Best Airline Credit Cards

Best Airline Credit Cards

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: Best for flexible travel rewards.
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: Best premium card for unlimited miles on purchases.
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Best for unlimited 2X miles.
• Citi Premier® Card: Best for everyday spending and travel.
• The Platinum Card® from American Express: Best for luxury travel and worldwide lounge access.
• American Express® Gold Card: Best for restaurants and supermarkets.
• Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card: Best for Delta.
• United℠ Explorer Card: Best for United.
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card: Best for Southwest.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

• Earning Rate: Earn 5X miles on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3X on online grocery purchases, select streaming services, and dining purchases, 2X points on other travel purchases, and 1X on everything else.
• Annual Credits: Annual $50 credit for hotels booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel portal.
• Main Highlights: 25% boost to point value when redeeming points for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards (easy 1.25 cents per point) and 10% bonus points annually based on how much you spent the prior cardmember year.
• Intro Bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
• Annual Fee: $95.
• Summary: The Chase Sapphire Preferred is one the best flexible travel rewards credit cards in the market. It features great categories and lots of ways to earn bonus points on your everyday spend. Points can easily be redeemed for 1.25 cents apiece for travel booked through Chase. They can also be transferred to Chase's airline and hotel partners which includes United, Southwest, and Hyatt, for significantly higher value.
• Learn More about the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.
• Calculate Card Value & Ultimate Rewards Points per dollar spent for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

• Earning Rate: Earn 10X Venture Miles on car rentals and hotel booked through Capital One Travel, 5X miles on airfare booked through Capital One Travel, and an unlimited 2X miles on all other purchases.
• Annual Credits: Annual $300 in statement credits for bookings made through Capital One Travel and 10,000 bonus miles annually (worth $100 towards travel).
• Main Highlights: Complimentary access to Capital One Lounges and Priority Pass Lounges, up to $100 towards Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application, and no foreign transaction fees.
• Intro Bonus: Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.
• Annual Fee: $395.
• Summary: The Venture X Card offers exceptional value when booking through their travel portal. We're talking a 5% to 10% return minimum on your spending with the chance to get even higher returns when you transfer your points to Capital One's airline and hotel partners. On top of that, the card basically wipes out it's own annual fee with the $400 in value you'll get out of the annual credits. If you're looking for a premium travel card, this one's a no-brainer.
• Learn More about the Venture X Rewards Credit Card.
• Calculate Card Value & Venture Miles per dollar spent for the Venture X Rewards Credit Card.

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

• Earning Rate: Earn 5X miles on car rentals and hotels booked through Capital One Travel and an unlimited 2X miles on all other purchases.
• Main Highlights: Up to $100 towards a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application.
• Intro Bonus: Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.
• Annual Fee: $95
• Summary: The Venture Card is one of the best flat-rate travel rewards credit cards available. Miles earned with the card can be redeemed for 1 cent in value towards any travel purchases including all airlines. Miles can also be transferred to Capital One's airline and hotel partners for increased value. It's a great alternative to the Venture X if you don't need the higher multipliers and lounge access.
• Learn More about the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.
• Calculate Card Value & Venture Miles per dollar spent for the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.

Citi Premier® Card

• Earning Rate: Earn an unlimited 3X points on restaurant, supermarket, gas station, air travel, and hotel purchases and 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• Annual Credits: $100 hotel credit when you book a $500+ hotel stay through thankyou.com.
• Main Highlights: Grants the ability to transfer ThankYou Rewards points to all of Citi's airline and hotel partners.
• Intro Bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Plus, for a limited time, earn a total of 10 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent on hotel, car rentals, and attractions (excluding air travel) booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through June 30, 2024.
• Annual Fee: $95.
• Summary: If you ever wanted to experience first and business class with top-notch 5-star international airlines like Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, Emirates, and others, the Citi Premier is the best option for building up rewards due to the great earning rates. If you're a local person, it's also the best option for JetBlue, Wyndham, and Choice hotels.
• Learn More about the Citi Premier Card.
• Calculate Card Value & ThankYou Points per dollar spent for the Citi Premier Card.

The Platinum Card® from American Express

• Earning Rate: Earn 5X points on airfare booked direct or through American Express Travel (on up to $500,000 of these purchases per year) and 5X points on prepaid hotel bookings through American Express Travel. All other purchases will earn you 1X.
• Annual Credits: Up to $300 in Equinox credit, up to $240 digital entertainment credit, up to $200 airline fee credit, $200 Uber Cash (up to $15 per month and up to $35 in December), $200 in Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection credit on 2 night minimum bookings, $189 CLEAR® Plus credit, $155 Walmart+ credit (up to $12.95 per month, subject to auto-renew), and up to $100 Saks Fifth Avenue credit ($50 bi-annually).
• Main Highlights: Global lounge access (Centurion lounges, Delta SkyClub lounges, Airspace lounges, Escape lounges, and Priority Pass lounges), superb purchase insurance, complimentary elite status with Hilton and Marriott, and up to a $100 statement credit every 4 years for Global Entry or up to $85 statement credit every 4.5 years for TSA PreCheck application fee.
• Intro Bonus: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on the Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
• Annual Fee: $695. (See Rates and Fees)
• Summary: The card has a hefty annual fee, but is easy to offset thanks to the large amount of annual credits, extensive lounge access, high intro bonuses, and many other benefits the card offers. Points earned with the card can be transferred to a large handful of airline partners including Delta Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, and JetBlue Airways.
• Learn More about The Platinum Card from American Express.
• Calculate Card Value & Membership Rewards Points per dollar spent for The Platinum Card.

American Express® Gold Card

• Earning Rate: Earn 4X Membership Rewards points on restaurant purchases worldwide, 4X at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 per year, then 1X), 3X points on airfare purchased direct or through American Express Travel, and 1X points on all other purchases.
• Annual Credits: Up to $120 in annual dining credit ($10 per month) and up to $120 in annual Uber Cash ($10 per month).
• Intro Bonus: Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $4,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months.
• Annual Fee: $250. (See Rates and Fees)
• Summary: This is the one of the best (if not thee best) credit card for earning rewards on restaurants and supermarket purchases. If you spend moderately across either category, you'll easily rake up lots of points transferable to a large amount of airlines including Delta, JetBlue, Virgin Atlantic, Air France, and many more.
• Learn More about the American Express Gold Card.
• Calculate Card Value & Membership Rewards Points per dollar spent for the American Express Gold Card.

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card

• Earning Rate: The Delta Platinum AMEX Card earns 3X SkyMiles on Delta and hotel purchases, 2X at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets, and 1X on all other purchases.
• Main Highlights: First checked bag free, annual Main Cabin companion pass, ability to earn Medallion Qualifying Miles spending on the card, and the ability to earn a Medallion Qualification Dollars waiver.
• Intro Bonus: Earn 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.
• Annual Fee: $250. (See Rates and Fees)
• Summary: The annual companion pass alone will typically offset the annual fee. Assuming you don't wait until the last minute, it's easy to use and generally offers about $250 to $400 in value (depends on the flight of course). The Delta Platinum AMEX is also a great choice if you're trying to spend your way to higher Delta Medallion Status.
• Learn More about the Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express Card.
• Calculate Card Value & SkyMiles per dollar spent for the Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express Card.

United℠ Explorer Card

• Earning Rate: The United Explorer Card earns 2X miles on United, restaurants, and hotel purchases, and 1X on all other purchases.
• Main Highlights: First checked bag free, two annual United Club passes, and up to $100 towards a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application.
• Intro Bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
• Annual Fee: $0 the first year, then $95.
• Summary: If you fly United, but don't have frequent flyer status with the airline, the Explorer Card offers the best value in terms of benefits as you'll save lots of money with the free checked bag perk and you'll be able to enjoy two lounge visits. The only drawback is that the card doesn't earn a ton of miles, so I recommend pairing it with the Chase Sapphire Preferred or, if you want more benefits, picking up the United Quest℠ Card instead.
• Learn More about the United Explorer Card.
• Calculate Card Value & United Miles per dollar spent for the United Explorer Card.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card

• Earning Rate: Earns 3X points on Southwest purchases, 2X points on local transit and commuting (including rideshare), internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming, and 1X points on everything else.
• Annual Credits: $75 in Southwest credits each anniversary year and 7,500 anniversary points (worth about $95) for just being a cardholder.
• Main Highlights: 4 upgraded bookings per anniversary, the ability to earn Tier Qualifying points spending on the card with no cap, and in-flight discounts.
• Intro Bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus points plus a 30% off promo code after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Annual Fee: $149.
• Summary: The Southwest Priority Card is a solid option if you value the 4 upgrading bookings. If that doesn't tickle your fancy, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card will probably be the better option.
• Learn More about the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card.
• Calculate Card Value & Southwest Points per dollar spent for the Southwest Priority Card.