I am planning a trip to asia in about 6 months and was wondering how can I fly using points in true FW style.
I was thinking of getting credit cards which earn asia miles but it appears I’ll have to sign up for 3 cards to earn the miles required for the trip.
Many years ago I earned a lot of Citi TY points by using Citi TY Card which essentially refunded the $$$$ spent.
Either option would be great as long as I come out ahead.
Any suggestions? 
You probably want to start the CC game 1.5 to 2 years before the trip. I think you might be too late to do it properly if you’re going in 6 months. The issue is that it generally takes a few months from when you apply for a card to:
And then once you have the points, you might need to book a year out to make sure you get a good usage of those points without getting hit by blackout dates and paying more points since the flight is near full, or just not having any award seats remaining on a given flight.
Check out the subreddit AwardTravel - they might be experts at this.
Also, I’d go for a 0% FOREX fee card for once you land. USAA 2.5% card is FOREX free if you qualify. Capital One Quicksilver is 1.5% cashback with no Forex Fee. There’s a few options you can find, and I find it useful to have at least one Forex-Fee-Free card that earns at least 1.5% because otherwise you could be using a generic 2% card with a 1% FOREX fee and still earn 1%.
Definitely this, especially if you’re going for any length of time.
Thanks @TripleB
I already have some AA Miles, MR Points and SW points but not enough to book flights.
Subreddit Awardtravel has lot of great info.
I think I have FOREX fee free cards but was wondering which card will be best card to use for booking as I remember in good old days, Citi TYP card used to give points for the miles flown even if you used it for buying a few $ drink on the flight. I do have Sapphire Reserve, SPG, PRG , Amex Blue etc
I was initially thinking of getting Asia Miles earning/partner cards like Alaska, TYP cards but gave up after learning the PIA nature of redeeming Asia miles and also BoA denied my Alaska Buss application.
I will probably apply for Citi AA card with 60000 miles bonus which will make it about 100,000 miles. I should be able to use them on Cathay Pacific flights.
My normal advice to “what cards should I do?” is “all of them.”
Since Chase is the most restrictive, not approving you if you’ve had more than 5 new accounts with any issuer in the last 24 months (5/24), do the Chase cards you want first, then do all the other banks.
Those were the days.
I am already maxed out on Chase and BoA cards (cashed out rewards). Also have 4 Amex cards so the only one left is Citi.
That doesn’t leave much. Can you do the Citi cards for AA miles? Citi personal plus biz plus the Barclays AA card should get 3x50 or whatever the current bonus is.
Amex Plat? The 4 cards don’t count charge products.
If you’re going in economy, I’d consider just buying the tickets. There have been a bunch of sub $500 sales lately, although you’d have to position somewhere to fly it unless you happen to live in LA/SF/NY or wherever they happen to depart from. For business, I’d use miles unless you see a really cheap revenue fare.
Thanks @TravelerMSY
Please explain what do you mean by that.
If given a choice I won’t fly economy class since it is so hard to sit in those tiny seats for such a long haul flights.
My options seems to be limited to Citi cards for AA miles and/or TYPs.
TYPs have more flexibility but limited to only TYP card per 24 months while AA miles can also be earned from Barclaycards
As I understand it, you can have four credit cards with Amex and four charge cards, not four total cards. Y’all correct me if I’m wrong,
I second what TripleB says. 6 months is probably cutting it too close to earn enough points to book a non-economy flight across the pacific. How many non-economy seats are available for travel in 2 months (it will take at least 4 months to get the points) for 100,000 points on cathay pacific right now?
Thanks Guys.
I applied for Barclaycard AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard which gives 60,000 bonus miles when you make your first purchase in the first 90 days and pay the annual fee of $95.
I also applied for Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite MasterCard which is offering 60,000 miles after $3,000 in spend within the first three months. Annual fee of $95 is waived the first year.
Got approved for Citi but Barclaycard application is pending.
I already have about 30k miles in my AA account. So, I’ll have 150,000 (60k+60k+ 30K) for $95 if everything goes as planned.