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United MileagePlus® Explorer Card Benefits:

NEW! No foreign transaction fees! Start with 30,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months Check your first bag for free – save up to $100 per roundtrip Earn double miles on tickets purchased from United, and 1 mile per $1 on all other purchases Enjoy priority boarding privileges and visit the United Club with two one-time-use passes every year Use your miles for any seat, any time, on any United flight Your miles don’t expire as long as you’re a Cardmember, with no limit to the number of miles you can earn $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95

Apply Now!

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Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express Benefits:

Bonus Miles: Earn 30,000 bonus miles toward Award Travel after you spend $500 on the Card within the first three months of Cardmembership. Earn As You Spend: Get 2X miles on Delta purchases and 1X miles for all other eligible dollars spent. Check your first bag free on every Delta flight – that’s a savings of up to $200 per round trip for a family of four. Premium Travel Perks: Settle in sooner with Priority Boarding, and enjoy the skies with 20% in-flight savings to use toward meals, beverages, and movies awarded as a statement credit. $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95. Terms and Restrictions Apply.

Rick’s Review: This is the basic level card for Delta flyers (business version available also), offers compelling benefits and a low minimum spend ($500) to earn the 30,000 mile sign-up bonus. The first bag free feature for multiple passengers on your record locator can be a huge savings. I like the priority boarding for those with the card as it means I’ll find space for my carry-on. With no first yer fee this is a great starter card for those new to the frequent flyer game that fly Delta. You can always move up to higher level cards if you enjoy these perks. Apply Now!

Here’s how I use the card: We used this on our last family trip to St John, USVI. With four adults and all that grandbaby stuff, we saved a ton on checked baggage.

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The US Airways Premier World MasterCard® Benefits:

Earn up to 40,000 bonus miles on qualifying transactions EXCLUSIVE: Redeem flights for 5,000 fewer miles Zone 2 boarding on every flight Enjoy 2 miles per $1 spent on US Airways purchases Earn 1 mile per $1 spent everywhere else Annual companion certificate good for round-trip travel for up to 2 companions at $99 each, plus taxes and fees First Class check-in Please see terms and conditions for complete details

Rick’s Review: I don’t fly US Airways often, but the affiliate offer is pretty good with a 30,000 mile bonus on first purchase. The card offer does have an $89 annual fee. The US Airways card, issued by Barclays, will easily fit in an application cycle as their lone strong entry and it has been reported to be available multiple times. The redemption for domestic awards when you have this card is only 20,000 miles. And the US Airways award chart is one of the most liberal out there. Apply Now!

Here’s how I use the card: We booked a trip to Sydney, Australia for New Year 2013 with these miles in combination with our bounty from the Grand Slam promo.

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	Virgin Atlantic American Express® from Bank of America Benefits:
	20,000 bonus Flying Club miles after your first purchase 15,000 bonus Flying Club miles at card anniversary Up to 5,000 Flying Club miles when you add cardmembers 1.5 Flying Club miles per $1 on all purchases $90 annual fee (not waived first year)

Rick’s Review: I’ve never flown them nor know much of anything about their rewards program other than you can exchange Virgin miles for Hilton Honors points at a ratio of 1 to 2. The current sign-up bonus of 20K on first purchase, and 5K for additional card holders which leads to 25,000 miles or 50,000 HHonors points on transfer. The card is offered from seldom used Bank of America and has a $90 annual fee. Apply Now!

Here’s how I’ll use the card: This card has previously had 2x the signup bonus with a $2500 spend. For $90, and an inquiry from Bank of America, 100,000 Hilton HHonors is an amazing deal to diversify across creditors … but at this offer I’d consider it solely as another way to build up your HHonors balance.

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Citi® Platinum Select®/AAdvantage® Visa Signature® Card Benefits:

Earn 30,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after $1,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of cardmembership* Your first eligible checked bag is free* Priority Boarding with Group 1 privileges* and 25% savings on eligible in-flight purchases* Earn a $100 American Airlines Flight Discount every cardmembership year with qualifying purchases and cardmembership renewal* Double AAdvantage® miles on eligible American Airlines purchases* Earn 10% of your redeemed AAdvantage® miles back – up to 10,000 AAdvantage(R) miles each calendar year*

Rick’s Review: 30,000 AAdvantage miles after $1,000 in purchases isn’t a bad deal. But there are unofficial offers for 50,000 miles with differing spend amounts. Whether you go for an official offer or not, PLEASE be sure to print out the offer pages, landing pages, and verify upon activation the bonus you will receive. There are new recent benefits that include free first bag and a 10% annual rebate on award tickets. Apply Now!

Here’s how I use the cards: The OneWorld MegaDo and recent challenge from AA has me at Executive Platinum with American. AA miles have sent Katy and I around the world, and with my lifetime Platinum status with AA I think I’ll always have a Citi AA card somewhere in my possession. There are periodically three different versions of this card: MasterCard, Visa, and American Express. Most of the time the signup bonuses are the same and the famous two browser trick may apply.

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British Airways Visa Signature® Card Benefits:

You will get 50,000 bonus Avios after you make $1,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening Plus pay no foreign transaction fees when you travel abroad You will also get 2.5 Avios for every $1 spent on British Airways purchases and 1.25 Avios for every $1 spent on all other purchases Every calendar year you make $30,000 in purchases on your British Airways Visa card, you’ll earn a Travel Together Ticket good for two years Chip with Signature Technology allows you to use your card for chip based purchases in Europe & beyond, while still giving you the ability to use your card as you do today at home

Apply Now!

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	Bank of America Hawaiian Airlines® Visa Signature® Card Benefits:
	20,000 bonus miles after first purchase 15,000 bonus miles after $1k spend within 120 days Transfer miles between accounts for free Miles convert to Hilton HHonors 1:2 $79 annual fee (Not waived first year)

Rick’s Review: I always look for cards from Bank of America with travel benefits because it is a great opportunity to expand my application day. I don’t fly Hawaiian (unless I happen to grab an inter-island flight), but I do stay at plenty of Hilton properties. 35,000 miles converts to 70,000 Hilton HHonors points and there are no fees for the transfer. For the $79 fee you’re getting Hilton points at 1/10th of a penny a piece; I’ll take that every day. Put this together with the Bank of Hawaii version of this card, and an American Express Hilton Surpass card and you’ll end up with 200,000 HHonors points and Hilton Gold status. That is enough for a premium Hilton award which reduces the required points significantly. Search AXON, GLON, or HHonors Awards for more details. Apply Now!

Here’s how I use the card: Katy picked this card up in a recent application day and transferred them to her Hilton HHonors account. I’m saving my application for my next application day and will do the Bank of Hawaii card at the same time for virtually the same benefits Double the pleasure. Double the fun.

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	Bank of Hawaii Hawaiian Airlines® Visa Signature® Credit Card Benefits:
	20,000 bonus miles after first purchase 15,000 bonus miles after $1k spend within 120 days Share miles between accounts for free Miles convert to Hilton HHonors 1:2 $79 annual fee (Not waived first year)

Rick’s Review: I don’t fly Hawaiian (unless I happen to grab an inter-island flight), but I do stay at plenty of Hilton properties. 35,000 miles converts to 70,000 Hilton HHonors points and there are no fees for the transfer. For the $79 fee you’re getting Hilton points at 1/10th of a penny a piece; I’ll take that every day. Put this together with the Bank of America version of this card, and an American Express Hilton Surpass card and you’ll end up with 200,000 HHonors points and Hilton Gold status. That is enough for a premium Hilton award which reduces the required points significantly. Search AXON, GLON, or HHonors Awards for more details. Convert the points even easier by using the Share miles option. Apply Now!

Here’s how I use the card: Converting Hawaiian miles to Hilton HHonors is free, and works for us. I’m picking this card up on my next application day and will do the Bank of America card at the same time for the same benefits as this one Double the pleasure. Double the fun.

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	Bank of America Alaska Airlines® Visa Signature® Credit Card Benefits:
	25,000 bonus miles upon card approval $99 companion voucher annually 2 Free Alaska Airlines Board Room passes 3 miles per $1 spent on Alaska Airlines Annual Free $75 (not waived first year)

Rick’s Review: This card is unique for several reasons. It comes from Bank of America, which is not a big player in the credit card space, and that fact allows you another possible application on your next application day. I have more than one Bank of America Alaska Airlines cards in my portfolio. The signup bonus is excellent with 25,000 miles, 2 board room passes, and a companion cert each year at renewal for only $99 good on all fare classes. Alaska is not part of any one alliance and you can redeem your miles on 15 different airline partners including Delta and American Airlines which is unique in the industry. While there is a $75 annual fee, the benefits and diversity of the miles far outwiegh the cost to carry a few of these in my wallet Apply Now!

Here’s how I use the card: There is also a business card version is for a 20,000 mile sign up with the same annual companion cert available. Katy and I have the business and personal cards. Alaska miles give us diversity with American and Delta (the biggest presence in Savannah).

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