[phoenix abroad]

Thought the forum might find this useful - I got approved for one of the 75k miles cards.

There is a way to easily get 75,000 to 150,000 Frequent Flier Miles with just a few minutes of work and no actual flying.

For reference: A roundtrip to Europe from the US costs 60k miles. A roundtrip to China from the US is 75k miles. A domestic roundtrip (inside US) is 25k miles. For more information check out this American Airlines mileage reward chart.

Citibank frequently sends out limited credit card promotions to specific customers, but these special offers can still be accessed on the Citi website by anyone who knows the URL. We will use one of these old promotions to get 75k-150k (up to possibly 225k) miles.

Step 1 – Join the American Airlines frequent flyer AAdvatage program

Get an AAdvantage account for free if you don’t already have one. Make note of your account number, you will need it later.

Step 2 – Check your credit score (optional)

These card offers often require a good credit score (>700) to be approved. By checking your score ahead of time you can spot any problems or errors that need to be fixed before applying. In my blog post I have a link to a site where you can get your fico score for $5 a month.

Step 3 – Apply for the 2 Citi AAdvantage personal credit cards during the same day

If you want 150k miles (and you should) then you MUST apply for both the AmEx card and the Visa Signature card on the same day. If you do them on separate days you will be declined for the second personal AAdvantage card for not being a “new customer”.

UPDATE: The original offer page can’t be accessed. However, the actual application for the 75k miles Visa card for $1500 spending is still active and working here. The 75k miles Amex card for $1500 spending is not available. You can stay up to date on what offers can be accessed in this thread (warning: very long) on the flyertalk forums.

There is a new promotion offer page for 75k miles after $4000 in spending for both Visa and Amex.

Even though the offer technically “expired” on October 31, 2010, Citi’s policy is that if the link still works to go through the application, then they will still honor the promotion. For more information and details on a harder to get 100k flyer miles offer you can check out this thread (warning: very long) on the flyertalk forums.

My experience: I got approved for my first 75k card immediately online (the Visa Signature) but my second card application (the AmEx) was declined a few days later because I don’t have a long enough credit history.

Step 4 – Get to $1500 spending within the first 4 months to earn the reward miles

You should receive the cards in about a week, then you can activate them and get to $1500 spending quickly. There are ways to speed up this spending such as buying gift cards that you will use later.

Step 5 – When you hit $1500 on the card, pay off the balance early to get the miles faster

Go to your credit card’s online account and pay off the balance as soon as you get to $1500 spending. It will take 8-10 weeks for the frequent flyer miles to post to your AAdvanatage account after that.

Step 6 – Apply for the third card (Visa business) 90 days later (optional)

Getting approved for the third card is a lot less likely than the first two, but the extra 75k miles are worth an attempt. Waiting at least 90 days gives the highest odds of being approved for the 3rd card (Visa business).
Note: You don’t need to actually have a business to get this card.

Step 7 – Cancel the cards to avoid an annual fee (optional)

After the miles are posted to your account you are free to cancel the cards if you want. Cancel them before the first year is over to not get charged an annual fee.

Step 8 – Redeem your frequent flyer miles for free flights wherever you want

This is often the most difficult part of the process due to limited availability of award seats and is an entire topic in itself. I have some more info on my blog post about it.

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I got approved for the visa signature card but got declined for the AmEx card. I'll give the business card a shot in 90 days.

Let me know how you fared, hopefully you can get some free flights out of it.

[truedat]

Nice tutorial on affiliate marketing. Slick!

[Luckystar]

Do you have to be American or living in the US to do this?

[phoenix abroad]

(01-10-2011 10:40 PM)Luckystar Wrote:  

Do you have to be American or living in the US to do this?

Yes I am pretty sure you need to be a US citizen. It requires a social security number.

[MiXX]

Awesome post!! +1 from me!!!

[phoenix abroad]

(01-11-2011 12:25 PM)MiXX Wrote:  

Awesome post!! +1 from me!!!

Thanks MiXX, that means a lot because I look up to you and other guys on the forum. I might be going to Colombia later this year and your advice is pure gold.

[oldnemesis]

Just to make it more clear for those who're not familiar with travel for miles:

1. "A roundtrip to Europe from the US costs 60k miles" - typically this is the case only if you select a flight with having two or more layovers, one of them being 8+ hours. Same in US. For example, this Summer my roundtrip from SFO to Kalispell, MT cost 60K miles instead of typical 25. Expect to spend more - much more - if you're not going to a major destination.

2. Even if you get a free flight, you will have to pay taxes. For international flights they may be surprisingly high - I've seen as much as $500 total in taxes for roundtrip. More, the airline may have a lower "fare" price but charge more in "taxes" (they do it to pop up higher on those search engines which consider fare price first). They do it even more often with redeemed tickets. So you may end up paying $500 for a $900 ticket with crappy connections, while the ticket with better connections may cost you $700.

3. It is pretty much impossible to change a ticket you got on miles. You basically drop it completely (with some fines) and purchase a new one. If you used part of it already, bad luck. With regular tickets all you typically need is to pay some fine ($0 for first class) plus difference in price.

4. If you're getting AmEx, it usually comes with an annual fee, check the terms.

5. On some airlines if you close the card before some period (180 days or so) it is considered you canceled your participation, and your miles are revoked. Again, check the terms.

Personally I use AmEx Delta Platinum. It comes with a $150 fee, but it worth it to me - mostly because it gives you some qualified miles to boost up your status (which, in turn, means you're getting upgrades more often).

And IMHO American Airlines is the shittiest airline in US (and OneWorld really sucks unless you fly to South Asia often).

[phoenix abroad]

UPDATE: The original offer page can’t be accessed. However, the actual application for the 75k miles Visa card for $1500 spending is still active and working here. The 75k miles Amex card for $1500 spending is not available. You can stay up to date on what offers can be accessed in this thread (warning: very long) on the flyertalk forums.

There is a new promotion offer page for 75k miles after $4000 in spending for both Visa and Amex.