TIPS
Will This Hurt My Credit Score?
No. According to CreditKarma.com, having a lot of credit cards will not hurt your credit score and may even help it. Closing more than four accounts each year may make a slight difference in your score. If an account has no annual fee and bonus reward offers are for first-time customers only, leave account open for more than a year. Learn more at Wise Credit.
Open free airline and hotel reward accounts in advance. Including rewards program number in new account applications will save time later. Reward program members also receive special offers from time to time.
Fast-Track Any Plan
If you are in a hurry and don't want to wait, claim the best offers for airfare and hotel and pay out-of-pocket for food, entertainment and transportation. Free airfare and hotel may be earned with as little as $1,000/card charged to two or three cards over one or two months, and voila! your total trip costs are significantly reduced.
Triple Check Offers
Bonus offers expire and terms change. Always review and confirm terms, conditions and offer details before you open a new account.
Avoid Fees
Select credit cards that offer no annual fee or annual fee waived the first year unless you are certain that you will earn and use rewards and the value of the rewards exceeds the annual fee. Set up online account access and autopay when you open a new account. Online account access makes it easy to monitor balances, verify points and redeem rewards, and setting up automatic payment of account balances helps avoid interest charges and late fees. Free travel gets expensive if you pay interest or fees.
Open One New Credit Card At A Time
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Only open one new account at a time. Do not open the next account until you have met the minimum charge to receive the bonus. Minimum charge must be met within 90 days of account application: if you open too many accounts all at once, you will not be able to meet the minimum in time and the bonus will be forfeit. Bonus points offers are only available to new card holders (who have not had the same account open in the past 12- or 24-months).
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Some credit card issuers will only open a new account if you have had 5 or fewer new accounts opened in the past 12- or 24-months. Carefully plan the cards that you need to open to achieve your goal, and do not open any new accounts that are not in the plan, including i.e. department store accounts.
Charge Major Expenses to Multiple Cards
If you have a major expense like car or home repairs or medical bills and a cash discount is not available, charge to multiple cards to maximize rewards.
Plan Ahead. Way Ahead.
Choose airline mileage offers that best fit your current and future free travel plans. For example, if you are planning a trip to Disneyland this year, you might choose to earn Southwest Airlines miles even though there is an annual fee and save the United Airlines MileagePlus offers for future free travel to a destination not served by Southwest Airlines.
Book Ahead. Way Ahead.
Book travel as far in advance as possible for the best available dates and offers. Free Travel Genie plans and budgets are based on saver and economy award schedules, which have limited availability. Also keep in mind that many offers are only available to first-time customers or former customers whose accounts have been closed at least 24 months, so consider both current and future travel plans as you choose which offers to apply for.
Never Let Miles Expire
Unused miles may expire after 12 - 24 months depending on frequent flyer program rules. After travel is booked, remaining miles may be used for a variety of perks, from $50 Amazon.com gift cards (Southwest Airlines) to free magazine subscriptions (MagsforMiles.com), digital music and e-books (United MileagePlus) and more.