Part 3: What are the best credit cards for Beginners interested in credit card bonus miles? Chase Sapphire (non-Preferred), American Express Hilton 50000 points, Citi Hilton 40000 points

• Part 1: Why Apply? Myths about Credit Card Sign-up Bonus Offerings
• Part 2: How to fix my credit score (FICO)?
• Part 4: What is the Difference between an Authorized User and Joint Account Holder?
• Part 5: Are Credit Card Bonus Miles and Points Taxable? Mostly No, says Chase, Citi, AMEX

As long credit card history is important to improve credit score, and above 740 is a key consideration factor for lowest mortgage interest rate, I made the following adjustments as an experiment.  At the beginning, I applied the following credit cards as a test.

• Chase Sapphire (non-Preferred) $100, spend $500 in 3 months

• (Promotion expired) AMEX Hilton 50000 Hilton points, spend $750 in 3 months

• Citi Hilton Visa Card, 40000 Hilton points, spend $1000 in 4 months

All three credit cards have no annual membership fee, so it is fee-worry-free.   Do not cancel the card until at least 8 months after application approval. Otherwise the bonus may be revoked.  Apply for a free Hilton Honor membership first and use that same number for both cards.  If credit score is above 770, I would recommend to apply for Chase Sapphire Preferred to experience the full range of member benefits and features, as first-year membership of $95 is waived.

$750 + $500 + $1000 = $2250 for the first 4 months

~ $552 per month

Grocery, car fuel, electricity, cellular phone and internet bills altogether should be able to fulfill $552 monthly expense quite easily.

I applied AMEX Hilton card via Chrome browser and Citi Hilton Visa via FireFox browser with about 10 minutes apart.  Both cards were applied because American Express and Hilton do not approve application if applicant already owns one or both of the cards.  If I did apply one but not both, I would have to wait for 12 months.

The cards in the mail do not say anything about the sign-up bonus.  If feeling unsure, call
Citi at 1-866-517-7795, American Express at 1-866-517-7795. The credit card issuer may ask to forward your call to Hilton that they do not have access to the Hilton account history.  (Citi forwarded my call to American Airline when I called to verify the 50000 AAdvantage miles sign-up bonus.)