So this week my parents left for a week long trip to China. I have never travelled internationally before (other than Canada), and I was really jealous of them going on this trip. I had told my father about a really good offer posted several weeks ago to travel to either Japan or China. The Japan offer was sold out, and I am glad they were not going there now in light of the earthquake the area experienced several weeks after telling them about the offer. So my parents booked going to China, via Continental during my mother’s spring break from school.
Once I heard my parents had booked their trip, I explained to them about how to take advantage of the Continental and United Airlines merger and how they need to take open the credit card offers through Continental Airlines. Once the merger is finalized towards the end of this year, Continental will no longer exist. Therefore, everyone should be taking advantage of the credit card bonus offers from Continental Airlines. The key for my parents is that not only would they receive the bonus miles, they could receive free checked luggage by being card holders.
The latest and greatest Continental Airlines credit card offer can be seen here.
Features include the following:
* 50,000 bonus miles after your first purchase — enough for two round-trip reward tickets within the U.S. (excluding Hawaii) and Canada.*
* A waiver of the $85 annual fee for your first year.†
* 10,000 bonus miles annually when you spend $25,000 on your Card.*
* Two miles per $1 spent on tickets purchased directly from Continental.*
* One mile per $1 spent on all other purchases.*
* Redeem miles for car rental and hotel rewards in addition to
flights — a Cardmember exclusive.*
* First checked bag free every time you fly when you purchase your tickets with your Card for flights operated by Continental only (a savings of up to $50 per round trip).*
* Two Presidents Club® passes ($100 value) every Cardmember anniversary.
Basically, there is no reason anyone, other than us, should wait any longer to open up a Continental Airlines credit card. We are holding off on opening new accounts because we hope to sell our home and acquire a new mortgage in the near future, so we do not want to take the minor hit to our credit scores. My parents were in the ideal situation though because they do not have any major purchases coming up in their near future that would be impacted by a credit pull. In addition they would each receive a ton of miles for future travel as well as the advantage of free checked baggage.
After the Continental and United merger is completely finalized later this year, all of your miles will be transferred into the combined frequent flyer program. This is one of your last chances to acquire a substantial amount of free miles before the Continental branded offers totally disappear. I do not see the offers getting any sweeter than they currently are offering as the program draws to a close.
