There's a 50K US Airways MasterCard signup bonus offer now available as a public offer, so I've updated the Best Travel Credit Cards page with it. Previously, there were some reports of targeted 50K Dividend Miles offers, but this offer is now available to everyone.
Here are the details:
- Earn 50,000 bonus Dividend Miles after your first purchase and payment of the $89 annual fee (NOT waived first year)
- First checked bag free on eligible bags for you and up to four companions on domestic US Airways operated flights
- One companion certificate good for up to 2 guests to travel with you on a US Airways operated flight at $99 each, plus tax
- Priority boarding Zone 2 on US Airways operated flights
- Earn miles on every purchase with 2 miles for every $1 you spend on US Airways purchases
- Receive a 25% savings on eligible US Airways and American Airlines in-flight purchases
As you'll note, the $89 annual fee is not waived, but you do earn the bonus after first purchase and payment of the annual fee, so this is a good credit card to apply for when you're also applying for other credit cards with higher minimum spend requirements.
The other great thing about this card is that you can earn the bonus again, even if you already have this card. No guarantee you'll get approved, of course, especially as Barclays tends to be pickier than other issuers and will decline you if you've had too many recent credit inquiries, but in general some have had success getting approved for a new card just 6-9 months after getting the first one.
That's much better than the Citi AAdvantage cards, where you'll generally only be able to get approved and earn another bonus 12-24 months after your most recent Citi AAdvantage credit card application, with the exception of the Citi Executive AAdvantage cards.
There are pros and cons to Dividend Miles, but even if you don't want to ultimately hold Dividend Miles, the program will be merging with the AAdvantage program sometime in Q2 2015, so you can look at this offer as a cheap way to pick up some additional AAdvantage miles. Taking into account the $89 annual fee, you're buying AAdvantage miles at just 0.1 cent per mile, a great deal.
Pros of Dividend Miles
- More flexible routing rules than AAdvantage, especially now that the AAdvantage Explorer Award Chart has been eliminated: see When Buying US Airways or AAdvantage Miles is Worth It
- US Airways allows a stopover for a oneworld award; AAdvantage does not, even if you book a round-trip award
- Cheaper Cathay Pacific First Class awards to Hong Kong (120K Dividend Miles vs. 135,000 AAdvantage Miles)
- Cheaper awards to Africa (First Class: 150K Dividend Miles vs. 200K AAdvantage Miles; Business Class: 110K Dividend Miles vs. 150K AAdvantage Miles)
- Cheaper awards to India and the Maldives (First Class: 160K Dividend Miles vs. 180K AAdvantage Miles; Business Class: 120K Dividend Miles vs. 135K AAdvantage Miles)
- Cheaper awards to Australia and South Pacific (First Class: 140K Dividend Miles vs. 145K AAdvantage Miles; Business Class: 110K Dividend Miles vs. 125K AAdvantage Miles)
Cons of Dividend Miles
- No one way awards (one ways are the same cost as roundtrip)
- Can't book oneworld partner flights online
- No changes permitted once travel has begun
- Holds permitted for 3 days; AAdvantage allows 5 day holds
- Often longer hold times for customer service (so see US Airways Not Answering Your Phone Call? Call Abroad for Better Customer Service)
- Limited dates for economy offpeak awards
- Some awards are more expensive, notably in Southeast Asia for Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, etc. (First Class: 160K Dividend Miles vs. 135K AAdvantage Miles; Business Class: 120K Dividend Miles vs. 110K AAdvantage Miles)
Do you plan to apply for the 50K US Airways MasterCard signup bonus offer?
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