2. Credit Card 101
The Art of the Sign-Up Bonus
Category and Spending Bonuses
Perks and Benefits
Creating Credit Card Spend
My Three Favorite Transferable Points Programs: Amex,
Chase and Starwood

3. Transferable Cobranded Fixed Value
Strengths: Strengths: Perks, Strengths:
Flexibility, mileage and points Reliability and Elite
Diversification bonuses Miles
Weaknesses: No Weaknesses: Lack Weaknesses: Lack
airline/hotel- of flexibility, perks of
specific perks same as elite aspirational/premi
benefits um options

4. How is it calculated?
35% payment history
30% amounts owed
15% length of credit history
10% new credit
10% types of credit
FICO vs. FAKO
Get your credit score for free at AnnualCreditReport.com

5. If you run huge balances, focus on paying them down and
putting them on a 0% intro APR card like Chase Slate
Have poor credit
Cannot manage credit
Are taking a major loan in the next 6 months
Alternative - Debit Cards: SunTrust Delta, Bank of America
Alaska, PerkStreet Financial Cashback

6. Tied to personal credit
Personal hard inquiry but once open, business credit line is
on different credit report
Fewer consumer protections
Lucrative earning opportunities
Apply as sole proprietor with SSN

8.  Thepointsguy.com – Top Deals Page
 Open your mail! You might be surprised
 The forums/social media: FlyerTalk, MilePoint
 Follow me on Twitter: @thepointsguy

9. Chase Ink Bold and Ink Plus: 50,000 Ultimate Rewards when
spend $5,000 in 6 months. $687-$7,000 in value.
Southwest Personal and Business: 50,000 Rapid Reward
points when spend $2,000 in 3 months. Value: $3,000 for both.
Citi American Airlines Cards: 50,000 miles when spend $2,500
in 4 months on each – two cards at once. Value: $2,680 for both.
Chase British Airways Visa: 50,000 Avios for $1,000 in 3
months, 50,000 more when spend $20,000 in a year. Value: $1,600-
$2,600.
American Express Mercedes-Benz Platinum: 50,000
Membership Rewards points for spending $1,000 in 3 months.
Value: $1,250.

11. Put every expense possible on your card – as long as you’re
not paying fees
Charity donations
Buy Gift Cards
Advanced: Payment Services like ChargeSmart and
WilliamPaid (generally 3%), Amazon Payments $1,000 per
month to another person with no fee

13.  Airfare:  Gas:  Grocery:  Dining:
Hilton Citi Hilton Hilton Citi Forward
Reserve 5x, Reserve 5x, Amexes 6x, 5x, Chase
Premier Premier Premier Sapphire
Rewards Rewards 2x, Rewards 2x Preferred
Gold 3x, Chase Ink 2x, Chase
Chase Bold 2x Hyatt Visa
Sapphire 2x
Preferred,
Airline Co-
Branded
Cards

14. In addition to sign-up bonuses, many credit cards offer
additional perks for hitting certain spend thresholds such
as:
Bonus Points: American Express Premier Rewards
Airline Elite Miles: American Express Delta Reserve
Hotel Elite Status: Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve
Companion Tickets: Chase British Airways Visa

15. Keep cards open at least 6 months to avoid red flags
Transfer or use points before closing an account
To renew or not to renew? Do the math.
Example: Chase Hyatt Visa gives you a free night at a Category 1-
4 hotel each year – more than makes up for the $75 annual fee
What it means for your credit when you cancel?
Call and ask them to waive annual fee – it never hurts to ask!
Don’t cancel, downgrade so you can use as bargaining tool for
future cards
Keep a couple no-fee cards around. Best: Chase Freedom

17. Pros:
16 airline partners
4 hotel partners
Transfer bonuses – Delta, British Airways, Virgin America
Transfers post instantaneously (mostly)
Has added some partners like British Airways, Virgin America (bad ratio)
Cons:
Losing transfer partners – Continental, Southwest, Airtran, Priority Club
6/100 cents per point for transfers to US airlines
Earning portal shut down
Pay With Points Dropping to 1 cent on all cards, except Business Platinum

18. Star Alliance OneWorld
• Aeroplan 1:1 • British Airways 1:1
• All Nippon Airways 1:1 • Iberia 1:1
• Singapore Airlines 1:1 • Asia Miles 1:1
Airline Transfer
Partners
Skyteam Other
• Aeromexico 1:1 • El Al 50:1 JetBlue 1.25:1
• Alitalia Airlines 1:1 • Frontier 1:1 Virgin America 2:1
• Delta 1:1 • Hawaiian 1:1 Virgin Atlantic 1:1
• Air France/KLM 1:1

19. • Positives: Instant transfers, transfer
bonuses, some great values from
distance-based awards, no last-minute
booking fees
British • Negatives: High fuel surcharges,
Airways segment pricing on awards, hard to
search for some awards
• Good awards: Expensive short- and
mid-haul flights. Ex: New York to Toronto

20. • Best Western 1:1
• Choice Privileges 1:1
Hotel Transfer • Hilton HHonors 1:1.5
Partners • Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts 23:1
• Starwood 3:1
Tip: Transfer points to Virgin Atlantic at 1:1 and then
Virgin Atlantic to Hilton at 2:1- better than the standard
direct transfer ratio of 1: 1.5

21. Earn 1 point per dollar spent (Premier Rewards is 3x on airfare
and 2x on gas & groceries, 4x per dollar with Amex Travel)
Points go into pending status for a month after statement close
(can be expedited)
Cannot combine Membership Rewards points
Transfer to anyone!
- Link (not enroll!) their account to your account
membershiprewards.com -> Points Summary -> Bottom right
- Advance points for free, just earn them back
- Up to 60,000 for Platinum
- 15,000 for most other cards (not corporate)
- Buy points at 2.5 cents each, up to 500,000 a year!

22. Pay With Points
Easy, but fixed value: 1 cent (1.25 for Business Platinum)
- A $5,000 business class ticket would require 500,000 points!
- Could be an okay decision for cheap domestic tickets
Earns elite status just like a purchased ticket

23. Pros:
Adding partners
Most transfers instantaneous
No transfer fees
Transfer points to anyone else, combine points with anyone else
Points post right after statement closes
Good customer service
Cons:
Limited number of partners
No transfer bonuses yet

24. • British Airways 1:1
• Korean Air 1:1
Airline • Southwest 1:1
• United 1:1
• Hyatt 1:1
• Priority Club 1:1
Hotel • Marriott 1:1
• The Ritz Carlton 1:1
Other • Amtrak 1:1

25. • Positives: Low points requirements for free
nights, great elite perks
• Negatives: Just over 400 properties
worldwide
Hyatt • Good awards: Top-tier redemptions for
22,000 points like Park Hyatt Paris Vendome,
only 6,000 points to upgrade paid stays for up
to 4 nights

26. Pay With Points:
1.25 cents per point in travel (Sapphire Preferred & Ink
Bold), 1 cent for Freedom
Transfer to anyone: ultimaterewards.com -> Manage
Ultimate Rewards -> Combine Points -> Transfer To Other
-> Enter credit card number and last name
Chase Experiences

27. Pros:
Over 1,100 properties
Cash & Points
Reward stays count toward elite status
30 airline partners
5,000 point bonus on transfers of 20,000 points
Cons:
Member can only transfer to own accounts
No other transfer bonuses
Posting times vary greatly
No shopping portal

28. Airline Transfer Partners Other
Aeroplan 1:1 British Airways 1:1 LAN 1:2 Amtrak 1:1
Air Berlin 1:1 China Eastern 1:1 Mexicana Frecuenta 1:1
Air China 1:1 China Southern 1:1 Miles and More 1:1
Air New Zealand 65:1 Delta 1:1 Qatar Airways 1:1
Alaska Airlines 1:1 Emirates 1:1 Saudi Arabian 1:1
Alitalia 1:1 Etihad Airways 1:1 Singapore Airlines 1:1
ANA 1:1 Flying Blue 1:1 Thai Airways 1:1
American Airlines 1:1 Hawaiian 1:1 US Airways 1:1
Asia Miles 1:1 Japan Airlines 1:1 United Mileage Plus 2:1
Asiana Airlines 1:1 King Club 1:1 VARIG Smiles 2:1
Virgin Atlantic 1:1

29. Airline Transfer Time In Days
Delta 1
Aeroplan 3
Air Berlin 4
ANA 4
Virgin Atlantic 6
American Airlines 8
US Airways 8
Alaska Airlines 8
British Airways 9
LAN 9
United 11
Asia Miles 15
Asiana N/A
Flying Blue N/A

30. • Positives: Low fees, one-way awards, free
stopovers in your destination
• Negatives: Ticketing fees, no international
stopovers
• Good awards: 40,000 Off Peak awards to
American Europe October 15-April 15; Cathay Pacific First
Class North America-Asia for 67,500
• Alaska: 115,000 SPG Points = Cathay Pacific First
roundtrip to Asia for 140,000 miles roundtrip.
Other partners: Icelandair, Emirates

32. Your credit score is an asset. It is critical and you can leverage it
to earn hundreds of thousands of points and miles a year
Think long-term: It’s not just about sign-up miles and points –
perks, status, bonuses
Hop on deals when they come – they don’t last long
Don’t bite off more than you can chew
Always set auto-payments – make sure you don’t miss a payment
Strategize Your Spend