Airline Miles / Trip 10 months away / Newbie

[TheInsuranceMan]

Alright, MMMers.  I just my credit card on occasion, it's a Cabela's card, I use my points towards guns and outdoor gear.  However, in March of 2019, we are taking a trip from Iowa to the Texas (Port Aransas).  It will be my wife and I, a 4 year old, 2 year old, and a 6 month old.  I'm starting to lean towards getting a card to rack up some airline miles to cheapen the trip up between now and then.

But, the kicker - I know little about airline miles, if they work for all airlines or specific airlines, etc.  Any help?  Recommendations?  I think the wife and I would qualify for about any card - credit ratings range from 780-800+, or so it appears.

[dollarchaser]

I'm not very sure of details. Try doctor of credit or thepointsguy websites. I was just looking around at some of this.
My wife does basic cards and I did a barclaycard deal last year but it wasn't airfare deal. Gave me 600 dollars in statement credit so I was happy.

[bacchi]

Miles are specific to an airline but can be used on partner airlines usually for an additional "cost." Some credit card points can be transferred to different airlines.

Go to awardhacker.com and enter your airports. From what I can tell, American is your best best. At aa.com, you can currently get a roundtrip from 3/9-3/17 from Cedar Rapids to Corpus Christi for 25k miles.

Citi has an AA card with 60k miles but it requires some spend ($3k/3 months I believe).

Given the limited time, I'd instead go for the Barclay's AA card. It'll give you 50k miles after the first purchases but it has an annual fee of $95.*

100k miles would probably get you 4 round trip tickets for $190 + change.

For the 5th ticket, get a Citi AA card and spend $3000/3 months (if your spending allows).

TIP: Go through the process of booking on aa.com with miles (register first) and you might get an offer for a Citi AA card with a statement credit.

Earn 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantageŽ bonus miles after spending $2,500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Plus, new cardmembers can also receive up to a $200 statement credit on eligible American Airlines purchases in the first 12 months of account opening**

* You'll want to cancel or downgrade this card after the first year. Put it on a calendar. Rarely are annual fee cards worth it after the sign-up bonus.

[I'm a red panda]

* You'll want to cancel or downgrade this card after the first year. Put it on a calendar. Rarely are annual fee cards worth it after the sign-up bonus.

We've had the AA Citi card for 10 years. Each year we call them and say we don't want to pay the minimum fee. Each year they put a $95 credit on the card.
Always worth trying before canceling.

(With Delta- my husband did that, and said "sorry to see you go". I did it with Delta for 5 years before they just canceled for me.)

The cards are also good for getting free checked bags.

[mathlete]

I second reading up on ThePointsGuy.

But the gist of it is that you can rack up a lot of award by signing up for credit cards and meeting their minimum spend requirements to get an intro offer bonus (usually requires you to spend $X in the first three months).

Some cards earn you airline miles which can be redeemed for flights with that airline in accordance to the airline's redemption chart.

For an illustrative example, here is something my girlfriend and I have done in the past. Take the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Mastercard for example. Current terms are as follows: 1 American Airlines mile per dollar spent. $99 annual fee ($0 in the first year). 60K bonus miles with $3K spent within the first three months.

Month 0 | I apply for the card
Month 1-3 | Girlfriend and I funnel all household expenses through my card so that we can meet the $3K spend
Month 3 | Girlfriend applies for card
Month 4-6 | Girlfriend and I funnel all household expenses through her card so that we can meet the $3K spend

By the end of month 6, we should have at least 126K American Airlines miles between us.

Month 11 | I either cancel my card, or call up Citi to request that they downgrade me to a fee-free card to avoid the $99 membership fee
Month 14 | Girlfriend does the same.

If you and your wife can work something similar, you should be able to acquire enough miles to get at least two free round trip tickets from Des Moines to Corpus Christi.

This may or may not be the most efficient setup for your specific situation, so I strongly recommend doing some reading research at ThePointsGuy website.

[Penn42]

Month 11 | I either cancel my card, or call up Citi to request that they downgrade me to a fee-free card to avoid the $99 membership fee
Month 14 | Girlfriend does the same.

I'm gearing up to go through these motions here soon myself and this is a question I have had.  Do the companies really let you just cancel/downgrade right before a year to avoid the fee?  Seems like they wouldn't allow that. Since it sounds like they have for you, that makes things really easy

[bacchi]

I'm gearing up to go through these motions here soon myself and this is a question I have had.  Do the companies really let you just cancel/downgrade right before a year to avoid the fee?  Seems like they wouldn't allow that. Since it sounds like they have for you, that makes things really easy

Yes. It's crazy but, with a little tracking and discipline, it's a giveaway from Big Banks to you.

[Catbert]

I'm gearing up to go through these motions here soon myself and this is a question I have had.  Do the companies really let you just cancel/downgrade right before a year to avoid the fee?  Seems like they wouldn't allow that. Since it sounds like they have for you, that makes things really easy

Yes. It's crazy but, with a little tracking and discipline, it's a giveaway from Big Banks to you.

Wait until the fee posts and call to see if they will give you an incentive to stay.  Often they will if you've been using the card on a regular basis.  Something like spend 3k in 3 months and get $100 statement credy

[Catbert]

If as is the best airline for you, read this for options

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/choosing-the-best-card-for-american-airlines-flyers/

[bacchi]

I'd recommend Citi for AA as well. Why pay the annual fee if you can avoid it?

BUT

Airlines limit "saver" awards tickets (12.5k miles for this AA route) per flight. Once they're taken, the miles required go up to 50k round trip (it's priced each way so it could be 25k one way and 12.5k return trip). The route isn't a super popular one but waiting 3-6 months to get miles could mean the difference between 2 or 4 tickets.