# Continental questions



## wayman (Dec 6, 2009)

A recent meeting with Ispolkom convinced me that I'm only doing two-thirds of the things I should be doing to maximize my AGR account. I make good use of all the AGR bonuses (and Select status), etc; and I've got the Chase AGR MasterCard and use it heavily... but I'm not yet taking advantage of the opportunities to accrue Continental OnePass Miles (without actually _flying_) and transfer them 1-to-1 into AGR.

So, some questions about getting started there:

1. The easiest way to get gonzo OnePass points seems to be to open a Chase checking account and get a debit card, with this special offer of 25,000 OnePass Miles (which I learned about from Ispolkom -- thanks!!!). A few questions, before I do this:

1a. I don't have a OnePass account yet, and I assume it's best to create one before going to Chase and opening the checking account. Obviously, I can just go to Continental and enroll here. But I wanted to check first: is there a better way to create my OnePass account -- any special offer which will give me bonus OnePass Miles for enrolling in the program? Or is this it?

1b. Once I have a OnePass number, I print out a coupon from the above link, go to a Chase branch, open an account, and tell them I'd prefer the $25 annual fee debit card (instead of the $65 annual fee one which they may try hard to up-sell me). And then I follow the rules to get my 10,000 and 15,000 bonuses. Easy peasy.

1c. Ispolkom mentioned some way to get 2,500 additional OnePass Miles related to this, but I forget what that was. I'll PM him, but figured I'd just ask here as well.

2. Looks like there's a way to get another easy 25,000 bonus points: the Chase Continental Airlines World MasterCard: 20,000 for first use, and 5,000 for adding an additional user to the account? But a few questions, again:

2a. I have great credit history, a great credit rating, but ... I already have a Chase MasterCard (AGR). Does that make _Chase_ less likely to issue me a second MasterCard? I don't want to put in an application and have it denied for an automatic "you already have one" reason, so if this is likely/certain to happen I think it's better not to apply. But if anyone here has successfully gotten both cards, then I'll go for it.

2b. I assume adding a second user is as simple as calling Mom and saying "hey, can I get you a credit card on my account, so I can gain extra bonus points?" It doesn't look like she would have to _ever_ use the card, just have it created.

3. Two, three months down the line, once all the bonus OnePass Miles have posted, then I can transfer them to my AGR account. Obviously, I've never done that, so some questions of course:

3a. Do I have to let the miles sit in my OnePass account for some period of time before transferring them?

3b. I understand I have to transfer them in batches of 5,000. Can I transfer only 5,000 in a single transfer (or in some time period, like 5,000 per month), or can I transfer any multiple of 5,000 (like, 25,000 all at once)?

3c. Is there any need to keep "some miles" in my OnePass account to keep it from closing automatically? (I won't really have to worry about winding up with a zero balance, since I'll be getting a small number of Miles through the minimal monthly purchases on the debit card, but I want to make sure I know the details of OnePass before jumping into it.)

3d. Is there any activity limit, as with AGR (where you have to travel at least once every 3 years, and can't just keep the account active forever through credit card use)? I don't really care if I lose the OnePass account years in the future through such inaction, but I'd like to know.

4. Any other things I should know? Any concerns I should have that I haven't thought of?

Thanks!


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## ATXEagle (Dec 6, 2009)

I know the answers to two of your questions:

You can open both a Chase AGR Mastercard and a Chase Continental Mastercard. I was already an AGR Mastercard holder when I applied for the Continental card online from the airline's website. It wouldn't give me an immediate approval, maybe because I already had another Chase card. But a few days later a letter came in the mail saying that I was approved for the Continental card with a higher credit limit than my AGR card from Chase. The bonus points posted really quickly after my first use of the card.

I've called Continental Onepass twice to have them transfer points to my AGR account. Both times I was on hold forever. (I just put it on speaker phone and worked on other tasks while listening to the music). Once I was able to speak to someone it was very easy to transfer. You have to do it in multiples of 5,000 - like 20,000 or 25,000 etc. The points were debited from my Onepass account immediately and posted to AGR in 2-3 weeks.


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## the_traveler (Dec 6, 2009)

There is no problem having a CO credit card from Chase and a AGR credit card from Chase. They are totally separate!

As far as adding a 2nd cardholder, there is no problem adding anyone you want! (You could even add me if you want!  ) The only thing with adding a 2nd cardholder is that you are responsible for the payment of the bill.

When I had a promotion for adding up to 2 employees on my card to get extra miles/points (I think it was an American Express card), the 2 employees I added were my 2 sisters! 

The great thing about transferring miles from OnePass to AGR is the ease to do it!  The only thing is the transfers must be in 5K increments - 5K, 10K, 15K, etc... - but as long as you call OnePass by the COB on Friday, the points will be in your AGR account on Sunday night/Monday morning!  (And it doesn't matter if Monday is a holiday like Labor Day or Christmas - they will post anyway!)

Another trick I use is to check both the AGR shopping mall and the CO shopping mall. Sometime CO pays more, and I use them and then transfer the miles to AGR!  As an example, a few years ago Circuit City via AGR paid 1 point/$, but via CO paid 3 miles/$! Since OnePass miles transfer to AGR at 1:1, I earned 3 times as much! 

I have transfered well over 100K OnePass Miles to AGR in the past year - without any pain!


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## Guest (Dec 6, 2009)

The Continental MasterCard can have some great promotions on it. Right now I am working on a promotion that for 4 months gives me 2,500 bonus points per month if I make 20 transactions in that month. Free 10,000 miles/points.


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## alanh (Dec 6, 2009)

There's no time limit on transferring miles; as soon as the miles hit your OnePass account you can transfer them, as long as you've got at least 5000 miles.

OnePass accounts may be closed after 18 months with no mileage earning; however, miles earned from any source count. It doesn't matter if hits zero.


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## Ispolkom (Dec 17, 2009)

The promotion giving 25,000 OnePass miles for a Chase checking account has been extended to March 31, 2010.


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