Getting United MileagePlus Visa Signature Card (13 Cards and Counting)
Recently I received an email offer from United Airlines for United MileagePlus Visa Signature Card. The offer gives out 15,000 MileagePlus miles after first purchase, and waives the $60 annual fee for the first year. It sounds like a good deal for me: 15,000 miles is worth no less than $150 and I only need to spend a few minutes to fill out an online application to get it. Regarding the $60 annual fee, I can always cancel the card after several months; I have no intention to use it very often.
Today I received the card in a mail from First USA/BankOne. It is a Visa Signature card, a new Visa card level supported by the Visa organization that offers some extra perks like premium offers and concierge service. Also, with the 15,000 bonus miles, my MileagePlus account will top the 50,000 mark, enough for two round-trip economy tickets according to the Saver Award chart.
Also, this makes my 13th outstanding credit card account. Since I reported my 9th card two months ago, I have acquired another few cards and my combined credit line now exceeds $60,000.
| Credit Card Inventory | ||||||
| # | Credit Card Name | Issuer | Type | Inception | Credit Limit | Features |
| 1 | 1st Tech Visa Platinum | 1st Tech CU | Visa | Jul-02 | $ 5,000 | |
| 2 | NetBank Visa Platinum | BankOne | Visa | Mar-03 | $ 5,000 | |
| 3 | Providian Visa Platinum | Providian | Visa | May-03 | $ 6,500 | 1% Cash Rebate |
| 4 | MBNA Popular Science | MBNA | MasterCard | Jun-03 | $ 8,000 | WorldPoints Rewards |
| 5 | ShareBuilder Visa | BankOne | Visa | Oct-03 | $ 2,500 | 1% Cash Rebate |
| 6 | Chase Platinum | Chase | MasterCard | Mar-04 | $ 1,400 | |
| 7 | Citi Dividend Platinum | CitiBank | MasterCard | Mar-04 | $ 2,800 | 5%/1% Cash Rebate |
| 8 | MBNA Fidelity Investment Rewards | MBNA | MasterCard | May-04 | $ 5,000 | 1.5% Cash Rebate |
| 9 | American Express CostCo | American Express | Amex | May-04 | $ 3,000 | 0.25%-2% Cash Rebate |
| 10 | Discover Cashback Bonus | Discover | Discover | Jun-04 | $ 6,000 | 0.25%-1% Cash Rebate |
| 11 | MBNA AAA Diamond Advantage | MBNA | Visa | Jul-04 | $ 5,000 | 2% Gas Cash Rebate |
| 12 | Priority Club Rewards Visa | BankOne | Visa | Jul-04 | $ 5,000 | Priority Club Points |
| 13 | MileagePlus Visa Signature | BankOne | Visa | Jul-04 | $ 5,000 | MileagePlus Points |
| Total | $ 60,200 | |||||
Some additional comments on each of the new cards:
- Discover Cashback Bonus is the cashback option offered by Discover. I applied for this card to expand my card portfolio to the Discover line. Its cashback feature is not attractive at all as it is a tiered model starting at 0.25%, so I will not use this card unless absolutely necessary.
- MBNA AAA Diamond Advantage, affiliated with AAA, offers 5% credit on gas purchase and a point system that can be redeemed for AAA merchandise. (You don't need to be an AAA member to apply, though.) Starting from August, the reward will be capped at 2% of total monthly purchase, so it is no longer a good option for gas purchase (a better option is Citi Dividend Platinum Select, which offers 5% cashback on all gas station, grocery and drugstore purchases with a maximum of $300/year). Anyway, the card offers $20 credit after first purchase and this $20 is free money :-)
- Priority Club Rewards Visa is offered jointly by Priority Club and First USA/BankOne. It offers 10,000 bonus points after first purchase, which can be redeemed for one night at certain US-based Holiday Inn Express Value destinations.
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