Can you please tell me the best air miles credit card? I would like a
low fee but I'm not worried about APR. I would like to know that I can
use any airline, with few blackout dates and that there are no hidden
caps - what actually happens when you hit the cap...do you still get
to buy the ticket but you pay more...how much more? And how many miles
do you need to get a ticket to the next state -is it different from a
ticket across country; is it different from a ticket abroad...and are
there any other restrictions to fly internationally? Is there a limit
to how many miles you can earn in a period and how long do you get to keep
them before they expire? Can you sort this out and give me your best choices?
Thanks,
Jeff

Hello -

Thank you for your question.

If you have any questions about this research, please don't hesitate to ask.

CardRatings.com is an award-winning source for credit card
evaluations.  They use objective methodologies for rating cards, have
been educating consumers about credit cards since 1998, and have been
featured by National Public Radio, The Wall Street Journal, Consumer
Reports®, Money Magazine, PBS, and other media sources.

I spoke to the founder, Curtis Arnold, who is a recognized expert in
the industry.  He is quoted in many of the above periodicals with
regard to credit card choices, and is well-versed in the many options
available.   He provided me with his two top picks for airline miles
cards.  I then called and spoke to the respective card companies to
obtain the specific information you've requested.


Capital One MilesOne Card (Mr. Arnold's preference)
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Annual Fee: $19
APR: 9.9%

Use any airline?
  Yes.

How many blackout dates? 
  None

What actually happens when you hit the cap, do you still get
to buy the ticket but you pay more...how much more? 
  If the ticket you'd like to redeem is more expensive than the value cap, you 
  can pay the difference and, by charging this difference on your Miles One   
  Rewards card, you'll earn more miles toward your next ticket. 

How many miles do you need to get a ticket to the next state -- is it
different from a ticket across country; is it different from a ticket
abroad...and are there any other restrictions to fly internationally?
  Cost of ticket x 90; that's how many miles you need to go anywhere;
  no other restrictions.
   
Is there a limit to how many miles you can earn in a period and how
long do you get to keep them before they expire?
  8,000 miles per billing period; 50,000 over 12 billing periods
  Once a cap is reached, additional points are not accumulated.
  
Obtain more information and apply at: 800-548-4593, option 3



MBNA Elite Rewards Platinum Plus Card
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Annual Fee: None.
APR: Depending on offer/advertisement: 5.99% - 12.99%

This card has received the highest rating by consumers on the site.

Use any airline?
  Yes.

How many blackout dates? 
  None.

What actually happens when you hit the cap, do you still get
to buy the ticket but you pay more...how much more? 
  Earn as many points as you like.  21 day advanced booking with Saturday night   
  stay requirement for non-international flights; International: 7 day minimum 
  stay, 30 day maximum.

How many miles do you need to get a ticket to the next state - is it
different from a ticket across country; is it different from a ticket
abroad...and are there any other restrictions to fly internationally?
  25,000 points within the 50 states; Alaska, Hawaii, Caribbean, Puerto Rico: 
  35K; Europe: 50,000; Other: 75,000
 
Is there a limit to how many miles you can earn in a period and how
long do you get to keep them before they expire?
  Good for 5 years.
 
You can get 2 points for every dollar at certain places you shop:  
Bed bath and Beyond, Uno's, Sharper Image, and many more.
  
Obtain more information and apply at: 800-932-2775


For more information
?????????????????????????
You can visit CardRatings.com to find additional information on the
various card offerings:

http://www.cardratings.com/

Here's a link to the air miles credit card listings:
http://www.cardratings.com/airrewardb.html

A link to the credit card search form:
http://www.cardratings.com/form.html


Additional Link
?????????????????????????
  Yahoo! Finance has a service that claims to list the "best" frequent flyer 
  mile cards.  You can actually compare more than one of them side by side by 
  clicking on the radio button to the left of each card's name that you want to 
  compare.   Then click on the Compare button:

  http://finance.yahoo.com/creditcards/results?b=1&c=7&e=25&f=5&o=1&t=0&ef=&


Select Search Strategy
?????????????????????????
  best "frequent flyer miles"
  "frequent flyer miles" reviews
  
  
Thank you,

jbf777

---

Clarification of Answer by jbf777-ga on 03 Aug 2004 18:37 PDT

Jeff -

Mr. Arnold just informed that Capital One has a brand new enhanced
airline card called the "Capital One Go Miles Ultra Card".  This card
does not have a cap on the number of miles that you can earn or a
pre-set spending limit. The fee is a little higher at $39. Details
follow:
 
# Double miles on travel (airfares, hotel stays, car rentals, etc.) the first year
 
# Flexibility to use your miles for almost anything
 
# Fly free for as few as 9,000 miles
 
# Fly any airline, anytime with no blackout dates
 
# No cap on the number of miles you can earn
 
# No pre-set spending limit
 
# Low $39 annual fee
 
# 2,000 bonus miles with your first purchase
 
See http://www.capitalone.com/

---

Request for Answer Clarification by jefec-ga on 04 Aug 2004 08:07 PDT

Excellent work! So, for the new "Capital One Go Miles Ultra Card" do
you get the same price of ticket x90 rate? Sounds like that could be
the card. What do you think?
J

---

Clarification of Answer by jbf777-ga on 04 Aug 2004 08:44 PDT

Jeff -

Yes, same ticket x 90 rate.  

As for the card, seems like a very good choice to me!

jbf777

---

Clarification of Answer by jbf777-ga on 04 Aug 2004 11:13 PDT

The original Miles One card has just changed to "Go Miles"... so when
you call them, be sure to reference "Go Miles *Ultra*".

jbf777

---

Clarification of Answer by jbf777-ga on 05 Aug 2004 10:46 PDT

Jeff -

Thank you for the kind words, rating, and tip! 

Correction on the answer:

My apologies; the representative I originally spoke to at MBNA gave me
the point breakdown for a different card.  Here's the breakdown for
the Elite Rewards Card:

Airline Travel Redemption Levels:
 
25,000 pts - Anywhere within your zone§§§
30,000 pts - Anywhere within the Continental U.S.
35,000 pts - From 48 contiguous states to Mexico, Caribbean or Canada
40,000 pts - From 48 contiguous states to Hawaii or Alaska
45,000 pts - From Hawaii/Alaska to Mexico, Caribbean or Canada
50,000 pts - From 48 contiguous states to Europe
60,000 pts - From 50 states to Central/South America
75,000 pts - From Hawaii/Alaska to Europe
75,000 pts - From 50 states to South Pacific/Asia
80,000 pts - From 50 states to Africa/Middle East
85,000 pts - From 50 states to Australia/New Zealand
150,000 pts - Ticket to anywhere around the world from the U.S.!

§§§Travel must be wholly within Zone 1 or within Zone 2 or within Zone
3. Crossover to another zone is not permitted.
 
ZONE 1 - (Western U.S.) AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, ND, NM, NV, OR, SD, UT, WA, WY
 
ZONE 2 - (Middle U.S.) AL, AR, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MI, MN, MO, MS,
NE, OH, OK, TX, WI
 
ZONE 3 - (Eastern U.S.) CT, DE, FL, GA, MA, MD, ME, NC, NH, NJ, NY,
PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT, WV


--

Please stop by again!

jbf777

---

Request for Answer Clarification by jefec-ga on 06 Aug 2004 06:07 PDT

Thanks, jbf. So that rate sheet would be of interest vs. the Capital
card if airfares were to suddenly skyrocket. But then again, there's
no strict law that they can't revise the rates, right? So I'm going
with Capital for now.
Thanks,
Jeff

---

Clarification of Answer by jbf777-ga on 06 Aug 2004 09:20 PDT

Yes, this kind of thing changes all the time. 

jbf777

Excellent. Glad to know that your expertise is available on such a
mundane topic as well as the deeper range I see from your other
research. Keep up the high standards.
All the best,
 J

Another good card for flexible air travel is the American Express
Starwood card.  It collects up reward points that can be transfered to
a wide variety of airline frequent flyer programs.  You are also
granted a bonus of 125% when redeaming miles giving it a slight edge
over the other cards if you are running a lot of money through a
credit card.

Hi sh_flyer-ga,
Do you mean that when you redeem 10,000 miles you get 12,500? Is there
an annual fee? Annual cap on the miles you can earn? That you can use?
What airlines are included?
Jeff