2014 has been one of my most conservative years that I can recall when it comes to applying for credit cards. This has been intentional.

As everyone knows, the easiest way to earn lots of miles and points is by signing up for credit cards, earning lots of lucrative bonus offers. However, in many ways it’s gotten harder for me…

Over the years I’ve been approved for tons of cards and have probably had most of the better cards from the main players (banks). This year I was rejected when I applied for the Barclays Arrival Card. This was new to me since I can’t recall ever not getting approved in the last few years. Nobody likes being rejected and I hope that there isn’t more to come of this kind of treatment in the future.

With the best cards being offered by Chase, I’ve been hesitant to apply for too many cards with them. I’ve been warned in the past to slow it down by a phone rep, while luckily not receiving a rejection. I’ve decided to be extremely selective when it comes to applying for cards from Chase. I’d like to get the Hyatt card but whenever I think about applying it just doesn’t tempt me enough.

This leads me to what I feel is the easiest bank to keep applying for cards with.

I’ve had a great run with getting approved for Citi American Airlines cards and see no reason to stop now. I was happy to get to churn my way to AA Lifetime Gold in 2011. I know Gold might not be much but it’s better than nothing.

So far I’ve received three 100,000 miles bonuses from getting Citi AAdvantage Executive cards in 2014. This put my account in position to get us quite a few very nice trips in the future. (Heck it was in good shape before those offers appeared!)

Even though I’d consider myself rich in AAdvantage miles, I didn’t see a reason to stop there as these miles could be spent quickly if I had the time to do so.

Yesterday I was looking at some ideas for a new credit card to apply for. Nothing was really exciting me. I had heard about an offer for the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard a few days before and decided to apply.

The card is currently offering a 50,000 mile signup bonus after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months. Along with the points, the card also comes with two Admirals Club lounge passes and a few other perks. Great too is the fact that the annual fee is waived for the first year.

The Citi AA Executive card gave a 100,000 mile bonus but the card needed $10,000 spend to earn it and also came with a pretty hefty annual fee ($250 after statement credit). The card does also come with an Admiral’s Club membership. The membership is a nice perk but one I haven’t used much.

People (including myself) couldn’t get enough of this offer. I think a strong case could be made that a card offering a 50,000 mile bonus along with no annual fee (first year) is an even better offer. (Although it is nice to get double the miles for only one CC application.)

What do you think is the better offer- the Citi Exec 100K or Citi Platinum Select 50K?

How is your year going in terms of credit card bonus offers? Are you earning loads of miles and points or is it a down year?

Related Posts:

• Kim’s Interesting 100,000 Miles Credit Card Approval Conversation
• Miles & Points Earned from Credit Cards in 2013
• Credit Cards Miles & Points Earned in 2012
• Miles Earned in 2011 From Credit Card Signup Bonuses
• Amex Does the Right Thing- I Got My 100,000 Points