Yesterday I Â had the “pleasure” of adding two more credit cards to my collection: The Starwood Preferred Guest American Express and the Chase Continental OnePass MasterCard.
Last time I checked, my credit score was 773 and I hadn’t opened up a new card since November 2011. Plus, SPG has a great referral bonus going on until Feb 13, 2012 (10,000 bonus SPG points vs. the normal 5,000 point referral bonus), so I went ahead and used my dad’s referral so he’ll earn an additional 10,000 SPG points.
So let’s evaluate what’s in my wallet at the moment:
- British Airways Visa: Got this one during last year’s 100,000 mile sign-up bonus (I used those miles for our upcoming Hong Kong/Thailand/Singapore trip). I don’t use the card anymore, and plan to downgrade to the no-annual-fee Chase Freedom Visa around April (before $95 renewal).
- Citi AAdvantage Visa: Signed up during last year’s 75,000 AAdvantage sign-up bonus. Here’s another card that I don’t use anymore & plan on canceling in July (personally I like Chase better than Citi anyway).
- CitiBusiness AAdvantage Visa: Signed up simultaneously with Citi AAdvantage Visa during the 75,000 mile sign-up bonus. I don’t use this one anymore either, and plan on canceling in July as well before the annual fee kicks in.
- Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa: Signed up in November and got 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points, which transfer on a 1:1 basis to many airline and hotel programs. I LOVE this card and the Ultimate Rewards program, and I plan on keeping it around for a long time. I use this card for almost everything under the sun.
With my new Chase Continental OnePass MasterCard, I’ll get 50,000 Continental OnePass miles with my first purchase (additional 10,000 if I spend $25K in a year, but I’m not going that route), and with my SPG American Express, I’ll get 25,000 bonus SPG points if I spend $5K in 6 months.
I’m glad I finally jumped on the bandwagon with the SPG card – it seems like a very favored card amongst many travelers, and I’m happy that I was able to get my dad 10,000 bonus points for referring me.
I’m curious – What cards are in your wallet at the moment? What are your favorites, and what do you plan on getting rid of?
Let’s connect:Â 
Question for on the Continental OnePass card. Where/how did you get a 50,000 point offer for that card? I'm aware of a 50k offer for the United card, but not Continental.
i currently have amex prg, capitol one venture one card, continental chase mastercard, citi aadvantage visa, marriot chase visa, discover more and a few other cards. Probably looking at getting priority club chase…going to get rid of any card with annual fee when the time is right except for maybe my marriot
@anon: I received several targeted offers for the onepass chase MasterCard. According to the phamplet the 50k sign up bonus ends on 2-13-12. You can try applying at "www.earnonepassmiles.com
I just started the travel game. I was able to get Chase Sapphire Pref, Chase Ink Bold Biz, Chase Freedom, Citicard Dividend (I was a idiot), Citicard Proffered, Amex SPG Personal, Amex SPG Biz. I also met all the spending requirements also!I enjoy your blog, its a nice breath of fresh air. It has a good personal touch and some nice humor in it. Please keep it up..
I keep reading about signing up for CCs in order to get points. Don’t too many CCs affect one’s credit score ?“and you have until 2/2/2012 to apply and be approved”Isn’t a typo here with the month ? Could it have been 3/2/2012 ?
Yes, you're absolutely correct – applying for and closing credit accounts does affect your score (by a few points per inquiry, usually). It's important to monitor your credit regularly to see if you're in a place to apply for a new card. You can check and monitor your score for free at CreditSesame.com. CC sign up bonuses are great if you have a healthy score and can spend within your means in order to meet your minimum spend (aka not going crazy buying unnecessary things). I'm not buying a home anytime soon or doing any major refinancing so personally, I can afford the 2-5 point "hit" per inquiry. I'm not a financial advisor by any means LOL, but I do strive to keep my score above 760 to maintain the "excellent credit" range :)Oh and thanks for pointing out the typo – its supposed to be 2/28 not 2/2 :) I'll go ahead and change that now!
Great Chase collection you have there! I'm definitely eyeing the Chase Ink Bold Business card, Freedom, and the SPG Amex Business too the next time around. How do you like the Bold? Also, I'm sure you know this too, but since you have the Freedom and the Ink Bold, you can transfer your freedom points 1:1 into ultimate rewards! I'm most looking forward to that perk! & Thanks so much for your kind words about my blog! I appreciate your support :)
What a nice assortment of cards! what are your favorites in the mix? Also, when it's time for the annual fee to kick in, most will offer you a "retention bonus" of extra points/miles when you call to cancel… some of those offers are worth paying the annual fee for – one example I heard of: 30,000 onepass miles for keeping the card and renewing for $95 – I'll take it! LOL
Angelina question for you, how long was it in between signups since your last chase card. I'm trying to figure out if I should apply for the United card, less than a month after I applied and received the Sapphire card.
Quesiton-Is the CO card going away? Is it best to get a CO card now, then wait 90 days and get a UA card, or will they move your CO card into a UA card?
The Bold is very nice. I put 3 Vb bills at $200 a month, my parents cable,satellite,internet bill, my bro and sis cable and internet bills..etc.. The 5 points on telecommonucation epxenses is great. Oh I loved the pic of you on the bull statue…hillarious.
That's great to know about the 5x point bonus on telecommunication expenses – can't wait to get mine! P.S. the bull was real and alive! LOL
I signed up for the Sapphire in mid November 2011. For the CO card, I did not get approved instantly (but the rep said that all applications for the card take between 48 hours and 1 week before approval), but I don't have many chase CCs and I do have an auto loan with them, and all of my accounts are in good standing. As far as applying for the United Card, how many Credit Cards do you have with Chase? From what I know, it seems that they cap off at 4 Chase cards per person typically. If you're at 3 or 4 with Chase, i'd recommend waiting 3 months before applying. Hope I could help! :)
Hey Phil! I applied for the CO card for 2 reasons: 1. It's a mastercard, not a visa like the united (I do not have/never had a mastercard so I figured I'd be approved). 2. I expect that the CO card will soon fade away from the market as the CO/UA merger progresses. When that happens, I feel like I'd be able to have a shot at the United Chase Visa in about 90 days or so… :)
so how does an experience points/miles guru get this far without having received these cards already? They seemed to me to be the first ones to start with?
Angelina! Thanks so much for posting this information. I've just started delving into the world of credit cards for points. Honestly, I was a bit skeptical about chasing points. Reading your blog really fortifies me to pull this off. I set a goal to go get a Dive Master SCUBA dive cert. in Thailand this year. I think these rewards are going to get me there.In my wallet:-Capital One Credit Card (20k miles)-Schwab Bank Credit Card (Invests dollars to brokerage account)I've just applied for the Chase Saphire card and I plan to stop using the Schwab Bank Card after that. Do you have any advice on getting miles fast with Star Alliance?I'm keeping a blog about "hacking the airways." I'd be honored if you gave it a once over and gave me some feedback! I'll give you tips on Hawaii in exchange! :^)Thanks again,Cheers from New Zealand,
Right now I am in between cards. I have the United Explorer (50k first spend) and the Delta Amex (45k after $3k). I am hoping the bonus offers get ramped up by my next churn (March 15) but who knows. You were targeted for the CO onepass 50k offer? Chase must really like you or are you CO elite?
I was living in the points and miles world vicariously through my dad. It was only until last November that I became hooked on my own!
Hi Ian,Do you get the Barclays US Air card in Nz..Here in the US we have a deal 40,000 miles 1st use and is part of the Star alliance.The united explorer card reg is 40,000.I was targeted for 50k ..You can transfer explorer rewards points to continental/ua ..Cheersuittrader
Hi Ian, I apologize for just getting back to you now – had an longer-than-eternity-day at work yesterday! I see uittrader answered your question a bit, but do also know that the Chase Sapphire preferred card lets you transfer your points 1:1 into United (star alliance).That's awesome that you're off to get your SCUBA cert. I got my PADI certification in Dec 10, and can't wait to be able to go scuba diving again! Getting to Thailand to do that with miles will be a breeze for you and I'll be excited to hear about your trip! :)Send me an email with your blog (angelinaaucello@aol.com) I'd love to follow your posts and give you feedback.As you saw, I'm headed to Hawaii in June.. would love to read about your trip if you posted about it somewhere :) Always looking for travel inspiration. Thanks so much for reading the blog!
Hey Zach, first off awesome interview on MMS! I enjoy following your blog :) Yes, I was targeted several times with chase for the 50k offer (maybe because I have an array of accounts with them in good standing?). I decided to act upon the offer before onepass goes away… and I do have status with CO (just silver though). My goal is to apply for the Chase United Card in Spring/Summer… :)
Very nice! You'll love the SPG card, and obviously the Continental miles will be valuable for your travel life. My first use of SPG points was at the 5 star Westin Palace in Madrid for 3 nights with a good friend of mine over Christmas. I can't stress enough how priceless it was to only be paying $90 plus 4,800 points a night at a $350/night hotel – OVER CHRISTMAS!Beauty of that SPG card is you can double up and get the business card pretty easily. Might want to wait until the offer hits 30k again though before grabbing a 2nd one. The night credit towards elite status that you get from each card pool to one account, so if you are building stays on SPG, you can reach elite pretty quick since award stays count too… That is of course if you don't just match up to them from someone else.For my day to day spending and bills I primarily use 3 cards:Chase Saphire Preferred for all travel, dining, & overseas purchases (no forex fee, crucial), my Amex Gold card for Gas & Groceries, and my SPG personal or biz (depends on my mood) for all other random things like Entertainment, & non-grocery store purchases. I may or may not have about 20 other open credit cards sitting in my safe, but we don't need to talk about that :)