Airline credit cards can offer some great advantages for both frequent and occasional travelers. They can provide access to valuable benefits with travel perks, welcome bonuses and travel rewards and reward your spending. Let’s look at some common benefits airline credit cards offer.
The benefits of airline credit cards
Whether an airline credit card is worth it often comes down to whether the benefits outweigh the annual fee (if any).
Airline credit card benefits are typically more focused on a specific airline than the benefits you might receive from a general travel card. They may offer perks like a free checked bag, lounge access or discounts on airline food purchases.
It’s typically a good idea to look at a card associated with an airline you prefer or that frequently flies out of your closest airport. Keep in mind that some airline credit cards offer travel rewards not only for their airline but also for partner airlines. So, you may also want to check out an airline’s partners when shopping around for cards. For example, Citi® / AAdvantage® cards let you earn miles that can be redeemed for flights on American Airlines and any eligible partner airlines directly on aa.com.
The more you use your airline credit card, the more miles you can earn to redeem for travel rewards with your preferred airline and eligible partners.
Sign-on or welcome bonuses
While not all airline credit cards offer sign-on or welcome bonuses, if bonuses are available, they can be a convenient perk of signing up for a card. Typically, these welcome bonuses may involve earning miles if you make a certain dollar amount of purchases on the card within a specified timeframe of opening your account.
Note that welcome bonuses are subject to change, so be sure to confirm the terms, conditions and timeframe of any welcome offer before you apply for a card.
Travel benefits
Airline credit cards can offer travel benefits for cardmembers. Since airline cards focus primarily on one brand – the airline – they may allow you to tap into airline-specific travel perks, such as early boarding, free checked bags, flight upgrades or access to airport lounges. Depending on the airline, some benefits may also extend to those you are traveling with. For example, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® offers preferred boarding on American Airlines flights, the first checked bag free on domestic American Airlines itineraries (for you and up to 4 companions traveling with you on the same reservation) and 25% savings on American Airlines inflight food and beverage purchases.
Travel rewards
The more you use your airline credit card, the closer you get to elite status and impressive travel rewards, such as companion passes.
You may also be able to qualify for discounts on flights. For example, The Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® offers an annual $125 flight discount when you spend $20,000 in a cardmembership year and renew your card.
