Questions and Answers

Im new to all of this and have been having some difficulty deciding what alliance and credit card is best for me. My wife and I mostly travel in the US, but we have many trips we want to take overseas. Most of the places on our wishlist are in Europe and Asia/Australia/Japan/Southeast Asia, and maybe Dubai. What alliances or airlines would you guys recommend for us and why? Also what cards do you guys prefer?

Cole, are you located at or near a hub airport? Just trying to see what might be more convenient for you before we answer.

Yes im located just south of Chicago. Ive been thinking United just for this reason, and the versatility of the Chase Sapphire card.

[USER=1430]@Cole[/USER]–unless you travel regularly for work or are otherwise committed to a particular airline for status your’e likely best off accumulating points in a couple of different transferable currencies between UR/MR/TYP/SPG. This should give you enough flexibility to find space when you need to travel and not be locked into one carrier.

[QUOTE=”Gaurav, post: 12245, member: 79″][USER=1430]@Cole[/USER]–unless you travel regularly for work or are otherwise committed to a particular airline for status your’e likely best off accumulating points in a couple of different transferable currencies between UR/MR/TYP/SPG. This should give you enough flexibility to find space when you need to travel and not be locked into one carrier.[/QUOTE]

What do the UR, MR stand for? Is the TYP thank you points?

Sorry: Ultimate Rewards (Chase), Membership Rewards (American Express), and you’re correct on TYP.

[QUOTE=”Gaurav, post: 12250, member: 79″]Sorry: Ultimate Rewards (Chase), Membership Rewards (American Express), and you’re correct on TYP.[/QUOTE]

Now is there any chance you can combine your points for these cards, or only with qualifying airlines?

[USER=1430]@Cole[/USER] you can combine your points across different cards that earn the same currency, you can often combine points with a spouse/Authorized user, and sometimes use the points to fund accounts at the same airline (for e.g. Singapore is a transfer partner for multiple currencies). You cannot directly transfer points to another bank’s currency like UR-MR.

Could me and my wife technically apply for the same card and both of us get the bonus points, or would they not allow that?

[USER=1430]@Cole[/USER]

Both of you can apply for the same card and get the bonuses.

[USER=1430]@Cole[/USER] – if you haven’t already it might you understand some of the terminology if you read Lucky’s Beginner’s Guide, which is located under the Start Here tab at the top of the page.

Yeah i actually have read through it twice now, just didnt get the abbreviations,