www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I've never had a FF credit card, but with United taking over Houton and jacking up prices by $200 or so I'm looking. I'm in their FF program, just not with a card. Any advice for the best card as far as miles go?

read the fine print of each deal. they are not giving cards out with miles like they used to, they want you to spend X amount of dollars in Y days to get the free miles. So yo may want to time getting the card with a up coming large purchase that can be put on a CC.

I got my AA card then bought my ticket to MDE, to get over the min. required ( $750 in 90 days ?) . But now I see one of there deals wants me to buy $3000 in 90 days? well that never going to happen for me as no large purchases coming up that I can use CC for ( all regular bills paid by EFT at bank and also in small amounts ) , so I would have never applied with that high of limit.

Of course if you check bags again look at the fine print, and figure out the cost of the card vs trips where YOU would have to pay, some over seas no change for checked bags so no gain.

So the devil is in the FINE print

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My best friend was the clock on the wall, and he turned out not to be much of a friend in the end

The Delta Gold Skymiles card is pretty good. But you are absolutely right about the fine print. If you spend $500 within 90 days you get 30,000 free miles. Since I was already flying delta a lot that jacked my mileage balance to almost 100,000. It's also an American Express with a $95 annual fee that is waved the first year and also the miles expire after one year.

If you monitor it you can get the card, buy a ticket, use the mile and then before the year comes up cancel it. Probably you can do it again too. My miles are split with Delta which shares with Air France, Aeromexico and KLM, and United which shares with Lufthansa.

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"If you think that I'm half crazy your wrong, I'm at least seventy-five percent gone. I was born this way and I'll die this way so I probably won't be changing today." - Richie Allbright, South Texas Singer/Songwriter. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ftvsq3mX0Ow

Thanks for the responses. Kind of depressing.

Assuming one is responsible, couldn't you use the card to make ALL your purchases then transfer money each night (week) from your bank account and pay it off? In other words, couldn't I use a card to replace my debit card and meet the spending requirements?

Yes you could as long as you controlled it.

I just added the United card tonight. It has a $395 annual fee but give free access to the United Club on every flight, priority boarding and 2 checked bags free. I often drop $150 + at the bars in airports so if I drink free 3 times a year free I'm ahead. Plus a tax write off so I jumped.

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"If you think that I'm half crazy your wrong, I'm at least seventy-five percent gone. I was born this way and I'll die this way so I probably won't be changing today." - Richie Allbright, South Texas Singer/Songwriter. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ftvsq3mX0Ow

If you go into the United Club they have brochures for that United Club Card at the front desk with a code that waives the $395 annual fee for the first year. The current codes expire May 31. The card earns 1.5X on all spending but doesn't come with an up front mileage bonus. Has some other nice perks, including: priority check-in, security and boarding; two free checked bags, no foreign transaction fees, you can book United awards within 21 days of travel and not pay that $75 close in fee, Primary CDW, Avis Presidents Club status and Hyatt Platinum status.

Yes, and often times you are getting a lot more protection from a credit card than a debit card. Being responsible with them can help build your credit rating. A lot of credit cards extend the manufacturer's warranty on a purchased product. The ability to dispute a charge with a merchant is a lot easier.

Here is a link with some other ides to meet those spending requirements:
http://millionmilesecrets.com/2011/07/2 ... uirements/

Yes all of that was what sold me. Sometimes my company flies us on Delta other times United, KLM, or Lufthansa (which codeshare with Delta and/or United) I am a Gold Delta Skymiles and also KLM Flying Blue Petroleum Club member so with this it should pretty much give me a club to hang in and drink free booze on all flights. I spend a hell of a lot more than $395 a year in airport bars. In all reality the $395 is worth it for the priority boarding.

_________________
"If you think that I'm half crazy your wrong, I'm at least seventy-five percent gone. I was born this way and I'll die this way so I probably won't be changing today." - Richie Allbright, South Texas Singer/Songwriter. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ftvsq3mX0Ow

Couple of silly questions:

What exactly is priority boarding?
1.5x? Is that miles per dollar?
What's CDW?
AVIS and Hyatt? What does that involve?

Priority boarding is usually the first group after the 1st class passengers. Basically your carry on can go right where you sit and you don't have to endure that gauntlet of idiots trying to cram a huge bag into a tiny space. Get the window seat, turn on your Ipod and tune these assholes out.

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"If you think that I'm half crazy your wrong, I'm at least seventy-five percent gone. I was born this way and I'll die this way so I probably won't be changing today." - Richie Allbright, South Texas Singer/Songwriter. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ftvsq3mX0Ow

If you fly United a lot, but not enough to earn significant status with them it might be a good card for you. If you can get by a United Club before May 31st stop in and ask them for the brochure as it will have a promo code waiving the annual fee of $395 for the first year. That way you can try it out for a year and cancel before the annual fee is due if you aren't getting enough benefits from the card to justify that high fee.


I'm not sure what group you board with using the United Club card but it should be at least before Zone 5. I have the United MilePlus Explorer card and I think it boards in zone 5 out of at least 8 zones (after first, business, elites and maybe handicapped or traveling with Ch*ldren). On my last flight it was still before 80-90% of the rest of the passengers so plenty of time to make sure to get overhead bin space and walk right on and sit down with minimal waiting in line.

It would earn 1.5 miles for every dollar you spend. There are other cards with higher earnings in certain categories (i.e. travel, dining, hotel, gas, supermarket, office, etc.) but the 1.5 miles per dollar is across all categories. If you have high spending in a specific category there is probably a card out there that earns a better rate for you. Chase cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points have more options as they can be transferred to United as well as many other choices.

Almost any good credit card will provide Collision Damage Waiver insurance when you rent a car. So if renting a car in Costa Rica you would just tell them you decline CDW and use your card (you would still need Costa Rica's Standard Liability Insurance) but still saves a lot on the bill. This card is nice because it provides Primary CDW so the cards coverage kicks in before your auto insurance from home, where some other cards would only pay the difference that your home car insurance doesn't pay.

The Avis Presidents Club guarantees you availability and an upgrade to 2 classes higher than the class of car you book.

Hyatt Platinum gives a special check-in/check-out line, free internet, a preferred room (higher floor or larger), better chance of an upgraded room, late check-out, and some type of 72-hour guaranteed availability.

The only way to get this brochure is at the Club?

The ones at the brochure kiosk in the hallway at EWR didn't have a clue about the Club card last weekend. I guess you could try calling a club and tell them you picked up a silver brochure last time you were there but lost it and need another personal invitation code to apply at http://www.ClubCardRSVP.com and if they have them right next to where they are sitting they might read a code over the phone to you. Sometimes people with extra codes will post them on milepoint.com/forums/

If you go to United.com and sign into your account and then go to the Products & Services tab at the top of the page and then to Get Credit Card you can see what sign up offers you are targeted for. They currently aren't as good as they were even a few months ago, but sometimes different people get better sign up bonuses. If you are primarily flying United and don't get the Club card then their MileagePlus Explorer card might be good for you. They are currently waiving the first year for it, and $95 a year after that if you decide to keep it. It gives 25,000 miles after your first purchase. 5,000 miles for adding an authorized user (they only require a name so you could add your dog). And if you happen to spend $25k in the first year they give you another 10,000 miles. If you do spend that much in a year you'd be better off getting several cards that require a spending amount to get the bonus miles. The MileagePlus Explorer card gives you two club passes a year, priority boarding, one free checked bag and earns 2X miles on United purchases.