ticket purchases, and up to 5,000 Elite Qualifying Miles for ticket purchases at united.com (1 mile per $1) each year. No limit to number of redeemable Choices or miles you can earn Other goodies of dubious value. More initial miles: When you sign up for your card, do not sign up for the "Payment Protector" program, the one that pays your credit card bill when one of various defined disasters happen to you. Instead, wait for your card to arrive, the call (8007) 801-7319 and sign up for this plan to receive 1,000 United Airlines miles. The cost of the plan is $.89 per $100 average balance, with no charge if there is no balance. I was offered this plan by a regular credit card customer service rep, who assured me that even if I were to carry no balance (and thus generate no fee) and then were to cancel, I would still get the 1,000 miles. I suggest you do just that. It's a terrible bet anyway, unless you know your future. On August 28, 2006, this offer was described at the bottom of United's Ongoing Credit Card Offers page. After you receive your card, you can refer a friend to receive one and receive 5,000 miles. Info here, at the bottom of the page last time I looked, and here. Note that if you refer someone, the maximum number of up front miles that person can receive is 15,000. So you would be doing a disservice to that person if there better offers. In the past I have had to fight to get my referral miles. Good luck. Bonus offers: United is offering bonus miles for certain transactions. Some are listed here. Typical of United Airlines credit card offers, the offers are far from clear. Be very certain to keep a copy of any offer you are counting on along with its terms and conditions. Getting more than one card. A reader writes: "I now have 2 UA personal VISA cards and a business card...I received 15000 for the 1st card in Year 1 at no fee, and 5000 in year 2 after renewing at $60; I paid $60 and received 17500 miles for the 2nd card; and I paid $60 and received 15000 miles for the Business Card. All without having any business. But they didn't seem to care and didn't even want to know the name of the business. Cancelling the card: When I called to cancel my card near the due date for the annual fee, I was offered the card free for another year. This was January 2004, if memory serves me right. (Alas, it often doesn't.) In January 2004 two readers told me that they got either the 15,000 or 20,000 mile offer, cancelled the card, waited four and two months, respectively, and then got the 20,000 mile offer again. A reader told me that she waited for the $60 fee to post on her statement and called to object to it, and then cancelled the card. She says she got her $60 back and was able to keep her 20,000 mile bonus for first use. I leave this to be judged by your system of ethics. On February 23, 2004, a reader wrote: "Yesterday I called United Mileage Plus Visa's credit card customer service to request a cancellation of my card (it's due to renew in about 4 months). They offered to give me 2,000 mileage plus points for free if I kept the card for another 90 days. So I asked if I could still cancel before the annual fee and get the 2,000 miles and she said sure, they just wanted to see if 90 more days and 2,000 points would help me reconsider. The customer service # is 800-537-7783 - they will transfer you to a cancellations department (which they lovingly call the 'special' customer assistance center)." (I assume by "points" the reader meant "miles".) United Credit Card monthly special offers are listed here, and their ongoing special offers are listed here. United has credit cards available to people residing in many countries other than the U.S. It's list of these cards provides contact phone numbers, but no details of the offers.
Alaska Airlines credit cards		For U.S. and Canadian residents, Alaska Airlines offers many annual fee credit cards with up front miles that might be attractive to you depending on how you value your miles. Each card offers 1,000 Bonus Miles for each traveler in the reservation for every ticket purchased at alaskaair.com using the card for payment. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for all of the cards. Note that each card has different caps or not cap on the number of miles you can earn with it per year. I particularly recommend the Alaska Airlines program because of its extensive list of partners on which you can use Alaska miles. The personal cards for U.S. residents: Visa Signature card personal card. 20,000 miles for first purchase. Another 5,000 miles after spending $750 on the card. Charging that $250 is easy - just buy U.S. Dollar coins at cost from the U.S. Mint. The coins usually arrive before the bill is due, especially if you buy them just after your statement closes. Simply deposit the coins in your bank account and use the balance to pay off your credit card bill. One $99 companion ticket. Pay $50 for a ticket for a companion - same as the ticket you buy. Any fare is valid. Alaska or Mexico, here I come! 1 mile/$1 spent - 3 miles/$1 spent in purchases of Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air tickets and Vacations packages (probably directly from Alaska or Horizon Airlines). $75 annual fee. That's only 0.3 cent/mile for those 25,000 miles, even if you have no use for those other goodies. Visa Platinum Plus card. This offer is mentioned on the page to which I link above, but I don't know how to access it directly. 5,000 miles upon approval. $50 discount on an Alaska or Horizon Air ticket every year. 1 mile/$1 spent - 2 miles/$1 spent in purchases of Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air tickets and Vacations packages (probably directly from Alaska or Horizon Airlines). $50 annual fee. Visa Visa Preferred card. This offer is mentioned on the page to which I link above, but I don't know how to access it directly. 3,000 miles upon approval, plus another 1,000 miles if you apply online. 1 mile/$1 spent. $35 annual fee. Visa Business card for U.S. residents. 20,000 bonus miles with first purchase. 1 mile/$1 spent. 3 miles/$1 spent on Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air tickets purchased through Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. 0% intro APR on purchases for the first 9 months. Annual fees: $50 Company Fee if Company Earning Level Plan; $0 if Individual Earning Level Plan. Fee prer card is $25 if Company Earning Level Plan; $75 if Individual Earning Level Plan. Annual $99 (USD) Companion Ticket. Cards for Canadians: Platinum Plus personal Mastercard 20,000 Bonus Miles upon approval. Another 5,000 miles after spending $750 on the card. There is a footnote to this which I am unable to find. Probably a time limit. 1 mile/$1 spent - 3 miles/$1 spent on Alaska Airline tickets and vacation packages 2 Board Room passes. $75 annual fee, for a cost of 0.3 cent/mile for those 25,000 miles. Alaska Airlines Preferred Mastercard 3,000 Bonus Miles upon approval. 1 mile/$1 spent - 3 miles/$1 spent on Alaska Airline tickets and vacation packages 2 Board Room passes. $45 annual fee, for an expensive of 1.5 cents/mile. Bank of America offers Canadians Visa credit cards with 5,000 and 3,000 mile first use bonuses. Details. Alaska Airlines Bank of America credit card holders earn up to 25,000 Alaska Airlines miles for referring friends to the program (2,500 miles/successful referral). This FlyerTalk thread discusses the possibility of getting the 3% rip off fee for foreign currency conversion waived if you are a good customer of Bank of America. Ask.
Continental Airlines Credit Cards		Note: Those seeking Continental Airlines miles should consider also acquiring American Express Cards that earn Membership Rewards points. They regularly offer 10,000 - 25,000 bonus points which are convertible 1,000 points > 1,000 miles. The cards often waive the annual fee for a year, and then become prohibitively expensive. Consider using one of these cards first, cancelling it before the fee becomes due, then acquiring a card listed below, or visa versa. Or consider acquiring both the Amex and a card below simultaneously to get all of the up front bonus points. Note: Those seeking Continental Airlines miles should also consider acquiring the Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa Credit Card. Last I looked it offered 16,000 points convertible to Continental Airlines miles 1:1 for spending $1,000 in 3 months, and the annual fee was waived for the first year. Note: Regular riders of Amtrak should consider the Amtrak credit card as a free alternative for earning Continental Airlines miles. But note its risks and restrictions, especially the one that requires that you spend $200/year on it for Amtrak tickets before you can transfer credit elsewhere. Note: Continental Airlines will offer another Mileathon partner bonus program April 1 - May 31, 2010. Details of which partners will qualify will be available by then. In the last Mileathon program, acquiring a credit card was worth and extra 10,000 miles. Consider delaying participation in major Continental partner offers until then, risking, of course, that partner offer disappearing by then. For U.S. residents: World MasterCard. The $89 annual fee is waived the first year. This is rare with Continental credit card offers. Grab it while you can. 25,000 bonus miles after you make your first purchase. 5,000 bonus miles after you make your first purchase and sign up an additional authorized user within two months after opening your account. 2 President's Club passes every year on your cardmember anniversary. Primary cardmembers get their first checked-bag fees automatically waived (a savings of up to $40 per passenger checking bags). 1 mile/$1 spent on the card; double miles for purchases made on the card at Continental and certain other merchants. I see no expiration date for this offer. Please tell me when it disappears or changes. Thanks. World MasterCard. 25,000 Continental miles for first purchase during the first 2 months from account opening, for an annual fee of $85 a year (0.34 cent/mile). 5,000 miles fafter you make your first purchase and sign up an additional authorized user within two months after opening your account, bringing the cost of the 30,000 total miles to 0.283 cent/mile. Primary Cardmembers are eligible to check their first bag without paying a fee (savings of $50 round trip per passenger checking bags). 1 mile/$1 spent on the card; double miles for purchases made on the card at Continental. World MasterCard. 25,000 Continental miles for first purchase during the first 2 months from account opening, for an annual fee of $85 a year (0.425 cent/mile). 5,000 miles for adding a card member during the first 2 months from account opening, bringing the cost of the 25,000 total miles to 0.34 cent/mile. Primary Cardmembers are eligible to check their first bag without paying a fee (savings of $50 round trip per passenger checking bags). 1 mile/$1 spent on the card; double miles for purchases made on the card at Continental. World MasterCard. 20,000 Continental miles up front for an annual fee of $85 a year (0.425 cent/mile). $50 credit after first purchase, bringing your cost to $35, for a very good 0.175 cent/mile. 2 President's Club passes every year on your cardmember anniversary. 1 mile/$1 spent on the card; double miles for purchases made on the card at Continental and certain other merchants. The link to this offer has been rather flaky. The reader who gave me the URL told me it came from Continental's website, but I don't know which one. There are many worldwide. The "en-US" part of the URL does seem to indicate that the website is in the U.S., but I am unable to navigate to it from the U.S. website I get. Be sure to keep a copy of the offer so you can show the bank that this is the one you accepted, if necessary. A Business MasterCard 20,000 miles up front for $85 a year for your first card (0.55 cent/mile), $20.00 per year for each additional card. As a one-time bonus annually, once you exceed $25,000 in net purchases you will receive 5,000 bonus miles. 1 mile/$1 spent on the card; double miles for purchases made on the card at Continental and on dining, gas, and office supplies at office supply stores. 2 President's Club passes every year on your cardmember anniversary. A Presidential Plus World MasterCard Primary cardmembers get their first and second checked-bag fees automatically waived (a savings of up to $80 per round trip per passenger checking bags). For frequent Continental Airlines flyers who check two bags, this feature may justify the expensive $375 fee, $75 credit after your first purchase. Presidents Club Membership for as long as you carry the card for you and your family or 2 guests, including access to over 60 additional affiliated lounges worldwide. Other possibly useful goodies. Be sure to carefully read the terms, conditions, and fine print. Continental lists many offers of credit and debit cards worldwide on its Credit/Debit Card Partners page.
U.S. Airways credit cards		A possible alternate way to apply for these cards is to call (800) 307-0341. U.S. Airways Premier World MasterCard from Barclays Bank: 12,500 bonus miles with your first purchase. 12,500 more bonus miles after spending $750 in the first 90 days. Charging that $750 is easy - just buy U.S. Dollar coins at cost from the U.S. Mint. The coins usually arrive before the bill is due, especially if you buy them just after your statement closes. Simply deposit the coins in your bank account and use the balance to pay off your credit card bill. 5,000 mile discount off of each eligible Award Ticket <10,000 miles toward Preferred status. $89 annual fee, for a cost of 0.356 cent/mile. 2 miles/$1 spent on US Airways purchases. 1 mile/$1 spent on other purchases. No limit to the miles you can earn. Redeem miles for award travel for 5,000 miles less. A 6 month 0% balance transfer and convenience check offer with a 3% fee, $5 minimum, $100 maximum. Earn 1 mile/$1 transferred up to 10,000 miles. U.S. Airways World Mastercard from Barclays Bank. 5,000 bonus miles with your first purchase. 5,000 more bonus miles after spending $750 in the first 90 days. Charging that $750 is easy - just buy U.S. Dollar coins at cost from the U.S. Mint. The coins usually arrive before the bill is due, especially if you buy them just after your statement closes. Simply deposit the coins in your bank account and use the balance to pay off your credit card bill. Annual $149 companion certificate, whatever that means. $49 annual fee, for a cost of 0.49 cent/mile. 1 mile/$1 spent on purchases. A 6 month 0% balance transfer offer with a 3% fee,$5 minimum, $100 maximum. Earn 1 mile/$1 transferred up to 10,000 miles. U.S. Airways World Mastercard from Barclays Bank. 5,000 bonus miles with your first purchase. No annual fee, so the 5,000 miles are free. 1 mile/$2 spent on purchases. A 6 month 0% balance transfer offer with a 3% fee,$5 minimum, $100 maximum. Earn 1 mile/$1 transferred up to 10,000 miles. U.S. Airways Dividend Miles Professional MasterCard from Barclays Bank: 25,000 bonus miles with your first purchase. $79 annual fee, for a cost of less than 0.316 cent/mile. 2 miles/$1 spent on US Airways purchases and on hotel, car rental, and gasoline purchases . 1 mile/$2 spent on other purchases. No limit to the miles you can earn. A 6 month 0% balance transfer and convenience check offer with a 3% fee, $5 minimum, $75 maximum. When an Eligible Cardmember spends more than $25,000 in new Net Purchases within their January through December statement cycles, 10,000 of those miles that have been awarded to your Account will be converted from base miles to Preferred Miles. A complimentary US Airways Club Day Pass. Two U.S. Airways Business Mastercards from Barclays Bank. Offer #1 25,000 bonus miles with first purchase. "Up to" 10,000 Preferred miles each year. $79 annual fee, for a cost of 0.316 cent/mile. 1 mile/$1 spent. Double miles for U.S. Airways purchases. No limit to the miles you can earn. A 6 month 0% balance transfer offer with a 3% fee, $5 minimum, $75 maximum for those 6 months, no maximum thereafter. Earn 1 mile/$1 transferred up to 10,000 miles. A complimentary U.S. Airways Club Day Pass. Offer #2 5,000 bonus miles with first purchase. No annual fee. So those miles are free. 1 mile/$2 spent. 1 mile/$1 spent for U.S. Airways purchases. A 6 month 0% balance transfer offer with a 3% fee, $5 minimum, $75 maximum for those 6 months, no maximum thereafter. Earn 1 mile/$1 transferred up to 10,000 miles. U.S. Air is starting a program of partnerships with various vendors who will provide extra miles if you use your U.S. Air credit card for purchases with them. The list of vendors is tiny now, but it is said to be expanding.
Southwest Airlines Visa credit card		Note: Those seeking Southwest Airlines credits should also consider acquiring American Express Cards that earn Membership Rewards points. They regularly offer 10,000 - 25,000 bonus points which are convertible 1,500 points > 1 Rapid Rewards credit through June 30, 2010. The cards often waive the annual fee for a year, and then become prohibitively expensive. Consider using one of these cards first, cancelling it before the fee becomes due, then acquiring a card listed below, or visa versa. Or consider acquiring both the Amex and a card below simultaneously to get all of the up front bonus points. Note: The ability to use Membership Rewards points to get Southwest Airlines credits will end June 30, 2010. Note: Regular riders of Amtrak should consider the Amtrak credit card as a free alternative for earning Southwest Airlines credits. But note its risks and restrictions, especially the one that requires that you spend $200/year on it for Amtrak tickets before you can transfer credit elsewhere. Using the Amtrak card actually gets you a free trip much faster than using Southwest's card after the first year bonus, so long as the Amtrak > Choice Points > Southwest credits conversions are not changed, and so long as you qualify for this privilege. Southwest Airlines offers Signature and Business Visa cards for annual fees of $59, and a Classic Visa card for and annual fee of $39. There are various offers of bonus credits for first purchase, plus 1 credit per $1,200 spent (double credit for Southwest Airlines purchases on the Signature and Business cards). It takes 16 credits to earn a round trip ticket on Southwest. Do the math to see what the bonus credits offered are worth. I see no reason why you can't get both the personal and the business card. See note 3 on the 16 credit personal card offer to read about the Classic Card. The web page seems to imply that it is the bank's choice which card you get, but that the lower fee card may be preferable to some. So, after applying online, I would try calling the bank to see if you can express your preference, or, if that doesn't work, calling them immediately upon receiving the higher priced card to ask for it to be changed. If you are successfully in getting the Classic card by your request, please tell me how you did it. Thanks. Please tell me when any of the bonus offers disappear. Thanks. Bonus offer: 16 credits for your first purchase. Same offer for a business card. If these links don't work try this one. Bonus offer: 10 credits for your first purchase. Same offer for a business card. Bonus offer: 9 credits for your first purchase. Same offer for a business card. Bonus offer: 8 credits for your first purchase, 8 more for a balance transfer (but do the math on the fee). Same offer for a business card. Regular offer: 8 credits for first purchase. Southwest Airlines offers an annual fee Classic Visa credit card for a more reasonable fee of $39 per year. The differences I can find between it and the signature card are a lower credit limit and no double credit for Southwest Airlines purchases. The limited time offers seems to imply that you still get the bonus credits for first purchase, but it is not completely clear. I suggest that you call (877) 665-9146, mention the card code for the offer, and ask if you can get the bonus for the card with the lower fee. Caution: Southwest credits expire 2 years after they are earned. So be sure you can earn enough credits within that time to earn a ticket and can spend them within that time before you accept Southwest offers.
Midwest Airlines credit card		Note: Regular riders of Amtrak should consider the Amtrak credit card as a free alternative for earning Midwest Airlines credits. But note its risks and restrictions, especially the one that requires that you spend $200/year on it for Amtrak tickets before you can transfer credit elsewhere. I understand that Midwest plans to charge $25 for transferring Midwest miles to Amtrak points after June 30. Midwest Airlines offers credit cards with up front miles, two free, and two with an annual fee. Both offer up to 10,000 miles for balance transfer (at 1 mile/1$ transferred in the first 30 days after you open your account) and 0% interest for 6 months for those transfers, but with a fee of 3% of the amount of each transfer, $5 minimum, $50 maximum. Be sure to read the Cautions section of the Important Starting Info page of this credit card section before doing a balance transfer. Two personal cards: $59 annual fee, 25,000 bonus miles when you spend $750 in the first 90 days, for a cost of 0.239 cent/mile. 2 miles /$1 spent on Midwest Airlines or Midwest Connect Airlines tickets, 1 mile /$1 spent on everything else. 5,000 bonus miles when you spend $250 in the first 90 days. 1 mile /$1 spent on Midwest Airlines or Midwest Connect Airlines tickets, 1 mile /$2 spent on everything else. Two business cards: 12,500 miles with first purchase, 2 miles /$1 spent on Midwest Airlines or Midwest Connect Airlines tickets, 1 mile /$1 spent on everything else. $49 Annual Fee, for a cost of 0.392 cent/mile. 5,000 miles with first purchase, 1 miles /$1 spent on Midwest Airlines or Midwest Connect Airlines tickets, 1 mile /$2 spent on everything else. No Annual Fee.
Frontier Airlines MasterCard		Note: Those seeking Frontier Airlines miles should also consider acquiring American Express Cards that earn Membership Rewards points. They regularly offer 10,000 - 25,000 bonus points which are convertible 1,000 points > 1,000 miles. The cards often waive the annual fee for a year, and then become prohibitively expensive. Consider using one of these cards first, cancelling it before the fee becomes due, then acquiring a card listed below, or visa versa. Or consider acquiring both the Amex and a card below simultaneously to get all of the up front bonus points. Frontier Airlines offers two Mastercard deals: 5,000 Bonus Miles miles when you spend $250 in the first 90 days on its no annual fee MasterCard. 1 mile/$2 spent. 20,000 Bonus Miles miles when you spend $500 in the first 90 days on its $59 per year MasterCard. (So the extra 15,000 miles cost you 0.393 cent/ mile.) 1 mile/$1 spent. These deals are available for both personal and cards. So get them both. Both cards offer 0% interest balance transfer for first six billing periods, with a 3% fee capped at $50 per transfer. One Mile per $1 in balances transferred to your Frontier Airlines MasterCard requested in the first 30 days after you open your account, up to a maximum of $10,000. So if you do one $10,000 transfer and pay it off immediately, you should receive your 10,000 miles at a cost of 0.5 cent/mile. If you invest the money in a C.D. for 6 months, you can reduce that after tax cost. (But read the terms and conditions, and my cautions on 0% balance transfer offers on the Important Starting Info page of this Credit Card section.) How to use this offer to get a free domestic ticket or ticket to Mexico and make a profit doing so. Note that it takes only 15,000 miles to get ticket to anywhere Frontier flies in the U.S., including Alaska, and 25,000 miles to fly between the U.S. and Mexico. Getting the card and doing a single balance transfer of $10,000 from a card you were going to pay off with your own funds would cost you a total of $50 for the no annual fee card and would get you the 15,000 miles needed for the domestic ticket, or $99 for the annual fee card and would get you the 25,000 miles needed for the ticket to Mexico. Not bad. But note that you could put into a bank CD for 6 months and reduce that cost, perhaps to $0. (But be sure read my cautions on 0% balance transfer offers on the Important Starting Info page of this Credit Card section.)
Jet Blue Airways American Express credit card.		Note: Those seeking JetBlue points should consider also acquiring American Express Cards that earn Membership Rewards points. They regularly offer 10,000 - 25,000 bonus points which are convertible to JetBlue points - 200 TrueBlue® Points = 250 Membership Rewards Points The cards often waive the annual fee for a year, and then become prohibitively expensive. Consider using one of these cards first, cancelling it before the fee becomes due, then acquiring a card listed below, or visa versa. Or consider acquiring both the Amex and a card below simultaneously to get all of the up front bonus points. Jet Blue Airways offers a personal American Express credit card: 10,000 TrueBlue® points with first purchase on your Card. Oneway Award Flights start at just 5,000 points. Earn up to 8 TrueBlue points for every eligible dollar spent on jetblue.com - 6 points when you purchase a flight and an additional 2 points when you use your JetBlue Card. 1 TrueBlue point/$1 otherwise spent. $40 annual fee. I leave it to you to carefully read the terms and conditions. The link above goes directly to the application page. If that doesn't work, navigate form Jet Blue's credit card page. JetBlue Business Card from American Express OPEN 10,000 TrueBlue® points with first purchase on your Card. Oneway Award Flights start at just 5,000 points. Earn up to 8 TrueBlue points for every eligible dollar spent on jetblue.com - 6 points when you purchase a flight and an additional 2 points when you use your JetBlue Card. 1 TrueBlue point/$1 otherwise spent. Save 3% - 25% automatically on business expenses from FedEx, Hertz®, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts®, and more with OPEN Savings® $40 annual fee. Carefully read the terms and conditions, which of course you would automatically do, since you are a business person. Caution: The Jet Blue frequent flyer program is very different that any other. Be sure you understand how it works before you commit to it. Note, for example (last I looked), that points expire in 1 year unless you fly on their metal or use your Jet Blue credit card.
Spirit Airlines World MasterCard.		Spirit Air credit card holders should register to receive up to 25,000 bonus miles for flights taken within one calendar year of registration. I read the offer to say you get the following. But read it and interpret it yourself. 4 Roundtrips - 5,000 bonus miles 7 Roundtrips - 10,000 bonus miles 10 Roundtrips - 15,000 bonus miles 12 Roundtrips - 25,000 bonus miles Spirit Air offers a World MasterCard. Annual fee is $69, but it is waived for the first year. 15,000 bonus miles when you make your first purchase. 3 miles/$1 spent on Spirit. 2 miles/$1 spent on everyday purchases at select merchants. 1 mile/$1 spent anywhere else. Elite status. Make at least one purchase per month and you’ll automatically be upgraded to an Elite member. As of June 18, 2007, your Spirit Airlines miles will never expire if you make at least one purchase/month on the credit card. Otherwise, your miles could expire due to this policy in the terms and conditions of the miles program: "If you have less than 2,000 miles posted to your account from any source during the previous 6 month period, miles older than 6 months will be expired." And "If you want to keep your miles, get a FREE SPIRIT MasterCard* and make just one purchase per month - then your miles will never expire." Spirit Air's website describes its very different FREE SPIRIT miles program. Be sure you understand it fully before committing to this card.
AirTran Visa Card		Note: Those seeking AirTran credits should also consider acquiring American Express Cards that earn Membership Rewards points. They regularly offer 10,000 - 25,000 bonus points which are convertible 1,500 points > 1 A+ Reward credit. The cards often waive the annual fee for a year, and then become prohibitively expensive. Consider using one of these cards first, cancelling it before the fee becomes due, then acquiring a card listed below, or visa versa. Or consider acquiring both the Amex and a card below simultaneously to get all of the up front bonus points. AirTran Visa business credit card. 10 credits for first purchase or balance transfer. 2 points/$1 spent on AirTran Airways Travel. 1 point/$1 spent on everything else. 0% introductory Annual Percentage Rate (APR) on Balance Transfers, applicable for the first 6 billing cycles after the account is opened. Earn one point per $1 in balances transferred to your AirTran Airways A+ Business Card in the first 30 days after you open your account, up to a maximum of 10,000 points. 10,000 points = 10 credits. A Balance Transfer fee applies to all Balance Transfers. During the introductory period: 3% of the amount of each transfer, with a minimum fee of $5 and a maximum fee of $75; After the introductory period, 3% of the amount of each transfer with a minimum fee of $5. Note that the maximum fee on the personal card below is less. Be sure to read my cautions on 0% balance transfer offers on the Important Starting Info page of this Credit Card section before using this possibly profitable offer. $39 Annual Fee. AirTran Visa personal credit card. 10 credits for first purchase or balance transfer. 1 point/$1 in balances transferred to your AirTran Airways A+ Visa requested in the first 30 days after you open your account, up to a maximum of 10,000 points. (1,000 points converts to 1 credit.) 2 points/$1 spent on AirTran Airways Travel. 1 point/$1 spent on everything else. 0% Introductory APR on Balance Transfers the first six months after your account is opened, with a fee per transfer during this period of 3% of the amount of each transfer or check, with a minimum fee of $5 and a maximum fee of $50. (No maximum thereafter.) $39 annual fee. Note that if you do one $10,000 transfer during the introductory period and make no purchases, you get enough credits for a ticket for $50 plus $39 minus the after tax amount of interest you earn on the cash you don't have to use to pay off another card because you did the balance transfer. Read the terms and conditions, and be sure to read my cautions on 0% balance transfer offers on the Important Starting Info page of this Credit Card section. AirTran Visa personal credit card. 8 credits for first purchase or balance transfer. 1 point/$1 in balances transferred to your AirTran Airways A+ Visa requested in the first 30 days after you open your account, up to a maximum of 10,000 points. (1,000 points converts to 1 credit.) 2 points/$1 spent on AirTran Airways Travel. 1 point/$1 spent on everything else. 0% Introductory APR on Balance Transfers the first six months after your account is opened, with a fee per transfer during this period of 3% of the amount of each transfer or check, with a minimum fee of $5 and a maximum fee of $50. (No maximum thereafter.) $39 annual fee. Note that if you do one $10,000 transfer during the introductory period and make no purchases, you get enough credits for a ticket for $50 plus $39 minus the after tax amount of interest you earn on the cash you don't have to use to pay off another card because you did the balance transfer. Read the terms and conditions, and be sure to read my cautions on 0% balance transfer offers on the Important Starting Info page of this Credit Card section. There is also a no annual fee AirTran credit card, same balance transfer deal, 2 credits for using the card the first time, 1 point/$2 spent. Caution: AirTran credits are valid for 12 months after the date on which they were posted to the members' account. So be sure you can use them before you acquire them. Some of the credit card offers extend this 12 month period to 24 months.
Hawaiian Airlines Credit Cards		Note: Those seeking Hawaiian Airlines miles should also consider acquiring American Express Cards that earn Membership Rewards points. They regularly offer 10,000 - 25,000 bonus points which are convertible 1,000 points > 1,000 miles. The cards often waive the annual fee for a year, and then become prohibitively expensive. Consider using one of these cards first, cancelling it before the fee becomes due, then acquiring a card listed below, or visa versa. Or consider acquiring both the Amex and a card below simultaneously to get all of the up front bonus points. Here is a very easy way to get a round trip ticket to Hawaii for $100. Currently two banks are offering a Hawaiian Airlines credit card - Bank of Hawaii and Bank of America. Each costs $50, and each offers 20,000 miles for first purchase. 40,000 miles gets you a roundtrip ticket between the mainland west coast and Hawaii. Also note the interesting miles award tickets to Pago Pago, American Samoa or Papeete, Tahiti, and Manila, and the partner awards on Delta, Continental, and Virgin Atlantic Airlines. See Hawaiian's award charts. A customer rep assured me that it is permitted to get both credit cards. Each offers 20,000 miles up front with first use and payment. 1 mile/$1 spent, and 2 miles/$1 spent at Hawaiian Airlines. One Time Round-trip travel discount of 25% between the Mainland US and Hawaii for you and a companion. 2,000 miles upon renewal, should you care to pay the annual fee again. Other possibly useful goodies. The cost for each is $50 a year. Bank of Hawaii offer. Or call (800) 551-0839, or maybe the bank's home phone number, (888)643-3888. Bank of America offer. Or call (800) 932-2775 and mention priority code UAAGZ. Apparently the Bank of America 20,000 mile deal is a special offer. The regular offer from Bank of American's website is for 10,000 miles up front. So grab the 20,000 mile offer while you can, and be sure to make a copy of all pages of the offer and your application for it. I sometimes have difficulty with the links I provided. Links to the offers are available on Hawaiian Airlines' home page and its HawaiianMiles page. Ignore the distinctions between Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian residents. Both banks will accept your application wherever you live. Bank of America offers a Hawaiian Airlines Business Card: 10,000 miles up front with first use and payment. 1 mile/$1 spent, and 2 miles/$1 spent at Hawaiian Airlines. 50% discount companion certificate for travel between the Mainland U.S. and Hawaii. 2,000 miles upon renewal, should you care to pay the annual fee again. Other possibly useful goodies. Annual Fee is $50 for the Company and $25 per card. Bank of America also offers a less expensive Classic card. 5,000 miles up front with first use and payment 1,000 miles upon renewal Annual fee of $25. Both cards offer 1 mile per dollar spent, and 2 miles per dollar spent at Hawaiian Airlines. Caution: This Flyertalk post says that the renewal bonuses will be reduced. Be sure to make and keep a copy of the offer you accept. Last time I looked an inter island round trip costs 10,000 miles, and a one way trip costs 5,000 miles. The annual fee for the card is probably less than the inter island fare. Hawaiian Airlines offers 5 bonus HawaiianMiles per dollar spent when you use your Hawaiian Airlines Visa Cards at any participating HawaiianMiles Supercharged merchant. (There are lots of them in Hawaii.) Read the terms and conditions. This FlyerTalk thread discusses the possibility of getting the 3% rip off fee for foreign currency conversion waived if you are a good customer of Bank of America. Ask.
Air Canada Credit Cards		Note: Those seeking Air Canada miles should also consider acquiring American Express Cards that earn Membership Rewards points. They regularly offer 10,000 - 25,000 bonus points which are convertible 1,000 points > 1,000 miles. The cards often waive the annual fee for a year, and then become prohibitively expensive. Consider using one of these cards first, cancelling it before the fee becomes due, then acquiring a card listed below, or visa versa. Or consider acquiring both the Amex and a card below simultaneously to get all of the up front bonus points. Air Canada Aeroplan lists numerous mileage earning credit cards on its website. Bank of America has a 12,000 Air Canada miles offer for U.S. residents. $60 annual fee. CIBC has a 15,000 Air Canada miles offer for its credit card for Canadian residents only. The card offers 50% more Aeroplan Miles on everyday credit card purchases at grocery stores, gas stations or drug stores. Annual fee CN$125.
BWIA Credit Card		BWIA - British West Indies Airline mentions a credit card affiliation with RBTT Bank. Presumably this is a West Indies bank, but I have never heard of it.
British Airways Credit Cards		British Airways offers a Visa Credit card to U.S. residents. Caution: The British Airways miles program is very different from those of U.S. Airlines. Be sure you understand the program and exactly how and when you will use it before applying for this card. I am not very familiar with the program, as I have never used it. But here is what I understand about it: British Air charges very high fees for award travel on its own metal. It may be possible to avoid these fees by flying on partner airlines. British Air miles expire, I think after 3 years of no activity, but check this to be sure. I think activity on the account keeps your miles alive, but again, check this to be sure. I do not list many easy British Airways activities. Be sure you know when you will use these miles before acquiring them. You may not use British Air miles to cross the Atlantic on partner American airlines. But other partners are probably permitted. But confirm this yourself before counting on it. Note: Those seeking British Airways miles should consider also acquiring American Express Cards that earn Membership Rewards points. They regularly offer 10,000 - 25,000 bonus points which are convertible 1,000 points > 1,000 miles. The cards often waive the annual fee for a year, and then become prohibitively expensive. Consider using one of these cards first, cancelling it before the fee becomes due, then acquiring a card listed below, or visa versa. Or consider acquiring both the Amex and a card below simultaneously to get all of the up front bonus points. Note: Those seeking British Airways miles should consider also acquiring the Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa Credit Card. Last I looked it offered 16,000 points convertible to British Airways miles 1:1 for spending $1,000 in 3 months, and the annual fee was waived for the first year. The offers: Visa Signature Card: Visa Signature Card: 20,000 miles for first purchase. 10,000 more miles after you spend $750 on the card 1.25 miles/$1 spent, or 2.5 miles$1 spent British Airways flights, land products and vacation packages. Save $50 on any British Airways ticket purchase made at ba.com/get50 by December 31, 2010. Valid for travel through December 31, 2010. Redeem for 1, Travel for 2. Every year you spend $30,000 you will receive a redemption voucher for a companion, valid for 2 years. Redeem your BA Miles on a British Airways flight and take anyone with you, on the same flight in the same class of service. $75 annual fee. Please tell me when this offer disappears. Thanks. Visa Signature Card: 20,000 miles for first purchase. 1 mile per dollar spent, or 2 miles per dollar spent at British Airways. $75 annual fee. Please tell me when this offer disappears. Thanks. Canadian residents may acquire a very interesting Visa Platinum card from the Royal Bank of Canada. It costs CN$165 per year and offers only 5,000 Canadian Airlines miles for first purchase. It provides 1 BA Mile for every dollar you spend on the card, and BA Miles for every dollar you spend on British Airways flight that is purchased with the card. Free travelers checks. So far, this doesn't seem very impressive return for the large annual fee. However, the card has some very interesting insurance programs that go with it. A very comprehensive medical emergency travel insurance policy for travel outside of Canada that pays for medical expenses and transportation back to Canada, including very expensive air ambulance service if required. Flight Delay Insurance. Emergency Purchases Insurance. Hotel/Motel Burglary Insurance. This card is well worth a look for Canadians who frequently travel outside of their country. Two British Airways credit cards for UK residents are described here. British Airways offers credit cards in many other countries. To find the offers for your country, go to click here, then click on United Kingdom at the top of the page, and then change your country on pull down list. Look for partners pages, both general and for your specific region. The British Airways program miles program is quite different that those of U.S. Airlines. This is a card you would buy only if you are familiar with the program and know you will use the miles before they expire.
Virgin Atlantic Credit Cards		Note: Those seeking Virgin Atlantic miles should also consider acquiring American Express Cards that earn Membership Rewards points. They regularly offer 10,000 - 25,000 bonus points which are convertible 1,000 points > 1,000 miles. The cards often waive the annual fee for a year, and then become prohibitively expensive. Consider using one of these cards first, cancelling it before the fee becomes due, then acquiring a card listed below, or visa versa. Or consider acquiring both the Amex and a card below simultaneously to get all of the up front bonus points. Virgin Atlantic offers two American Express credit cards issued by Bank of America for U.S. residents. To see the details of the offer, click on the terms and conditions link for each card, wait for the pop-up to load, then use the internal scroll bar to scroll down to almost the bottom of the page. If my link does not work, try this Virgin Atlantic link and then navigate to the card you want. The Black Card Annual fee: $90. 20,000 Flying Club miles after your first purchase made with your Virgin Atlantic Card. Special offer: In addition to the initial 20,000 miles, you are offered another 25,000 miles for spending at least $750 on the card within the first 90 days. You can read about this bonus in the term and conditions of the offer, hidden well within the § section. Here is the application for people residing outside of the U.S. Note the first field. If you are thinking about going for an easy, cheap 50,000 - 65,000 miles with this offer, be sure to read this article on View from the Wing. Fees are very high for flying on Virgin Atlantic metal. They may be lower using the miles to fly on a partner airline, but I have no experience with this. Use the pull down menu on that partner airline page to see the miles requirements to fly on each partner airline. I checked a few for airlines with which I am familiar. I noted, for example, that the standard 25,000 miles is required for a cattle class trip within the continental U.S. and Canada for Continental Airlines and U.S. Airways. I also noticed that the miles required for flying on several of the airlines are not posted. Ask. This flyertalk discussion may shed more light on the usefulness of this offer. The Virgin Atlantic's terms and conditions for membership in its program said on December 6, 2009, "Your membership is valid for three years following your first Virgin Atlantic or partner earning or spending activity in your account. Both your miles and membership will remain active, provided that you complete an earning or spending activity in any three-year period." 2,500 Flying Club miles for each of the first two authorized users added to your Card. 3 miles/$1 spent on Virgin Atlantic tickets and duty free items purchased directly from Virgin Atlantic. 1.5 miles/$1 spent on everything else. 7,500 anniversary Flying Club miles when you spend a minimum of $15,000 in net purchases within the anniversary year with your Virgin Atlantic Card. An additional 7,500 anniversary Flying Club miles will be awarded when you spend $25,000 in net purchases within the anniversary year with your Virgin Atlantic Card. Earned Anniversary Flying Club miles will be posted to your Flying Club account each year within four to six weeks of the anniversary of your Card’s open date. Note that this may mean that you would have to pay the annual fee a second year to get these miles. Ask. If you spend $25,000 in Net Purchases using your Virgin Atlantic Card within a year (a year being the accumulated spend on the 12 monthly statements issued within any anniversary year), the primary Cardmember will also qualify for an Economy companion reward ticket for half the standard miles of a reward economy seat. See the terms and conditions for the many details of this feature. One tier point for every $2,500 spent with the Virgin Atlantic Airways Card. A maximum two (2) tier points can be earned per month. A maximum of twenty-four (24) tier points can be earned per year. For a more detailed explanation, visit www.virginatlantic.com Q&A's. The White Card Annual fee: $49. 12,500 Flying Club miles after your first purchase made with your Virgin Atlantic Card. 2,500 Flying Club miles for each of the first two authorized users added to your Card. 3 miles/$1 spent on Virgin Atlantic tickets and duty free items purchased directly from Virgin Atlantic. 1 mile/$1 spent on everything else. 2,500 anniversary Flying Club miles when you spend a minimum of $5,000 in net purchases within the anniversary year with your Virgin Atlantic Card. An additional 5,000 anniversary Flying Club miles will be awarded when you spend $15,000 in net purchases within the anniversary year with your Virgin Atlantic Card. Earned Anniversary Flying Club miles will be posted to your Flying Club account each year within four to six weeks of the anniversary of your Card’s open date. Note that this may mean that you would have to pay the annual fee a second year to get these miles. Ask. If you spend $25,000 in Net Purchases using your Virgin Atlantic Card within a year (a year being the accumulated spend on the 12 monthly statements issued within any anniversary year), the primary Cardmember will also qualify for an Economy companion reward ticket for half the standard miles of a reward economy seat. See the terms and conditions for the many details of this feature. Virgin Atlantic offers two American Express credit cards issued by MBNA. The White Card offers 3,000 bonus Flying Club miles upon first spend No annual fee 1 Flying Club mile/£1 spent 2 Flying Club miles /£1 spent direct with Virgin Atlantic or Virgin Holidays Black Card offers The 6,000 bonus Flying Club miles upon first spend £115 annual fee 2 Flying Club mile/£1 spent 4 Flying Club miles /£1 spent direct with Virgin Atlantic or Virgin Holidays
Lufthansa Credit Cards		Two Mastercard offers for U.S. residents: Premier Miles & More World MasterCard 20,000 miles after your first purchase and/or balance transfer and pay your annual fee, if applicable. Up to 15,000 additional miles when you complete a balance transfer. 2 miles/$1 spent on ticket purchases with Miles & More integrated airline partners. Economy Class Companion Ticket upon the first use of your new Account for a purchase or balance transfer. $79 annual fee, for a cost of 0.395 cent/mile for the bonus 20,000. Annual fee waived for Senator and HON Circle Members. Miles & More World MasterCard 15,000 miles after your first purchase and/or balance transfer and pay your annual fee, if applicable. Up to 10,000 additional miles when you complete a balance transfer. Economy Class Companion Ticket upon the first use of your new Account for a purchase or balance transfer $59 annual fee, for a cost of less than 0.393 cent/mile for the bonus 15,000. Annual fee waived for Senator and HON Circle Members. For both cards 1 mile/$1 spent on all purchases. As of January 18, 2009, balance transfers and convenience checks have 0% interest for 6 months, with a 3% fee, with a minimum fee of $5 and a maximum fee of $50 per transfer. Before doing a balance transfer or using a convenience check, be sure to read my cautions on 0% balance transfers on my Starting Info page. Banks are quite sneaky on these types of deals, but you may be able to make money on them if you are careful. An annual companion ticket. The terms and conditions of the above offers mention a no annual fee Platinum Mastercard, 5,000 mile bonus, 1 mile/$2 spent. I can find no link to it. Call the bank and ask. Lufthansa's website lists credit cards available for residents of Europe and Japan.
Air France/KLM Credit Cards		Note: Those seeking Air France/KLM miles should also consider acquiring American Express Cards that earn Membership Rewards points. They regularly offer 10,000 - 25,000 bonus points which are convertible 1,000 points > 1,000 miles. The cards often waive the annual fee for a year, and then become prohibitively expensive. Consider using one of these cards first, cancelling it before the fee becomes due, then acquiring a card listed below, or visa versa. Or consider acquiring both the Amex and a card below simultaneously to get all of the up front bonus points. Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines offer several credit cards on their websites that earn Flying Blue Award miles. No bonus offers for first purchase are listed there. Below I provide links to what appear to be bonus offers for first use, but you must be able to read the language to determine what they are. I have no information on the fees for any of the cards. For reason American Express card offer for residents of France. 3,000 or 2,000 Flying Blue Miles miles bonus for first use? On April 22, 2006, a reader from France offered this translation of the offer: Annual fee : first year free then 125.00 Euros for the following years Additional card : Free for spouse no additional charge points go on your account !! Bonus miles : 3000 for the first purchase and then 14 miles for every 10 Euros spend at AF/KLM partners and 10 miles earned for any 10 Euros spent on your current purchases (gaz, restaurants, whatever,....) Extra 45 Euros voucher offered for any application to new cardholder + 30 Euros voucher on Hertz rent a car. Then monthly selected offers (vouchers 10 to 60 Euros on selected flights, car rental, hotel stays) American Express card offer for residents of the Netherlands. 2,500 Bonus Flying Blue Miles when you apply for and receive the card, plus 1,000 bonus miles for each supplementary card? Mastercard offer for residents of Switzerland. 5,000 Flying Blue Miles bonus for first use?
Alitalia		Those seeking Alitalia miles, especially U.S. residents should consider acquiring American Express Cards that earn Membership Rewards points. They regularly offer 10,000 - 25,000 bonus points which are convertible 1,000 points > 1,000 miles. The cards often waive the annual fee for a year, and then become prohibitively expensive. Consider using one of these cards first, cancelling it before the fee becomes due, then acquiring a card listed below, or visa versa. Or consider acquiring both the Amex and a the Diner's Club card below simultaneously to get all of the up front bonus points. Alitalia suggests obtaining European American Express cards that earn Membership Rewards points, and European Diners Club cards to earn points that convert to Alitalia miles at various conversion rates.
Scandinavian Airlines System Credit Cards		SAS offers numerous credit cards for residents of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland.
SN Brussels Airlines credit cards		SN Brussels Airlines offers American Express and Mastercard credit cards for residents of Belgium. The American Express card is also available to residents of Luxembourg. Substantial bonus miles are offered for first use.
Swiss International Airlines Credit Cards		SWISS has several credit card programs for residents of Switzerland, and relationships with American Express and Diners Club card holders from selected countries.
Czech Airlines Credit Cards		Czech Airlines has several credit card programs for residents of the Czech Republic. There is a 5,000 mile offer for a Diners Club card, and 2,000 and 3,000 mile offers for Mastercard and Visa card from Komercni banka. Click on "OK PLus partners" in the left menu, then on the "PAYMENT CARDS" button on the far right.
IcelandAir Credit Cards		IcelandAir offers two Mastercards: Select the World++ MasterCard 10,000 Bonus Customer Club Points on first use 2 Points/$1 spent on Icelandair travel 1 Point/$1 spent on anywhere else $39 annual fee Select the Platinum MasterCard 5,000 Bonus Customer Club Points on first use 1 Point/$1 spent on Icelandair travel 1 Point/$2 spent anywhere else No annual fee Both have a 0% interest offer for balance transfers, but there is a 3% fee for this, $5 minimum and $50 maximum. A maximum of 5,000 points can be earned for balance transfers. Be sure to read the Cautions section of the Important Starting Info page of this credit card section before doing a balance transfer.
Asiana Airlines Visa Credit Cards		Asiana Airlines offers an American Express Credit card from Bank of America for U.S. residents: 5,000 miles for first purchase. 2 miles/$1 spent on purchases. 3 miles/$1 spent in purchases at participating grocery stores. $99 annual fee. $100 rebate on an Asiana ticket. Asiana Airlines offers a Visa Business Credit card from Bank of America for U.S. residents: 10,000 miles for first purchase. 1 mile/$1 spent on purchases. 2 miles/$1 spent in purchases at participating grocery stores or on Asiana Airlines tickets (presumably purchased from Asiana, though they don't say that). No limit to the number of miles that can be earned each year. Automatic $100 rebate on qualifying Asiana Airlines ticket purchases twice per year Annual Fee is $90 for the Company. This FlyerTalk thread discusses the possibility of getting the 3% rip off fee for foreign currency conversion waived if you are a good customer of Bank of America. Ask. Asiana lists many Korean banks that issue credit cards which earn Asiana miles. One of them is for Japanese residents. No details are given for any of the cards.
Korean Airlines Credit Cards		Korean Airlines several Visa Credit cards for U.S. Residents. They offer 5,000 or 3,000 mile for first purchase, and 1 mile per dollar spent with an annual cap. All of the cards come with lots of restrictive terms and conditions. Be sure to read and understand all of them. Most have annual fees. The SkyBlue SKYPASS Visa card has no annual fee. To find these offers, go to its Global Website, chose America for your region and English for your language. (I suppose choosing Korean as your language would work, too, but I wouldn't know.) Click on SKYPASS > Earn Miles, then on Other Partners in the left menu. Korean Airlines offers several credit cards for residents of Japan. All offer up front bonus miles. Read the terms, conditions, and fees. And, of course, Korean Airlines offers many credit cards for residents of Korea. To find them, go to its Global Website, chose Korea for your region, and then your language. Click on SKYPASS > Earn Miles, then on Other Partners in the left menu.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) Credit Cards		Note: Those seeking ANA miles should also consider acquiring American Express Cards that earn Membership Rewards points. They regularly offer 10,000 - 25,000 bonus points which are convertible 1,000 points > 1,000 miles. The cards often waive the annual fee for a year, and then become prohibitively expensive. Consider using one of these cards first, cancelling it before the fee becomes due, then acquiring a card listed below, or visa versa. Or consider acquiring both the Amex and a card below simultaneously to get all of the up front bonus points. All Nippon offers a large number of mileage earning credit cards. It's card for U.S. residents offers a 5,000 mile bonus for first use, and 1 mile/$1 spent on the card. It costs $70 a year, for a cost of 1.4 cents/mile. It's Hong Kong card for residents of Hong Kong offers a 5,000 mile bonus when you accumulate a spending of HK$2,000 or more within the first 3 months of card issuance, and 1 mile/HK$8 spent on the card. It offers lots of other possibly useful goodies.
Japan Airlines (JAL) Credit Cards		Japan Airlines offers a Mastercard to U.S. residents. $70 annual fee. 1 mile/$1 spent with no limit on earning miles. Carefully read all of the terms and conditions before applying. Japan Airlines offers several credit cards that appear to be Mastercards. You must have a bank account in Japan to qualify for them. There are up front miles, but the fees are in Yen, so I am unwilling to take the time to evaluate these bonuses.
Cathay Pacific Credit Cards		Cathay Pacific offers to Canadians a Visa credit card through RBC Royal Bank. 5,000 Bonus Asia Miles upon enrollment. 1 Asia Mile/C$1 you spend on the card. Double Asia Miles for each C$1 spent on Cathay Pacific tickets purchased online at www.cathaypacific.ca. 31-Day Out of Province/Country emergency Medical Insurance. This could be quite valuable if it includes medical evacuation, but I leave it to you to evaluate. I pay US$139 for a similar annual medical evacuation insurance. Other goodies. C$150 annual fee, which make this a possibly good deal only if the medical insurance is as valuable as I think it might be. Cathay Pacific offers a large number of mileage earning credit cards for residents of Asia, Australia, some of the Pacific Islands, and parts of the Middle East. Details, such as they are, here. It appears that you have to contact the bank of interest to find out about the fees and conditions.
Singapore Airlines Credit Cards		Note: Those seeking Singapore Airlines miles should also consider acquiring American Express Cards that earn Membership Rewards points. They regularly offer 10,000 - 25,000 bonus points which are convertible 1,000 points > 1,000 miles. The cards often waive the annual fee for a year, and then become prohibitively expensive. Consider using one of these cards first, cancelling it before the fee becomes due, then acquiring a card listed below, or visa versa. Or consider acquiring both the Amex and a card below simultaneously to get all of the up front bonus points. Singapore Airlines has several relationships with third party "points" type of cards which allow you to convert those points to the airline's miles. Details here.
China Airlines Credit Cards		China Airlines offers two Mastercards for U.S. residents: Platinum Mastercard. $59 annual fee. 7,500 miles for first use. (So the extra 5,000 miles over the card below cost 1.18 cents/mile.) 2 miles/$1 spent on China Airlines travel. 1 mile/$1 spent everything else. Platinum Mastercard. No annual fee. 2,500 miles for first use. 1 mile/$1 spent on China Airlines travel. 1 mile/$2 spent everything else. There is a 5,000 mile, 0% balance transfer offer for both cards, but beware - read the terms and conditions, and my cautions on 0% balance transfer offers on the Important Starting Info page of this Credit Card section. China Airlines offers a large number of mileage earning credit cards for residents of the Far East. It appears that you must contact the bank of interest to find out about the offers, fees and conditions.
China Eastern Credit Cards		China Eastern offers a mileage earning credit card. It appears that you must contact the Bank of China to find out about the offers, fees and conditions. Inquire Tel: 8008205288 OR 021-64956178.
Eva Air Credit Cards		Eva Air offers a large number of mileage earning credit cards. It appears that you have to contact the bank of interest to find out about the offers, fees and conditions.
QANTAS Credit Cards		QANTAS offers a large number of mileage earning credit cards for residents of Australia and New Zealand. It appears that you have to contact the bank of interest to find out about the bonuses, fees and conditions.
Air New Zealand Credit Cards		Air New Zealand has several credit card programs about which I have no further information.
Mexicana Credit Cards		Note: Those seeking Mexicana miles should consider also acquiring American Express Cards that earn Membership Rewards points. They regularly offer 10,000 - 25,000 bonus points which are convertible 1,000 points > 1,000 miles. The cards often waive the annual fee for a year, and then become prohibitively expensive. Consider using one of these cards first, cancelling it before the fee becomes due, then acquiring a card listed below, or visa versa. Or consider acquiring both the Amex and a card below simultaneously to get all of the up front bonus points. Mexicana Airlines offers a Visa Credit Card to U.S. residents. Earn 2 miles/$1 you spend with Mexicana Airlines. Earn 1 mile for every dollar you in spend other retail purchases. 4,000 Welcome Miles when you join Frecuenta Loyalty Program, for a cost of 1.125 cents/mile. I am not certain, but I think this means you don't get the 4,000 miles if you are already a member of the program. The bonus is not mentioned on Mexicana's website. 2,000 anniversary miles each year. You have to pay the fee for the second year to get these. 15% Discount on Mexicana flights from the U.S. to Mexico and Latin America when you use your card (presumably when you buy tickets from Mexicana directly). The annual fee is $45. Companion tickets of dubious value. Read the terms and conditions. This FlyerTalk thread discusses the possibility of getting the 3% rip off fee for foreign currency conversion waived if you are a good customer of Bank of America. Ask. Mexicana Airlines mentions a Banamex Credit Card offer, and several other credit card programs about which I have no further information. Presumably residents of Mexico will recognize the cards and will know where to ask.
Aeromexico Credit Cards		Note: Those seeking Aeromexico miles should also consider acquiring American Express Cards that earn Membership Rewards points. They regularly offer 10,000 - 25,000 bonus points which are convertible 1,000 points > 1,000 miles. The cards often waive the annual fee for a year, and then become prohibitively expensive. Consider using one of these cards first, cancelling it before the fee becomes due, then acquiring a card listed below, or visa versa. Or consider acquiring both the Amex and a card below simultaneously to get all of the up front bonus points. Aeromexico Visa Signature Credit Card for U.S. residents: 1 mile/$1 spent on the card. 20,000 First Use Bonus Miles plus Complimentary Companion Ticket 4,000 Annual Bonus Miles plus $99 Companion Ticket with Credit Card renewal Double Miles on AeroMexico airfare purchases 15% discount on AeroMexico airfare purchases Club Premier Elite Status Qualification Miles No annual fee for the first year ($80 thereafter) I leave it to you to read the footnotes, terms and conditions. Aeromexico Visa Credit Card for U.S. residents: 1 mile/$1 spent on the card. 15,000 First Use Bonus Miles plus Complimentary Companion Ticket. 2,000 Annual Bonus Miles plus $99 Companion Ticket with Credit Card renewal. Double Miles on AeroMexico airfare purchases. 10% discount on AeroMexico airfare purchases. No annual fee for the first year ($45 thereafter). I leave it to you to read the footnotes, terms and conditions. Aeromexico offers three American Express credit cards to residents of Mexico with annual fees of $80 and $200 with bonuses for first use of 10,000 and 20,000 miles, respectively, for a cost of 0.8 cent/mile and 1 cent/miles, respectively. Each offers 1 mile per US dollar or equivalent spent, and more for Aeromexico purchases. These cards have a very interesting companion ticket deal, wherein you earn free companion tickets when you use your miles to purchase a ticket. The number of companion tickets you earn depends on how much you spend on the card.
Grupo Taca Credit Cards		Grupo Taca offers two credits card for residents of the U.S. Distancia Visa Signature card: 20,000 Bonus Miles with your first purchase. 6,000 Bonus Miles with your annual renewal. Double Miles on TACA Airlines ticket purchases. 50% Excess Baggage Discount. Annual fee of $75.00 waived the first year. Distancia Visa card: 15,000 Bonus Miles with your first purchase. 3,000 Bonus Miles with your annual renewal. 25% Excess Baggage Discount. Annual fee of $45.00 waived the first year. Grupo Taca mentions several credit card programs about which I have no further information. Presumably residents of Central and South America will recognize the cards and will know where to ask. South America. Central America. (Note particularly the double miles offer for the INTERFIN-TACA-AVIS card.) North America. (Note particularly the double miles offer for the INTERFIN-TACA-AVIS card.)
Lan Chile Credit Cards		Lan Chile mentions several credit cards for residents of Chile, Argentina, and Peru. I know nothing about them.
VARIG Credit Cards		VARIG mentions a huge number of credit cards. Some offer bonus miles for first use. I have not analyzed any of the offers.
El Al Airlines		Those seeking El Al Airlines miles should also consider acquiring American Express Cards that earn Membership Rewards points. They regularly offer 10,000 - 25,000 bonus points which are convertible to miles. The cards often waive the annual fee for a year, and then become prohibitively expensive.
Emirates Airlines Credit Cards		Emirates Airlines has credit card programs with Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait, Citibank, Emirates Bank International, and Standard Chartered Bank - Qatar. Citibank offers to UAE residents only 15,000 or 25,000 miles on approval, with annual fees in a currency I don't understand.
Jet Airways (India) Credit Cards		Jet Airways of India offers two Citibank Mastercards for residents of India. Click on "Jet Airways Citibank credit cards" in the left menu.
Diners Club credit card and some airlines		Diners Club points convert to miles on some airlines 1:1. They used to offer a points bonus for signing up for their credit card, but I haven't seen it recently. Click here for specifics, or call (888) 92-DINERS. I am not familiar with Diners Club. I don't know if there is a minimum number of points needed to convert to miles, and I don't know if there is a fee to do so. Ask. (A reader tells me that points must be redeemed in 2,000 point increments only. Another reader tells me that there is a $0.95 charge per 1,000 mile transferred.) Redeem at least 35,000 Club Rewards® points (1 point = 1 mile) by May 31, 2009 and you'll receive 6,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles. Offer is valid March 1 through May 31, 2009. I leave it to you to read the details. Dinners club special offers. Read the terms and conditions.
American Express credit card and many airlines		American Express offers many credit cards that can be a good alternate or supplement to various airline and hotel cards. They earn Membership Rewards points which are convertible to miles on these airlines, usually at a 1:1 ratio in 1,000 point increments: Delta Continental Frontier Hawaiian Air Canada British Airways Virgin Atlantic Mexicana AeroMexico Air France/KLM ANA Alitalia Iberia El Al Singapore and to points on Southwest Airlines (ends June 30, 2010) AirTran JetBlue Starwood Hotels Priority Club Hilton Hotels Best Western Hotels. All cards producing Membership Rewards require steep annual fees, but the first year's fee is often waived - thus my statement that they can be useful, for the up front bonus points. (The free one, "Blue", I think, has an awards program with a name very similar to Membership Rewards, but which has a lesser conversion program. Sneaky.) View from the Wing has an excellent article on where to transfer Membership Rewards Points to get Star Alliance tickets. He likes Air Canada and All Nippon Airways, and explains why. There is a tiny fee of $0.0005/mile for converting points to miles - that's 50 cents/1,000 miles. The fee is capped at $50 per transfer. This fee will increase to $0.0006/mile, capped at $99 per transfer. However, on August 2, 2008, a reader wrote "Federal laws [or whatever they are] that makes American Express charge for transfer of points to airline frequent flyer programs only applies to US airlines. There is no charge if you transfer points to say Virgin Atlantic. He also wrote "American Express will transfer points from UK card holders to US card holders at the rate of exchange between the £ and the $. So 10,000 UK points become about 20,000 US points [at the current currency exchange rate]. This is great as the exchange rate between points and frequent flyer miles is the same in the US as it is in the UK. So instead of transferring Amex points to get say 10,000 Virgin frequent flyer miles in the UK you convert the Amex points to US points first and then get 20,000 Virgin frequent flyer miles. Cool eh?" To see the conversion ratios and do the conversions, go to the Membership Rewards home page, click on Travel in the upper left corner, then on the category you want. On August 3, 2008, a reader wrote: "Just an FYI, you can get the American Express Gold and Green cards bonus points at the same time. And you can get them multiple times in rapid succession. I've had all four (gold and green, business and personal) several times in the past year and I've never failed to get the bonus points." Special offers: Register your existing Membership Rewards card now so you can start earning double Membership Rewards points on virtually every dollar you spend on gas and groceries (up to $1,000 each month) until March 15th, 2010. Frugal Travel Guy suggests how new card holders might get 5,000 or 6,000 extra membership rewards points by making a timely complaint. If you happen to own the very expensive American Express Business Platinum 2010 card, you are offered 5,000 bonus points by spending at least $10,000 within a billing cycle, starting with your first billing cycle that begins after March 1, 2010, through the billing cycle that begins in February 2011 (for a total of up to 12 billing cycles). (Thanks to View from the Wing for this information.) The card offers: American Express(R) Premier Rewards Gold Card 15,000 Membership Rewards points when you charge $1,000 of eligible purchases in your first three months of Card membership. 15,000 bonus points when you spend $30,000 per calendar year, The footnote for the additional 15,000 points says "To qualify, your total purchases charged to your Premier Rewards Gold Card must meet or exceed $30,000 from January 1 to December 31." So you consider waiting until near the beginning of the year to make those $30,000 in purchases, if you are going for this bonus. $175 annual fee waived the first year. 3X points on airfare, 2X points on gas and groceries, and 1X points on everything else. Please tell me when any part of this offer changes. Thanks. American Express® Preferred Rewards Gold Card On May 22, 2009, the card was offering double points on gas and groceries for your first year (valid on up to $1,000 of eligible gas/grocery spend each month; 1 point per eligible dollar after the first year). This card has a $125 annual fee, which will not be waived as of 5 pm Eastern Time on June 8, 2009, according to information I have from American Express. Check the offer page and the terms and conditions to see if there is an annual fee waivier and special offers. Please tell me when the annual fee is waived. I don't intend to keep close track of this, but I will post the waiver here if told about it. The page to which I link says that the 10,000 points can be redeemed for a $100 gift card. The Gold Card from American Express OPEN (a business card) Earn 25,000 bonus points every year if you shift $50,000 of your business purchases onto the Card Save 3-25% on business expenses from FedEx, Hertz(R), Hyatt Hotels and Resorts(R) and more No annual fee for the first year - a $125 savings This card is ideally suited for businesses that are established, cash flow positive and have an excellent credit history, have 2 or more employees and revenues of $250,000 a year, and are registered with services such as Dun & Bradstreet. Business Green Rewards Card from American Express OPEN 5,000 bonus points with first purchase. $95 annual fee waived for first year. 1 point/$1 spent. With OPEN Savings, you can save on expenses with companies like FedEx, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts®, and more. This card is ideally suited for businesses that are established, cash flow positive and have an excellent credit history, have revenue in the 6 to 7-figure range that want more flexibility to manage cash flow, purchase materials and handle other business expenses. To apply you are asked for your annual revenue. American Express Preferred Rewards Green Card 5,000 bonus points when you spend $500 in 3 months of Card Opening. Since points are transferable in 1,000 point increments, I would spend $1,000 on the card before closing it, so as to not waste the 500 points earned from spending $500. This card has a hefty annual fee, but it is sometimes waived for the first year for new card members. (It was waived as of September 30, 2008.) Check the offer page and the terms and conditions. Please tell me when the annual fee is waived. I don't intend to keep close track of this, but I will post the waiver here if told about it. The page to which I link says that the 5,000 points can be redeemed for a $50 gift card. American Express SimplyCash Business Card: No annual fee. 5% cash back on office supplies, and wireless services purchases. 3% cash back on automobile gas purchases. 1% cash back on virtually all other purchases. Cash back is automatically credited to the statement each month. 0% introductory APR on purchases for the first 12 months. My only problem with this offer is that I find it difficult to find gasoline stations with competitive prices which accept American Express credit cards. American Express Blue Cash for Business credit card This card looks very good for businesses expecting charges other than those at U.S. supermarkets, gas stations and drugstores of well over $13,000 per year. For the first $6,500 of Eligible Purchases (as defined below), the rebate percentage is 1% for Everyday Purchases (as defined below) and 0.50% for all other Eligible Purchases; for Eligible Purchases of $6500.01 or more, the rebate percentage is 5% for Everyday Purchases and 1.5% for all other Eligible Purchases. "Everyday Purchases" are Eligible Purchases at U.S. supermarkets, gas stations and drugstores, in each case that are not departments of superstores or warehouse clubs. "Eligible Purchases" are charges to your account for goods or services that have not been returned or otherwise credited to your account. Rebate is awarded annually for each Rebate Year (12 consecutive billing periods). No annual fee. 0% APR for purchases made with plastic only (whatever that means - probably does not include online and telephone purchases) for the first 6 months. Save 3-25% on business purchases at companies like FedEx, Delta, Hertz, and more. American Express Business Gold Rewards Card for Canadians 25,000 bonus Membership Rewards points if you have $1,000 in purchases in your first 3 months. $180 annual fee waived the first year. Each year if, on or before the annual reset date, you reach $50,000 in net purchases charged to your account you will earn 15,000 bonus points and if you reach $100,000 in net purchases you will earn an additional 25,000 points. On the annual reset date, the amount of annual net purchases resets to zero. Account must be in good standing. Careful: "Year" may mean calendar year. Ask, and time your application accordingly. Click on the "footnotes" link to see this part of the offer. Alas, this offer is available to Canadian citizens only. This FlyerTalk thread discusses how the poster received 25,000 Membership Rewards points for upgrading his AMEX gold Business card to AMEX Business Platinum card, and 5,000 points each to add up to 5 people as additional gold cardmembers at $35 each. This post on FlyerTalk suggests you may be able to transfer American Express Membership Rewards points into American Express Blue Sky points. Please tell me what happens when you actually try to do this. You may read about the Blue Sky credit card on my Bank and Other Travel Cards page of this Credit Card section. This post on FlyerTalk discusses how to get 1.5 Membership Rewards points per Euro spent (for a fee) on a German American Express card. American Express maintains a page listing Membership Rewards Bonus Offers. The URL I have for this page is https://www.membershiprewards.com/BonusProgram.aspx. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. My Firefox and old Netscape browsers seem to have more success with it than does my Microsoft Internet Explorer. I would be interested to know why.

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