App-Party Results are in for the Wife!

Posted by Noob Master on Jul 17, 2012 in AAdvantage, American Airlines, American Express, App-Party, Avios, British Airways, business credit cards, Chase Bank, Citi Bank, Credit Cards, Miles, Starwood Preferred Guest, Uncategorized | 8 comments

And the results are IN. A perfect 100%.

Last week, I wrote about prepping for my wife’s app-party, and everything went as planned, except we applied for only 3 cards instead of 4.  When I was talking with Jordan about her apps this time around, she expressed that she would rather do 3 apps instead of 4. We are always more conservative with Jordan’s applications anyway, so this wasn’t a problem. I always tell people to only apply for the number of cards they feel comfortable with, even my wife.

The one issue this caused was- which card was I going to drop? I decided to drop the US Airways card. Since the US Airways Grand Slam isn’t confirmed yet for this year, I would wait until then to apply for her. It better be coming back this year. It’s my favorite promo! And it should be perfect timing for Jordan’s next app-party in 90-95 days. We also needed to build up our hotel points, so we went with the best hotel card in the world, the Starwood Preferred Guest card.

the Bounty

Citi American Airlines Business 50k (I receive no such referral credit for this card) 

This is technically an expired link, so you are on your own applying for it. There is no mention of the 50k AA sign-up bonus on the landing page, but many people have reported getting the bonus. Just know, YYMV (your miles may vary).

The cards deets:

• 50,000 AAdvantage miles when you spend $3,000 in 4 months.
• $100 statement credit after qualifying American Airlines purchase
• 2 Admirals lounge passes
• Annual fee waived for the first year

Jordan had this card once before and used her music LLC to apply, complete with an EIN. Yeah, she’s a legit musician. We tend to use our AAdvantage miles differently, meaning we try to go to an all inclusive 4-5 star resort every year in Mexico with her Mom and Dad. It’s tradition, and it’s easily done with AAdvantage miles.

British Airways Visa Signature Card® (expires July 17th, 5pm)

We went with the public British Airways Visa, because of the “travel together pass”. You will get 50,000 Avios on first spend with this card, another 25,000 Avios when you spend $10,000, and an additional 25,000 Avios if you spend $20,000 in 12 months. (There is also a hack version with no companion pass, see the comments in this post)

Here are the British Airways deets:

• 50,000 Avios on FIRST spend. Plus, 25,000 more Avios if you spend $10,000 in 12 months. Plus, another 25,000 Avios if you spend an additional $10k in 12 months.
• Earn 1.25 Avios per $1 on all purchases and 2.5 Avios on every dollar spent on British Airways purchases.
• Smart chip technology makes it ideal for traveling to Europe for purchases that require chip and pin.
• 0% foreign transaction fee, also ideal for foreign travel
• If you spend $30k annually, you will get a companion ticket for use on British Airways metal only. Taxes still apply.
• Annual fee of $95 is not waived.

This card is great for international travel because it has a 0% foreign transaction fee, and it has smart technology, aka chip and pin. And since we have 3 international trips on the calendar, the BA Visa made even more sense.

p.s. don’t forget to call Chase at 1-888-245-0625 if you aren’t instantly approved, or if you are denied. Jordan wasn’t instantly approved online, so we called in and 5 minutes later she was. Boom.

Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express - 25k Starwood Points

If you are new to the game, don’t be thrown off by the 25,000 sign-up bonus you see up there. The SPG card is the best hotel card in the game, and those 25,000 points are uber valuable and can be streeeeetched out.

My favorite way to use my SPG points is by redeeming them for hotel nights via the cash and points method. I can often find hotels, and I mean balling hotels (W, Westin, St. Regis, etc,) for a small amount of points (4-6k), and a small amount of cash ($40-$60). Value, value, value.

If you like transferring your points to airlines, you can do that to0 with the SPG. You can even transfer them to American Airlines and US Airways (Star Alliance and One World), and if you transfer 20,000 points, you will get a bonus of 5k. Not bad.

I don’t like transferring my SPG points to airlines, but if I did, it would be to LAN (they fly S. America), because they transfer at a 1:2 ratio. Sick Deal.

Also, award nights with Starwood count towards Elite status. That’s nice.

Here are the SPG deets:

• Starpoints® bonus: earn up to 25,000 bonus points: 10,000 after your first purchase and another 15,000 after you spend $5,000 within the first 6 months of Cardmembership
• That’s enough for a weekend getaway to a Category 4 Hotel like the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa, or six free nights at a Category 2 Hotel
• Earn up to 5 Starpoints® for each dollar of eligible purchases at participating SPG hotels and resorts – that’s 2 Starpoints for using the Card in addition to the Starpoints you earn as an SPG member. Earn 1 Starpoint for all other purchases.
• Free Hotel Nights: redeem Starpoints at over 1,100 hotels in nearly 100 countries worldwide – with no blackout dates
• Free Flights: redeem Starpoints on over 350 airlines with SPG Flights – with no blackout dates
• Get 5,000 bonus Starpoints after you transfer 20,000 Starpoints to a frequent flyer program with more than 30 airlines
• No limits on the number of Starpoints you can earn
• $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $65
• Terms and Restrictions apply.

We plan on using our Starpoints (I hate the name of their points, I usually refuse to type it out) in January in Phuket. I heard from a friend you will get ushered to your room by boat! That sounds pretty killer.

p.s. the SPG isn’t a Chase card! YaY.

the Wrap Up

There you have it- my wife’s last app party. And all have been confirmed and approved. NICE. The bounty ended up being 125,000 miles, 2 Admiral lounge passes, and a $100 statement credit. That’s a pretty tame app party, but I’m smart enough to know not to ruffle the wife’s feathers. There are some things more important than miles and points. My marriage being one.

But if it was my app-party, I definitely would’ve added the US Airways card and maybe the Hyatt Visa. Cause I’m cray cray. Also, it’s worth pointing out that Jordan already holds in her the wallet the Sapphire Preferred, Ink Bold, Southwest, United Explorer, Citi AA’s, and a few others.

When it comes time for your app-party, go with what you are comfortable applying for, and if you have any app party questions- Email Me. I don’t bite.

— Noob Master