Most folks already know that if a particular airline sees a good chunk of your annual travel, it’s a smart move to apply for its corresponding co-branded card. But that’s not the only reason to add an airline card to your wallet. Some benefits can apply well beyond travel just on that particular carrier, especially when you consider each airline’s partners and redemption perks.
So when we assembled our list of the best airline co-branded cards for this year, we made sure to consider the extra value each card can bring, whether you’re flying on that airline or not. Because with so many varying benefits, it’s important to know which card will best match your own travel needs and preferences.
Top Airline Co-Branded Cards
1. Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card
2. Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Credit Card
3. JetBlue Plus Card
4. United MileagePlus Explorer Card
5. Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard
6. Delta Reserve Credit Card from American Express and the Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express
Here are this year’s picks for the top airline credit cards:
1. Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card
The biggest complaint about airline miles is they’re impossible to use because there’s never any award space. Well, that’s never a problem with the Rapid Rewards points you can earn with the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card. Southwest uses a revenue-based redemption system in which the number of points needed to redeem for an airline ticket is tied to the cost of the airfare. So you’ll never get outsized value for your points, but you’ll also never be unable to find award space (unless the flight itself is entirely sold out).
With this card, you’ll earn 2 points per dollar spent at Southwest and 1 point per dollar on everything else. Unfortunately, this card does charge a 3% foreign transaction fee, so you won’t want to use it on overseas trips. You’ll also get 3,000 bonus points after your cardmember anniversary each year, and with only a $69 annual fee, the cost of keeping the card long-term is at the low end of the scale for airline co-branded cards.
Finally, the points you earn from spending on this card count toward earning the Southwest Companion Pass. Since hotel point transfers are no longer eligible, Southwest credit cards are one of the few ways left to earn qualifying Companion Pass points other than actual flights on Southwest. So if you’ve got a lot of spend during the year and fly regularly on Southwest with a spouse, family member or friend, this could be the perfect card for you.
2. Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Credit Card
Even if you don’t fly regularly on Alaska Airlines — or even if you never fly on Alaska Airlines — the Mileage Plan miles earned with the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Credit Card can be extremely valuable thanks to Alaska’s great list of airline partners and mostly reasonable award chart. On top of that, thanks to the Alaska-Virgin America merger, Alaska miles can now be used to book Virgin flights, which means a first-class seat on Virgin America can be had for just 25,000 Alaska miles with excellent award availability.
And if you do fly on Alaska even once or twice a year, this card is a no-brainer. With a free checked bag for you and up to six companions on your reservation and an incredibly valuable annual $99 Companion Fare (plus taxes), you can make back the $75 annual fee plus a lot more in no time. The Companion Fare in particular is extremely flexible — not only does it come with no blackout dates, but you can use it for a one-way, round-trip, open jaw or multi-stop itinerary. Additionally, this card waives foreign transaction fees.
Clearly, regardless of whether your travel patterns include Alaska Airlines, this card is one to strongly consider.
3. JetBlue Plus Card
Last March JetBlue moved its lineup of credit cards from American Express to Barclaycard, and the JetBlue Plus Card is the most lucrative of the three new options on tap for this year.
JetBlue’s TrueBlue frequent flyer program features fixed-value points that you can redeem for any available flight on JetBlue without having to worry about award availability. But with this card, you’ll get 10% of your points back on every redemption with absolutely no cap, which is a great benefit and effectively increases the value of all your TrueBlue points.
This is also one of the only co-branded airline cards that comes with an additional bonus category other than spend on the co-branded airline. You’ll get 2x points at restaurants and grocery stores with this card, which — when combined with the impressive 6x points per dollar spent on JetBlue flights — can add up very quickly.
The card comes with a $99 annual fee that isn’t waived, but with no foreign transaction fees, a 50% savings on in-flight food and beverages and 5,000 bonus points annually each year you renew the card, this is a terrific new entry on our co-branded airline card list and a welcome addition to the scene.
4. United MileagePlus Explorer Card
As United is a member of the Star Alliance, its miles can be used for some great international redemptions on partner airlines, which is one reason why the United MileagePlus Explorer Card is on our list.
But another reason is the somewhat unusual but very neat perk in which cardholders get access to additional award space on United flights. These seats come out of an entirely different fare bucket than the normal United award space, so if you have this card and sign in to your frequent flyer account on united.com, you’ll have access to more award flights than folks without the card.
You’ll also get one free checked bag when you use the card to pay for your United flights, along with priority boarding and two United Club passes each year at your cardmember anniversary. Plus, with no foreign transaction fees, this is a card you’ll be able to use anywhere, so for a $95 annual fee, it’s one to think about getting if you’re a regular United traveler.
5. Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard
If you’re a regular traveler on American Airlines, you’ll likely want to pick up the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard to take advantage of its benefits.
With a free checked bag on American flights for you and up to four companions on your reservation (even if you use a different card to pay for the ticket), priority boarding and a 25% rebate on in-flight food and beverage purchases, it’s a must-have card for American flyers.
But the biggest benefit of this card may be the 10% rebate on redeemed AAdvantage miles. Each time you book an award with American miles, you’ll get back 10% of those miles up to 10,000 miles per calendar year. The value of those returned miles easily make up for the card’s $95 annual fee, which is waived the first year in any case. Like most other cards on this list, the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select waives foreign transaction fees.
6. Delta Reserve Credit Card From American Express
American Express has three personal cards in its Delta lineup, and with a $450 annual fee — the Delta Reserve Credit Card is the most expensive. That said, it could be worth the price if you frequently fly with the carrier and are working toward Delta elite status.
In addition to offering you complimentary Sky Club access when you’re traveling on Delta, the card offers Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQMs) toward Medallion status, both as part of the sign-up bonus and for cardholders who meet certain spending thresholds. If you charge at least $30,000 to the card in a year, you’ll get 15,000 bonus miles and 15,000 MQMs, and you’ll get another 15,000 of each if you charge $60,000 to the card in the same year. Silver Medallion status requires 30,000 MQMs, so you could meet that aspect of qualifying for Delta status through (significant) spending on this card alone.
Other benefits include a companion certificate for domestic travel each year after your account anniversary, 2x miles on Delta purchases, a free checked bag on Delta flights, priority boarding and no foreign transaction fees. If you don’t want to pay a $450 annual fee, you might also consider the Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card From American Express, which has a $95 fee that’s waived the first year. With this card, you’ll get a free checked bag, priority boarding, no foreign transaction fees and 20% in savings on in-flight purchases.
And as far as elite status goes, if you’re considering going for the Gold — or Silver, Platinum or Diamond — Delta is the only domestic airline that will entirely waive its elite Medallion Qualifying Dollars requirement all the way up to its top Diamond elite level if you spend $25,000 in a calendar year on any of its co-branded credit cards.
Bottom Line
Every one of these cards offers at least one unique benefit not available on any other credit card, so if one of those perks fits your travel needs, you’ll want to consider potentially adding an airline card to your credit card portfolio. Just make sure your choice fits your travel goals and makes sense within your normal travel profile.
And of course, if you’re a regular flyer on one of these airlines, definitely take a hard look at these cards to see if one of them can make your time in the air cheaper, more comfortable, or (hopefully) both.
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Featured image courtesy of Chris Sattlberger via Getty Images.
This article first appeared in www.thepointsguy.com
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