Airline Credit Cards
With an airline miles credit card, you can earn points that can be redeemed for free flights and other rewards. These frequent flyer credit cards are perfect for anyone who likes to travel or needs to spend a lot of time flying in their line of work.
- Earn 1.25 miles per dollar on every purchase, every day
- Fly free on any airline, any time, with no blackout dates
- For new accounts, earn 10,000 bonus miles
- No foreign transaction fees
- Annual Fee: $0
- Credit Needed: Good
| Introductory APR | Balance Transfer | Regular APR |
| 0% until February 2013* |
11.9-19.9% Variable* |
11.9-19.9% Variable* |
- Limited Time Offer! - Earn 25,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months - that's $250 toward a flight or any other reward!
- 2 points per dollar spent on dining & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
- Annual Fee: $0
- Credit Needed: Good
| Introductory APR | Balance Transfer | Regular APR |
| N/A | 15.24% Variable* | 15.24% Variable* |
- Earn 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, every day
- Receive 5,000 bonus miles by signing up for one or more employee cards
- Annual Fee: $0 for the first year; $59 after that
- Credit Needed: Excellent
| Introductory APR | Balance Transfer | Regular APR |
| N/A | 13.9% Variable* | 13.9% Variable* |
- Earn up to 40,000 bonus miles and first year free, a $95 value*
- Earn 2 miles for $1 spent on tickets purchased from United and Continental and 1 mile per $1 everywhere else
- Annual Fee: $95; waived for the first year
- Credit Needed: Excellent
| Introductory APR | Balance Transfer | Regular APR |
| N/A | 14.24% Variable* | 14.24% Variable* |
- Earn up to 40,000 bonus miles and first year free ($95 value)*
- Earn 2 miles for $1 spent on tickets purchased from Continental and United and 1 mile per $1 everywhere else
- Annual Fee: $95; waived for the first year
- Credit Needed: Excellent
| Introductory APR | Balance Transfer | Regular APR |
| N/A | 14.24% Variable* | 14.24% Variable* |
- Earn 30,000 bonus miles toward Award Travel - when you spend $500 on the Card in the first three months from account opening
- Receive double miles on Delta purchases and 1 mile for all other eligible dollars spent
- Annual Fee: $0 introductory for the first year, then $95
- Credit Needed: Excellent
| Introductory APR | Balance Transfer | Regular APR |
| N/A | N/A | 15.24%-19.24% Variable* |
- 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, every day
- Earn 10,000 bonus miles, equal to $100 in travel
- Redeem your miles for ANY travel expense
- Annual Fee: $0 for first year; $59 after that
- Credit Needed: Good
| Introductory APR | Balance Transfer | Regular APR |
| N/A | 11.9-19.9% Variable* |
11.9-19.9% Variable* |
- Earn up to $120 in travel rewards--1,000 Bonus miles every month you make a purchase for the first year
- 1 Mile on every $1 you spend - Plus flexible redemption options like travel credits, merchandise, gift cards or cash
- Annual Fee: $0
- Credit Needed: Excellent
| Introductory APR | Balance Transfer | Regular APR |
| 0% for 6 months* | 0% for 6 months* | 10.99-16.99%* Variable* |
- Earn up to $250 in travel rewards--1,000 Bonus miles every month you make a purchase for the first 25 months
- Double Miles on every $1 you spend
- Annual Fee: $60
- Credit Needed: Excellent
| Introductory APR | Balance Transfer | Regular APR |
| 0% for 6 months* | 0% for 6 months* | 10.99-16.99%* Variable* |
- Limited Time Offer! - Earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months- that's $625 toward travel!
- 2 points per dollar spent on travel and dining & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
- Annual Fee: $95; waived for the first year
- Credit Needed: Excellent
| Introductory APR | Balance Transfer | Regular APR |
| N/A | 15.24% Variable* | 15.24% Variable* |
* Read Terms & Conditions on any credit card offer before you apply.
Considerations On Airline Credit Card Offers
If you are comparing card offers and having a difficult time choosing the right offer for you, here are some main points to know about airline credit cards:
Free Bonus Miles: In order to attract new applicants, credit card companies will stack on tons of bonus miles with your first card purchase. These bonus miles can range from 15,000 to 40,000 bonus miles right off the bat. In some cases, you can get more bonus miles for adding an additional cardholder. Also, airline credit cards will generally give you more points for flying on specific carriers or shopping at specific retail locations. Try to pick a card that will give you the most free bonus miles in addition to the regular miles you will be getting for using the card.
Annual Fees: Most frequent flyer programs will involve an annual fee which can range from $40 to $175 or more. If you plan on using your card often and making many flights each year, then your rewards should easily offset such fees. However, if you don't use the card that often, the annual fee might outweigh the rewards you will earn. You should take a moment to calculate your expected rewards versus the credit card's annual fee and other costs to make sure you will come out ahead. Also, the annual fee for the first year might be much lower than subsequent years, so make sure you are aware of the long-term annual fee amount.
Frequent Flyer or Frequent Spender: The primary use of airline credit cards is obviously to benefit from the bonus miles you get from buying airline tickets. With these programs, you will usually get more points when you buy tickets than other items - sometimes 2 or 3 times as many points. However, if you are more of a frequent spender than a frequent flyer, then you will probably get greater value out of using Cash Back Credit Cards or similar reward programs rather than an airline credit card designed specifically for frequent flyers.
