Credit Cards

Category Archives for Credit Cards.

Continental’s Premium Credit Card

by Gary Leff on November 18, 2007

Nov 18 2007

The more I look at the Continental Presidential Plus MasterCard from Chase, the more interesting it looks — for a certain segment of frequent flyer. The $375 (gulp!) annual fee, though $300 in the first year, comes with Continental Presidents Club membership – which also gets you access to Northwest and Delta clubs. The similarly priced American Express Platinum card comes with this same lounge access plus access to American Airlines AAdmiral’s Clubs and other benefits (like the Fine Hotels and Resorts program and domestic companion airfare benefit) not matched by this card. However, for flyers seeking elite status on Continental, it offers the best credit card elite status perk I’ve seen with any airline: up to 28,000 elite qualifying miles per year through spending on the card, and best of all you can drop…

New American Credit Card Offers

by Gary Leff on October 7, 2007

Oct 07 2007

Citibank is offering 25,000 bonus miles and first year free for the Ameircan Airlines business and personal mastercards and personal American Express. All cards require $750 in spending within the first four months to qualify for the bonus. These cards can generally be churned every few months, and signing up for all is 75,000 miles at a pop.

New USAirways Business Mastercard

by Gary Leff on October 3, 2007

Oct 03 2007

Juniper Bank, which issues the USAirways Mastercard — one of the better airline mileage card values — now has a business card though it isn’t quite as lucrative. The best offers for the personal card include two years fee-free, 50% bonus miles on first year spending, and 15,000 miles with first purchase. The business card will match the signup bonus but at a $79 annual fee. (There’s a no fee version with just 5000 bonus miles at signup.)

New American Mastercard Offer to Consider — 40,000 Bonus Miles

by Gary Leff on June 2, 2007

Jun 02 2007

American and Citibank are offering up to 40,000 bonus miles with a new American Mastercard. The offer is:20,000 points for spending $750 in 4 months10,000 points for spending $10,000 during the first year10,000 points for $10,000 in purchases during the second yearFirst year fee waived Upside of the offer: lots of points if you can meet the spending requirements (which really aren’t that onerous on a monthly average basis).Downsides of the offer: you need to keep the card past year one (while the fee is waived) in order to max out the miles — so you need to pay $85 in the second year or receive no more than 30,000 miles. The offer is available for both the personal and business cards so you can actually earn 80,000 miles through the special offer… And despite…

Return of the Great USAirways Mastercard Offer

by Gary Leff on April 22, 2007

Apr 22 2007

Free Frequent Flyer Miles points out that the USAirways Mastercard offer of 15,000 bonus miles with first purchaseNo fee for two years50% bonus on all spending the first yearComplimentary USAirways Club pass each year (admit two people)Annual $99 companion certificate (there are some restrictions, but I used mine successfully last month) is still around. Truly a great deal, but don’t bother with the extra 10,000 miles for balance transfers due to the associated fees.As always (and though you’ll rarely need this) it’s a good idea to print a copy of the offer as well as the associated terms and conditions.

Best BA Visa Offer

by Gary Leff on April 18, 2007

Apr 18 2007

The usual offer for a British Airways Visa is 15,000 miles with first purchase, and the card comes with a $75 annual fee.Now there’s an offer of 20,000 miles with first purchase, though still with the fee (unlike the United, American, etc. cards there’s no first year fee waiver). As one Flyertalk member wroteAs you only need 25k round trip to upgrade from WT+ to www.newclubworld.com fully flat beds, and the fares start at $650 rtn incl tax with no co-pay, AND you earn 125% of miles on the WT+ ticket you purchase (making the net cost of a US – Europe rtn upgrade around 15k miles) then yes it’s a great deal. Absolutely worth the $75. If you don’t already have a British Airways account, signing up for the Visa will get you one.

10,000 American Miles for Free Citibank Accounts

by Gary Leff on November 11, 2006

Nov 11 2006

There’s been a Flyertalk thread over the past two months on how to earn 10,000 American miles at more or less no cost by opening a Citibank checking and e-savings account and linking an American Airlines Mastercard to those accounts. Even though I have an AA Mastercard! (After all, you can get 20,000 miles or more with first purchase or $250 in purchases with fee waived the first year — and you can cancel before the fee is due, and they’ll give you signup bonuses many times).But the Free Frequent Flyer Miles website has done a writeup on the offer, and now I have no excuse not to participate. Cribbed from their latest update: Super offer through December 31, 2006: Get 10,000 American Airlines miles for linking your existing American Airlines credit card to a…

United Business Visa with No Fee First Year

by Gary Leff on October 24, 2006

Oct 24 2006

Maybe I’ve been under a rock for awhile, but this is the first time I’ve seen the United Business Visa with fee waived first year — hence in the past I’ve never churned these. They’re offering 21,000 bonus miles after $250 in purchases, and since there’s finally no fee to get those miles I’ll give an application a whirl.(Hat tip to Don.)Update: a helpful reader points out the business visa also comes with 25,000 points after $250 in purchases, fee waived the first year. I knew about this offer on the personal card, didn’t realize it applied to the business card…

Delta Amex Spend Bonus

by Gary Leff on October 5, 2006

Oct 05 2006

You can earn a 25% bonus on eligible spending (which should be all purchases) on the Delta American Express card from October 1 to November 30. Registration required.

New United Visa Offers

by Gary Leff on October 3, 2006

Oct 03 2006

It was only a matter of time before the signup bonus arms race made it up to the next level. The United Visa is offering 21,000 bonus miles and even 25,000 bonus miles with annual fee waived the first year. They took a page from a recent Citibank American Mastercard offer, though, and are requiring $250 in spending on the card before awarding the bonus instead of crediting it after first purchase. Still, an extra 5000 miles award for spending $250 seems quite worthwhile.