Updated: 4 days ago
Airline-specific cards can be great for the perks, and the best airline credit card will give you benefits like free checked bags, priority boarding, and in-flight discounts. However, you can often earn more miles by using a flexible points card and transferring the points to your airline program as needed. We’ll cover both, so you can find the top airline credit card for your situation.
The Best Airline Credit Card Offers of May 2021
We’re pretty passionate about airline miles, having earned and redeemed millions of them ourselves, and helping clients redeem more than half a billion points over the past decade. And during that time, we’ve learned which credit cards give you the best bang for your buck, whether that’s earning airline miles directly, or taking advantage of rewarding cards that let you convert points to miles.
In general, it makes sense to get the credit card for your primary airline, the carriers that serve your local airport, or really any airline that you fly more than once or twice a year. The benefits of the cards easily outweigh any annual fees, plus you can typically earn tens of thousands of airline miles just for applying for the card and meeting a minimum spend. Here are the best airline reward credit cards available today:
Alaska Airlines Visa® Business credit card
The companion fare offer alone makes this card a no-brainer, not to mention the $200 statement credit and the bonus 40,000 Alaska miles which are very valuable due to their current award chart.
Current Offer
• Get 40,000 bonus miles plus a $200 statement credit and Alaska's Famous Companion Fare from $121 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from just $22) with this offer. To qualify, make purchases of $2,000 or more within the first 90 days of opening your account.
• Get Alaska's Famous Companion Fare™ from $121 ($99 plus taxes and fees from $22) every year! That's right, EACH YEAR on your account anniversary get a companion fare from $121 ($99 plus taxes and fees from $22). Valid on all Alaska flights booked on alaskaair.com with no blackout dates.
• Save with a free checked bag on Alaska flights for you and up to six other guests on the same reservation.
• Earn 3 miles for every $1 spent directly on Alaska Airlines purchases and 1 mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases.
• NEW! 50% off Alaska Lounge day passes and 20% back on inflight food, beverage and Wi-Fi purchases when you pay with your card.
• Get exclusive access to discounted redemption levels when you redeem miles for hotel stays at over 400,000 properties using Alaska Airline Hotels.
• Earn unlimited miles and travel with no blackout dates and no international transaction fees.
• Enjoy many money saving benefits, 800+ destinations, more than a dozen global airline partners and a low annual fee of $50 for the company and $25 per card.
Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® Card
Current Offer
• Earn 50,000 Bonus miles after spending $2,000 within the first 90 days of opening your account
• Save with a free checked bag on Alaska flights for you and up to six other guests on the same reservation.
• Get Alaska's Famous Companion Fare™ every year! EACH YEAR on your account anniversary get a companion fare from $121 ($99 plus taxes and fees from $22). Valid on all Alaska flights booked on alaskaair.com with no blackout dates.
• Earn unlimited 3 miles for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases and unlimited 1 mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases. And, your miles don't expire on active accounts.
• Enjoy 20% back on all Alaska Airlines inflight purchases and 50% off day passes at the Alaska Lounge when you pay with your new card.
• Plus, no foreign transaction fees and a low $75 annual fee.
This card gives you a full Admirals Club Membership for you and access for guests traveling with you, in addition to complimentary Admirals Club® Lounge access for authorized users.
Current Offer
• Earn 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $5,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
• Admirals Club® membership for you and access for up to two guests or immediate family members traveling with you
• Earn 10,000 AAdvantage® Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) after you spend $40,000 in purchases within the year
• No Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases
• Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases and 1 AAdvantage® mile for every $1 spent on other purchases
• First checked bag is free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for you and up to 8 companions traveling with you on the same reservation
• The standard variable APR for Citi Flex Plan is 15.99% - 24.99%, based on your creditworthiness. Citi Flex Plan offers are made available at Citi's discretion.
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card
Current Offer
- Earn 80,000 points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
- 9,000 bonus points after your Cardmember anniversary.
- 3 points per $1 spent on Southwest Airlines® purchases.
- 2 points per $1 spent on social media and search engine advertising, Internet, cable and phone services and 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
- 4 Upgraded Boardings per year when available
- Inflight WiFi Credits
- Global Entry or TSA Pre✔® Fee Credit
- Employee cards at no additional cost, earn points on employee spending.
Current Offer
- Earn 40,000 points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Plus, earn 3X points on dining, including takeout and eligible delivery services, for the first year.
- 7,500 bonus points after your Cardmember anniversary each year.
- $75 Southwest® travel credit each year.
- 4 Upgraded Boardings per year when available.
- 20% back on inflight drinks and WiFi.
- Earn 2 points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases.
- Earn 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
- No foreign transaction fees.
United℠ Explorer Card
Current Offer
- 40,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. Plus, an additional 25,000 bonus miles after you spend $10,000 in the first 6 months.
- $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95
- Earn 2 miles per $1 spent at restaurants, on hotel stays, and on United purchases
- Up to $100 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® fee Credit
- 25% back on United inflight purchases
- Check your first bag for free (a savings of up to $140 per roundtrip) when you use your card to purchase your ticket
- Enjoy priority boarding privileges and visit the United Club℠ with 2 one-time passes each year for your anniversary
- Earn 2 miles per $1 spent at restaurants and eligible delivery services
Current Offer
- Earn 50,000 bonus Avios after you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.
- Plus earn a Travel Together Ticket after you spend $20,000 total on purchases within your first year of account opening.
- Earn 5 Avios per $1 spent on purchases with British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and LEVEL within your first 12 months from account opening, thereafter earn 3 Avios.
- Earn 3 Avios per $1 spent on hotel accommodations when purchased directly with the hotel within your first 12 months from account opening, thereafter earn 2 Avios. Plus earn 1 Avios per $1 spent on all other purchases.
- 10% off British Airways flights starting in the US when you book through the website provided in your welcome materials.
- Every calendar year you make $30,000 in purchases on your British Airways Visa card, you'll earn a Travel Together Ticket good for two years.
- Pay no foreign transaction fees when you travel abroad.
- Simply tap to pay with your contactless British Airways Visa Signature Card. Just look for the contactless symbol at checkout. It's fast, easy and secure!
Current Offer
- Earn 50,000 bonus miles and 5,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $2,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months.
- Plus, earn up to $100 back in statement credits for eligible purchases at US restaurants with your card within the first 3 months of membership.
- Accelerate your path to Medallion Status, with Status Boost®. Plus, in 2021 you can earn even more bonus Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) to help you reach Medallion Status.
- Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels.
- Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery and at U.S. supermarkets.
- Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases.
- Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. *Payment of the government imposed taxes and fees of no more than $75 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
- Enjoy your first checked bag free on Delta flights.
- Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✓®.
- Enjoy an exclusive rate of $39 per person per visit to enter the Delta Sky Club® for you and up to two guests when traveling on a Delta flight.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- $250 Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.
Current Offer
- Welcome Offer: Earn 60,000 bonus miles, 5,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs), and a $100 statement credit after spending $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months.
- Earn 3 Miles on every dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta and on every eligible dollar spent on purchases made directly with hotels.
- Earn 1.5 miles per dollar on single eligible purchases of $5,000 or more (that's an extra half mile per dollar), up to 50,000 additional miles per year. 1 Mile on every eligible dollar spent on other purchases.
- With Status Boost®, earn 10,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $25,000 in purchases on your card in a calendar year, up to 2x per year getting you closer to Medallion Status. Plus, throughout 2021 earn an additional 2,500 MQMs after making $25,000 in purchases, up to 2x. That's in addition to the 10,000 MQMs that you would earn with Status Boost.
- Status-like benefits: First Check Bag Free on Delta flights + Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding.
- Terms and limitations apply.
Why You Should Consider Airline Credit Cards
While I’ve said that it typically doesn’t make sense to spend money on an airline credit card, that’s not true for everyone. Furthermore, there are plenty of other reasons to get an airline credit card aside from the value of everyday spending. So under what circumstances should you get an airline credit card?
Airline Credit Cards Can Offer Great Perks
One reason it could make sense to get an airline credit card is because of the perks the card offers. This is often unrelated to actually spending money on a card, but rather is just a perk for having the card.
For example, potential benefits include a first checked bag fee, priority boarding, a discount on inflight purchases, discounted lounge access, and more.
Perks vary by card, so you’ll want to look at the benefits for the particular card you have. In general there are plenty of circumstances where it could make sense to have airline credit cards even if you don’t spend much on them.
For more details on this, see the credit card offers from these airlines:
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Airline Credit Cards Can Help You Earn Status
A lot of people try to earn airline elite status, which can offer lots of potentially useful perks, like complimentary upgrades, free checked bags, priority boarding, bonus miles, and more.
In some cases airline credit cards can help you earn elite status in one of two ways:
- Some airline credit cards offer elite qualifying miles for reaching certain spending thresholds
- Some airline credit cards offer to waive the elite qualifying dollar requirement for status, or otherwise offer fast tracks to completing the spending requirement
So if you decide that airline status makes sense for you and the only way to earn it is with some credit card spending, then this could make sense.
Elite status can get you perks like complimentary upgrades
Airline Credit Cards Offer Big Welcome Bonuses
Just signing up for an airline credit card can often get you enough miles for an international business class ticket, which can be a great reason to give one of these cards a try.
Redeem American miles for Etihad’s 787 first class
That being said, most people should consider a credit card that isn’t tied to a specific airline, as I’ll get into below.
What Is The Best Airline Credit Card For Miles?
I am constantly asked about the best credit card for airline miles, and the answer may surprise you. I’ve flown well over 100 different airlines, and personally fly an average of 400,000 miles a year in international first and business class — and most of that has been made possible by leveraging airline miles.
So you can believe me when I say I know the best airline credit cards for miles, and that it usually isn’t actually an airline card. Instead, you’ll earn more points more quickly with a flexible points currency issued by one of the major bank credit cards. Depending on the card you choose, you can maximize your mileage earning with cards offering big category bonuses. We try and earn at least two miles for every dollar we spend, which is pretty easy these days.
Why You Shouldn’t Spend Money On Airline Credit Cards
Airline credit cards serve a purpose, but in general that purpose shouldn’t be that it’s your go-to card for everyday, non-bonused spending. I understand how we got to this point, where so many people are using airline credit cards. Back in the day they were among the best rewards credit cards out there, but with the expansion and improvement of transferrable points cards, there are so many better options nowadays.
Let me give an example. I had a conversation about credit cards the other day with someone who lives in San Francisco:
“I use my American Airlines credit card for all purchases, and I try to always have at least a million miles with them. I just redeemed a lot of miles, so now I’m trying to earn them back.”
“What do you mostly spend money on?”
“Dining and everyday expenses.”
“And what do you try to redeem your miles for?”
“Well I like to go to Europe. I also recently booked a ticket to South Africa, but there were over $1,500 in fees, which seems ridiculous.”
“Is there a reason you’re focused on American over other airlines?”
“No, I’ve just had their card for a long time, so I have kept earning with them.”
As I’m sure many of you can imagine, I nearly had a heart attack hearing all of this. So hopefully this is useful in helping the countless number of people in similar situations find a new strategy.
Here are five reasons you (generally) shouldn’t use an airline credit card for your everyday spending.
Airline Credit Card Points Devalue
Airline miles devalue over time. Hoarding airline miles is like saving money without earning any interest. The reality is that airline miles can devalue really quickly. Just to give one example, several years ago American charged 67,500 miles for a Cathay Pacific first class ticket between the US and Hong Kong. Now that ticket costs 110,000 miles. That’s an overnight cost increase of over 60%.
The cost of Cathay Pacific first class redemptions increased significantly
This isn’t just a one-off, but rather it’s reflective of an overall trend we’ve seen. If you collect miles with a specific airline and they have a devaluation, you have no recourse.
When you consider there’s an opportunity cost to your credit card spending, you shouldn’t settle for earning a currency that can so easily be devalued.
Airline Credit Cards Don’t Offer Flexibility
This is along the same lines as the above, though there’s an important distinction. Not only do airline miles devalue quickly, but they offer very little flexibility.
If you used a cash back card, you could spend that cash however you wanted whenever you wanted. That gives you a lot more flexibility.
If you used a card earning transferable points, you could transfer those points to all kinds of airline and hotel partners, which allows you to shield yourself from any particular program devaluation, and also maximize value with each redemption.
When one partner’s award chart devalues, that doesn’t hugely devalue your points. Furthermore, transferable points can also typically be redeemed as cash towards the cost of a ticket. You’re getting the best of both worlds.
Earning miles with one airline limits your flexibility
Airline Credit Cards Don’t Have Great Bonus Categories
Not only are you earning miles that devalue when using an airline credit card, but they also typically don’t offer great bonus categories. In other words, you’ll earn one mile per dollar spent on most purchases, and then there are a fairly limited number of bonus categories.
We have seen some improvement in this regard from airline credit cards, though you’re still typically earning at most two miles per dollar spent in select categories.
That pales in comparison to some of the bonus categories we see on other cards, including:
- Up to 5x points on dining
- Up to 5x points on airfare
- Up to 4.5x points at supermarkets
- Up to 3x points on gas purchases
- Up to 3x points on travel
- Up to 2x points on everyday spending
So there are much better options out there.
Other credit cards may offer more useful bonus categories
Airline Credit Cards Rarely Average A Return Of Over 2%
Deciding which credit card to use for spending is all about determining opportunity cost.
Earning some airline miles on a credit card is better than earning nothing, though on the most basic level there are plenty of cards that offer a return that’s equivalent to 2% or more. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that a vast majority of people using airline credit cards for their spending aren’t valuing those miles at over two cents each.
Why would you tie yourself into a specific points currency that you value less than 2% return on your spending that’s cash?
There are some great cash back cards out there, which are a good alternative
Transferable Points Have Transfer Bonuses
Not only do transferable points cards often have better bonus categories, but they sometimes even offer further bonuses when you transfer points.
This is something we’ve seen from Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou, and Capital One.
While points can already be transferred at favorable ratios, sometimes we see bonuses of 20-40% for transferring points during a specific period, which can be a great way to get even more value from your points.
When you combine category bonuses with transfer bonuses, you’re potentially looking at an unbelievable rate of earning points.
Why I earn most of my airline miles through non-airline credit cards
With a combination of various cards, I’m maximizing my miles by earning:
- 5x points on flights, restaurants, and certain hotels
- 4x points on dining worldwide, and U.S. supermarkets
- 3x points on travel, restaurants, shipping, Internet, cable & phone, advertising, and gas stations
- 2x points on everyday purchases
The specific categories vary by card, so if you tend to cook at home you’ll want to consider a card that offers bonuses on groceries or supermarkets, while someone who eats out will do better with a card offering a bonus on restaurants. As you’re doing your research, think about what purchases you make most frequently, whether your budget will allow you to meet the minimum spend to earn the welcome bonus in time, and what your travel goals are.
In addition to the airline credit cards, you’ll want to consider our top picks for other rewards cards that let you earn the most airline miles:
Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred at a 1:1 ratio to United, Hyatt, and many other programs. The card is also great for everyday spend given that it offers double points on dining and travel. This is probably the most-used card in my wallet. Current Offer The Ink Preferred has a fantastic, practical rewards structure. Triple points on travel, telecommunications, shipping and advertising on social-media and search engines, covers a lot of categories that are actually useful to businesses. Current Offer Card Details Earn unlimited 1 Point Per $1 spent on all other purchases. Current Offer Current Offer Current Offer While the annual fee is high the card comes with lots of benefits that help negate the annual fee, including a $200 Airline Fee Credit, which gives you up to $200 a year in baggage fees and more at one airline. Current Offer Membership Rewards has many transfer partners, including Aeroplan, British Airways, Delta, and Singapore, and this card lets you earn great bonuses in the categories that many of us use most often. Current Offer While the annual fee is high the card comes with lots of benefits that help negate the annual fee, and this is a great welcome bonus on this card. Current Offer Earning 4X Membership Rewards® for small business expenses is an awesome return, and we especially like that it automatically applies to the categories you use most in a billing cycle, rather than having to choose just one or two each year. Current Offer
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, and on advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year.
Citi Premier® Card
• Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
• Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants and Supermarkets
• Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Gas Stations, Air Travel and Hotels
• Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on all other purchases
• Annual Hotel Savings Benefit
• 60,000 Points are redeemable for $600 in gift cards when redeemed at thankyou.com
• No expiration and no limit to the amount of points you can earn with this card
• No Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases
Capital One Spark Miles for Business
The Best Airline Credit Card With No Annual Fee
For the most part, in order to take advantage of all the potential perks and rewards that come with using an airline credit card, you’ll be paying at least a moderate annual fee. After all, these benefits have to be paid for somehow! That being said, if you don’t fly quite enough to justify the cost of an annual fee, but still want to earn miles, there’s a tie for the best airline credit card with no annual fee available today:
Current Offer While it might not be the best option for the savvy traveler, it’s nice to see an airline with a no annual fee credit card. People often want to have a card from a brand they like, and lots of people like Delta. For a no annual fee card, the card is more generous than I was expecting. Current Offer Current Offer
• Earn 10,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles and receive a $50 statement credit after making $500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
• No Annual Fee
• Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for each $1 spent at grocery stores, including grocery delivery services
• Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases
• Earn 1 AAdvantage® mile for every $1 spent on other purchases
• Save 25% on inflight food and beverage purchases when you use your card on American Airlines flights
• The standard variable APR for Citi Flex Plan is 15.99% - 24.99%, based on your creditworthiness. Citi Flex Plan offers are made available at Citi's discretion.
Most people, however, can do a bit better by choosing a non-airline card. If you aren’t flying enough to where the annual fee would be offset by free checked bags, in-flight discounts, etc., you’d probably be better served by a flexible points card. You’ll usually earn more points for every dollar you spend, and those points can be used towards paid tickets (so you can earn more miles!), or transferred directly to your airline miles account when you’re ready to use them:
This card offers strong rewards for small businesses. No other card matches it for base earning on up to the first $50,000 per year. Current Offer Current Offer If you make frequent transactions in a month the Amex EveryDay cards are a great option. In addition to accruing points in bonus categories, these cards offer an additional incentive based on how many times the card is used in a month. This can be quite lucrative, especially as these cards accrue Membership Rewards points. Membership Rewards points can be transferred to airline partners for the best value, or used to pay for all or part of your flight, prepaid hotel, vacation or cruise through amextravel.com. Current Offer Card Details
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
Amex EveryDay® Credit Card
Earn 10,000 Membership Rewards® points after you use your new Card to make $1,000 in purchases in your first 3 months.
2x points at US supermarkets, on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1x); 1x points on other purchases. Use your Card 20 or more times on purchases in a billing period and earn 20% more points on those purchases less returns and credits.
There’s potentially value in having an airline credit card, for the great welcome bonuses, generous benefits when flying that airline, and possibly even for spending if you’re going for elite status. However, for the average person, you shouldn’t be using an airline credit card for your everyday spend.
Very few people will get over 2% back with an airline credit card, in which case a cash back card could make a lot more sense. If you do want to earn miles, use a transferable points card that will earn you points that are more flexible and more valuable, and will typically even earn you points at a faster rate.
I have an AA Executive Elite MASTERCARD FROM CitiBank. The travel protection benefits are completely misleading. I recently had a travel delay of approximately 2 hours from Zurich to Philadelphia. As a result, I missed my connection. As a result of destination change 3 months prior to departure, American did not automatically put me on the next available flight from PHL to BDL (Hartford, CT). I was on standby for the last flight of the night, for which I did not clear. American offered me a hotel voucher for a particular hotel, but the hotel was sold out, and the voucher was not honored. There were no available flights for another 24 hours, so I booked Amtrak from Philadelphia to my final destination of Springfield, MA. I submitted a reimbursement request with the credit card insurance carrier. The claim was denied because the originating flight delay was a delay of less than 6 hours. This is a completely useless benefit with regard to any flight delay that causes a missed connection. So any flight delay later in the day that causes a missed connection will never result in a reimbursement benefit. A one hour delay later in the evening can result in being stranded and an overnight stay in the connection city. Have you done any analysis of the various travel insurance benefits being offered by different credit cards. I’m discouraged, as this is a $450 annual fee card. I believed that I had travel protection; turns out I did not.
It would be really useful if you included the various airline credit cards (i.e. TD, CIBC and AMEX Aeroplan cards) in your summary of Canadian cards. An otherwise excellent summary would benefit, tremendously, from this addition.
Thank you.