Airline Mileage Credit Cards

Airline mileage credit cards are popular both for business travelers and regular consumers because the cardholder can quickly earn airline miles or other travel reward bonuses by doing nothing other than charging their normal expenses on one of these specific cards. Some are better than others and it’s important to understand the fine print before you commit because there are usually some fees involved. As long as the decision is made carefully, these cards can be an excellent tool to quickly and painlessly earn free travel.

Popular Airline or Travel Reward Credit Cards

Chase TravelPlus Visa Card

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Our Rating: A

Details: No Annual fee, and 0% interest for the first full year. Starting with the second year the APR is 9.99%. Earn 2 miles per dollar on travel expenses, and 1 mile per dollar everywhere else. With the Chase TravelPlus Visa Card, you are not locked in to spending your rewards with just one airline, but are able to redeem for travel rewards, gift cards or cash refunds and more.

Blue Sky from American Express

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Our Rating: A

Details: No Annual fee the purchase APR is as low as 12.49% and will vary between 12.49% and 18.49%. Earn 1 mile per dollar spent, with no restrictions. With the Blue Sky American Express, points can be redeemed anywhere for discounts on flights, hotel, car rental or cruise and there aren’t any restrictions.

Discover Business Miles Card

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Our rating: A

Details: The card has no annual fee and the APR is 0% until July 2009. Then it’s only 12.99%. On your first $5,000 spent on gas and travel purchases, each dollar spent earns 2 miles. After that amount, each dollar spent on all other purchases earns the user a mile. There are no limits and restrictions to the amount of miles which can be earned. You can redeem the miles for gifts, cash or credit them back into your account.

Gold Delta SkyMiles Business Credit Card

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Our rating: B+

Details: The annual fee is $95 ($40 if you are a qualified American Express Cardmember) and the APR is 14.99%. Each dollar spent earns the owner one SkyMile credit, which is equal to one mile. In participant locations, each dollar spent earns the owner two SkyMile credits. Bonus are also offered. You can redeem the points for discounts at retailers, Delta flights savings, and more.

JetBlue Card from American Express

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Our rating: B

Details: The card’s annual fee is $40 and the APR is 14.49%. If you use the card to pay for entertainment, leisure, travel and dining, each dollar spent earns 2 Award Dollars. In all other locations, 1 dollar spent earns 1 Award Dollar. 200 Award Dollars equal to 1 TrueBlue Point and you need 100 TrueBlue Points to get 1 round trip flight.

Platinum Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express

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Our rating: B

Details: The annual fee is $150 ($95 if you are a qualified American Express Cardmember) and the APR is 14.49%. At participating locations each dollar spent earns two miles while all other purchases earn 1 mile per 1 dollar spent. Each year the owner can get a free companion ticket.

TrueEarnings Business Card from Costco and American Express

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Our rating: B

Details: The APR is 0% for the first 3 months and 15.99% after that. There is no annual fee and the card earns the owner cash rewards between 1% and 5% of the purchases, depending on where the card is used. The rewards are redeemed in the form of in-store coupons which can be used to purchase merchandise at any Costco Warehouse in US or for cash. Additionally, the cardholder can save an additional 3-25% on business purchases at companies like
FedEx, Delta, Hertz, and more.

WorldPerks Visa Platinum Card

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Our rating: B+

Details: The annual fee is $55 and the APR is 14.75% variable. In certain restaurants one dollar earns 5 miles, while for the rest of the purchases 1 dollar earns 1 mile. Miles can be redeemed for Northwest Airlines tickets or at any partner airlines.

IberiaBank Visa Platinum Rewards Card

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Our rating: B+

Details: No annual fee, the APR is 0% on Balance Transfers for Your First 6 Billing Cycles. You earn 1 point for each dollar spent in Qualifying Net Retail Purchases. Points can be redeemed for merchandise, travel and gift certificates to participating restaurants and merchants.

WorldPerks Visa Signature

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Our rating:B-

Details: High annual fee: $90 and the APR is 14.75%. When using the card you can earn 5 miles for each dollar spent in certain restaurants, 2 miles for each dollar spent on Northwest Airlines airfare and 1 mile for 1 dollar on all other purchases. Points can be redeemed for free travel with Northwest Airlines or any of their partners.

Miles by Discover Card

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Our rating: A

Details: The card has no annual fee and the APR is 0% on purchases and balance transfers for six months. Afterwards the APR is 9.99%. When using the card you earn double miles for each dollar spent on up to $3,000 travel or restaurant purchases and 1 mile for 1 dollar spent on all other purchases, as well as bonus miles. Points can be redeemed for airfare or reduced airfare on most major US-based airlines, as well as gift cards from 50 brand-name partners or cash.

JetBlue Business Credit Card from American Express

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Our rating: B

Details: The annual fee is $40 and there’s 3.99% APR for 6 Months for balance transfers. APR is 14.99% variable. Using the cards earns 2 Award Dollars (points) for each dollar spent on JetBlue flights, gas, wireless phone charges, car rentals, and office supplies and equipment and 1 Award Dollar is earned for each dollar spent on all other purchases. Points can be redeemed for free flights with JetBlue (200 Award Dollars equal to 1 TrueBlue point and 100 TrueBlue points equal to one RT flight. The card offers an exclusive benefit for JetBlue Business Cardmembers: 5% savings on
JetBlue flights purchased with the card.

What Are Mileage Credit Cards

Mileage Credit Cards are an important factor in the whole business travel/lifestyle equation. Each employer has a preference when it comes to how exactly you spend your moolah on the road. They may offer your a corporate credit card, provide petty cash or let you spend away on your own credit card and reimburse your expenses. I would definitely opt for the third, although it may entail a little more time and effort in the expense reports. If you take that smidgen of extra time, you can rack up some serious miles.

I, for example, spent about $3,000 a month with my last job. With airline rewards tickets starting at about 20,000 miles, that means you can earn enough miles for a ticket JUST BY USING YOUR CREDIT CARD in about seven months. That’s a whole extra ticket a year, not including all of the miles you’ll earn from your regular tickets and hotel rewards.

Hotel Rewards Credit Cards

Hotel chains offer rewards cards as well, which is a great deal for you if you value your points more than your miles. These cards generally offer some sort of a deal like double points on purchases made at the hotel. Not too shabby.

Popular Hotel Credit Cards

Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express

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Our rating: A

Details: No annual fee for the first year, $45 afterwards. The APR on purchases is 14.49%. Purchases earn 2 points for each dollar spent at Starwood properties and participating retail outlets, 1 point for each dollar spent in all other cases and additionally 1 point for 1 dollar spent on qualified purchases based on the Starwood Preferred Guest® loyalty program. Points can be redeemed for travel services, such as hotel stays or airline tickets and you can also transfer points to frequent flyer programs from over 30 airlines.

Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from American Express

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Our rating: A

Details:No annual fee during the first year, $45 annual fee starting the second year. The APR is 2.90% during the first 6 months and 14.99% afterwards.The introductory offer for balance transfers applies to balances transferred during the application process. Using the card at participating Starwood properties and retail outlets earns 2 points for each dollar spent. All other purchases earn 1 point per dollar spent. You can redeem the points for free hotel stays or transfer the points to other frequent flyer programs.

Hilton HHonors Platinum Credit Card from American Express

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Our rating:A-

Details: There’s no annual fee and the APR on purchases is 14.49%. You can earn 5 points per 1 dollar spent at Hilton Hotels, grocery stores, drugstores, gas stations, restaurants, the U.S Postal Service, and wireless phone bills and 3 points per dollar for all other purchases. After spending $100,000 spending annually, you are limited to earning only 2 points for any purchase made at any location. Points can be redeemed for free nights at Hilton Hotels.

Other General Travel Rewards Cards

Your third option for a rewards credit card is to get a card that offers general rewards. These cards are offered by banks like Bank of America and credit card companies such as American Express. The beauty of this type of card is that you aren’t limited to the type of reward you choose. You can redeem your point for anything from a bicycle to a ticket to Tokyo. This is by far your most flexible option.

The information contained on this page is meant as a summary and is deemed accurate although not guaranteed. Many factors, including periodic program changes by the banks providing these cards may change at any time, and we highly recommend reading the details if applying for any credit card, including the ones listed on this page.