Some airline cards give you a free checked bag and / or priority boarding, which if you don't have elite status on that airline already, has value.
Both of
the airline cards give you a free checked bag and priority boarding, plus bonus earning for purchases made with the carrier.
My airline cards give me a free checked bag on domestic flights, priority boarding, and double miles when I book travel on the card's affiliated airline.
Most
airline cards give you just two miles per dollar.
Whether this card is right for you will depend on whether you would use the bonuses that other
airline cards give you.
The mean rewards rate for a travel credit card is 1.9 % - slightly higher than the 1.7 %
airline cards give.
Accumulate points through purchases — The Bank of America
Airlines Card gives you $ 1 mile for every real dollar you spend.
When
an airline card gives you a free checked bag, that's a savings of $ 50 for every round trip.
Not exact matches
Besides credit
cards that offer points and cash back credit
cards, there are co-branded credit
cards that
give you extra points and other perks for purchasing products offered by the retailer,
airline or the hotel that sponsors your credit
card.
The
card itself
gives you 2 points per dollar spent with Southwest
Airlines and 1 point per dollar spent everywhere else.
Barclays (which used to go by Barclaycard), just introduced the Arrival Premier, a credit
card that allows you to earn tens of thousands of bonus miles each year and
gives you a chance to transfer your rewards to
airline miles.
For example, those who check luggage when flying may decide on a co-branded
airline card, as such
cards typically
give cardholders free checked bags.
Given their average rewards,
airline and travel credit
card owners should be careful when choosing between the categories.
Whether it's ordering something online buying
airline tickets, renting a car or having to buy a new refrigerator in an emergency a credit
card gives you powerful protections and even some extra benefits.
Because
airline cards typically
give you accelerated rewards for
airline purchases — often 2 miles or more per dollar spent — use the
card for airfare, in - flight purchases and other
airline - related expenses.
The
card earns users 2 FlexPoints per $ 1 on gas, office supply or
airline purchases - whichever you spent most on, in a
given billing cycle.
You'll need to keep this in mind if, say, one
card gives you 3 points for every dollar you spend on
airline tickets; those points will add up quickly, especially if you're smart about how you redeem your reward earnings (more on that later).
Chase Sapphire Preferred and Premier Rewards Gold
Card gives you a wide range of
airline transfer partners to work with.
Travel rewards
cards that don't tie you to a particular hotel brand or
airline give slightly higher returns than cash back
cards.
This
gives the
card a decent level of flexibility and options to book award travel in spots where Alaska
Airlines may not offer flights.
However, by not using a United branded credit
card, you'd be
giving up
airline - specific perks, such as checked baggage fee waivers and priority boarding.
While the
card earns 1 point per dollar on all other purchases, booking tickets directly with
airlines and through AmexTravel.com each
give 5 points per dollar.
The Citi Prestige ®
Card currently
gives cardholders access to Admirals Club lounges, operated by American
Airlines.
This
airline offers up a credit
card that
gives you your first checked bag free.
However, the Asiana
Airlines Credit
Card breaks this trend, and
gives cardholders good savings on gas and grocery purchases - a rewards rate of 2.8 % on each.
As it is not directly affiliated with the
airline, the Chase Sapphire Preferred simply can not
give its users the same type of loyalty benefits (outside of earning miles) that the Southwest credit
cards do.
While it is nice that these
cards give you basically cash back to redeem on flights, their value is much less than an
airline card.
UFB Direct, a division of BofI Federal Bank like Bank of Internet, offers an
Airline Rewards Checking that
gives you a mile or a point for every $ 3 you spend from debit
card purchases.
But the best benefit of this
card is the 10 percent redemption rebate program: Every time you book an award flight using your American
Airlines miles, the
airline will
give you back 10 percent of the miles you spent, up to 10,000 miles per calendar year.
Matt Schulz, senior industry analyst at CreditCards.com Favorite
airline card: Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard «It's got a strong sign - up bonus,
gives you a free checked bag for you and four of your travel companions and also
gives you preferred boarding on American flights.
If you plan to sign up for a single credit
card and put the bulk of your expenditures on this
card, an
airline - specific travel
card may not
give you the best return on your investment — you might want to sign up for a generic travel credit
card instead.
Most major
airline credit
card programs
give cardholders 2 points or miles for each dollar spent on
airline - branded purchases and related travel expenses, but then only 1 mile or point per dollar spent everywhere else.
This
card will
give you even more reasons to love Southwest
Airlines, with its hefty sign - up bonus and 2X points on all Southwest purchases and at certain car rentals that are partnered with the Rapid Rewards program.
For example, an
airline credit
card will often
give you a free checked bag and priority boarding, while a hotel credit
card user will receive elite status that can offer room upgrades, late checkouts and even free breakfast.
For example, most
airline cards will offer priority boarding, a free checked bag and discounts on in - flight purchases, while premium
cards will
give you an airport lounge membership.
I prefer my credit
card solely because it
gives me
airline miles.
By contrast, the Continental
Airlines OnePass Plus
Card gives you an opportunity to acquire 40,000 bonus points and other great rewards.
Plus, with this
card, you can transfer points to partnered
airline and hotel frequent traveler programs,
giving you even more options to save.
If you are a frequent traveler, then the type of program you may prefer instead would be one that
gives you
airline miles for every dollar you spend on the
card.
Additionally, there are good opportunities to get discounts when traveling with companions, which
gives this
airline credit
card a good reputation.
Credit
cards also offer rewards programs which
give you perks such as
airline miles, discounted hotel and rental car rates, and even cash back on -LSB-...]
While the top
airline and hotel
cards can
give you better sign - up bonuses, those often require you to spend thousands of dollars.
Instead of having one
card to pay for your
airline tickets, another to pay for your hotel stays, and a third
card that earns cash back everywhere, Barclaycard
gives you the option to put all your purchases on the Barclaycard Arrival Plus ® World Elite Mastercard ®, and you can redeem your miles for a travel statement credit toward an eligible travel purchase.
Chase Sapphire Preferred ®
Card gives you 1:1 point transfer to leading
airline and hotel loyalty programs at full value, so your points offer much more travel value than the points you earn with many other programs.
The
card gives a $ 300 annual travel credit that can be used on anything from
airline tickets to Uber rides, effectively lowering its annual fee to around $ 150.
By
giving up things like lounge access and priority boarding privileges, these
cards will allow you to earn more miles which, in turn, can translate to more free
airline tickets in the future.
And notably, this
card gives double the frequent flyer miles on purchases at restaurants and gas stations, making it an easier choice to use as an everyday credit
card, instead of one you use only occasionally for its
airline benefits.
The Hyatt Credit
Card gives you 3 points for every $ 1 spent on purchases at Hyatt hotels and 2 points for every $ 1 spent at restaurants, on
airline tickets purchased directly with the
airline and at car rental agencies.
The Platinum
Card ® from American Express
gives a slightly worse annual
airline credit ($ 200 vs $ 250), but provides better rewards on
airline and hotel purchases.
Every year, the Expedia ® + Voyager
Card will
give its members $ 100 credit towards paying down any incidental
airline fees — this covers things such as baggage fees, in - flight food and entertainment, and Wi - Fi.