topic Re: TOP Airline Miles Credit Cards ! in Credit Cards

TOP Airline Miles Credit Cards !

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 20:39:49 GMT

OKAY after being a frequent reader for so long I finally have an up to date question that I can't seem to find in the community . Does anyone with airline credit card experience have advice on which are the top airline mile reward cards out there? I've cleaned and built my credit to a pretty good score but I'm trying to stick to only applying to cards that will be beneficial to me. HELP PLS.

Re: TOP Airline Miles Credit Cards !

1GaDawg85 — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 20:41:50 GMT

Do you fly a particular airline?

Re: TOP Airline Miles Credit Cards !

mongstradamus — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 20:44:54 GMT

Also where you want to fly is another question that you may have to think about.

Re: TOP Airline Miles Credit Cards !

ibmrad7 — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 20:48:12 GMT

It all depends on your airlines of choice, your location (Airport hub). I personally like Amex SPG, it gives you a bonus of 5k miles for every 20K miles transfer and it has the most number of transfer partners. Citi's American offerings are good too.

If you live in Atlanta or close to any other Delta hub, you can try Amex's Delta offerings and lastly if you are near a United hub (Chicago/Denver) go for Chase's offerings. Chase also offers the Southwest card.

Re: TOP Airline Miles Credit Cards !

B335is — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 20:48:35 GMT

Yes we need more info. Which airlines, what city pairs, amount of travel, existing bank relationships, how are your credit reports.

Or take my approach and go for them all.

Re: TOP Airline Miles Credit Cards !

ibmrad7 — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 20:49:36 GMT

@B335is wrote:
Yes we need more info. Which airlines, what city pairs, amount of travel, existing bank relationships, how are your credit reports.

Or take my approach and go for them all.

Good one

Re: TOP Airline Miles Credit Cards !

red259 — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 20:51:43 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
OKAY after being a frequent reader for so long I finally have an up to date question that I can't seem to find in the community . Does anyone with airline credit card experience have advice on which are the top airline mile reward cards out there? I've cleaned and built my credit to a pretty good score but I'm trying to stick to only applying to cards that will be beneficial to me. HELP PLS.

There is no right answer for this. airline cards are usually one of the last types of rewards cards people pick up. The major factors are what airlines do you have access to near your home? Are you near a hub? What airline are you flying? There is a 50k signup offer on the Citi AA card right now for 3k spend. The offer is decent, but if you aren't near an AA hub then may not be worth it. I avoid delta if I can because their miles program is garbage. If you have a CSP card and are saving up URs then maybe a chase united card and you can move over some URs to top off your account. There was a US air offer out there that was decent as well and will be merging with AA next quarter. You should only get a card for airlines you can easily get to to fly. The points devalue over time so its best to use them in the near future once earned.

Re: TOP Airline Miles Credit Cards !

ibmrad7 — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 20:54:32 GMT

@red259 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
OKAY after being a frequent reader for so long I finally have an up to date question that I can't seem to find in the community . Does anyone with airline credit card experience have advice on which are the top airline mile reward cards out there? I've cleaned and built my credit to a pretty good score but I'm trying to stick to only applying to cards that will be beneficial to me. HELP PLS.
There is no right answer for this. airline cards are usually one of the last types of rewards cards people pick up. The major factors are what airlines do you have access to near your home? Are you near a hub? What airline are you flying? There is a 50k signup offer on the Citi AA card right now for 3k spend. The offer is decent, but if you aren't near an AA hub then may not be worth it. I avoid delta if I can because their miles program is garbage. If you have a CSP card and are saving up URs then maybe a chase united card and you can move over some URs to top off your account. There was a US air offer out there that was decent as well and will be merging with AA next quarter. You should only get a card for airlines you can easily get to to fly. The points devalue over time so its best to use them in the near future once earned.

+ 1 for Delta. They have promised a better redemption starting 2015 and I can already see the improvements. Just booked a trip to MSY for 25K miles. I would still stay away from Delta. I product changed my Delta to SPG after 1 year.

Re: TOP Airline Miles Credit Cards !

Anonymous — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 00:41:52 GMT

Wow thanks for all the info... I really dont fly with one particular airlines

Re: TOP Airline Miles Credit Cards !

Anonymous — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 00:48:24 GMT

Well i'm near newark airport in NJ, JFK & LaGuardia in NY. I mainly fly jet blue and American Airlines but sometimes others as well. I travel about 4 times a year. So basically each airline miles card is for a particular airline? I heard that Capital one venture was good but I haven't really looked into it. I wanted to get more opinions from all you great experienced folks. Thanks for responding.

Re: TOP Airline Miles Credit Cards !

red259 — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 00:53:11 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Well i'm near newark airport in NJ, JFK & LaGuardia in NY. I mainly fly jet blue and American Airlines but sometimes others as well. I travel about 4 times a year. So basically each airline miles card is for a particular airline? I heard that Capital one venture was good but I haven't really looked into it. I wanted to get more opinions from all you great experienced folks. Thanks for responding.

Why do you want an airline card? Like what is important to you? free checked bag? priority boarding? the signup bonus for miles? lounge access? Where do you plan on flying to for which you want to use your points? If you check baggage then an airline card may be worth it if you use the same airline. I have the venture card but its basically a cash back card for travel. If your focused on redeeming for airfare that is not where I would start. Since your in NY you have access to lots of airlines. Isn't it great living here?

Re: TOP Airline Miles Credit Cards !

red259 — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 00:54:03 GMT

Also when you fly how long are your flights? Are you going international and flying more than 25k miles in the course of a year?

Re: TOP Airline Miles Credit Cards !

mongstradamus — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 00:55:48 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Well i'm near newark airport in NJ, JFK & LaGuardia in NY. I mainly fly jet blue and American Airlines but sometimes others as well. I travel about 4 times a year. So basically each airline miles card is for a particular airline? I heard that Capital one venture was good but I haven't really looked into it. I wanted to get more opinions from all you great experienced folks. Thanks for responding.

If you live in NYC area you have access to almost every airline so you don't need to really pick and choose. There are cards that have multiple partners you can transfer to. Those cards are UR cards, MR cards, and SPG.

Re: TOP Airline Miles Credit Cards !

red259 — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 01:05:25 GMT

@mongstradamus wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Well i'm near newark airport in NJ, JFK & LaGuardia in NY. I mainly fly jet blue and American Airlines but sometimes others as well. I travel about 4 times a year. So basically each airline miles card is for a particular airline? I heard that Capital one venture was good but I haven't really looked into it. I wanted to get more opinions from all you great experienced folks. Thanks for responding.
If you live in NYC area you have access to almost every airline so you don't need to really pick and choose. There are cards that have multiple partners you can transfer to. Those cards are UR cards, MR cards, and SPG.

Yes and no. UR, MR & SPG cards are good to start out with because they offer flexibility in terms of the airline you can fly and are usually better than airline cards. That being said since OP flies four times a year then the airline cards may work better. If OP can commit to a specific airline for flights she would save checked baggae fee and if she is flying far enough (and spending enough for some airlines) she can also aquire status that would enable a chance at upgrades, Some of the club cards will waive the AF for the first year and that would be a nice perk having free lounge access.