Best Miles Credit Cards
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The Best Miles Credit Cards
There are a few things to keep in mind when considering opening an airline credit card. First of all, attractive as they may be, these cards aren’t for everybody. You should really only consider airline credit cards if you fly at least 30,000 miles a year. Otherwise, you won’t be able to redeem your miles often enough to sufficiently minimize the threat of miles devaluation. What’s more, if you don’t have excellent credit or you don’t pay your credit card bills in full every month, you either won’t be able to qualify for a truly beneficial airline card or the cost of your interest will outweigh the rewards you earn. Kerry Katona Loans Secondly, some airline credit cards are affiliated with certain air carriers and only allow you to redeem rewards when you fly with that company. Unless you fly exclusively with a certain airline, such cards should be avoided as well.
For people meeting these criteria, the best airline credit card is either the one offering the most generous generic rewards (i.e. those that can be redeemed for flights on any airline) or the card tied to your airline of choice, if you don’t require logistical variety.
Capital One Venture Rewards
Features
- 2% cash back on travel
- No first-year annual fee
Pros
- Miles can be redeemed for ANY travel-related purchase
Cons
- Miles can only be applied to purchases once they appear on your account (i.e. you must purchase prior to redeeming)
- No partial redemption on flights (i.e. you must have sufficient points to cover the cost of an entire airline purchase in order to redeem)
Current Signup Offers
- 10,000 bonus miles when you spend $1,000 in the first three months with the Venture Card, redeemable for $100 in travel costs.
Southwest Airline Credit Card
Features
- 2 points/$1 spent
- 3,000 bonus points on cardmember anniversary (equal to a $50 Wanna Get Away fare)
Pros
- Lucrative rewards
- Great initial bonus
Cons
- If you open the Southwest Airlines card to use as your primary airline rewards card (not just to take advantage of the initial bonus), you need to exclusively fly Southwest to really make the card worthwhile
Current Signup Offers
- Two free flights after first purchase.
Hilton HHonors American Express Platinum
Features
- $0 annual fee
- Earn 5 points per dollar spent at grocery stores, drugstores, gas stations, restaurants, U.S. postal service, wireless phone bills, and at Hilton hotels
- Earn 3 points per dollar spent everywhere else
- Receive Silver VIP status upon being accepted, and Gold VIP if you spend more than $20,000 in a year
Pros
- The automatic VIP status is nice, as some of the most valuable Hilton HHonors awards are only available to members with status.
Cons
- Not a knock on the card per se, but Hilton doesn't seem to have as many upscale resorts as some of the other major chains, which means there aren't as many really nice options when it comes time to redeem your points for a stay.
Current Signup Offers
Chase Sapphire Preferred
One of the best rewards credit cards offers for a frequent flyer is a air miles credit card. Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card was chosen as the best air miles credit card in 2011
Features
- 2 free flights or $625 in travel credit - if your earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months
- No foreign transaction fees
- 2X points earned on all airfare booked through Ultimate Rewards & 1 point for every dollar spent on all other purchases
- No travel restrictions or blackout dates and points never expire.
- Points are worth 25% more when you redeem for travel through Ultimate Rewards
- 7% annual points dividend – earn bonus points on your points
Cons
- The program becomes especially beneficial after you spend more than $3000 in a 3 months