Credit Cards
Best Airline Credit Cards 2024: Top Rewards, Benefits, and Offers
Unlock Free Flights: Best Airline Credit Cards Revealed.
Discover the best airline credit cards for 2024, offering exclusive rewards, benefits, and travel perks. Compare top cards and apply now to maximize your travel experience.
Are you ready to take your travel experience to new heights? Look no further! Our expert review of the best airline credit cards for 2024 highlights the top rewards, benefits, and offers to help you maximize your travel budget.
Top Airline Credit Cards:
1. Chase United Explorer Card
– 50,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 in 3 months
– 2X miles on United purchases
– Free checked bag and priority boarding
2. Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard
– 50,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 in 3 months
– 2X miles on American Airlines purchases
– Admirals Club lounge access
3. Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card
– 40,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 in 3 months
– 3X miles on Delta purchases
– Sky Club lounge access.
Airline Credit Cards In The News
Several new airline credit cards have recently been released, giving flyers new opportunities to earn miles with their preferred airlines. Avianca and Qatar Airways both recently launched two new co-branded airline cards that earn points in their respective loyalty programs. Someone who prefers flexible points may instead want to look at the Citi Strata Premier Card, a relatively new card earning Citi ThankYou® Points, which can be transferred to a number of partnering airlines.
If you hold a credit card earning flexible points, keep an eye out for limited time transfer bonuses which yield more miles than usual and can help you get more value for your hard-earned points.
What Is an Airline Credit Card?
Credit cards co-branded with a specific airline or rewards program and enable cardholders to earn frequent flyer miles or points on every purchase are often referred to as airline credit cards. These cards offer an easy way to boost your miles balance with every purchase you make and often include other travel benefits.
How Do Credit Card Airline Miles Work?
An airline credit card offers rewards in the form of miles when making purchases on your card. Those miles are then deposited directly into your frequent flyer account, typically once per billing cycle. Your frequent flyer account will be linked to your credit card account when you open the card. There are no extra steps to get the miles from your credit card to your airline frequent flyer account. Once your miles earned from credit card spending are in your frequent flyer account, you can redeem them as you normally would.
Pros and Cons of Airline Credit Cards
While airline credit cards offer plenty of value for the right user, several disadvantages mean they won’t be right for many travelers.
| Pros of Airline Credit Cards | Cons of Airline Credit Cards |
|---|---|
| Airline cards typically offer accelerated earnings with a specific airline program. | Rewards earned with airline credit cards may typically only be redeemed for flights and upgrades with the specific airline. |
| Airline cards may offer airline-specific perks, such as priority boarding, free checked bags and automatic upgrade or status qualification. | Reward redemptions within airline programs typically don’t offer a wide variety of redemption options. |
| Premium airline cards offer travel protections, lounge access and more. | Some users may feel stuck within a specific loyalty program after devoting time and energy to build points in a specific program. |
Who Should Apply for an Airline Credit Card?
An airline card may be right for you if you’re seeking any of the following benefits in a card:
- Frequent flyer. You fly often with a specific airline, as airline cards typically provide bonus points or miles for each purchase made with the card.
- Airline perks. You want to take advantage of airline-specific benefits, such as priority boarding, discounts on checked baggage fees or discounts on flight tickets.
- Travel benefits. You want to take advantage of additional benefits, such as travel insurance, car rental discounts or access to airline-specific airport lounges.
- No foreign transaction fees. You want to save on foreign transaction fees, as many airline cards waive these fees.
- Welcome bonus. You’re looking to acquire a large number of airline-specific points from a welcome bonus.
How To Choose an Airline Credit Card
Before you pick a credit card for flights, consider the following questions.
- Do you always fly the same airline? If not, consider a flexible rewards card, which broadens your redemption options.
- Do you have status with an airline? Someone with elite status may not need the redundant benefits offered from lower-cost airline credit cards.
- Do you want to access airport lounges? Premium rewards cards may offer airport lounge access to a specific airline’s network or a group of lounges through Priority Pass. But if you won’t use lounge access, you can save money on card annual fees by choosing a different option.
- Do you want travel insurance? Many airline credit cards provide travel insurance on eligible trips as a perk.
- How hard do you want to work to use your points? Not all miles have easy redemptions, but the more challenging programs may yield higher value or additional flexibility. For the simplest option, you may want to choose a cash-back credit card.
Alternatives to Airline Credit Cards
A host of alternatives exist for those seeking to make the most of credit card rewards and benefits without an airline card.
- Travel rewards cards. Travel reward cards not associated with a specific partner airline or hotel can earn points redeemable for travel of all kinds with nearly any airline or hotel chain. These cards are often issued by banks and financial institutions with their own travel agencies and reward programs. Travel rewards cards often provide valuable travel perks, but these perks aren’t likely to be airline-specific.
- Flexible rewards cards. Flexible reward programs, like Chase Ultimate Rewards, offer a variety of redemption options, including travel. The best rewards credit cards make ideal alternatives to airline credit cards because they offer significantly more in terms of redemption options.
- Cash-back cards. Cash-back cards offer rewards on much more than travel purchases with a specific airline, and the most-lucrative redemption options typically involve a bank deposit or statement credit. Since cash is ultimately the most flexible reward, it makes sense that many who aren’t committed to spending all their rewards on travel might prefer a cash-back credit card.
- Hotel credit cards. Prefer spending your rewards on hotel stays? The best hotel credit cards offer free nights, excellent welcome bonuses and plentiful rewards on many types of spending. Like airline cards, rewards and benefits are typically aimed at a specific hotel brand or family of brands.
Should You Get an Airline Credit Card?
Airline cards often pack in benefits similar to how airlines pack seats in a plane, with the difference being your credit card benefits may get you some extra legroom. Opening a new credit card is a major financial decision, so choosing a card shouldn’t be done casually. Our list provides the best overall options, but the card that’s right for one airline aficionado may not be the right one for you. Make sure to read the fine print for any card before applying.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the easiest airline credit card to get?
Most rewards cards, including airline credit cards, require better-than-average creditworthiness for approval. The easiest airline credit cards to get are the ones without an annual fee. We’ve evaluated several favorite travel cards without annual fees that might be worth considering.
How do I earn airline miles?
There are numerous ways to earn airline miles, though the most common methods are by flying with the airline or by using an airline’s credit card for purchases. The amount you earn through spending varies depending on what card you have. In general, airline cards award extra miles for purchases made directly with the airline which would include ticket purchases. Some cards also have bonus categories such as travel, dining or gas purchases.
Using an airline credit card as payment does not affect your ability to earn frequent flyer miles on the same flight. You may earn bonus miles from the card you used to make your purchase and separately, earn miles from taking the flight. Each airline awards miles from flying based on its own formula, which is usually a combination of ticket cost, miles flown and elite status.
How do I transfer credit card points to airline miles?
Not all types of credit card points can be transferred to airline miles. Some of the most popular transferable currencies include Chase Ultimate Rewards points, American Express Membership Rewards points and Citi ThankYou Points.
Each transfer partner has a slightly different set of instructions, but in general, you can transfer credit card points to airline miles via your credit card’s rewards page. Make sure you have your frequent flyer number handy in order to complete the transaction.
How many miles do I need for a free flight?
The number of miles needed for a free flight varies by airline loyalty program. Some airlines have fixed award charts based on distance or region, while others have dynamic pricing based on the dollar cost of the flight.
Conclusion:
Choosing the best airline credit card for your needs can be overwhelming. Our expert review helps you compare top cards and make an informed decision. Apply now and start earning rewards, benefits, and travel perks.
