Two Airlines CC or Starwood

[hoo8myryce]

Hi All,

I'm wondering if it is wise to keep two airline specific credit card. Only reason for me to do this is earn higher status for the carrier and their respective alliance. So my question to fellow Mr. Credit Card forum member is, should I keep my UA and AA credit card or should I change to more generic credit card that allows transfer of points to miles ie. Starwood.

-Thanks

[Creditnet.com]

I'd recommend getting just one rewards card for miles. You may end up saving money as well if both your airline cards are charging an annual fee. One reason to consolidate is so you can redeem your miles faster. Let's say, just for example's sake, you spend $40,000 in one year on your credit cards, and you put $20K on the UA card and $20K on the AA card, earning you 20,000 miles on each card. Well, if you need 25,000 miles to redeem a flight, you've earned 0 free flights! But if you consolidate, then you'll have earned 40,000 miles on one card, enough to redeem for at least 1 flight and maybe a couple night's stay in a nice hotel.

If you do fly a lot, I recommend the Citi Premier Pa ss Elite Card. You'll earn miles for all your purchases AND for every mile you fly. Here's an example:

If you purchase a $400 UA ticket with your Citi PremierPa ss Elite card, this is what you'll earn:

400 purchase points
2000 flight points (1 point for each mile flown)
2000 UA points (this is through the individual airline's frequent flier program)

So you'll essentially earn double miles for each and every mile you fly! And if you buy your friend or family member a flight on your card, you'll earn flight points for their flight too!

This is definitely one of the most rewarding airline miles rewards cards on the market today.