Which business credit cards are useful to earn miles to fly first class to Europe and Hawaii? TravelSort reader Mark writes “Looking to change some personal credit cards to business cards and would like your recommendation. Here are some facts:
- We live in the Detroit market.
- We always look to travel First Class if possible and only travel business class if there's no first class. We travel once a year to Europe and Hawaii.
- One credit card would handle $60,000 in spending – almost always in large chunks over $10,000 a transaction.
- Second credit card would handle $100,000 with charges from Gas to business supplies. Some travel, maybe $15-20k.
- I already have and plan to keep my personal Platinum AMEX and Lufthansa Miles & More Card
I'm thinking of an SPG AMEX for one of the credit cards–any ideas for the other?”
While Mark's specific needs may be unique, I find that in general, when you're deciding which credit cards to apply for, it helps to ask yourself these questions:
- Which trips do you plan to take or normally take?
- Which class of service do you plan to fly?
- How flexible are you with incorporating flight connections, if it allows you to fly your preferred airline, class of service, etc.?
- Which airlines and alliances best serve my needs, given my destinations, preferred class of service, tolerance for connections?
- What are your current mileage balances?
The above will help you determine which miles or points will be most useful for you, given your future travel. Then, in terms of leveraging category spend bonuses, ask yourself:
- What are my major spend categories?
Ok, so back to Mark's question. Let's look at each of his destinations:
First Class to Europe
The nonstop Detroit DTW to Frankfurt FRA has been a goldmine for last minute Lufthansa First Class award availability, but unfortunately Mark won't be able to take advantage of it starting early May 2014, because that route is one of several where Lufthansa is eliminating first class. The only nonstop first class option will be Air India, although it's not part of an alliance.
To fly Lufthansa First Class, Mark will need to connect elsewhere, for example in Chicago ORD, en route to Frankfurt. Alternatively, Mark could book Lufthansa Business Class, since the DTW-FRA nonstop will offer it, but the problem is that it may still be Lufthansa's old angled flat product, given how long it will take to install Lufthansa's New Business Class fleet-wide.
United Global First via Chicago ORD is another option, although keep in mind that with the United Devaluation, even flights on United to Europe are increasing from 135,000 miles roundtrip to 160,000 miles roundtrip as of February 1, 2014.
And if the European destination is Paris, Mark could transfer Membership Rewards points to Air France Flying Blue to book Air France La Premiere First Class for 125,000 miles each way, if booked at the old award chart level by 12/31/13. This is a significant premium, however, over even the Lufthansa Miles & More 85,000 miles each way for First Class.
Another option, since after early May 2014 Mark will be connecting somewhere anyway in order to fly First Class, is British Airways First Class from ORD. Note that Avios awards on British Airways are subject to high fuel surcharges.
Domestic First Class to Hawaii
As I wrote in Best Frequent Flyer Miles for Hawaii Award Tickets, one of the best deals to Hawaii from non-West Coast cities is Singapore KrisFlyer, which charges 60,000 KrisFlyer miles for United BusinessFirst roundtrip. That's a savings of 20,000 miles over using United miles for the roundtrip award, although if you have a ton of United miles, you may as well use them and save your AMEX Membership Rewards points and KrisFlyer miles for international travel in Singapore Suites, First Class and Business Class.
Business and Personal Credit Cards to Earn More Miles and Points and Help with Fuel Surcharges
Mark's best bets for true first class travel to Europe are with Lufthansa Miles & More (connecting in Chicago, after early May 2014) and with AMEX Membership Rewards points, either on Singapore Suites between JFK and Frankfurt or if willing to pay a premium to fly Air France La Premiere, via NYC, with MR points transferred to Flying Blue. Mark already has the Lufthansa Miles & More card, and the best way to earn additional miles is by transferring SPG points to Miles & More with a 25% bonus when transferred in increments of 20,000 points.
For Hawaii, the best deal is using Singapore KrisFlyer miles for United BusinessFirst. AMEX Membership Rewards points and SPG points transfer to Singapore KrisFlyer. While SPG points are worth more, since they transfer with the 25% bonus when in increments of 20K points, keep in mind that the transfer takes more time, typically 1-2 weeks, vs. AMEX Membership Rewards points, which usually transfer to Singapore KrisFlyer within 24 hours.
So, I agree with Mark's decision to apply for the SPG Business card. The only issue is giving up 5000 points, since usually the SPG personal and business cards offer a 30,000 points signup bonus in August or September, whereas currently and most of the year the bonus is only 25,000 points.
Mark already has the AMEX Platinum card, but if he is considering Singapore KrisFlyer or Flying Blue awards and needs more AMEX Membership Rewards points, he might opportunistically watch out for the next enhanced AMEX Business Gold ard signup bonus. In the past, there have been AMEX Business Gold 75,000 points signup bonus offers, so if possible I would wait to apply if/when this offer appears again, as well as monitor for any potential targeted offers for the AMEX Business Platinum card.
Since Lufthansa Miles & More, British Airways Avios awards on BA metal, Singapore KrisFlyer awards on Singapore metal and Air France Flying Blue awards all carry fuel surcharges, I would recommend that Mark and his spouse or partner both apply for the Barclaycard Arrival World MasterCard® – Earn 2x on All Purchases since the 40,000 sign up bonus, when redeemed for travel, will yield $440 statement credit and there are no foreign transaction fees and no annual fee the first year.
The Bottom Line: In terms of business credit cards, Mark's best bets are the SPG Business card (although unfortunately it currently has only the standard 25,000 points bonus, and likely won't offer the 30,000 points bonus until August or September 2014). For a second business card, I would look for a targeted or enhanced public offer for the AMEX Business Gold card, in order to earn more Membership Rewards points. Alternatively, if Mark and his family opt to fly United Global First to Europe or want to save their AMEX Membership Rewards points for international travel and use United miles for Hawaii, the Ink Bold or Ink Plus card with 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points and 5X on office supply stores, phone, and cable could make sense.
If Mark is willing for one of the new cards to be a personal credit card, the British Airways Visa could make sense in order to earn 100,000 Avios and the travel together ticket. I also recommend the Barclays Arrival Card, since the bonus will enable Mark to reimburse himself for fuel surcharges on one or more of his Europe first class award flights.
Have additional tips or advice for Mark on which credit cards he should get to fly first class to Europe and Hawaii?
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