Question
Having recently tripled the currency conversion fee for foreign purchases, First USA (issuers of the UA Visa cards) has now reduced the cycle period for monthly statements from 25 to 20 days. So my bill which used to be due around the 3rd is now due on the 28th - I am not happy!
Can anyone recommend a credit card for building UA miles other than First USA?
Answer
Try the MBNA Amtrak Guest Rewards card. There have been plenty of posts on this alternative, no annual fee, card which can be used to earn MP mileage.
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just applied over the phone. forget the MBNA web site however, there's no mention of it there...
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As has been said many times, the Starwood American Express card is the best. Points transfer to most airlines 1:1 with a 25% bonus if you transfer 20,000 at a time.
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only problem with Amex is that some merchants still don't accept it.
my MBNA Amtrak Mastercard is on the way, they approved me over the phone...
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I also noticed that First USA has an earlier payment date this month. I don't know if this is just the luck of the calendar or a policy change. I remember before the FirstUSA takeover of these cards, they'd send out statements dated the 12th, with postmarks sometimes several days later, then ask for payments a few days after that. FirstUSA has been much more tolerant until now, and maybe will continue to be in the future.
I'm not worried abotu FirstUSA payment dates. After they said they were uping the foreign currency charge to 3%, I looked into my cards and FF accounts and found I had a lot of unused Delta and Amex miles. I began using my AMEX card and I also got a Delta Amex card at no charge for the first year. I'm booked in Bus1st on Delta for my next trip, and when I round off my AMEX miles, I'll stick to my Delta Amex card for a while. I got 10,000 bonus miles for getting the Delta card, and I get double miles for using it at gas stations and grocery stores.
If FirstUSA hadn't changed their foreign currency fees, I would never have done any of this. I feel like I should write them a thank you note.
Answer
Check the HawaiianMiles MasterCard.
New card applications, now thru May 31, will get double miles for the first 6 months.
Plat cards cost $50 per year and will earn 10K bonus miles.
Standard cards cost $25 per year and will earn 5K bonus miles.
Additionally, you can link 2 other HawaiianMiles accounts to the cardholders account for the purpose of redemption of miles.
So, for $50, and $12,250 in spending, you'll earn 35K miles = a free R/T ticket to Hawaii!
[10K bonus miles + 500 point online profile update bonus + 24,500 miles from purchases].
I think this deal is impossible to beat!
Note: Could be even faster if you transfer AMEX MR points or use the linking feature!
Special link necessary to get the double miles promo:
http://www.hawaiianair.com/specials/hmiles/mcarddouble.asp#
Other info link:
http://hawaiianair.com/hawaiianmiles/memberservices/mc.asp
If you decide to get the card, sign up for HawaiianMiles Akamai program and benefit others while you earn miles! See this FT thread:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum25/HTML/000104.html
Answer
FirstUSA is notoriously terrible about dates. I had a TicketMaster reward card a few years back... at least 6 of my bill due dates were mysteriously on dates they did not accept payment (Sundays or holidays when convenient). They are also fairly aggressive about tacking on late fees. I had yet to ever pay a late fee (or pay late) until I had a card w/FirstUSA. I recommend avoiding them.