Best Credit card for airline mileage?

[KravtZ]

I'm looking to get a new CC and want to get mileage for free flights and what not. I don't fly one specific carrier so I was curious what you guys out there are using? I'd pay a fee if it was worth it. Probably putting 2-3000 a month on my CC and getting cash back now but want a couple free flights a year if possible.

Thanks NS!

 

[miroz]

Not my personal experience, but my parents have a card through Southwest. They somehow rack up tons of points, it's dope. Southwest is also a great airline.

 

[skier_boy26]

Depends where you are and what you want out of it.

Many of the cards that earn static points for "miles" (well, really it is a static credit), such as the Capital One Venture cards, are great for hotels and cheaper domestic flights, but are absolute horse shit if you want international flights, in particular international premium cabins.

American and Alaska have the best programs in the states for international travel redemption, so with that in mind, you could look at their cards. In addition, neither of those airlines has gone to spend-based mileage accrual, so if you do happen to fly a little bit, you can still get a healthy amount of miles. Pair that with a credit card and you can rack up miles in a hurry.

JetBlue and Southwest are great for domestic flights.

 

[theBearJew]

I looked for the card that gave the most points per dollar spent, every dollar, not points for gas and all that. Then I can redeem my points for things for travel and get 10% of the points back. Ultimately that is 2.1% cash back if you only redeem them for travel. Most other cards I saw were 1.5 points per dollar or 1 point per dollar with 2 for groceries and 3 for gas or something. I just wanted flat points per dollar.

The only disadvantage of that is that I don't get the benefit where if a flight is over $500 its only 50,000 points like some credit cards will do. However unless the flight is more than $1,000. I am still getting a better deal with 2 points per dollar. Then I get 10% of them back.

Most of them do deals where if you spend X within the first three months you get 50,000-100,000 points. I'd find those as well. I went with one CC that gave me a great deal like that, got the points, spent them, then closed the credit card. Don't do that too often as it will affect your credit score negativly.

 

[eheath]

I chose delta amex because I live near a Delta hub (SLC) and delta flys everywhere I ever fly (normally west coast but delta flys everywhere).

Like someone said, pick based on the airline you want to fly. Capitol one and such are decent as well but the way their 'miles' work is different than delta/united/sw cards.

Capitol one and other non airline cards you earn 'miles' that are really just points. You redeem points for cash towards a flight ie you flight cost $475 you redeem 10k points per $100 so 50k points gets you a free flight. Now obviously not all flights are under $500 but not all are above $500 either it just depends where you fly etc.

Airline cards are straight up miles for flights and from my experience most domestic flights on detla are 25-30 some 40k miles.

It all depends on your situation. If you just wanna earn points towards any flight then get a capitol one card, if you have a specific airline you always use and want to get a little more bang for your buck (free bags, priority boarding etc) get an airline card.

 

[jensen]

The big benefit to the Alaska card is that you get an annual $120 companion ticket, meaning that you can book a trip somewhere and add a friend to the same itinerary for only another $120. You also get a mile for every dollar spent and three miles for every dollar spent on Alaska airfare.

 

[Casey]

The big benefit to the Alaska card is that you get an annual $120 companion ticket, meaning that you can book a trip somewhere and add a friend to the same itinerary for only another $120. You also get a mile for every dollar spent and three miles for every dollar spent on Alaska airfare.

Yeah the companion fare is legit. I used it on like a 700 dollar ticket to Mexico for the win.

 

[afterbanginn]

united miles rewards is a good way to get free airline tickets thats what my buddy uses

 

[Funkadelic]

Pick based on what airline hub you're close to. I got a Delta card while living in ATL because they have a massive Delta hub and I was flying them a lot. Took me less than a year to rack up 1.5 free flights.