Which Airline Credit Card Is Best For Me

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: Best Capital One Travel Card

• What we love about the Venture X card: Its packed with luxury travel benefits, such as Priority Pass Select lounge access, valuable annual credits and excellent travel insurance*all for a $395 annual fee. Other popular travel cards with similar features charge over $500 annually and feature a long list of benefits many cardholders may not use. Meanwhile, the Venture X retains the same flat-rate rewards and flexible redemption as other popular Venture cards.
• Who this card is good for: People who are looking to try out a more affordable luxury travel experience than those provided by other premier travel cards.
• Alternatives: Frequent flyers may squeeze more value from elite cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve. Though it comes with a higher annual fee of $550, the Reserve card offers the extra value needed to justify it, including a higher rewards rate in categories like travel and dining. On top of a potentially better rewards value, the Sapphire Reserve also offers equal Priority Pass Select membership and up to $300 of annual travel purchase credits.

Jump back to offer details.

*Terms, conditions and exclusions apply. Refer to your Guide to Benefits for more details.

How Do Air Miles Credit Cards Work

While every air miles card has its own set of rules, most cards operate in a similar fashion. After you sign up for a card, its your job to use it on groceries, bills, entertainment, and other everyday or large purchases. Youll earn miles for every purchase, and when youve built up enough miles, you can redeem them for flights.

To do so, youll likely need to log into your credit card or frequent flyers account so you can access a special portal. As soon as youre logged in, youll be able to explore a variety of redemption options. Keep in mind that most programs will have certain dates during which you cannot redeem your points for flights as well as dates when flights cost significantly more points.

Some miles cards, like the popular Capital One Venture cards, let you apply your miles to travel-related purchases youve already made. This essentially refunds your account for past eligible purchases rather than using them to cover future travel expenses through the issuers portal.

Youll find that some air miles credit cards come with miles that are worth a flat rate. Others offer flat redemption options that will be based on the distance of the flights you wish to take. Its also possible for some cards to base redemption on the price of the flights that pique your interest.

Faqs For Credit Cards In Canada

By Barry Choi and Shannon Terrell

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The Difference Between Airline And Travel Credit Cards

We included two travel credit cards the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Capital One Venture in our list because of their flexibility. Both of these cards are great for beginners, but luxury travelers who want to maximize airfare purchases should consider a card such as The Platinum Card® from American Express, which offers 5 points per dollar on airfare booked directly with the airline or with Amex Travel which is capped at $500,000 per calendar year. The card has a 10% return on spending according to our valuations.

As a rule, get you a better return on spending. They dont usually have airline-specific perks or a way to earn elite status on airlines, but they do allow you to transfer points to a specific carriers loyalty program.

Airline Credit Cards Vs Travel Credit Cards

Both airline credit cards and travel credit cards typically reward you with points or miles. But there are a few key differences.

Airline credit cards are tied to a specific airline like American Airlines, Delta, Southwest or United. These co-branded credit cards reward your loyalty with exclusive perks you wont find with general travel cards. These may include free checked bags, priority boarding, companion tickets and even accelerated elite status. Unfortunately, redemption options usually arent as flexible with airline credit cards, which can typically only be redeemed for plane tickets with that specific airline.

In contrast, travel credit cards are not tied to specific airlines. Although you wont earn the exclusive perks, travel rewards cards are more versatile and let you earn and redeem in a variety of travel-related ways. This includes different airlines, hotels and car rentals. Depending on the travel credit card, you might also be able to redeem your points or miles for cash, gift cards and merchandise, though the value may not be as high as when you redeem for travel.

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Which Earning Categories Match Your Spending Patterns

If youre trying to use your credit card spend to rack up AAdvantage miles, you should select a card that offers bonuses where you tend to spend most heavily. Also, if you rarely purchase airfare with American Airlines, you might consider a card with a bonus on general travel purchases, rather than just American Airlines.

AAdvantage card bonus categories

Best Travel Card For Business Travel

What to Know About This Card

• Annual Fee: $95
• Travel Rewards Highlights: Earn three points per $1 spent on purchases involving travel, shipping, internet, cable, phone services and on advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines
• Introductory Offers: 100,000 bonus points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first three months after account opening
• Top Perks: 25% bonus if you redeem points as travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, can add employee cards at no additional cost

Why We Like It: If you have your own business, you can really rack up travel rewards points based on both your spending and that of your employees. And with a 25% redemption bonus on travel, you can make sure you get the most out of that spending. For example, youd be able to claim travel worth $1,250 with the welcome bonus and redemption bonus combined.

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Best For Luxury Travel Benefits And Bonus Rewards On Flights: Amex Platinum

The Chase Sapphire Preferred earns Ultimate Rewards points that you can use to book travel directly through the Chase Travel Portal, which gives you access to virtually every airline. You can also transfer Chase points to various airline and hotel partners, including United, British Airways, JetBlue, and Hyatt.

This card offers a very strong lineup of perks and rewards in exchange for a relatively moderate annual fee. You’ll earn 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards and 2x points on all other travel purchases. The card also offers 3x points on dining.

Travel includes everything from airfare to parking to hotels, while dining includes restaurants, delivery services, and even some bars. The Chase Sapphire Preferred also offers one of the best welcome bonuses among consumer credit cards, and you get some valuable travel coverage as well, including trip delay insurance,primary car rental insurance, and purchase protection.

If you apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred and find that you’re a fan of earning and redeeming travel points, remember that you can always upgrade to its higher-end sibling, the Chase Sapphire Reserve, after your first year.

If you’re torn between the two Sapphire cards, check out our comparison of the Chase Sapphire Reserve and Sapphire Preferred to find out which is a better fit for your spending and travel habits.

Read more about the Chase Sapphire Preferred card:

Citi / Aadvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard

Sign-up bonus: 50,000 miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.

Rewards: 2 miles per dollar on eligible American Airlines purchases, and 1 mile per dollar spent on everything else.

Why its the best airline card for Admirals Club: If you fly American frequently, this card is worth having for its perks. It comes with an Admirals Club airport lounge membership that gets you and your immediate family into dozens of club locations around the world when you have a same-day boarding pass for an eligible American Airlines or select partner airline flight. You can also add up to 10 who receive the same benefit at no additional charge.

Youll get priority check-in, airport screening and boarding when flying American, a first bag checked free for you and up to eight companions on the same reservation and a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee credit every five years.

Annual fee: $450.

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Is An Airline Credit Card Worth It

If you’re loyal to a particular airline, it could make sense to apply for one of its co-branded cards. For instance, United offers the United Explorer Card, which gets you benefits like a free checked bag and priority boarding on United.

If you aren’t loyal to a particular airline and you simply book with whichever carrier is offering the cheapest airfare, an airline co-branded card may not be the best option. You could consider a travel rewards card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or The Platinum Card® from American Express instead. This way, you’ll earn points that can be used to book airfare through Chase and Amex, respectively, as well as through specific airline transfer partners affiliated with the two programs.

What Is The Easiest Airline Credit Card To Get

Almost all airline credit cards require that you have good to excellent credit. However, some of the no-fee co-branded airline credit cards have less stringent application requirements. There are many online forums you can use to check the credit profiles of people who have been approved for a specific card.

Owning an airline credit card not only makes traveling more convenient, but it can save you big bucks, too. From priority boarding to free checked bags, airline credit cards can seriously pay off, even when flying economy. Sophia Mendel, ValuePenguin’s travel expert

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Should I Sign Up For A Frequent Flyer Program

If you travel often on one airline, you may want to join its frequent flyer program. Fortunately, most airlines allow you to join their programs free of charge. To sign up, simply visit the airlines website and enter basic details about yourself like your name and address.

Youll receive a membership number that youll be able to use the next time you book a flight with the airline. Some frequent flyer programs will give you credits for past flights you took.

You can transfer your rewards points for frequent flyer miles. If this is important to you, however, its wise to opt for a travel card thats flexible and offers rewards for various travel expenses.

Best Card For Delta Flyers: Delta Skymiles Gold American Express Card

• Earn up to 70,000 bonus miles. Earn 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. Plus, earn an additional 10,000 miles after you spend $6,000 total on purchases in the first 6 months your account is open.
• $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95.
• Earn 2 miles per $1 spent on dining, hotel stays, and United® purchases
• Up to $100 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® fee Credit
• 25% back on United® inflight purchases
• Check your first bag for free when you use your card to purchase your ticket
• Enjoy priority boarding privileges and visit the United ClubSM with 2 one-time passes each year for your anniversary
• Earn 2 miles per $1 spent on dining including eligible delivery services

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What Is The Best Airline Credit Card

The CardName appears on several best of lists of credit cards, but it can be an especially lucrative card for airline rewards even though it isnt actually linked to a specific airline brand. In fact, its flexibility is exactly what makes it the best airline credit card. Not only can you earn bonus points on a variety of types of travel purchases but your points are worth 25% more when you redeem them for several different types of travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

Plus, this card comes with one of the most valuable signup bonuses youll find with an airline travel credit card. Its worth $750 if you redeem through Chases travel portal .

Citibusiness/ Aadvantage Platinum Select Mastercard

Earn 65,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $4,000 in purchases within the first 4 months of account opening.

$99, waived for first 12 months

• Designed for businesses
• Earn 65,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $4,000 in purchases within the first 4 months of account opening.
• First checked bag is free on domestic American Airlines itineraries to reduce travel costs and boost your bottom line.
• 25% savings on American Airlines inflight Wi-Fi when you use your card
• Enjoy preferred boarding on American Airlines flights
• Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles per $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases
• Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles per $1 spent on purchases at telecommunications merchants, cable and satellite providers, car rental merchants and at gas stations.
• Earn 1 AAdvantage® mile per $1 spent on other purchases
• No Foreign Transaction Fees

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Best Southwest Airlines Credit Card

• USER SCORES

The Welcome Offer: For a limited time new cardholders can earn 75,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new card in the first three months of card membership .

The Rewards: Earn two miles for each dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta, on eligible U.S. purchases for advertising in select media, on eligible U.S. shipping purchases, and on every eligible dollar spent on dining at restaurants. Earn one mile per $1 on other eligible purchases.

The Annual Fee:AnnualFees

Added Perks: After spending $10,000 in purchases on your card in a calendar year, earn a $100 Delta flight credit.

CreditScoreNeeded

PROS:

• Save money when you travel with travel benefits such as first checked bag free and main cabin one priority boarding.
• Avoid paying foreign transaction fees on purchases you make abroad with no foreign transaction fees.
• The annual fee is waived the first year of card membership.

CONS:

• Although the annual fee is waived the first year, you’ll need to be sure you can benefit from the card enough for the annual fee after that.
• If you frequently fly with Delta, it may be worth considering one of the other Delta credit cards that reward you more generously for Delta purchases and offer more travel benefits, even with higher annual fees.

Read our full CardName.

Travelers Looking For Rewards

These folks are on the move a lot whether for business or leisure. And as such, theyre looking for a way to cash in on their travel with a credit card that rewards them for things like miles flown or nights stayed in a hotel. In this article, well explore brand-specific cards that can help with this as well as cards geared more specifically toward business travel.

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How We Picked The Best Airline Credit Cards

Research methodology: We analyzed 148 airline credit cards to identify the best ones currently on the market. The major factors we considered in making our Editors picks include:

• Rewards rates: The best airline credit cards offer at least 2X points on purchases with their specific carrier. General-purpose travel credit cards might offer between 1.25X to 2X miles on all purchases.
• Rewards value: Not all miles are created equal. We looked at how much each mile was worth when redeemed for airfare. We also considered how much each mile was worth across additional redemption options, when available.
• Ancillary airline perks: The best airline credit cards offer extra benefits, like a free checked bag, priority boarding, automatic elite status, airport lounge access or more. Many offer travel credits for items like Global Entry or TSA Precheck. We weighted cards more heavily if they offered these types of benefits.
• Rates and fees: Many airline credit cards charge annual fees and, as a rewards credit card, they tend to carry higher APRs than low-interest counterparts. However, we still considered if these costs were reasonable relative to the category and the benefits each card carried.