Double Credit Card Rewards???

[TheAnonOne]

Hello,

My to-be wife and I are going to Hawaii in Sept. and the following post caught my eye...
http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/hawaii-worth-it/msg590972/#msg590972

Question....
If I get the US Airway card and my wife does as well, can we get 50,000 X2 US Airway miles
AND
Have us both get the AA-Citi card and get 50,000 X2 AA miles

For a total of 200,000 miles (100k each??) and simply transfer her 100k to my account?


What about for the "Chase Hyatt" card, can we get 2X2 (4 free nights???)
Or the Barclay for that matter... can we get $400X2 ($800 in bonus money???)


I suppose this question goes for all credit cards but I am mainly focusing on these for now.

Thanks!!!!

[shotgunwilly]

Yes. You can do all of those.

[TheAnonOne]

Yes. You can do all of those.

Wow, that feels almost evil.

[SuperSecretName]

yes, all of the above work.

also, check out the club carlson card.  thre is a healthy sign up bonus, and the last night of your stay is free.  so if you both get it, you can book 2 nights under each person (2nd night for each "stay" being free), and get an amazing value.

[TheAnonOne]

yes, all of the above work.

also, check out the club carlson card.  thre is a healthy sign up bonus, and the last night of your stay is free.  so if you both get it, you can book 2 nights under each person (2nd night for each "stay" being free), and get an amazing value.

Sounds good but, we couldn't use the Hyatt AND this, it would be either/or. (Unless I am mistaken)

This one may be a better deal depending on the reward money...

[boarder42]

Yes but the hyatt dates are few and far between and you need to be flexible.  I would jump on that USair card TODAY it wont be around in about a week.  you can also get the SPG amex(should be good for 2 free nights) and the HHonors Reserve card (2 free weekend nights)  the Citi AA cards arent necessary unless you want to fly first class.  its only 70k points to fly roundtrip to HI when you're going on AA for 2 from anywhere in the US.

[boarder42]

You also will probably need to do some Manufactured spend.  If you have a target near you that has the prepaid redcard this is far and away the easiest way. 

[TheAnonOne]

Yes but the hyatt dates are few and far between and you need to be flexible.  I would jump on that USair card TODAY it wont be around in about a week.  you can also get the SPG amex(should be good for 2 free nights) and the HHonors Reserve card (2 free weekend nights)  the Citi AA cards arent necessary unless you want to fly first class.  its only 70k points to fly roundtrip to HI when you're going on AA for 2 from anywhere in the US.

What's the harm in getting the extra 100k (50kX2) miles with the Citi card? I will admit, avoiding the spend requirement would be nice, simply for less hassle but we spend about 3k a month right now anyway...

The SPG AMEX looks interesting because it looks like it works at the Sheraton resorts...

[TheAnonOne]

You also will probably need to do some Manufactured spend.  If you have a target near you that has the prepaid redcard this is far and away the easiest way.

I doubt it... we spend around 3k a month as it is, and we have a few months between now and then. (Though we would be booking in .... june??)

We also have some wedding expenses, so that helps.(for once!)

[SuperSecretName]

yes, all of the above work.

also, check out the club carlson card.  thre is a healthy sign up bonus, and the last night of your stay is free.  so if you both get it, you can book 2 nights under each person (2nd night for each "stay" being free), and get an amazing value.

Sounds good but, we couldn't use the Hyatt AND this, it would be either/or. (Unless I am mistaken)

This one may be a better deal depending on the reward money...

you can do both, club carlson is issued by USBank.

if you are going to do this, apply for them all on the same day.

[TheAnonOne]

You also will probably need to do some Manufactured spend.  If you have a target near you that has the prepaid redcard this is far and away the easiest way.

I doubt it... we spend around 3k a month(on our CCs) as it is, and we have a few months between now and then. (Though we would be booking in .... june??)

We also have some wedding expenses, so that helps.(for once!)

[boarder42]

Yes but the hyatt dates are few and far between and you need to be flexible.  I would jump on that USair card TODAY it wont be around in about a week.  you can also get the SPG amex(should be good for 2 free nights) and the HHonors Reserve card (2 free weekend nights)  the Citi AA cards arent necessary unless you want to fly first class.  its only 70k points to fly roundtrip to HI when you're going on AA for 2 from anywhere in the US.

What's the harm in getting the extra 100k (50kX2) miles with the Citi card? I will admit, avoiding the spend requirement would be nice, simply for less hassle but we spend about 3k a month right now anyway...

The SPG AMEX looks interesting because it looks like it works at the Sheraton resorts...

the harm is that only so many citi cards can be churned and you have to do it on a pattern also the reason you manufacture spend is to get it done faster.  you're using rewards points.  to get this done you should book as early as possible for the best chance of getting what you want.  the cheaper rewards seats arent always around and waiting til june to book your flights means they could be gone.  the Hyatt is probably unlikely at this point already. 

For reference i'm planning a trip for the first week of march 2016 and had to try 3-4 different weeks to get the dates i wanted to use those nights at the hyatt.  is it all doable yes but you need to really be on top of planning it right now to make it work out.  also for travel spend including the 3k you have to spend those 40k points are worth closer to 500 in value if used to right off travel expenses.

[GizmoTX]

Yes. Each primary cardholder earns the bonus & you can open a card for each of you, assuming excellent credit. DH, DS, & I each opened a Barclays US Airways card this month & have received them. You only need 1 purchase for any amount plus pay the $89 annual fee to trigger the bonus. It will likely take a statement cycle to post. I'd make a purchase the minute you receive & activate each card.

If you don't already have a US Airways Dividend Miles account, Barclay will create one for the primary holder when each card is opened. Then log in to each of your AAdvantage accounts (not the credit card site) & "match" your Dividend Miles account number to your AAdvantage number. If you don't yet have an AAdvantage account, create one, then do the match. AA will automatically merge both accounts together sometime during April-June. You can transfer AA miles to another account (this takes some time) or AA will book your flight using a different locator for each person if you don't have enough miles in one account. Barclay will replace the US Airways card with its AA Aviator Red card, which is not offered for new accounts since Citi has the exclusive right to offer new AAdvantage cards.

[TheAnonOne]

Yes. Each primary cardholder earns the bonus & you can open a card for each of you, assuming excellent credit. DH, DS, & I each opened a Barclays US Airways card this month & have received them. You only need 1 purchase for any amount plus pay the $89 annual fee to trigger the bonus. It will likely take a statement cycle to post. I'd make a purchase the minute you receive & activate each card.

If you don't already have a US Airways Dividend Miles account, Barclay will create one for the primary holder when each card is opened. Then log in to each of your AAdvantage accounts (not the credit card site) & "match" your Dividend Miles account number to your AAdvantage number. If you don't yet have an AAdvantage account, create one, then do the match. AA will automatically merge both accounts together sometime during April-June. You can transfer AA miles to another account (this takes some time) or AA will book your flight using a different locator for each person if you don't have enough miles in one account. Barclay will replace the US Airways card with its AA Aviator Red card, which is not offered for new accounts since Citi has the exclusive right to offer new AAdvantage cards.

Can they merge the US and AA accounts earlier? I am just thinking it might be too late to book if they don't merge them until late June.

[gomike]

For a total of 200,000 miles (100k each??) and simply transfer her 100k to my account?

There is a fee to transfer airline miles to other accounts which makes it not worth it.  No need to transfer thought, just redeem her miles for her ticket and your miles for your ticket.

[TheAnonOne]

For a total of 200,000 miles (100k each??) and simply transfer her 100k to my account?

There is a fee to transfer airline miles to other accounts which makes it not worth it.  No need to transfer thought, just redeem her miles for her ticket and your miles for your ticket.

The only reason I thought about doing this is to get two seats next to each-other. I'd rather not sit in a plane for 12 hours next to strangers, but I haven't flown too much so we could probably just choose seats...

[boarder42]

you can choose seats and as for the merging of miles i got an email a few days ago stating this would be done in early april,  that could always change but you never know. 

[boarder42]

order i would do things

1. USair cards just get them before the deal is gone
2. Hyatt cards and hit the 1k spend quickly
3. HHonors reserve cards and hit the spend quickly
4. AAcards - sign up 8 days after hhonors reserve and hit your spend quickly
5 barclays can be done any time.  so no biggie here.

[TheAnonOne]

order i would do things

1. USair cards just get them before the deal is gone
2. Hyatt cards and hit the 1k spend quickly
3. HHonors reserve cards and hit the spend quickly
4. AAcards - sign up 8 days after hhonors reserve and hit your spend quickly
5 barclays can be done any time.  so no biggie here.

Reason for the 8 days?

[boarder42]

its how Citibank works.  then there is a longer waiting period for the 3rd application. 

[boarder42]

google citi AA cards Flyertalk you will get all the churning info you need there.

[James!]

Before seeing the most recent replies... I just applied for both the US Air and Citi AA. I also applied for the BofA Alaska Air Card this AM.

I was approved for Alaska and US Air, but rejected from Citi.

I called and the woman on the phone just said it was "due to information in your credit report" but said she had very little info at this time, and to call back once I receive the letter in the mail.

Thoughts on this? Was that too many applications in a day? How long do I wait before applying?

-J

[GizmoTX]

Can they merge the US and AA accounts earlier? I am just thinking it might be too late to book if they don't merge them until late June.

They haven't announced when they're going to merge. The urgency for the Barclay US Airways card is because it's going away very soon.

Grab the Citi AAdvantage cards with the 50K bonus at the same time as the Barclay US Airways & work on the $3K Citi spend so you'll get those points ASAP, assuming you plan to fly AA using miles.

[boarder42]

In October, we announced we would combine our frequent flyer programs in the second quarter of this year. And now, we're on track to bring the US Airways Dividend Miles® program into the AAdvantage program within the next 30 days. We'll be providing you with more information on timing in the next few weeks.

That is the first paragraph of the email i received from both USair and AA on friday.  so by early april all your miles should be available in AA