Fly High: The Best Credit Cards for Airline Miles

For people who fly the friendly skies on a frequent basis, having a credit card that accumulates airline miles can prove to be quite beneficial. In addition to accumulating airline miles, these credit cards also offer other benefits such as discounts on in-flight purchases as well as at leading retailers, plus additional points accumulated for reaching certain spending minimums within a specified period of time. However, despite it sounding as if there are no drawbacks to these cards, travelers should be aware that some cards may be inconvenient to use since the cards benefits may be limited to a specific airline. But for those who are always looking for a great deal, here are several cards that are gaining in popularity with flyers everywhere.

TrueBlue American Express
Offered by the popular airline JetBlue, the TrueBlue American Express card offers many benefits. Offering six points for every dollar spent on JetBlue flights as well as an additional two points for each time the credit card is used during a flight, the rewards can add up quickly. In addition, travelers also receive a 50 percent discount on in-flight purchases including movies, drinks, and meals. The major downside of the card is that JetBlue offers a limited flight selection, plus Hawaiian Airlines is the only partner airline of JetBlue where points can be redeemed.

Visa Signature Card
A card of Alaska Airlines, the Visa Signature card offers people plenty of rewards and convenience. For example, all people approved for the card automatically receive 25,000 miles free of charge. Along with this benefit, cardholders earn five miles for every dollar spent at partner hotels and restaurants, plus one mile per dollar on all purchases where the card is used. With no specific qualifications, almost anyone can get approved for the card. However, some customers have felt that not enough partner airlines are affiliated with this card, meaning that in some cases the benefits gained may be limited. But with all its benefits plus giving a $110 companion fare each year to the cardholder, it’s still a popular choice.

Premier World MasterCard
Offered by US Airways, this card makes a strong case for being perhaps the best airline card available to customers. After making their first purchase with the card, customers receive 40,000 miles as a sign-on bonus. Like many other cards, this one offers one mile for every dollar spent overall and two miles for every dollar spent on US Airways purchases. While some people feel the card does not offer a great enough miles accumulation incentive, they do appreciate added benefits like two $99 companion fares per year as well as bonuses for balance transfers.

MileagePlus Explorer Card
This card, offered by United Airlines, provides cardholders with plenty of benefits. For starters, customers receive a 30,000 mile bonus after spending their first $1,000. Along with this, bonus miles can be accumulated by spending $25,000 or more per year with the card and adding an authorized user who makes purchases within their first 90 days. While these are excellent benefits, some feel the card falls short in some areas. One of the biggest areas of contention involves the 30,000 mile bonus after the first $1,000 is spent, which some view as too difficult since many other cards offer bonus miles for free or after having made only one purchase. But overall, the MileagePlus Explorer card appears to have more pros than cons.

No matter how many of these cards a person chooses to have, each offers a variety of benefits that can prove to be very useful in accumulating plenty of airline miles. Useful for both business trips as well as family vacations, these cards can make flying the friendly skies even more profitable and convenient.