Though airline rewards are often cited as best - of examples, most people don't truly realize how successful these programs are.
Not exact matches
Even
though they don't provide consumers with the best
rewards rate,
airline credit cards offer the best bonus
rewards.
Even
though the
rewards given out here are referred to as «points», they have far more in common with
airline miles than general travel points.
However, having the Chase Southwest Rapid
Rewards ® Premier Credit Card allows you to utilize your points for international travel on most major
airlines,
though not for as great a value as a Southwest flight.
Another good part about gas
rewards credit cards,
though, is that many of these cards come with a relatively low APR and no annual fee, unlike many
airline mileage cards, for instance.
Airline cards are also less flexible,
though they can be optimized while cash back
rewards, for the most part, can't be.
Though it's a hotel credit card, the
reward points you earn through it are transferrable to over 30 different
airlines, including Hawaiian Air.
The Business version might be worth it to some travelers
though, as you'll get 10 Gogo in - flight Internet passes per year and the opportunity to use Membership
Rewards Pay with Points with American Express Travel for a flight with your selected
airline (and get 35 % of the points back, up to 500,000 bonus points per calendar year).
For travelers in range of a JetBlue hub, the JetBlue card offers a good value both in terms of its
airline and its
rewards program,
though others may be better off with a more general
rewards card.
Those individuals who value flexibility in their travels might want to consider a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred ® Card instead — it offers slightly lower
rewards rates,
though its points can be transferred to a number of different partner
airlines (including British Airways).
Perhaps the best part of an overall travel
rewards program,
though, is that you can often use your
rewards in conjunction with other
airline rewards, such as frequent flyer miles, to really make the most of your savings.
Though it has the fewest
airline transfer partners of the three big credit card
rewards programs, its seven partners were chosen wisely.
Membership
Rewards can also be transferred to hotel partners,
though this should only be done if absolutely necessary as they are more valuable when transferred to
airlines.
To maximize the value,
though, some
reward programs require understanding points - transfer rules and
airline routings — details that can be time - consuming and challenging to master.
The Delta Reserve is the best card for status and perks on Delta
Airlines,
though the lower - priced Platinum card offers a better
rewards value.
She could either convert Ultimate
Rewards points to United or use United miles directly to book passage to Istanbul on Turkish
Airlines,
though.
Though it has the fewest
airline transfer partners of the three big credit card
rewards programs, its seven partners were chosen wisely.
Though you'll get more transfer partners with Citi ThankYou and Amex Membership
Rewards, Chase has a solid list of
airline partners, including:
And they insist on calling their
reward points miles, even
though they have no correlation at all with
airline miles.
Though the United TravelBank card offers a good
rewards rate for an
airline card with no annual fee, cardholders may be better off searching for a general travel card with more flexibility.
Even
though the Starwood Preferred Guest credit card is primarily a hotel
rewards card, it also has a generous 1:1
airline rewards point transfer program too.
We enable guests to earn, redeem and convert points to free nights at 1.1 million lodging choices globally as well as for other programs
though the marketplace, including hotel
rewards,
airline frequent flyer miles, eGift cards, merchandise, charities, and more.
At first glance, it may appear as
though airlines are looking for new ways to cut costs and the good old days when
reward points were worth something are over.
Perhaps the best part of an overall travel
rewards program,
though, is that you can often use your
rewards in conjunction with other
airline rewards, such as frequent flyer miles, to really make the most of your savings.
However, having the Chase Southwest Rapid
Rewards ® Premier Credit Card allows you to utilize your points for international travel on most major
airlines,
though not for as great a value as a Southwest flight.
Though it has 12
airline partners, you might have to look a little harder for the best redemption options with the Citi ThankYou
Rewards program.
What makes the Membership
Rewards program so valuable,
though, is that it also has the most
airline transfer partners.
For instance, cards that offer Chase Ultimate
Reward points, American Express Membership
Reward points and Capital One miles all allow you to book flights using their points on any
airline, typically at a rate of 1 percent (so a $ 150 ticket would cost 15,000 miles, in most cases,
though the rate of return on Chase points is slightly better, depending on the card you have).
Though Barclays partners with quite a few hotel, airline and other reward programs for co-branded cards, its Barclaycard Arrival reward program, one of the newest on the travel reward scene, has made a name for itself fast even though it doesn't actually have any travel transfer par
Though Barclays partners with quite a few hotel,
airline and other
reward programs for co-branded cards, its Barclaycard Arrival
reward program, one of the newest on the travel
reward scene, has made a name for itself fast even
though it doesn't actually have any travel transfer par
though it doesn't actually have any travel transfer partners.
Though Chase has dramatically fewer
airline transfer partners than its main competitors — American Express Membership
Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest and even the growing Citi ThankYou
Rewards and Diners Club
Rewards — the partners it does have cover everything you might need.
The Southwest
Airlines Rapid
Rewards Premier Card has a high $ 99 annual fee,
though its earning scheme is average at best.
Also, as with many
airline loyalty programs, stopovers are not permitted with
rewards tickets,
though you are allowed to book open - jaw tickets (an
airline return ticket in which the destination and / or the origin are not the same in both directions).
What to lookout for:
Though it can be highly
rewarding for airfare purchases, the Asiana
Airlines business credit card is not great when used to cover other expenses — such as office supplies.
The Citi ThankYou
Rewards airline partners I personally find to be most valuable are Singapore
Airlines KrisFlyer and Flying Blue — even
though both are also transfer partners of Amex Membership
Rewards, SPG Starpoints and Ultimate
Rewards points.
If you have a preference in
airline,
though, you could benefit more from choosing a co-branded travel
rewards credit card that gives you
rewards for specific
airlines.
Those individuals who value flexibility in their travels might want to consider a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred ® Card instead — it offers slightly lower
rewards rates,
though its points can be transferred to a number of different partner
airlines (including British Airways).
With a nearly $ 100 annual fee, the Asiana
Airlines card is not the best choice for saving on credit card costs,
though the interest rate is reasonable for a
rewards card.
This means that even
though AA is not an Ultimate
Rewards partner or an Amex MR partner, you can transfer points to BA and use Avios to book AA flights (or any
airline in the Oneworld alliance).
It really shines for frequent travelers
though, who have the option to either transfer their points to a variety of
airline programs, including partners in all three of the main alliances, or get 20 percent off and flexible redemption options for using points towards travel like cash back through the Ultimate
Rewards travel portal.
Amex Platinum: 5 Membership
Rewards points per dollar spent on airfare purchases booked through the
airline or though Amex and on prepaid hotels booked directly through Amex; 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases Citi Prestige: 3 ThankYou points per dollar spent on air travel and hotels; 2 points per dollar spent on dining and entertainment; 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases Chase Sapphire Reserve: 3 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent on travel and dining purchases; 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases Hilton Amex Aspire: 14 Hilton Honors points per dollar spent at Hilton portfolio properties worldwide; 7 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or at amextravel.com, car rentals booked directly from select companies, and from US restaurants; 3 points per dollar spent on all other purchases Ritz: 5 Ritz - Carlton Rewards points per dollar spent at any Ritz - Carlton, Marriott or Starwood hotel; 2 points per dollar spent on airline tickets purchased directly with the airline and at car rental agencies and restaurants; 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases AAdvantage Executive: 2 AAdvantage miles per dollar spent on eligible American Airline purchases; 1 AAdvantage mile per dollar spent on all other purchases United Club: 2 miles per dollar spent on United ticket purchases; 1.5 miles per dollar spent on all other pu
airline or
though Amex and on prepaid hotels booked directly through Amex; 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases Citi Prestige: 3 ThankYou points per dollar spent on air travel and hotels; 2 points per dollar spent on dining and entertainment; 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases Chase Sapphire Reserve: 3 Ultimate
Rewards points per dollar spent on travel and dining purchases; 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases Hilton Amex Aspire: 14 Hilton Honors points per dollar spent at Hilton portfolio properties worldwide; 7 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the
airline or at amextravel.com, car rentals booked directly from select companies, and from US restaurants; 3 points per dollar spent on all other purchases Ritz: 5 Ritz - Carlton Rewards points per dollar spent at any Ritz - Carlton, Marriott or Starwood hotel; 2 points per dollar spent on airline tickets purchased directly with the airline and at car rental agencies and restaurants; 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases AAdvantage Executive: 2 AAdvantage miles per dollar spent on eligible American Airline purchases; 1 AAdvantage mile per dollar spent on all other purchases United Club: 2 miles per dollar spent on United ticket purchases; 1.5 miles per dollar spent on all other pu
airline or at amextravel.com, car rentals booked directly from select companies, and from US restaurants; 3 points per dollar spent on all other purchases Ritz: 5 Ritz - Carlton
Rewards points per dollar spent at any Ritz - Carlton, Marriott or Starwood hotel; 2 points per dollar spent on
airline tickets purchased directly with the airline and at car rental agencies and restaurants; 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases AAdvantage Executive: 2 AAdvantage miles per dollar spent on eligible American Airline purchases; 1 AAdvantage mile per dollar spent on all other purchases United Club: 2 miles per dollar spent on United ticket purchases; 1.5 miles per dollar spent on all other pu
airline tickets purchased directly with the
airline and at car rental agencies and restaurants; 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases AAdvantage Executive: 2 AAdvantage miles per dollar spent on eligible American Airline purchases; 1 AAdvantage mile per dollar spent on all other purchases United Club: 2 miles per dollar spent on United ticket purchases; 1.5 miles per dollar spent on all other pu
airline and at car rental agencies and restaurants; 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases AAdvantage Executive: 2 AAdvantage miles per dollar spent on eligible American
Airline purchases; 1 AAdvantage mile per dollar spent on all other purchases United Club: 2 miles per dollar spent on United ticket purchases; 1.5 miles per dollar spent on all other pu
Airline purchases; 1 AAdvantage mile per dollar spent on all other purchases United Club: 2 miles per dollar spent on United ticket purchases; 1.5 miles per dollar spent on all other purchases