Planning my own AOR today-ish and am un-enthused by the options I'm seeing. Need to get the SW Plus & Premier for 2016 Companion Pass, so I figured I'd look around to see what to add on. May pick up an AS card or two (don't have any AS), can't seem to get excited about Thank You points yet, have Discover IT. Looking to add more to my hotel portfolio, but IHG bonus is meager right now...any hotel ideas?
App-O-Rama Time.. what would you do?
- Thread starter Matt
- Start date
haserfauld
Level 2 Member
I urge you to take a closer look at TY points, especially if you live near an AA/US hub. They are the red-headed stepchild of points to a lot of people (second only to Hilton), but they really do have some great value, especially because Citi hands them out like candy.
I'm in AUS, but am actually working towards a long term RTW trip next year. I actually have a boatload of Hilton, plan to use them strategically in SE Asia/Egypt. For Thank You rewards, I'm still struggling to see the light. The only things that really jump out are Flying Blue and maybe Virgin, namely because I don't know the other booking systems, so I weary of having points I don't know how to use properly. Wish there was another hotel partner...will take a look at their cards again, though, I know they have some hotel booking perks I could leverage.
sungchiahao
Level 2 Member
What is the advantage of doing AOR vs spreading out applications month-to-month? I guess I am not comfortable doing meeting min spend for $15,000 in 3 months with 5 cards so I am afraid to do AOR.
haserfauld
Level 2 Member
Truthfully, the value of TY points does not come from Transfer Partners, unless you have a specific award booking in mind. If you hold the Citi Prestige card, you get 1.6 cents per point when you use points to book flights on US/AA. You can use a combination of points and cash, which is convenient because there is no point threshold you need to get to before booking. Also, these are cash fares, which means they're EQM/BIS earning fares. I recently used 25,420 TY points to book a flight I could have used 25K AA miles for, but I'll earn 5K EQM/BIS miles, so I went with the cash fare. You get 1.33 cents per mile for non AA/US flights.
I have an unrealistic dream setup, which involves a 5x earning Forward, a no-fee Premier, discounted Prestige, as well as bank accounts earning TY points monthly. The Forward is a thing of the past, but for someone just getting in, I'd recommend getting the Premier + Prestige for 100K+ TY points, then product change the Premier to a Double Cash (or other no-AF card) and/or play the retention game every year.
Interesting, thanks for the insight! I was referring to the 4th night free thing, but as I'm just refreshing on it now, I realize that's only through the 'concierge,' so it won't be ideal for my needs. But I forgot about using the points for AA flights...must research.
When I first got into the game, I didn't do AOR, I just applied one at a time, hit the spend, and moved on to the next. Starting slow was important for me and worked out well.
My understanding of why some people do AOR is that if the banks/cards you're applying for pull from the same credit reporting agency, there's a chance they'll get lumped together and look like one application (hard pull?) thus theoretically affecting your credit less. I'm not sure if this really works or not, it's more like a 'fingers crossed' situation for me. After doing this for a while, I'm now able to hit minimum spends very easily, thus I am able to apply for a lot more cards. Since I can apply for a lot more cards, somehow I've convinced myself that it makes sense to lump the apps together in the chance that they overlap and look like one credit pull. I'm not sure it's an exact science, more of a personal preference, but someone more versed than I might have a lot more to say on the subject.
sillystraws
Level 2 Member
One of the biggest advantages of the AoR is not taking a hit on your AAoA. Since most of the time new accounts do not post until the following day, your AAoA will still be high. The credit inquiries may show up, but the accounts probably won't.
jd13
Level 1.75 Member
Where does one get 100k points for the Prestige? Or is that 100k for both?
haserfauld
Level 2 Member
For both.
There's a targeted 100k offer still floating around, SO of a member here recently received one.
My wife's "secondary" AMEX Hilton app showed as approved just today. Exactly 5 days after the applications and approval of the first. I'm happy to get it approved, only slightly bummed that an extra HP was involved. But you were dead on here!
MickiSue
Level 2 Member
Husband received the 100K Prestige offer. Just got the card. I stupidly didn't set myself up as the AU at the app, thinking, "Oh, I should try for it, too." Then, too late, realized I hadn't gotten the offer. D'oh. As soon as the card arrived, I added myself.
Card came in a special box, with glossy flyers included. Next day, his PIN came in a next day air envelope. He's never applied for more than a platinum, and the level of "You are a special sunflower" attention to detail amuses him.
The priority pass will come in handy for him on the trips to/from VCE. There isn't a club in MSP, but there are at JFK, FCO and VCE.
He can upgrade the trans-Atlantic to premium coach on Alitalia, and get the fee back now, without using any of our A+ points that we're using for Jamaica. (One of the perks of Prestige is $250 in travel fees reimbursement).
FWIW, he has excellent credit, and had 0 Citi cards. They sent a constant parade of offers, all of which I tossed. This one was worth waiting for.
Card came in a special box, with glossy flyers included. Next day, his PIN came in a next day air envelope. He's never applied for more than a platinum, and the level of "You are a special sunflower" attention to detail amuses him.
The priority pass will come in handy for him on the trips to/from VCE. There isn't a club in MSP, but there are at JFK, FCO and VCE.
He can upgrade the trans-Atlantic to premium coach on Alitalia, and get the fee back now, without using any of our A+ points that we're using for Jamaica. (One of the perks of Prestige is $250 in travel fees reimbursement).
FWIW, he has excellent credit, and had 0 Citi cards. They sent a constant parade of offers, all of which I tossed. This one was worth waiting for.
Voyaging Doc
Level 2 Member
Very nice. I wonder if it is worth (eternally) waiting to get a targeted offer for the card but I tend to get 0 offers other than the once-every-quarter 50k offer from Chase UA. I don't know if it's because I'm on some do-not-market list but on every card I've signed up for in the past few years I have accepted all marketing info/newsletters in the account settings. Does enlisting as an AU on a card increase targeting for special offers?
Yes it was funny to get that sort of special Citi welcome mailing for all my Exec cards. Though it didn't make me feel bad about canceling them to get the AF back. :-D
MickiSue
Level 2 Member
The benefits just keep coming. I added myself as an AU, the day his card arrived. My Priority Pass showed up yesterday, but the card still hasn't. So, I called. Was transferred to the Prestige CSR. When I explained the situation, she checked, and thought it might still be on its way--but it was mailed over a week ago, so...not likely. And we have mailboxes at the street, where things can occasionally go missing. AND, I had a card stolen on its way to me, back during the NWA baggage handlers at Logan theft ring era.
The upshot? She's cancelling both our cards and the new cards will be here on Tuesday. They're next day airing them. Also, when I mentioned the urgency, d/t leaving on Wed, she told me that "If I don't talk to you on Tuesday"(to activate the two new cards), be sure to have a wonderful time on your trip."
Now that's customer service.
The upshot? She's cancelling both our cards and the new cards will be here on Tuesday. They're next day airing them. Also, when I mentioned the urgency, d/t leaving on Wed, she told me that "If I don't talk to you on Tuesday"(to activate the two new cards), be sure to have a wonderful time on your trip."
Now that's customer service.