best CC for airline miles

[kdm31091]

In general the airline cards only make sense if you are very loyal to an airline. Otherwise a flexible cash back card will serve you better and with less hoops than the venture. Just because its not marketed as a "travel" card doesnt mean anything.

[takeshi74]

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@spydergto wrote:

However I am looking for the best possible deal as such. got any other sugestions ?

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The point of such questions is to clarify what you mean by "best" which is a highly subjective matter regardless of topic.  Everyone is looking for "the best" but what's best varies from person to person.  You need to provide criteria to help narrow it down.

Why were you looking at the Southwest card?  Even if you don't use just one airline which ones do you tend to use?  Are you just looking to accumulate miles?  Or do flight benefits matter?  Do other features and benefits matter?  What are your major spend categories?

Always provide as much data as possible if you want recommendations.  Best, top, etc are not just a matter of the cards themselves but how well the cards suit the individual.

[spydergto]

lol ok i understand what you mean by whats the best for one might not be best for another. I work all over normally in the US. i work for one of the largest 3rd party oil and gas companies in the world. (big red) and mostly NOW i work from new mexico to missisippi. In the past i worked deep water. Currently my best card is 10k with 4.95 % intrest rate. I am a little bothered by most of the cards that have been mentioned having an insane intrest rate yet i never keep balances unless they are tiny 100-300$ I can and do pay in full all the time but i dont want 0 being reports i range from 1-4 % reported to the CB.

Currently my cards earn points 1 point per 1$ spent but the rewards and reward sites are cheese. i just got a wine fridge, amazon price puts it at 167$ average, i spent 20200 points on it so at 1 $ per point that was 20 grand and i got a free cheap wine fridge. 

I want to earn better benefits to include discounted air line tickets, I get 2 vacations a year, and would like to fly somewhere free lol. I have to buy gas and other things like pay bills monthly and food when I am out at work so i'd like to build points or mileage so that I could fly a few times a year.  Checking the point system on the current cards the "rewards" are hilariously low ...

[Simply827]

Best thread I've seen on the subject:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Guide-to-travel-cards/m-p/2918668#M828524

[Anonymous]

It depends on your who the closest hub is to you and where they fly to, as well as valuation of said miles.

[icyhot]

I wouldn't consider Fidelity Amex or the Double Cash non-restricted 2%, for one the Fidelity can only be deposited into a Fidelity account, restriction right there. Then the Double Cash isn't flat 2% on purchases, it's 1% on purchases 1%, and not everyone PIF. I would put the Venture over both 1 for the bonus and 2 it has a higher starting limit and can easily be converted to a non-AF card. If someone wants to be rewarded quickly for their travel expenses the Venture and Arrival are the way to go

[icyhot]

*****1% on payments

[Sharingan]

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@icyhot wrote:
I wouldn't consider Fidelity Amex or the Double Cash non-restricted 2%, for one the Fidelity can only be deposited into a Fidelity account, restriction right there. Then the Double Cash isn't flat 2% on purchases, it's 1% on purchases 1%, and not everyone PIF. I would put the Venture over both 1 for the bonus and 2 it has a higher starting limit and can easily be converted to a non-AF card. If someone wants to be rewarded quickly for their travel expenses the Venture and Arrival are the way to go

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The Double Cash most certainly is an unrestricted 2% card, unless you are advising that people not pay their bill to get the other 1%. In that case, missing out on that 1% would be the least of their worries. I have my own reservations about the Fidelity AmEx, but saying it's a restricted 2% card with that argument is really grasping at straws. Also, if you aren't paying in full, you are going to quickly wipe out the value of your rewards no matter what rewards card you are using. The Arrival and Venture aren't immune to this. In no uncertain terms would I ever recommend the Arrival+ or Venture over the Double Cash/Fidelity AmEx for most people.

[icyhot]

I'm not advising anything, I'm saying not everyone does PIF, so they wouldn't get the full 2% unless they did. Venture and Arrival gets you 2% on every purchase, and if you're already looking at them because you're traveling, then the points only being redeemed fully on travel purchases isn't an issue. Having to have an account with a bank to redeem your rewards is indeed a restriction IMO

[red259]

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@spydergto wrote:

Hi im sure there are plenty of these threads older, please link me if thats the case id like to read them anyways. I had my eye on south west airlines a while ago from chase they had 50 k bonus miles but it seems thats changed to 25k bonus miles now.

I have some decent cards. But I am looking for travel rewards and or air line miles.  whats the current top cards ?

thanks

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If you are starting out then an airline card is probably not where you should start. Usually flexible currency cards like the CSP orAmex SPG or Amex cards that earn MRs etc are a better fit. Many of these cards have bonus categories which will let you earn points quicker as well. The exception being if you fly a lot now then you may want an airline card for the perks on whichever airline you fly. Which program you should invest in really depends on where you are located (what good is a united card if you ar enowhere near a united hub) and where you want to go. The value back for miles can be extremely high, well above the .10 per mile that was mentioned in this thread. However, that type of value back is mainly going to be when flying in first on long haul international flights with some of the best airline products in the world. If you are looking to redeem economy then miles can be useful but the value back drops. If your looking for economy domestic flights then I wouldn't bother with miles and would just look at straight cash back cards. The reason being is you can shop around and find cheaper flights.