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.

• It is possible to get both a personal and a business card. Wait 65 days after getting the personal card to apply for the business card.
• Use the two broswer trick to get both the Visa and the American Express personal cards.
• Citi's computers seem to "forget" that you previoiusly had a card after about 18 months. Please tell me if your experience tells you that this is incorrect. Thanks.

The maximum number of American Airlines AAdvantage® miles you can earn from purchases using the Citi® Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® Visa Signature® card and the Citi Select® / AAdvantage® American Express® card is 100,000 AAdvantage® miles per calendar year and 150,000 AAdvantage® miles per calendar year with the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Visa® card. AAdvantage® bonus miles are excluded from this mileage cap. AAdvantage Executive Platinum,® AAdvantage Platinum® and AAdvantage Gold® members are excluded from these limits. AAdvantage® miles are only earned on eligible purchases.

American Airlines Visa, American Express, and Busines Visa card 50,000 mile each offers

• 50,000 American Airlines miles after spending $2,500 on a card in the first four months.
  • Million Miles Secrets tells us about an offer for the same cards, but with an added $150 statement credit if you purchase something (with restrictions) from American Airlines and spend $3,000 on the card within 4 months. Expires January 31, 2012.
  • View from the Wing tells us about an offer for the same cards, still 50,000 miles each, but for only a $2,500 spending requirement within 4 months. Using his link gives him credit at no cost to you or me.
• The Million Miles Secrets blog has compiled an excellent list of over 40 ways to meet the minimum spend requirement. Its readers added more.
• Read this excellent post from Million Mile Secrets to find out about the two browser technique to try to get 150,000 miles from these offers.
• Two Admirals Club day passes.
• 1 mile/$1 purchase on the card - 2X miles for American Airines purchases the first year.
• Footnote 1 says that the offer expires October 31, 2011, but it was still online January 28, 2012. Typically the offer page remains up far after the small print says it expires, and if it is up, typically the offer is honored. But make copies of all pages and URLs, just in case. Please tell me if the offer is extended or if it disappears.

American Airlines Visa, American Express, and Busines Visa card 45,000 mile plus $100 statemet credit offers

• This offer was found by a reader in an onboard magazine.
• 45,000 American Airlines miles after spending $2,500 on a card in the first four months. $100 statement credit after first purchase.
• The Million Miles Secrets blog has compiled an excellent list of over 40 ways to meet the minimum spend requirement. Its readers added more.
• Read this excellent post from Million Mile Secrets to find out about the two browser technique to try to get 150,000 miles from these offers.
• Two Admirals Club day passes.
• 1 mile/$1 purchase on the card - 2X miles for American Airines purchases the first year.
• Footnote 1 says that the offer expires January 31, 2012. Typically the offer page remains up far after the small print says it expires, and if it is up, typically the offer is honored. But make copies of all pages and URLs, just in case. Please tell me if the offer is extended or if it disappears.
• If my link doesn't work, try this one.

American Airlines Visa and Busines Visa card 40,000 mile plus $100 statemet credit offers

• This offer was from an email link from American Airlines dated December 8, 2011.
• 40,000 American Airlines miles after spending $2,000 on a card in the first 4 months. $100 statement credit for the first eligible American Airlines purchase you make within the first 12 months of cardmembership.
• The Million Miles Secrets blog has compiled an excellent list of over 40 ways to meet the minimum spend requirement. Its readers added more.
• Read this excellent post from Million Mile Secrets to find out about the two browser technique to try to get 150,000 miles from these offers.
• 1 mile/$1 purchase on the card - 2X miles for American Airines purchases the first year.
• Footnote 1 says that the offer expires February 29, 2012. Typically the offer page remains up far after the small print says it expires, and if it is up, typically the offer is honored. But make copies of all pages and URLs, just in case. Please tell me if the offer is extended or if it disappears.

Citi American Airlines business credit card 35,000 miles + 10,000 miles (maybe more) + $50 offer

• 35,000 miles for spending $1,000 in 4 months. The Million Miles Secrets blog has compiled an excellent list of over 40 ways to meet the minimum spend requirement. Its readers added more.
• 10,000 miles for every $5,000 in purchases in the first 6 months. Note: Parts of this offer seem to indicate that this is limited to one 10,000 mile award; other parts seem to indicate that this is unlimited.
• $50 statement credit after first purchase.
• Double miles for American Airlines purchases the first 12 months. 1 mile/$1 for everything else.
• First year annual fee waived.
• Expires November 30, 2011. Typically the offer page remains up far after the small print says it expires, and if it is up, typically the offer is honored. But make copies of all pages and URLs, just in case.

Citi American Airlines credit card 40,000 miles + five 5,000 miles + $50 offer

• 40,000 miles for spending $2,000 in 4 months. The Million Miles Secrets blog has compiled an excellent list of over 40 ways to meet the minimum spend requirement. Its readers added more.
• 5,000 miles each time you spend $6,000 in the first 12 months, up to 10,000 miles maximum.
• $50 statement credit.
• Double miles for American Airlines purchases the first 12 months. 1 mile/$1 for everything else.
• First year annual fee waived.
• Available as a Visa, American Express, and/or Business card. You could try the two browser trick to get all three.
• Expires September 30, 2011. but it was still on line October 14, 2011. Typically the offer is honored so long as the offer page is on line. But make copies of all pages and URLs, just in case.

Citi® Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® World MasterCard®

• Earn 30,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after $750 in purchases within the first 4 months of cardmembership - more than enough for a roundtrip domestic flight award*
• Earn an additional 10,000 AAdvantage® bonus miles after $5,000 in purchases during the first 6 months of cardmembership*
• Receive a one-time $100 statement credit for the first eligible American Airlines purchase you make within the first 12 months of cardmembership*
• $85 annual fee waived for the first 12 months*

  Apply Now!

CitiBusiness® AAdvantage MasterCard

• 30,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles after you make $750 in purchases within the first 4 months of cardmembership.
• An additional 10,000 AAdvantage® bonus miles after $5,000 in purchases in the first 6 months of cardmembership.
• The Million Miles Secrets blog has compiled an excellent list of over 40 ways to meet the minimum spend requirement. Its readers added more.
• One time $100 statement credit for the 1st eligible American Airlines purchase made in the first 12 months of cardmembership.
• 1 mile/$1 spent on the card - 2X for American Airlines purchases the first 12 months.
• The $75 annual fee is waived the first year.

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.
• I no longer have links to these offers but they still may exist. 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.

• Acquire the Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa Credit Card for a 50,000 point bonus. Those points transfer 1,000:1,000 to Continental or United Airlines miles.
• Acquire the Chase Ink Bold(SM) with Ultimate Rewards business card for another 50,000 point bonus. Those points transfer 1,000:1,000 to Continental or United Airlines miles.
• Acquire the Chase Freedom card, but only if you already have the Sapphire Preferred card (necessary for transfer of points to miles).

Chase Bank, the issuer of United and Continental Airlines credit cards, will allow only one bonus for each type of card (personal and business) per person per airline. Supposedly this is per life, but there are reports that Chase's computers "forget" you had a card after about 18 months.

You can get a bonuses for each of the personal business cards. I have received the bonuses for both the personal and the business cards after the bank policy came into effect.

If you have or have had an older United card, you will probably be able to get the new Explorer card. If they deny it to you, you may have to call Chase's reconsideration number, 888-245-0625, and offer to cancel the old card and/or futz with your credit limits. Same goes for denial of the Sapphire, INK Bold, and Freedom cards.

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 MileagePlus® Explorer Card 50K + 1K offer

• Same offer as the 25K + 5K + 10K offer below, except 50,000 miles for first use, and 10,000 more miles after spending $25,000 in any calendar year. The first year annual fee is waived.
• This is the offer we have all been waiting for. Previously it was available only to those with status with UAL. Now it appears to be available to most everyone. I have no status with the airline, since I never pay actually money for a ticket, but I do have lots of United Airlines miles. I was allowed to apply for the offer.
• Here is how I found this offer.
  • I went to United's home page. The 40K offer appeared there.
  • I logged in using my United Airlines account number and password. I had clicked on the My MileagePlus button. The 60K offer appeared.
  • If this doesn't work, try clicking on MY AWARD MILES > See my miles at the bottom of the page, or on MY ACTIVITY near the top of the page.
  • If this doesn't work, follow the tricky directions provided on this flyertalk post.
  • If that doesn't work, read the comments on this offer on Million Mile Secrets.

    For both of the tricky methods above, be sure to click on the link provided. Don't copy and paste it.

    It is possible that you first need some miles in your United account before you can see the 60K offer. So transfer some Continental Airlines miles into it.

United MileagePlus® Explorer Card

• Earn up to 40,000 bonus miles & first year free, a $95 value*
• Check your first bag for free on United and Continental-operated flights, up to a $50 value round trip
• Board your flight before general boarding with priority boarding privileges
• Visit the United Club with two complimentary day passes every year, up to a $100 value
• Earn 2 miles for $1 spent on tickets purchased from United and Continental and 1 mile per $1 everywhere else
• Enjoy exclusive access to once-in-a-lifetime events through Inside Access from Chase
• Your miles don`t expire and there is no limit to the number of miles you can earn

  Apply Now!

Here is how you earn the 40,000 miles: Earn 25,000 bonus miles after first use and 5,000 additional bonus miles after your first Card use and for adding an authorized user within two months of opening your account. Plus, earn 10,000 bonus miles when you spend $25,000 or more on your Card each calendar year.

MileagePlus® Explorer Business Card
Same offer as the personal card above, except

• No bonus for adding card members.
• 2 miles for each $1 spent on dining, gas, office supply purchases and 2 miles per $1 spent on tickets purchased from United or Continental.
To see this offer, navigate to the personal card offer, then on the button for "Are you a business owner?" In the lower left corner. You may be able to get both the personal and the business cards.

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 to see if you can receive miles for accepting the offer. 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 he was offering at the time. I suggest you do just that. It's a terrible bet anyway, unless you know your future.

After you receive your card, you may be able to refer a friend to receive one and receive 5,000 miles. On March 14, 2009, a customer rep at (800) 537-7783 described this procedure:

• The person you refer calls (866) 556-7201 and tells the rep which card he or she wants. That person must confirm with the rep all of the terms, conditions, and fees read on line. This is most important. The call center may not have available all of the cards offered online.
• That person provides your United Airlines Mileage Plus number and his or her number.
• Both you and the person you refer get and extra 5,000 miles.
• The rep said this works for any card.
• In the past I have had to fight to get my referral miles. Good luck.

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.

 

• It is probably not currently possible to get both a Continental and a United personal credit card with up front bonuses. So take the best offer of the two.
• The Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa Credit Card and the Chase Ink Bold(SM) with Ultimate Rewards business card each offers 50,000 points up front (as of January 17, 2012) convertible to Continental or United Airlines miles 1:1. The annual fee is waived for the first year. These Visa cards waive foreign transaction fees, saving you 3% over most other cards for these types of purchases. I see no reason why you can't get both cards, and then perhaps the Continental or United Airlines card. Unless you can't do the spend requirements for these, I would apply for these before either the Continental or the United cards.
• Regular riders of Amtrak should consider the Amtrak credit card as a free alternative or additional card for earning Continental Airlines miles. It offers 32,000 points, transferrable to Contintnal Airlines miles 1:1. 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.
• Apparently the Chase Freedom card is still another way to get free Continental/United Airlines miles. Current offer is 20,000 points. A reader confirms that its points can be transferred to Chase Sapphire Preferred points, and then to Continental or United. But you must first have the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, or perhaps the INK Bold card before you can do this.
• Note that all of these cards are from Chase Bank. Chase has been tight about issuing multiple cards - but not quite so tight about issuing cards for different programs. For example, I got the Sapphire Preferred card while still holding the Continental card. The trick might be to space out applications over 30 or 60 days apart. It also might be to call the reconsideration number (888-270-2127 or 888-245-0625) after you are denied a card to see if you can close a card or change credit limits to get another. I would start with the Sapphire Preferred card, then try for the United or Continental card, and perhaps the INK Bold card. They might even be liberal about the Chase Freedom card, as it is very different from the others.

Last I looked, all Continental Credit and Debit cards allow you to check one piece of baggage free on Continental Airlines flights.

For U.S. residents.

• Continental Airlines OnePass® Plus Card
  
  • Earn up to 40,000 bonus miles & first year free ($95 value)*
  • Now with priority boarding privileges on Continental and United flights
  • Check your first bag for free on Continental and United flights, up to a $50 value
  • Visit the United Club with two complimentary passes every year, a $100 value
  • Earn 2 miles for $1 spent on tickets purchased from Continental and United and 1 mile per $1 everywhere else
  • Your miles don`t expire and there is no limit to the number of miles you can earn

    Apply Now!

  Here is how you earn the 40,000 miles: Earn 25,000 bonus miles after first use and 5,000 additional bonus miles after your first Card use and for adding an authorized user within two months of opening your account. Plus, earn 10,000 bonus miles when you spend $25,000 or more on your Card each calendar year.

• Continental Airines Business MasterCard
  Same as the personal card above, except
  • No bonus for adding additional members
  • Earn two miles for every $1 spent when you use your Card to purchase tickets from Continental and United and on eligible gas, dining and office supply purchases.

Continental lists many offers of credit and debit cards worldwide on its Credit/Debit Card Partners page.

I particularly recommend the Alaska Airlines program because of its extensive list of partners on which you can use Alaska miles.

Note: After you spend the minimum required for your bonus miles, the Starwood American Express card is a much more efficient card for actual daily use at merchants accepting American Express. It gives one point/$1 spent. As of September 15, 2010, 20,000 points give you 25,000 miles on Alaska Airlines.

Visa Signature card personal card 40,000 mile offer:
A on August 31, 2011, a reader wrote

"i just want to let you know that Alaska Airlines 40K offer is still available over the phone... the number is 800-654-2584 and they offer it right away, no need to push them. i just got approved while i was on the line today!"

Visa Signature card personal card.

• Note: Please allow me to refer you. You should receive the same offer, and by using my referral I get some miles at no cost to you. Thanks.
• 25,000 miles after approval.
• One $99 companion ticket. Pay $99 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 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.
• Annual $99 (USD) Companion Ticket.
• 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.

A possible alternate way to apply for these cards is to call (800) 307-0341.

U.S. Airways Premier World MasterCard from Barclays Bank. (If my link doesn't work, try this one.)

• 40,000 miles for first use.
• First year annual fee waived. This is a first for this card. Grab it while it lasts.
• $89/year thereafter.
• 5,000 mile discount off certain award tickets.
• 10,000 miles/year bonus (after you pay the fee).
• Up to 10,000 miles for balance transfers in the first 30 days - 3% fee capped at $100, but 0% introductory APR for the first six billing cycles after account opening.
• 1 mile/$1 spent. Double miles for U.S. Airways purchases.
• When an eligible Cardmember spends $25,000 or greater in new Net Purchases (which are not later credited back or rescinded) (“Purchase Requirement”) within each calendar year, 10,000 of those miles that have been awarded to the Account will be converted from base miles to Preferred miles.
• Up to two $99 companion tickets annually
• Preferred check-In
• Preferred Zone 2 boarding
• One complimentary US Airways Club day pass annually
• Other possibly useful goodies.
• Note: One of my readers reports that after she fills out the application and sends it, she gets an error page, with a phone number to call. The reps at the other end of the phone call no nothing about this offer. Please tell me about your experience with trying to apply for this offer. Thanks.
• The standard offer on U.S. Airways's website is for 30,000 miles.

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. The Million Miles Secrets blog has compiled an excellent list of over 40 ways to meet the minimum spend requirement. Its readers added more.
• 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. The Million Miles Secrets blog has compiled an excellent list of over 40 ways to meet the minimum spend requirement. Its readers added more.
• 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 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.

• Note: Look for a 50K offer emailed to you. It is targeted. Its subject is "GET TWO FREE FLIGHTS* with Southwest!"
• Note: On December 6, 2011, Million Mile Secrets found a link on Google to a 50,000 point offer for the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card ($59 annual fee not waived the first year). Heed all of his cautions and advice on using this link.
• Update January 25, 2012: A 50,000 point offer for the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card now appears on the front page of Southwest's home page. $99 annual fee, not waived the first year. 6,000 points on anniversary (after you pay the fee again). Double points spent on Southwest and on hotels and car rentals booked via Southwest. At the bottom of the offer page you get by clicking on the banner on SWA's home page is a link to the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Card, which also gets you another 50,000 points. You should be able to get both cards. This would give you almost enough points to qualify for the extremely valuable companion pass, good for free companion flights for any SWA flights you take through the following calendar year. See the excellent Million Mile Secrets discussion of all of this.

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card

• Now! Earn a Free Flight after your first purchase
• Get 3,000 Points every year on your Card member Anniversary - that can be redeemed for a $50 Wanna Get Away® Fare
• Now you can redeem for International Travel, Hotels, Gift Cards and more.
• Earn unlimited Free Flights - 2 Points per $1 Spent on Southwest Purchases and 1 Point per $1 Spent on Everything else
• Your Bags Fly Free! No Blackout Dates, Points Don\'t Expire, and Unlimited Reward Seats!
• No Change fees - if you need to change your flight, you won't be charged a fee
• September 11th Security Fee Applies

  Apply Now!

The free flight comes in the form of 25,000 Bonus Points after your first purchase.
The annual fee of $69 is not waived the first year.

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Card

• Same as above, except it is a business card.
• To find this offer, after you access the personal business card offer, click on "Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® Plus Business Card" in the Additional Southwest Airlines Credit Cards section near the bottom of the page you get.
• I see no reason why you can't get both a personal and a business card.

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card

• Same as above except 6,000 points upon aniversary and a $99 annual fee.
• To find this offer, click on the liknk above, then on "Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® Premier Card" in the Additional Southwest Airlines Credit Cards section near the bottom of the page you get.

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. So the extra 20,000 miles over the free card cost 0.295 cent/mile.
• NO annual fee, 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 offers a personal and abusiness Mastercard

Personal card
• 25,000 Bonus Miles miles after first purchase
• 10,000 Bonus Miles after spending $750 in the first 90 days
• 1 mile/$1 spent. Double miles for purchase of Frontier tickets.
• $59 annual fee.
• Lesser spend offer personal card: 30,000 miles after spending $500 in the first 90 days (but no extra bonus for more spending). You can see this near the bottom of the terms and conditions page. Be sure to take a screen shot of it. Please tell me when this offer changes or disappears. Thanks.
• Business card
  • 25,000 Bonus Miles miles after first purchase
  • 1 mile/$1 spent. Double miles for purchase of Frontier tickets.
  • You should be able to get both the personal and the business card.
  • $59 annual fee. (A free business card with a 5,000 mile bonus for first purchase is also offered.)

Note: If you are not approved, try calling the American Express reconsideration line, 866-314-0237. Many have had success getting approved after understanding why the application was disapproved and then offering appropriate changes, or simply asking what one must do to gain approval.

Jet Blue Airways personal American Express credit card:

• 10,000 TrueBlue® points with first purchase on your Card. One way 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

  
  • Earn 10,000 TrueBlue (R) points with your first purchase - enough for an Award Flight.
  • Jet for less - redeem for a roundtrip Award Flight starting at just 10,000 points. No blackout dates so you can redeem points for any seat, anytime.
  • 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.
  • Earn 1 TrueBlue point for every eligible dollar you spend.
  • Save up to 10% 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. I strongly recommend reading Tim Winship's FrequentFlier Blog on the subject before applying for this card.

   

• 15,000 bonus miles when you make your first purchase - enough for 3 roundtrip off-peak tickets.
• 2 miles/$1 spent.
• Annual fee is $69, but the first fee is charged at the end of your 12th billing cycle. 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 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.
• 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.
• $39 Annual Fee.

AirTran Visa personal credit card.

• 10 credits when you spend $750 in the first 90 days.
• 2 points/$1 spent on AirTran Airways Travel. 1 point/$1 spent on everything else.
• $49 annual fee.

Note: After you spend the minimum required for your bonus miles, the Starwood American Express card is a much more efficient card for actual daily use at merchants accepting American Express. It gives one point/$1 spent. As of November 5, 2011, 20,000 points give you 25,000 miles on Hawaiian Airlines.

Any HawaiianMiles member can give miles to a Hawaiian Airlines Visa® cardholder (corporate/business credit and check cardholders) — free of charge. I leave it to you to read the details.

Hawaiian Airlines lists its credit card offers on its website. However, I often list better ones below.

Here is a very easy way to get a round trip ticket to Hawaii for $79 or $158. Currently two banks are offering a Hawaiian Airlines credit card - Bank of Hawaii and Bank of America. Each costs $79, and the total miles for both is 70,000. 40,000 miles gets you a round trip ticket between the mainland west coast and Hawaii. Also note the interesting miles award tickets to Pago Pago, American Samoa or Papeete, Tahiti, Sydney, and Manila, and the partner awards on Delta, Continental, and Virgin Atlantic Airlines. See Hawaiian's award chart and its partner award page. For example as of November 6, 2011, a round trip ticket between mainland U.S. and the United Kingdom on Virgin Atlantic was available for 50,000 Hawaiian Airlines miles, and a round trip between mainland U.S. and Europe on Delta Ailrlines was available for 55,000 miles. So combinations of the various Hawaiian Airlines and American Express credit cards should get you to Europe and other places very inexpensively, less miles than required by the partner airline.

A customer rep assured me that it is permitted to get both credit cards. Each offers

• 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 $79 a year.
• Bank of Hawaii offer. Or call (800) 551-0839, or maybe the bank's home phone number, (888)643-3888. 35,000 miles.
  • 20,000 Bonus HawaiianMiles after first purchase and an additional 15,000 Bonus HawaiianMiles after making $1,000 in net purchases that post to the account within four months (120 days) of the account open date. Spend $5,000 miles and you have a round trip ticket to Hawaii.
• Bank of America offer. 35,000 miles
  • 20,000 Bonus HawaiianMiles after first purchase and an additional 15,000 Bonus HawaiianMiles after making $1,000 in net purchases that post to the account within four months (120 days) of the account open date. Spend $5,000 miles and you have a round trip ticket to Hawaii.
• 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.
• 25% 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.
• Last time I looked an inter island round one way tickets costs 7,500 miles. The annual fee for the card is probably less than the inter island fare.

Hawaiian Airlines offers bonus HawaiianMiles when you use your Hawaiian Airlines Visa Cards at any participating HawaiianMiles XtraMiles merchants. There are lots of them in Hawaii, and some online merchants nationwide. Be sure to click on all of the links in the top menu. I leave it to you to 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.

• You can find this offer on the CreditCards.com- Travel Rewards Category page. Last I looked it was on page 2. Get to page 2 by clicking on the link at the bottom of page 1. Applying for the card through that page helps me at no cost to you. Thanks.
• One night free after first purchase on the card.
• One additional free night if you make purchases totaling $1,000 or more within 3 months of account opening.
• 3 points/$1 spent at Hyatt. 1 point/$1 spent elsewhere.
• No foreign transaction fees for international purchases
• Hyatt Gold Passport Platinum membership for as long as you a cardmember.
• If you are an existing Hyatt Gold Passport Platinum member at the time of application, you will qualify for and receive your two Hyatt Gold Passport® Free Night Awards and two Suite Upgrade Awards after your first purchase.
• If you are an existing Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond member at the time of application, you will qualify for and receive your two Hyatt Gold Passport® Suite Upgrade Free Night Awards after your first purchase.
• $75 annual fee, not waived the first year.

Air Canada Aeroplan lists numerous mileage earning credit cards on its website. Click on BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICES, then Financial Cards.

• 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.
• 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.

• 50,000 mile Visa Signature Card offer:
  • 25,000 miles for first purchase.
  • 25,000 more miles after spending $2,500 within 3 months.
  • 1.25 miles/$1 spent, or 2.5 miles/$1 spent British Airways purchases.
  • No foreign transaction fees.
  • Receive a $50 discount on all British Airways round-trip transatlantic fares when you book using your British Airways Visa Card at ba.com/get50.
  • $95 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 American Express® Card from Bank of America for U.S. residents

• 20,000 Flying Club bonus miles after your first retail purchase
  Special offer:
  • 20,000 Flying Club bonus miles after your first retail purchase§
  • 25,000 additional Flying Club bonus miles after you spend at least $2,500 in qualifying purchases§
  • 5,000 Flying Club bonus miles when you add additional authorized users to your Card§
  • Plus all of the below
• 3 miles/$1 spent directly on Virgin Atlantic purchases and 1.5 miles/$1 on all other retail purchases§
• Up to 15,000 additional bonus miles upon anniversary
• Annual fee: $90.

  Virgin Atlantic offers two American Express credit cards issued by MBNA to UK residents.

  • 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
    • A Premium Economy reward upgrade on an Economy redemption when you spend £10,000 on your card in one year. You can earn up to 2 upgrades a year
    • A complimentary companion reward flight when you spend £15,000 on your card in a year (just pay the taxes and charges)
  • Black Card offers
    The
    • 6,000 bonus Flying Club miles upon first spend
    • £140 annual fee
    • 2 Flying Club mile/£1 spent
    • 4 Flying Club miles /£1 spent direct with Virgin Atlantic or Virgin Holidays
    • There is a Visa Black Card available with lesser miles for purchases. Click on the link in the left menu.
    • A Premium Economy reward upgrade on an Economy redemption when you spend £5,000 on your card in one year. You can earn up to 2 upgrades a year.
    • A complimentary companion reward flight when you spend £7,500 on your card in a year (just pay the taxes and charges)
    • Complimentary Regus Businessworld Gold membership giving you access to 1,100 lounges and cafes in cities worldwide

   

Lufthansa Mastercard offers for U.S. residents:

• Premier Miles & More World MasterCard 50,000 mile offer.
  • 20,000 bonus miles after first purchase.
  • Additional 30,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,500 in the first 90 days after account opening.
  • 2 miles/$1 spent on ticket purchases directly from Miles & More integrated partners.
  • 1 mile /$1 spent on all your purchases.
  • Annual Companion Ticket/
  • No mileage expiration with monthly qualifying purchases.
  • 1% foreign currency transaction fee.
  • $79 annual fee, waived for Senator and HON Circle Members.
  • Offer expires May 31, 2011.
• Premier Miles & More World MasterCard
  • 20,000 miles after your first purchase 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.
  • Annual Companion Ticket.
  • $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.
  • Special offer by May 31, 2011: 20,000 miles after first purchase, and an additional 30,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,500 in the first 90 days after account opening.
• Miles & More World MasterCard
  • 15,000 miles after your first purchase and pay your annual fee, if applicable.
  • Up to 10,000 additional miles when you complete a balance transfer.
  • Annual Companion Ticket.
  • $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.
  • 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.

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 countries other than the U.S.

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. However, you may be able to find bonus offers for your country by clicking on Air France's Flying Blue home page, selecting your country and language at the top of the page, and then navigating to credit card or financial offers. For example:

Mastercard offer for residents of Switzerland. 5,000 Flying Blue Miles bonus for first use,

If you provide me a specific link to a special offer for your country, I will list it here. If possible, please provide the links to both the English and native language offers. Thanks.

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.

• 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

• 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.

• 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 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.

Special offer: Cardholders can meet 3, 5, or 7 conditions to earn 500, 1,000, or 3,000 miles. Register if you have an ANA credit card. I leave it to you to read the details. 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 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.

• 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 has several relationships with third party "points" type of cards which allow you to convert those points to the airline's miles. Details here.

• 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.

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 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.

• 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.)

• LANPASS Visa Signature® Card.
  • 20,000 Bonus Miles with your first card use.
  • 1 LANPASS Mile for every $1 you spend - double for LAN purchases.
  • 4,000 Bonus Miles with your annual credit card renewal.
  • 20% discount on LAN Airfare (1 time per year).
  • 25% flight miles bonus.
  • 3 one-way upgrade coupons per year.
  • $75 annual fee.
• LANPASS Visa Card
  • 15,000 Bonus Miles with your first card use.
  • 1 LANPASS Mile for every $1 you spend.
  • 2,000 Bonus Miles with your annual credit card renewal.
  • 10% discount on LAN Airfare (1 time per year).
  • $45 annual fee.
• LANPASS Visa Secured Card
  • 10,000 Bonus Miles with your first card use.
  • 1 LANPASS Mile for every $1 you spend.
  • 10% discount on LAN Airfare (1 time per year).
  • $25 annual fee.
  • This type of card is a good way to establish credit. U.S. Bank says: "Just send us a cashier's check, a certified check, or a money order with your credit card application (from $300 to $5,000) to open a savings account. Once you're approved, we'll send you a credit card. Your credit line will be the same amount as your deposit. It looks and works just like any other credit card when you use it at a restaurant or store."

LAN very likely offers credit cards for residents of South America. Choose your country to find its website.

LAN offers 5,000 miles for referring people to its credit cards.

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.)

Dinners club special offers. Read the terms and conditions.

• Delta
• Frontier
• Hawaiian
• Air Canada
• British Airways
• Virgin Atlantic
• Mexicana
• AeroMexico
• Air France/KLM
• ANA
• Alitalia
• Iberia
• El Al
• Singapore

• AirTran (through February 29, 2012)
• JetBlue
• Virgin America
• Starwood Hotels
• Priority Club
• Hilton Hotels
• Best Western Hotels.

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.

"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:

• View from the Wing tells us how to get free 5,000 Membership Rewards points for free by signing up for their pay over time option for your American Express Charge Card by June 30, 2012. You don't have to (and should't) actually use this feature - just sign up for it. Note: If you tried this offer before November 2, 2011, and were rejected, try again.
• 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.)
• View from the Wing advocates moving Membership Rewards points to Star Alliance member Air Canada Aeroplan miles. The comments following that post suggest why you shouldn't. It appears to me that this use of Membership Rewards points would be very good for those who know they will generate enough of those points to get a reward ticket within 7 years of the posting of the miles to the Aeroplan account. If you know you will always have an American Express card that generates Membership Rewards points (i.e., you will pay the annual fee for the card), just wait until you have enough points to get that ticket before transfering them. This transfer is usually instant, but never more than a day or two. But remember that if at any time you do not have such a card, all of your Membership Rewards points disappear. On March 28, 2010, a Membership Rewards customer service rep said that points do not otherwise disappear.
• American Express OPEN for small businesses offers up to 30,000 Membership Rewards points for signing up and using its wire service for foreign exchange currency.
  • 15,000 points when you activate your FX International Payments account and an additional 15,000 points when you make 3 FX transactions within 90 days of account opening.
  • 1 point per $30 in eligible FX transactions.
  • OPEN Cardmembers enjoy no transaction fees on eligible international wire transfers for the first 6 months, then $10 per transaction.
  • The exchange rate can be locked in up to a year in advance. Beware of that rate. This is where American Express can make a lot of money at your expense.
  • If you do not have an American Express business card, ask if you need one before you can receive these points.

• A screen shot of the offer page
• A screen shot of the application page
• If you are accessing the offer from a banner on my website, copy of the URL from that banner. It should start as http://click.linksynergy.com/... You get this by right clicking on the banner, then selecting Copy Link Location, or Copy Shortcut, or the like
• Copy the URL of AMEX offer page, and note to yourself that the two URLs you just copied are the ones that got you to the offer page. If you clicked from my banner, the linksynergy page immediately forwards you to that AMEX page.
• The URL of the application page. This will be another AMEX URL.

American Express(R) Premier Rewards Gold Card

If you can't see the offer after clicking on the banner or my link, or if the application page shows a different offer, your machine probably thinks you are logged in, and your cookies say you already have this card. Clear your cache and clear your cookies, then click on the banner or link again. Or, use a different browser.

When you apply, do not say you already have an American Express card. Some say that doing so may give you a lesser offer.

The offer details:

• 15,000 Membership Rewards® bonus points when you spend $1,000 in 3 months. The Million Miles Secrets blog has compiled an excellent list of over 40 ways to meet the minimum spend requirement. Its readers added more. On May 17, 2011, the American Express website was offering this card with only a 10,000 point bonus. (You are welcome.)
  • Through February 13, 2012, please ask me to refer you to the same card, but with a 25,000 point bonus after $2,000 spend in 3 months. I need you first and last names, and your email address.
• You can earn 3X points on airfare, 2X points on gas and groceries, and 1X points on everything else.
• No annual fee for your first year of Card membership, then $175.
• Once you have this card, you probably can refer others to it to earn more points through December 31, 2011. Go to http://americanexpress.com/refermygold.
• Important: Be sure to make copies of everything. See my list above.
• Please tell me when this offer changes or disappears. Thanks.

American Express® Gold Card

• 10,000 Membership Rewards® bonus points when you spend $1,000 in 3 months.
• The Million Miles Secrets blog has compiled an excellent list of over 40 ways to meet the minimum spend requirement. Its readers added more.
• Annual fee is $125. Often this fee is waived for the first year, but not as of this posting of September 20, 2011. I will leave the listing up for now. Please tell me of any changes. Thanks.
• One point/$1 in Card purchases everywhere else.
• Important: Be sure to make copies of everything. See my list above.
• If you can't see the offer, or if the application page shows a different offer, your machine probably thinks you are logged in, and your cookies say you already have this card. Clear your cache and clear your cookies, then click on the banner again. Or, use a different browser.
• Please tell me when this offer changes or disappears. Thanks.

• 15,000 Membership Rewards® bonus points when you spend $500 in 3 months.
• No annual fee for your first year of membership, then $150.
• Earn double points for every $1 in eligible travel purchases charged to the Card, including flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises, and more. Plus, earn double points for every $1 in eligible gas, grocery and drugstore purchases charged to the Card. You’ll also earn one point/$1 in Card purchases everywhere else.
• Free Emergency Medical Insurance and other insurance.
• Important: Be sure to make copies of everything. See my list above.
• Please tell me when this offer changes or disappears. Thanks.

The NEW Business Gold Rewards Card® from American Express OPEN

• Earn points even faster to get more rewards for your business
• 3X points on airfare, 2X points on advertising, gas, and shipping, 1X points on everything else
• One million rewards from over 500 brands
• Unlimited Rewards Potential ¿ there is no limit to the number of points you can earn and points do not expire
• 24/7 support for everything from identity theft to travel emergencies
• $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $175
• Get unlimited Additional Gold Cards for an additional annual fee of $50, and this fee is waived for the first year
• Important: Be sure to make copies of everything. See my list above.

Business Green Rewards Card from American Express OPEN

• Receive 5,000 bonus points on your first purchase
• No pre-set spending limit* or finance charges
• Earn one Membership Rewards® point for every dollar you spend
• Redeem points for top-tier rewards including travel, merchandise, office equipment, and gift cards for you or your employees
• No introductory annual fee for the first year, a savings of $95
• Important: Be sure to make copies of everything. See my list above.

American Express Preferred Rewards Green Card

• 1 point/$1 spent. Please tell me when a bonus is offered for opening this account. Thanks.
• Important: Be sure to make copies of everything. See my list above.
• 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.

SimplyCash® Business Card from American Express OPEN business card:

• Click on the banner to see the offer.
• Get 5% cash back on wireless services and office supply purchases*
• Get 3% cash back on automobile gasoline*
• Get 1% cash back on other purchases*
• No limit to the amount of cash back you can earn
• Cash back on purchases is automatically credited to your statement each month
• Save 3% to 10% automatically on business expenses from FedEx, Hertz®, OfficeMax®, and more with OPEN Savings®
• Regular APR: 12.24% – 19.24% Variable
• No annual membership fee
• 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.
• Important: Be sure to make copies of everything. See my list above.

The Plum Card(R) from American Express OPEN

• The Everything, Everywhere Trade Terms Card (SM) from American Express OPEN
• Pay in full within ten days, get a 1.5% discount
• OR pay as little as 10% and take up to 2 months to pay off the balance, interest free
• No introductory annual fee for the first year - a savings of $185
• A powerful cash flow management tool

Blue Cash Everyday(SM) Card from American Express

• Earn a $100 cash back bonus after spending $1,000 in eligible purchases in the first 3 months of Cardmembership
• No annual fee, flexibility to pay over time
• Get 3% cash back at supermarkets, 2% cash back at gas stations and department stores, and 1% cash back on all other purchases
• NO spend minimum, NO enrollment, and NO rotating rewards categories
• Get a $25 Referral Bonus for each friend or family member who is approved for the Card

American Express Platinum Card

• 25,000 Membership Rewards(R) points bonus, redeemable for one domestic round-trip Coach-Class airline ticket, when you spend $1,000 during your first three months of Card membership.
• Special Offers:
  • Mercedes-Benz 50,000 points bonus. I believe this offer was honored previously, and is still online. But I don't know if it is still being honored, and whether or not you need a relationship to Mercedes-Benz to use it. I am unable to find this offer on the website of American Express. Maybe you can find it on a Mercedes-Benz website. Annual fee is $475. Apply through this link at your own risk.
• Built-in Airport Club Access: Access airport lounges around the world, including American Airlines Admirals Club®, Delta Sky Club®,US Airways® Clubs, compliments of the Airport Club Access Program. In addition, you now have access to Priority Pass (TM) Select, which offers entry to more than 600 participating airport lounges worldwide.
• No Foreign Transaction Fees,
• Global Entry expedited U.S. immigration pass,
• Up to $200 in Airline Fee Credits annually to cover incidental charges on your airline of choice, including checked-baggage fees.
• Complimentary Companion Airfare with purchase of qualifying First- or Business-Class international ticket.
• 24/7 Platinum Card(R) Concierge service for assistance with reservations, travel, gifts, and more
• FINE HOTELS & RESORTS Program: exclusive upgrades and amenities at over 700 boutique, resort, and luxury hotels worldwide.
• Enjoy exclusive access to a private collection of rewards from our premium brands, featuring fashion, jewelry, watches, sports cars, luxury lifestyle goods, and world-class travel experiences.
• $450 annual fee, not waived the first year.

I have resisted listing this card for a long time. It is not one that I would personally buy, due to the very high fee. I have always assumed that it is touted on several blogs mainly because of the high commission we get if you apply through our links. However, it has been praised on several discussion forums by travelers who appreciate its extra goodies, so I list it here just in case it appeals to you.