It’s easy to be lured in by attractive sign-up bonuses from every card on the market, especially airline credit cards that are marketed to you when you’re already on a plane. However, choosing the right airline credit card can be an important step in building a well-rounded credit card strategy.
Think About Where You Fly Most
Start by thinking about the places you travel to most frequently for work or vacations, as well as the destinations you’d like to visit in the future. Then, ask yourself which airlines you’d prefer to fly with, including those that are alliance partners of other airlines. For example, if you’d like to visit Doha on Qatar Airways, you may want to look for cards that earn American Airlines AAdvantage miles that can be redeemed for flights on Qatar.Yet, just as important as where you plan to fly to is where you’ll be flying from. Is there a large airport near you that an airline operates out of as a main hub?
For example, if San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is your closest major airport, you might consider a United Airlines credit card. If you live near Miami International Airport (MIA) or Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), you might consider an American Airlines credit card. And lastly, if you live in Atlanta where Delta Air Lines is king, you’ll more than likely want a Delta credit card.
Understand What Your Miles are Worth
The value of airline miles, as with any rewards currency, comes down to how much each mile is worth in cents. For example, you may only be able to achieve a valuation of 1 cent per mile on some airlines, but you can get closer to 2 cents per mile with others.
At a high level, it’s easy to calculate the value of your miles for a particular redemption. Let’s say a one-way flight you want to take costs $600, but you can also redeem that same flight for 25,000 miles. In order to see how much your miles are worth in this scenario, divide 600 by 25,000 (600/25,000 = 0.024), and then multiply that answer by 100 (0.024 x 100 = 2.40). In this case, the value of this particular redemption would be 2.4 cents per point, which is a higher-than-average redemption, but not impossible to achieve.
Keeping in mind that not all miles are created equal, try not to be distracted by an airline credit card that has a large sign-up bonus but low earning rates or a high annual fee. It’s also important to try to compare apples to apples. Take the $600 flight example. If you didn’t have the points, would you still take the trip? If not, the calculation described above won’t produce a fair estimation of your points’ value.
Consider Which Perks Matter Most to You
Most airline credit cards come with common perks such as a free first checked bag, discounted in-flight purchases and elevated earning rates when spending with that particular airline. But some premium airline credit cards also come with lounge access and put you closer to elite status.Before choosing which airline card to get, consider which common cards perks matter most to you. If you don’t care for airline lounge access, for instance, or you already get lounge access from another card, there’s no need to get another card that gives you that.
One such card that offers coveted airline lounge access while also getting you closer to elite status is the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card. For a $550 annual fee, the perks of the Delta Reserve include 15 complimentary Delta SkyClub visits per year for the primary cardholder, complimentary Centurion Lounge access when booking a Delta flight with the card, complimentary upgrades and an increased 3X miles on every dollar spent on Delta purchases.
By comparison, Southwest Airlines offers a suite of credit cards, the most basic of which—Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card—comes with two EarlyBird Check-In boarding upgrades, when available, among other perks. Because upgraded boardings normally cost $30 per segment, per passenger, these upgrades nearly offset the card’s $69 annual fee.
Know What Airline Status is Worth to You
When you choose an airline credit card, you’re essentially choosing your airline loyalty as well because you’ll be earning miles—and possibly status—with that airline.If airline elite status is important to you, holding an airline credit card can be one of the easiest ways to get closer to that goal. All four major airline carriers in the United States—American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines—have a credit card option that helps you earn status through spending.
Is an Airline Credit Card Right for You?
With all of these factors in mind, consider the following scenarios where it does and doesn’t make sense to choose an airline card. When to choose an airline credit card- If you’re a fairly frequent flyer with a particular airline or partner alliance
- If you want to access perks like priority boarding or an expedited path to earning status
- If you regularly incur airline fees
Also, keep in mind that you’ll generally need to have a good to excellent credit score to get approved for an airline credit card. If your score is below this range, you may still be able to qualify for a travel card for borrowers with bad to fair credit. When to skip airline credit cards
- If you only fly once or twice a year
- If you don’t have a preferred airline
- If you don’t want to be locked into a single airline or partner alliance
- If you are a true air warrior who already earns plenty of miles, status and perks with your trips
The Bottom Line
Unlike general travel rewards cards, airline credit cards’ perks are typically tied to specific airlines and their partner alliances. To a certain extent, this makes your decision easy: Will you get enough value from the individual airline’s perks to justify the card’s fees?
If the answer is yes, you can begin a deeper analysis to determine which airline cards are best suited to your location, target destinations and preferred perks. Once you’ve made your decision, revisit your card choices on a regular basis to ensure any personal or program changes haven’t affected your calculations.
