The best 2-card combos for travel to Asia

Whenever someone asks me, “Which is the best credit card?” or “Which credit card should I get right now?”, my first question in return is, “Where do you want to go?”. Different rewards currencies have different strengths, so the “best” credit cards for one trip might not be so useful for another. A friend recently asked me if I had any tips for her to save money on airfare for a trip to Asia. That seemed like an easy enough question and I immediately assumed that there would be an easy credit card welcome bonus recommendation to get her there. When I spent more time thinking about it, the answer was less obvious, but here are the card combinations that I came up with for someone looking to use two welcome bonuses to book a trip to Asia.

First: The sweet spots

The card combinations below are mostly based in part on the sweet spot posts we’ve published for each of the major rewards currencies. See these posts (linked directly to the section on Asia for each currency):

• Amex Membership Rewards sweet spots
• Capital One miles sweet spots
• Chase Ultimate Rewards sweet spots
• Citi ThankYou points sweet spots

Combo 1: All American Airlines

Best welcome offers for this strategy:

Card Offer

AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite MasterCard ⓘ $811 1st Yr Value Estimate Up to 70K Miles ⓘ Friend-Referral Up to 70K miles: 60k miles after 1st purchase and paying the annual fee within 90 days + 10K miles when you add an authorized user & they make a purchase within first 90 days. $99 Annual Fee Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. Recent better offer: Up to 75K: 60K miles after first purchase and 15K after adding an authorized user and making one purchase on that card [Expired 2/24/24] ➥More

Card Offer

Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard® ⓘ $890 1st Yr Value Estimate 75K miles ⓘ Non-Affiliate 75K miles after $5K spend in first 5 months $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $99 Alternate Offer: There is an alternative offer of 30K + $400 credit that can be found when doing a dummy booking on aa.com. Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. ➥More

• Who you would fly with: Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, or American
• Award costs:
  • Economy: from 35K miles each way
  • Business: from 60K miles each way
  • First: from 80K miles each way
  • No fuel surcharges

Strategy explained:

The first combo that came to mind is actually unrelated to the sweet spot posts above because American is not a direct transfer partner of any of those programs. This particular option is less of a sweet spot and more of a sore spot for many at the moment given the current status of American Airlines AAdvantage shut downs, though that situation wouldn’t likely pertain to someone who is new to opening credit cards. For those who can get the AA cards successfully, American’s partner award chart for flights to Asia is reasonable.

For those unfamiliar with the region definitions, Asia 1 is Japan and Korea and Asia 2 is most of the rest of what is more traditionally considered to be Far East Asia. Find the full region definitions and award chart here.

The AAdvantage credit cards make a decently compelling case if you’re looking to earn the miles for “free” flights with very little required spend. That is in large part because the Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Red frequently offers a large welcome bonus that only requires a single purchase and payment of the annual fee, meaning that it is easy to go from zero to sixty-thousand miles quickly.

With just a single purchase, that gives you enough miles to fly one-way in the main cabin or premium economy anywhere in Asia 1 or Asia 2 or enough for business class to Asia 1. The difficulty can be premium-cabin availability, though Cathay’s business class isn’t impossible to find if you’re planning either far in advance or close to departure.

If you’re looking to add to your balance for the ride home (since one bonus won’t quite cover you round trip even in economy class), Citi offers several American Airlines credit cards. Which card fits as your preferred compliment to the Barclays card depends on your spending capability.

Card Offer

Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard® ⓘ $890 1st Yr Value Estimate 75K miles ⓘ Non-Affiliate 75K miles after $5K spend in first 5 months $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $99 Alternate Offer: There is an alternative offer of 30K + $400 credit that can be found when doing a dummy booking on aa.com. Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. ➥More

Card Offer
Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® ⓘ $729 1st Yr Value Estimate 60K Miles ⓘ Non-Affiliate 60K miles after $3,000 spend in first 3 months $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $99 Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. ➥More

Card Offer
American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® Card ⓘ $237 1st Yr Value Estimate 15K miles ⓘ Non-Affiliate Earn 10K AA miles after $500 spend in 3 months No Annual Fee Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. ➥More

Card Offer
Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® ⓘ $196 1st Yr Value Estimate 70K miles ⓘ Affiliate 70K miles after $7,000 spend in first 3 months $595 Annual Fee ➥More

With the business card having the best offer at the time of writing, that’s the route I would take.

The welcome bonuses on the Aviator Red and the Citibusiness card would give you enough miles to fly round trip to Asia 1 in business class and put you within about 10K miles of round trip business class to Asia 2. One could pretty easily fill in that blank with some strategic spend.

On the other hand, my friend who was already planning to fly economy class and is just looking for a way to save on airfare to Asia with as little effort as possible might consider pairing the Aviator with the MileUp card. In that case, just $500 in spend plus a single purchase on the Aviator card would yield enough miles for a round trip economy class flight to Asia 1 and within a few thousand miles of a round trip to Asia 2. That approach is somewhat short-sighted since it provides a very small welcome bonus on the MileUp card, but that card does offer 2x on grocery store spend with no annual fee.

Combo 2: Membership Rewards for Star Alliance economy or business class via ANA (personal cards)

Best welcome offers for this strategy:

Card Offer

American Express® Gold Card ⓘ $1051 1st Yr Value Estimate 75K Points + 20% back at restaurants ⓘ Non-Affiliate 75K points after $6K in purchases in the first 6 months + 20% back at restaurants for the first 12 months up to $250 back. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees) $250 Annual Fee Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. Recent better offer: 90K after $6K in the first 6 months + 20% back at restaurants for the first 12 months up to $250 back [Expired 6/8/22] ➥More

Card Offer

The Platinum Card® from American Express ⓘ $1344 1st Yr Value Estimate 100K Points ⓘ Non-Affiliate 100K points after $8K spend in 6 months + 10x on dining for 6 months (on up to $25K in purchases). Terms apply. $695 Annual Fee Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. Recent better offer: 175K after $8k spend (referral only, expired 4/8/24) ➥More

Relevant Amex Membership Rewards sweet spots:

ANA Mileage Club

Avianca LifeMiles

Virgin Atlantic for ANA

Strategy explained:

Amex Membership Rewards can be terrific for award flights to Asia thanks to a few key transfer partners that offer excellent value as shown above. It is possible to fly round trip to Japan on ANA for as few as 40K miles round trip in economy class or 75K miles round trip in business class, which means that the welcome offer from a single credit card could be enough to cover airfare to Japan.

If targeted for the 125K offer on the Amex Platinum card, one could even score enough miles to fly round trip in first class if transferring points to Virgin Atlantic to fly on ANA. See this post to check and see if you are targeted.

Assuming you are not targeted for that offer, you could still get to Japan round trip in low season with the welcome offer on the Amex Gold card. If most of your spending is at US supermarkets and restaurants, this card will furthermore accumulate rewards quickly.

You could then pair that Gold card with a second card that earns Membership Rewards if you’re looking to fly beyond Japan. The public offer on the Amex Platinum card, when combined with the Gold card above, would give you enough points to fly to several parts of Asia round trip in business class.

If the high fee on the Platinum card turns you off, you could consider pairing the Amex Gold Card with an Everyday or Everyday Preferred for lower cost and more category bonuses with which to build your balance.

Combo 3: Amex Membership Rewards + Chase Ultimate Rewards = total vacation mode (business cards)

Best welcome bonuses for this strategy

Card Offer

American Express® Business Gold Card ⓘ $1495 1st Yr Value Estimate 130K Points ⓘ Friend-Referral 130K points after $10K spend in 3 months. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees) $375 Annual Fee Alternate Offer: Some people can find a targeted offer for up to 150K points. See this for more details.. Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. Recent better offer: (Expired 2/1/24) 130K referral offer after $10K in spend ➥More

Card Offer
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card ⓘ $1285 1st Yr Value Estimate 100K points ⓘ Affiliate 100K after $8K spend in 3 months $95 Annual Fee See: How to apply for Chase Ink cards Recent better offer: 80K after $5K spend. Many preferred the 80K offer due to the much lower spend requirement ➥More

Relevant Amex Membership Rewards sweet spots:

ANA Mileage Club

Avianca LifeMiles

Virgin Atlantic for ANA

Relevant Chase Ultimate Rewards sweet spots:

Hyatt

Assuming you are not targeted for that 125K offer noted above, your best option at the time of writing is probably the Amex Business Gold Rewards. Both the fee and required spend are on the high end, but if you can meet the minimum spend you would have enough to fly round trip in business class to Japan or potentially to other parts of Asia with a single welcome bonus.

A big advantage here is that it opens up a second card to cover your lodging or other expenses. With tons of great low-category Hyatt hotels in Asia, earning Hyatt points could be a great option. Chase Ultimate Rewards convert 1:1 to World of Hyatt points, making an Ultimate Rewards credit card a great option for covering your hotel. The best option from a total points standpoint is the Chase Ink Business Preferred since it includes enough points to easily cover several nights at many Hyatt properties in Asia (as many as 16 nights at a Category 1 Hyatt!). Alternatively, points can be used to book travel via the Ultimate Rewards portal at a value of 1.25c each, meaning that the welcome offer could buy you $1,000 in flights, hotels, or activities booked through Chase.

The potential catch on this strategy is that it requires opening business cards. While I think many people do something that could be a business as noted above, I know that not all people are comfortable opening business credit cards.

Combo 4: Amassing Virgin Atlantic miles for Delta or ANA

Best welcome bonuses for this strategy

Card Offer
Citi Premier® Card ⓘ $713 1st Yr Value Estimate 60K Points ⓘ Affiliate Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. $95 Annual Fee ➥More

Card Offer
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card ⓘ $785 1st Yr Value Estimate 60K points ⓘ Affiliate 60K after $4K spend in 3 months $95 Annual Fee Alternate Offer: There may be elevated offers available by applying in-branch A similar offer with the first year annual fee waived may be found in-branch. YMMV. ➥More

Relevant sweet spot

Virgin Atlantic for Delta

• The short story: Virgin Atlantic offers excellent value for Delta nonstop awards when you can find availability.
• Miles required: 40K each way in economy class, 60K each way in business class
• How to find awards: Search VirginAtlantic.com (See: How to book Delta flights using Virgin Atlantic Flying miles (2020 edition) for more detail)
• How to book awards: Book online at VirginAtlantic.com (see the post above) or call Virgin Atlantic Flying Club at 1 800 365 9500.
• Key warnings: Virgin Atlantic charges each segment separately, so this award is best for direct flights. Delta availability can be very much hit or miss.

Strategy Summary

In addition to the Virgin Atlantic sweet spot mentioned above for travel on ANA, Virgin also has a good sweet spot for Delta flights to and from Asia. At 40K each way in the main cabin or 60K each way in first class, one could easily fly round trip with two welcome offers and have points left to spare.

Note that the Amex Business Gold card mentioned above could also be an option here, but with this two-card combination offering enough points to fly round trip in either economy or business class for a lower total combined annual fee, this combo would be better bang for the buck.

The challenge here will be availability: you never know when Delta is going to release availability to partners. That said, sometimes availability is excellent — it just depends on the day. See Greg’s recent post on using Virgin Atlantic miles to book Delta flights.

Combo 5: The procrastinator / path-of-least-resistance

Best welcome bonuses for this strategy

Card Offer

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card ⓘ $1089 1st Yr Value Estimate 75K Miles + up to $200 in statement credits ⓘ Non-Affiliate Earn 75,000 bonus miles after $4K spend in 3 months + up to $200 in statement credits when you make an Avelo purchase in your first year + priority boarding on Avelo flights for the first year. (Rates & Fees) $95 Annual Fee Alternate Offer: Airport Kiosk offer of 80K miles after $4K spend in the first 3 months See this post for details. Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. ➥More

Card Offer
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card ⓘ $785 1st Yr Value Estimate 60K points ⓘ Affiliate 60K after $4K spend in 3 months $95 Annual Fee Alternate Offer: There may be elevated offers available by applying in-branch A similar offer with the first year annual fee waived may be found in-branch. YMMV. ➥More

Strategy summary

Some folks won’t want to learn how to maximize the points and are simply looking for the cheapest and easiest path to covering costs. Others may procrastinate until the last minute, not leaving themselves enough time to earn a welcome bonus and find award availability.

If either of those describes your situation, I think the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card makes a lot of sense. While Capital One “miles” can now be transferred to partners to get good value, they have a couple of other key advantages for the procrastinators among us or those without the time to focus on learning about partners:

• Capital One “miles” can be used to offset travel purchases at a value of $0.01 per mile
• Capital One “miles” post within 2-3 days of a pending charge on your card
• Capital One “miles” can be used to offset past purchases up to 90 days after purchase

The final point is a key for procrastinators: if you need to pay for a ticket or lodging in the very near future, you could do so right away and then even if you don’t meet the spending requirement and trigger the bonus for another month or two, you could go back and “erase” that past purchase after the fact. This means that the current welcome bonus could probably pay for the majority of a round trip ticket from some major cities in the US to many parts of Asia, particularly if you find a good sale, since the current offer could buy up to $500 in travel.

If you’re planning in advance but prefer not to learn about transfer partners and sweet spots noted above, you could pair that Venture card with the Chase Sapphire Preferred. Chase Ultimate Rewards can be cashed out at a value of $0.01 each, but you could alternatively book travel like flights, hotels, and travel arrangements through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal at a value of 1.25c each — which means the current offer would be worth as much as $750 in travel booked through Chase.

Between those two cards, you could easily book more than $1200 in travel without learning about ways to use the points and award availability. With economy class airfare sales to Asia occasionally dipping as low as $400-$500 round trip (even less at times from the west coast), this could certainly be the path of least resistence for many.

Why no cards without annual fees?

There are a number of excellent credit cards on the market that have no annual fee. The options above are assuming you are looking to earn the bulk of your rewards from welcome bonuses for a specific trip, which is indeed what I recommend for most folks starting out in this hobby.

On the other hand, each of the above combinations would be enhanced by adding a no-fee card to the mix that earns well on either everyday spend or within specific categories that are common for your spending patterns.

The best no-annual-fee add-ons I’d recommend are:

• American Express Blue Business Plus: With 2x everywhere on up to $50K per year in purchases (then 1x), this is a great way to rack up Membership Rewards points on otherwise unbonused spend. A huge bonus here is that you can transfer these points to partners without needing an additional Membership Rewards card.
• Citi Double Cash: This card earns 1% when you make purchases and 1% when you pay for them, making it an effective 2% cash back on all purchases. Enhancing the value further is the fact that these points can become more valuable when transferred to a ThankYou card like the Citi Premier or Prestige because you can then alternatively transfer these rewards to partners for more valuable award flights. This card can be a great option for everyday spend because it gives you a floor value of 2% back and the option to use the points for more value down the road if you decide to combine with other ThankYou points-earning cards.
• Chase Freedom Unlimited: Offering 1.5x everywhere and the ability to combine points with other Ultimate Rewards-earning cards (like the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Ink Business Preferred above), you earn valuable rewards and can then combine them with one of those premium cards to transfer to airline and hotel partners. The downside here is that if you do not also hold a premium Chase Ultimate Rewards card, points can only be used at a value of 1c each, which would make this card a poorer option for everyday spend.
• Chase Ink Business Cash: Like the Freedom Unlimited, points earned on this card must be combined with a premium Chase card’s points in order to transfer to partners. However, with a 5x category bonus at office supply stores on the first $25K per year in purchases, this card makes it easy to rack up rewards quickly. This is especially true given that many office supply stores sell gift cards to a vast array of merchants.

Bottom line

It turned out to be much more difficult to write this post than I’d anticipated. My first thought was to recommend the Aviator Red because of the fact that it comes with almost enough miles for a round trip ticket with just a single purchase. However, I quickly realized that since it won’t cover a round trip, welcome bonuses from two cards would be necessary. At first, it seemed like pairing up two welcome bonuses should be an easy task, but it turned out to be less simple than it seems. Still, this post goes to show that with just two new credit cards, one could cover most of the cost of a vacation to the other side of the world. Those who will combine rewards earned with these welcome bonuses with strategic spending on cards that earn the best category bonuses and those who are playing the game in 2-player mode have many interesting possibilities.

What two card combination would you recommend for someone looking to travel to Asia?

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