Win A Systemwide Upgrade

A loyal MileNerd reader named TJ has started his own blog. He’s giving away an American Airlines Systemwide Upgrade (SWU) for February. He’s a new blogger, so the odds are pretty decent that you could win an upgrade for your flight. Get all the information and check out his blog here. 

Piles Of Miles

  • Minimum spend to meet, head to OfficeMax between now and Saturday. $10 off each $50 MasterCard gift card when you buy two of them. That cancels out your activation fee and then some. Obviously, some of you clever people out there will be buying more than two!
  • Also, you can still get 1.4% cash back on American Express gift cards from BigCrumbs. Just search for American Express Gift Card.
  • If you are a USAA member, click here and get a 40% discount on hotel bookings through Saturday using coupon code USAA1.
  • For gift card sellers, get $20 off your next purchase if you sell $200 worth of cards here.
  • Earn double miles with Fairmont hotel bookings here.
  • Get 100% bonus purchasing US Airways miles.
  • 500 free Spirit miles when you join MyPoints.

Results From This Round Of Cards

Last week, I talked about my recent history of credit card applications (including the latest round that day). A week later, I have the results:

  1. American Airlines Business card – APPROVAL
  2. Club Carlson card – APPROVAL
  3. Upgrading Hilton Card To Hilton Surpass – AUTOMATIC APPROVAL
  4. Amex Platinum – INSTANT APPROVAL
  5. Southwest Airlines card – APPROVAL
  6. Barclays Frontier Airlines card – DENIAL

All except the the last 2 were easy. The Southwest card was a moronic move by me. I already had a Personal and Business card active with Southwest. I didn’t look at my spreadsheet when I applied. I thought I had my card inventory memorized and was sloppy. Chase denied the application, so I called the reconsideration phone number. We had a nice conversation, I agreed to close an existing Southwest card, and got the new one opened. The Barclays card was denied for my “sufficient credit with Barclays.” I plan to call their reconsideration number today and close a card to get this one open. Should be 6 for 6.
Also, I got my credit score with the denial. It was listed as 772. This is after applying for almost 40 cards in the last couple years, closing most of them, and opening 5 or 6 checking accounts. I do it carefully and I breathe easy. 
Just don’t get sloppy. A reader emailed me saying she closed one of her oldest cards with a $40,000 limit and no annual fee. Not surprisingly, her credit score took a hit. I almost had a heart attack. I asked her, “Why would you ever close that card? It has no annual fee and it’s been open forever. And it has a huge limit! Close these new cards!” Her explanation? “I don’t know. I just got tired of keeping it open.” My answer? Please don’t email me anymore.

SpaFinder And Delta

8 Delta SkyMiles per dollar spent. That’s what you’ll get when you buy anything (including gift cards) from SpaFinder.com this month. Some of you will go to town on this one I’m sure. Click here and do your thing.

Following Up With Platinum

If you got the limited-time Platinum card offer this week, you have one of the top credit cards in the world. You’re paying a big annual fee (prorated if you close it early), but there are incredible benefits in addition to the 100,000 points. It seems like the people contacting me don’t know what this card can do. Some features are below. Remember, you need to call or click here to enroll in many of these.

  • Free Gold status with Starwood.
  • Airport lounge access with American, Delta, and US Airways.
  • Additional lounge access with Priority Pass Select. 
  • Global entry fee waived. This is a $100 value and an amazing way to avoid customs lines.
  • $200 yearly refund on incidental airline charges. Yes, gift cards have been known to work.
  • Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts access – Awesome way to book hotels. Upgrades, breakfast, and late checkout

If you missed out on this offer, hold tight. There should be another great one coming soon!