topic Best Travel Airline Miles Credit card? in Credit Cards

Best Travel Airline Miles Credit card?

Archangels — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 14:20:34 GMT

I am looking into applying for a travel rewards credit card, what is the best airline miles credit card?

Re: Best Travel Airline Miles Credit card?

Anonymous — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 14:27:42 GMT

It depends on where you usual fly from/to, the airline that you prefer flying with, and how often you actually fly and travel.

Re: Best Travel Airline Miles Credit card?

Archangels — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 14:32:48 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
It depends on where you usual fly from/to, the airline that you prefer flying with, and how often you actually fly and travel.

Only fly a few times a year, Doesn't matter the airline, most likely from west coast (Portland, Seattle) to east coast (Orlando, NYC, DC) etc.

Re: Best Travel Airline Miles Credit card?

Shadowfactor — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 14:35:59 GMT

The best travel card will depend on what matters most to you and how you want to go about using your points. The destinations you wish to travel to also matter.

If you do a search on the fourm or google with Myfico included with the search terms. You will find countless threads about this topic which should help you to understand all the different options available to you. Then you can come back to this thread and ask some specific questions you would like answered and the community will help you out!

I also recommend spending some time on awardhacker.com to get a feel of the programs/redemption rates for the destinations you wish to travel to. Once you find some information from AH. Go to that loyality programs website and play around with the search engine to get an idea of how easy awards are to find.

Re: Best Travel Airline Miles Credit card?

Anonymous — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 22:06:35 GMT

get a wells fargo propel, then in 6 months, get a wells fargo visa siggy (or ask your family or friend to get a siggy now while you get the propel).

broad bonus category (travel, gas, dining)
flight redemption with any airline (book from wf portal) at effectively 4.5% rate
no AF (no lounges or airline perks neither)

perfect for infrequent travelers (even for many frequent ones, lol).

Re: Best Travel Airline Miles Credit card?

staticvoidmain — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 21:29:40 GMT

It does matter where you live and where you travel to. For me, it does not make sense to even consider Chase because their partners do not have a good presence on where I live and where I travel to... and I live in a Delta hub. Even if you say "West Coast", it's still not definitive because Southwest airlines might be a solid choice for from SoCal, but not for Seattle or Portland.

Personally, I have an Amex Delta Platinum. - No, it does not earn super miles, but I like the perks. I am considering an Amex charge card (Plat), and probably transfer most of the points to Delta. Not that I am loyal to Delta, but that is the airlines that make the most sense to me (who will still treat me like a human being).

Re: Best Travel Airline Miles Credit card?

wasCB14 — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 21:57:23 GMT

Amex Platinum may be worth consideration:

$550 AF...but it comes with a lot of credits...but they can be tricky to use.

Great rewards on airfare...but no delay/cancellation protection.

Unrivaled lounge footprint for PDX/SEA.

Re: Best Travel Airline Miles Credit card?

Loquat — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 23:06:21 GMT

If you don't fly a lot then an airline card may not be the best option for you regardless of where you live. Airline cards are extremely hard to rack up a lot of points with unless you fly a lot, hence an airline card. Since you don't you may be better off with a cash back card or even card that has a transfer arrangement with the airline you prefer to fly. For example if Delta is your preferred choice you could always get the no annual fee Delta Blue (Or Delta Gold for luggage) and pair it with another Amex card (like the Amex Gold if you spend a lot of dining and grocery, ED/P) and just transfer your earning from the card(s) you use over to Delta via transfer.

I would not recommend the Amex Platinum for a person who doesn't fly a lot because it's a lot to pay for an occasional use card. Outside of air travel the card doesn't have any other allure. Lounge access doesn't matter because you don't fly enough and even worse if you're like me and the biggest airport here only has an Admiral Lounge and a couple of very crowded and crappy Priority Pass Lounges.

With that being said...do you home work and continue to ask questions on this here forum like you're doing. You'll get a varierty of opinions such as this one that I've provided. Take your time, read through them, ask more questions if needed, and then make an educated decision.

Best of luck in which ever direction you choose to go.

Re: Best Travel Airline Miles Credit card?

redpat — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 23:38:33 GMT

I would have to say Amex Plat and Gold combo can be a monster for Delta miles w/ the addition of Ebates online and instore MR points. If you can use all the credits these two cards are a steal for a net AF of $80. MR rewards, MR offers, 5x flights, 4x on grocery and dining. Then add Ebates and wow......

Plat gets you into Delta Sykclub, hotel status at Marriott and Hilton.

Re: Best Travel Airline Miles Credit card?

EAJuggalo — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 23:52:22 GMT

Net annual fee of $80, actual annual fee that you pay of $800 for those two cards. I have the Gold card and love it, I don't travel often enough or far enough for a Plat to make sense to me. But 4x on dining and groceries is worth the $250 annual fee for me with my family's spend. I feel that you almost have to lock in to an airline to really see the benefits in any ecosystem. I use my MR on Delta and I use my UR on Southwest. I've gotten great deals on each for me and my family in the past year. If you have no loyalty to any airline I would probably go with the CSP or CSR, you can transfer to some airlines and those you can't you can book with a bonus using your points.

Re: Best Travel Airline Miles Credit card?

redpat — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 00:05:50 GMT

@EAJuggalo wrote:
Net annual fee of $80, actual annual fee that you pay of $800 for those two cards. I have the Gold card and love it, I don't travel often enough or far enough for a Plat to make sense to me. But 4x on dining and groceries is worth the $250 annual fee for me with my family's spend. I feel that you almost have to lock in to an airline to really see the benefits in any ecosystem. I use my MR on Delta and I use my UR on Southwest. I've gotten great deals on each for me and my family in the past year. If you have no loyalty to any airline I would probably go with the CSP or CSR, you can transfer to some airlines and those you can't you can book with a bonus using your points.

You have to spend money to make money, lol. As I stated if you can use the credits. The only credit I may lose now and then on a monthly basis is the Uber credit but that's only $15. In addition, Amex runs transfer bonuses to their partners which Chase doesn't do.

Re: Best Travel Airline Miles Credit card?

wasCB14 — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 00:13:35 GMT

@Loquat wrote:
I would not recommend the Amex Platinum for a person who doesn't fly a lot because it's a lot to pay for an occasional use card. Outside of air travel the card doesn't have any other allure. Lounge access doesn't matter because you don't fly enough and even worse if you're like me and the biggest airport here only has an Admiral Lounge and a couple of very crowded and crappy Priority Pass Lounges.

OP uses PDX and SEA, so that's a Centurion and three SkyClubs between them in addition to PP.

Flight frequency and companions are considerations...but there are a few lounge options.

Re: Best Travel Airline Miles Credit card?

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 00:12:44 GMT

I would love a point transfer bonus to Delta. Except amex hasn't done that since 2011, and maybe it will never happen again, lol.

Re: Best Travel Airline Miles Credit card?

wasCB14 — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 00:16:13 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I would love a point transfer bonus to Delta. Except amex hasn't done that since 2011, and maybe it will never happen again, lol.

Codeshare booking via an alliance partner isn't for everyone, but there have been MR promos for Flying Blue and Virgin Atlantic.

Re: Best Travel Airline Miles Credit card?

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 00:22:16 GMT

It's definitely not for me, my local tiny airport apparently isn't on Virgin Atlantic of air France's radar.

I do drive 120mi to bigger airport occasionally, but when that happens, AA is usually a better option with direct flights.

Re: Best Travel Airline Miles Credit card?

Loquat — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 01:36:18 GMT

@wasCB14 wrote:
@Loquat wrote:
I would not recommend the Amex Platinum for a person who doesn't fly a lot because it's a lot to pay for an occasional use card. Outside of air travel the card doesn't have any other allure. Lounge access doesn't matter because you don't fly enough and even worse if you're like me and the biggest airport here only has an Admiral Lounge and a couple of very crowded and crappy Priority Pass Lounges.
OP uses PDX and SEA, so that's a Centurion and three SkyClubs between them in addition to PP.

Flight frequency and companions are considerations...but there are a few lounge options.

Yes...if you start adding companions then there can be an argument made there. The Centurion lounge are decent...SkyClubs, eh. OP, if you don't travel with companions, even with the Centurion lounge I still would't recommend this card as you'd probably still be better off spending $25 bucks at a decent airport restaurant and while still enjoying a certain level of comfort. Now if you start to need access to internet, showers, access to printers and things of such, again, there can be an argument made again for the Platinum. Pros and Cons from all views...decision, decision right?

Re: Best Travel Airline Miles Credit card?

Loquat — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 01:44:23 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
It's definitely not for me, my local tiny airport apparently isn't on Virgin Atlantic of air France's radar.

I do drive 120mi to bigger airport occasionally, but when that happens, AA is usually a better option with direct flights.

I hear ya. Our airport isn't small but it's certainly not what it use to be. Southwest is dominant here and I don't fly Southwest, ever. American, Delta, Alaska, and United are here but have a VERY small footprint. My preferred choice is Alaska via American and vice-versa. Delta is pretty decent but here you're going to have to connect in MSP, DTW, or ATL via regionals. I miss what our airport use to be...hasn't been the same since TWA went away.

Re: Best Travel Airline Miles Credit card?

Cinemagic — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 16:16:18 GMT

Airline availability for you will probably dictate which card. I fly American and so I like the Barclays Aviator Red MasterCard. They often have a promo and giveaway and 50 or 60,000 miles for signing up which is the equivalent of a round-trip ticket right off the bat. American also has a shopping program that lets you make your normal online purchases and keep earning miles and also extends the longevity of the miles you’ve already earned through their frequent traveler program. So again depending on your nearby airport- which airlines hub it is.. will help you pick an airline.

Re: Best Travel Airline Miles Credit card?

Cinemagic — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 20:49:29 GMT

https://cards.barclaycardus.com/banking/cards/aadvantage-aviator-red-world-elite-mastercard/

Re: Best Travel Airline Miles Credit card?

Archangels — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 20:51:20 GMT

Older thread, but Thanks!

@Cinemagic wrote:
https://cards.barclaycardus.com/banking/cards/aadvantage-aviator-red-world-elite-mastercard/