Hi Everyone -
I've used FT for a lot of my initial source and to develop my strategy. I was an amateur point collector while living in Chicago, mainly focused on united miles, Hyatt stays and UR points. However with my relocation to PHL, I've had to re-assess my strategy.
I will travel domestically and to EU anywhere from 4-10 domestic trips and 2-6 EU trips a year with each trip taking anywhere from 4-7 days (This year I have 6 domestic and 4 EU booked and still more that may come down if we get the projects). My company prefers Hilton as first choice and Marriott as the 2nd choice. I started the new position last Oct and was able to hit Hilton gold by end of year with a little over 75k base points (though I did start off at Silver with 5 stays and 7 nights credited due to going to interviews prior to taking this new position). Flights are purchased by the company, I do have the choice in choosing the airline and schedule. I occasionally have the choice of which hotels to stay at, other times, they are reserved way ahead of time. All my spending while travelling is reimbursable and I can also charge the hotel to my own card.
The cards I usually use are: Freedom, CSP (with chip - makes life easier in EU) and United mileage card (only hold for bennies, I put spend on the other two)
I will be getting both INKs in the near future.
The goal of my points will be to take family vacations, mostly to TPE so the kids can visit the grandparents, along with vacations to EU (my wife has a fondness for Germany) and Hawaii. In the near term, my goal is to take my family of 4 to Hawaii (flying AA econ and GH Kaui in a suite) for a week in 2015 which I've calculated to be quite feasible based on my travel and spend. However, I want to plan for the mid-term.
Now, I am thinking of switching carriers to US Air/AA for flights due to PHL being the hub of US Air. Although Hilton is fine, I do prefer Hyatt but would be difficult to maintain elite status due to half of the hotel bookings are booked ahead of time by the company and I can't change it (nor would they reimburse me if I did make a change - unless there was no vacancy left). I can't do mileage runs although I might be able to do an occasional mattress run.
I am thinking of obtaining the US Airways MC and Citi AA card for the bennies. Although I don't have elite flying status yet, I calculate that I should be able to hit AA Platinum this year based on at least flying 52k miles (from economy). What other cards should I get in order to maximize my returns? I was thinking also of the AMEX gold for another flexible point redemption offer. I am not sure if I should get the SPG cards as most my spending would be covered by the Chase and AMEX cards. The only plus for the SPG card for my spending habit would be to utilize the night and flights redemption. Other than that, I will not have SPG status (besides what the card gives) nor would I be able to use their hotels on business.
Any advice or suggestion would be greatly appreciated!
I've used FT for a lot of my initial source and to develop my strategy. I was an amateur point collector while living in Chicago, mainly focused on united miles, Hyatt stays and UR points. However with my relocation to PHL, I've had to re-assess my strategy.
I will travel domestically and to EU anywhere from 4-10 domestic trips and 2-6 EU trips a year with each trip taking anywhere from 4-7 days (This year I have 6 domestic and 4 EU booked and still more that may come down if we get the projects). My company prefers Hilton as first choice and Marriott as the 2nd choice. I started the new position last Oct and was able to hit Hilton gold by end of year with a little over 75k base points (though I did start off at Silver with 5 stays and 7 nights credited due to going to interviews prior to taking this new position). Flights are purchased by the company, I do have the choice in choosing the airline and schedule. I occasionally have the choice of which hotels to stay at, other times, they are reserved way ahead of time. All my spending while travelling is reimbursable and I can also charge the hotel to my own card.
The cards I usually use are: Freedom, CSP (with chip - makes life easier in EU) and United mileage card (only hold for bennies, I put spend on the other two)
I will be getting both INKs in the near future.
The goal of my points will be to take family vacations, mostly to TPE so the kids can visit the grandparents, along with vacations to EU (my wife has a fondness for Germany) and Hawaii. In the near term, my goal is to take my family of 4 to Hawaii (flying AA econ and GH Kaui in a suite) for a week in 2015 which I've calculated to be quite feasible based on my travel and spend. However, I want to plan for the mid-term.
Now, I am thinking of switching carriers to US Air/AA for flights due to PHL being the hub of US Air. Although Hilton is fine, I do prefer Hyatt but would be difficult to maintain elite status due to half of the hotel bookings are booked ahead of time by the company and I can't change it (nor would they reimburse me if I did make a change - unless there was no vacancy left). I can't do mileage runs although I might be able to do an occasional mattress run.
I am thinking of obtaining the US Airways MC and Citi AA card for the bennies. Although I don't have elite flying status yet, I calculate that I should be able to hit AA Platinum this year based on at least flying 52k miles (from economy). What other cards should I get in order to maximize my returns? I was thinking also of the AMEX gold for another flexible point redemption offer. I am not sure if I should get the SPG cards as most my spending would be covered by the Chase and AMEX cards. The only plus for the SPG card for my spending habit would be to utilize the night and flights redemption. Other than that, I will not have SPG status (besides what the card gives) nor would I be able to use their hotels on business.
Any advice or suggestion would be greatly appreciated!