The Best Credit Cards for Airline Miles
Credit cards are great! Little plastic things that pack a powerful punch. Not only are they lighter and easier to carry than cash and loose change, they generally make life much convenient. What’s more, the come with benefits, and advantages, bonuses and rewards and who doesn’t love those?
I have to say though, one of the absolute best thing about having credit cards are the reward programs run by most companies. Discounts on products and services, extended warranties, redeemable points, sign-up bonuses, cash back on everyday purchases like groceries and gas are some of the perks of having credit cards but what takes the cake are the frequent flyer miles. These miles you accumulate on ticket purchases can be redeemed as free tickets, priority boarding, hotel accommodations and more. Nowadays, there are actual individual credit cards offered by companies specifically for frequent flyers and jet-setters or credit cards by airlines themselves.
Here we discuss the highlights of what we think are the top two airline credit cards
1. Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
- 40,000 bonus points when you spend $3000 in the first 90 days of procuring the card. That amounts to $500 in travel if redeemed by Chase Ultimate Rewards
- Additional 2500 reward points if an authorized user is added within the first 3 months of the account opening
- 2500 reward points if you make a ticket purchase during the same time frame.
- No foreign travel transaction fees, plus Chip and Signature enabled for international travel.
- You are receivable of 7% annual points dividend on all the new points earned on purchases – even the points that have already been redeemed!
- A 2 point per dollar spent on travel and dining at restaurants
- 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases
- Direct access to expert advisers at any given time
- A 1 on 1 points transfer to British Airways, Korean Air, Southwest, Hyatt, Marriot, InterContinental/Priority Club and Amtrak.
- $95 Annual fee waived for the first year but payable beyond that
These are a lot of highlights and pros to consider that make the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card one of the highest-rated airline and travel reward card, however to eligible for this card you need to have excellent credit history.
2. Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard
- Earn $40,000 bonus miles when you spend $3000 on purchases within the first 3 months
- Earn 2 points per dollar spent on travel and dining and every single other purchase
- You can book the travel you want on points earned by your purchases – airfare, hotels, cruises and more
- No foreign transaction fees on international travel and purchase
- Complimentary online FICO Score access for Barclaycard Arrival cardholders
- 0% introductory APR on balance transfers and purchases for the first 12 months
- No timeline on miles and reward points, as long as your account is open, active and in good standing points can be redeemed at any time without expiry
- Get 10% miles back to use towards your next redemption every time you redeem travel statement credits
And there you have the top two airline credit card contenders to choose from should you be in the market for one, and given all those perks, you really should be!
Thank you for visiting the Best Credit Cards for Airline Miles post.
