Credit Card Strategy
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I think you will agree that the three main flexible points currencies are probably your best bet for redeeming miles, and in allowing you to transfer to the any of the major alliances, they also help insulate you from any major changes in any one airline program.

 If you are planning on opening a new credit card, one card I recommend is the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. (link to the card)  It has some really good all-around benefits, it also has great bonus categories, and you earn Ultimate Rewards Points, which are incredibly versatile. 

For example the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has no foreign transaction fees, and offers double points on dining and travel, so it’s perfect to use when travelling abroad.

 Keep in mind you must be careful not to over-diversify your mile and points (generally speaking you will need about 100,000 miles per person for an international business class award),  so you will have to accumulate miles in several different programs.

 Some of the other good cards out there are the American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card, The American Express Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card The Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite Mastercard® (links to all the cards)

 The American Express Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card  and the The Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite Mastercard® have no bonus categories, but they are good cards for every spend despite the fact.

 The Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express  his great for hotel stays and also earns points that can be transferred to dozens of different airlines. Plus you also receive 20% bonus when transferring points in batches of 20,000  so this is a an effective way to rack up bonus miles in a variety of airline programs.

 A good cash back card is The Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite Mastercard® but you earn 2.1% back on travel, which you can redeem for a statement credit.

 Another great card is the American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card (link), which offers triple points on airfare, and double points on gas and groceries.

 Meeting Minimum Spends

Many airline credit card companies offer a certain number of miles or points after a certain amount of spending has occurred in a given amount of time. These are often referred to as minimum spends, which is the absolute minimum amount you need to spend on a card before you receive the award that is advertised.

This is an important part of earning points on credit cards signups – you must keep track of how you have spent and be conscious of the deadline. After all it makes no sense to sacrifice points on your credit score if you are not going to get the sign up bonus.

 Sometimes it may seem like the minimum spending requirements are quite high so it would be very difficult to reach them. But often there are ways to place every day charges on your credit card which you might not have thought of before. Such as

 In addition you spouse can sign up for cards separately. Bank applications ask for your household income, so this is a very good way to double your potential rewards.

 Business Credit Cards

 Finally there is an additional way to increase your mileage balances is by making use of business credit cards. These often have different bonus categories and benefits that will combine nicely with personal cards.

 It not is not necessary to have a Tax ID in order to apply. So a sole proprietorship or any business would make you eligible. If you are sole proprietorship then you would use your social security number instead of the TAX id.

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