Which credit card has the best mileage program

Using an airline credit card as payment does not affect your ability to earn frequent flyer miles on the same flight. You may earn bonus miles from the card you used to make your purchase, but will not earn bonus miles from the airline. The airline awards miles based on its formula, which uses a combination of ticket cost, miles flown, and elite status. Not all types of credit card points can be transferred to airline miles. Make sure you have your frequent flyer number handy in order to complete the transaction.

In general, purchasing airline miles speculatively is not a great idea. Airline miles belong to the airline, not you, even if you purchased them. That said, if you have a specific redemption in mind and only need a few miles to top off your account, buying miles might make sense. You can use credit card points for airline tickets in a variety of ways, depending on the card you have. Transferable points allow you to transfer your credit card points directly to an airline partner and book an award ticket.

You may also be able to redeem your points for cash back and buy your ticket directly with the proceeds. Points earned directly with a specific airline can typically only be redeemed with that airline and its partners. The amount will vary depending on what type of card you have. In general, airline cards award extra miles for purchases made directly with the airline. Some cards also have bonus categories such as travel, dining or gas purchases.

In most cases, yes. You can redeem credit card miles in the same account and they have the same value. One exception is that some airlines calculate credit card spending differently in terms of elite status. Other types of credit cards earn points that can be transferred to airline miles. Most credit cards do not confer airline elite status, but some of the higher end cards will award you elite qualifying miles EQM if you spend a certain amount on the card.

Some airline credit cards will get you free checked bags. An airline credit card awards miles for your purchases, then deposits them directly into your frequent flyer account. Your frequent flyer account will be linked to your credit card account when you open the card.

She's a credit card enthusiast and digital nomad who has leveraged credit cards to travel around the world for next to nothing, often in style.

Prior to working for Forbes, she contributed to other leading publications in the credit cards and rewards space. She would like to visit every country and try as many different local culinary specialties as possible. Select Region. United States. United Kingdom. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team. Caroline Lupini. Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations.

Read more. Find The Best Credit Card. Click Here To Apply Now. Forbes Advisor created additional star ratings so that you can see the best card for specific needs. This card shines for this use, but overall the star ratings may differ when compared to other cards. Up to 10x Reward Rate Earn 5x total points on air travel and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel Read More.

Welcome Bonus 50, points. Regular APR Credit Score Excellent - Why We Picked It. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application.

These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed. Partner Offer. Welcome Bonus Earn 50, miles. Rich Delta perks, including a free first checked bag and priority boarding on Delta flights Access to Delta Sky Club airport lounges when flying Delta Annual companion certificate good for both economy and first class. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details. Enjoy your first checked bag free on Delta flights.

Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases. Earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases. No Foreign Transaction Fees. Terms Apply.

Welcome Bonus , miles. No foreign transaction fee United Club membership is worth more than the annual fee First and second checked bag free when you pay for your flight with your card.

Welcome Bonus 60, miles. Credit Score Excellent, Good - High rewards rate Solid welcome bonus. Credit Score Good, Excellent - Welcome Bonus Earn , points. High reward potential on flights and hotels booked through American Express Travel Multiple credits can help justify the fee Comprehensive airport lounge access Luxury travel benefits and elite status with Hilton and Marriott with enrollment.

High annual fee Maximizing the statement credits takes some work and could be unworkable for many Reward rate outside of travel is sub-par for a premium card.

Plus, earn 10x points on eligible purchases on the Card at restaurants worldwide and when you Shop Small in the U. Annual companion certificate for an eligible domestic flight Priority boarding and free checked bags when flying with Delta. Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels.

Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery and at U. Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases. Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. Excellent welcome bonus A slew of valuable statement credits Extensive airport lounge access Rich suite of travel perks. High spending requirement to earn welcome bonus Annual fee and additional cardholder fees are very high Limited spending bonus categories Some credits are doled out in increments, making them harder to spend.

After that, your APR will be Earn 1. When your points are worth more than 1. These are just some of the many perks of the Chase Sapphire Reserve which make it one of the best miles credit cards. Plus, cardholders earn 10x points on Lyft rides, including bikes and scooters. Complimentary Lyft Pink Membership is also available when activated by March 31, The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

The Avianca Lifemiles credit cards offer a simple signup bonus that is easy to earn. Below are the current welcome bonus offers for both airline miles credit cards:.

This is the best credit card for airline miles from a Star Alliance airline. Additionally, you also have full access to the Chase airline and hotel transfer partners. This helps make it the best miles credit card for businesses since you can transfer out points. This Ink Business Preferred review offers further insight into how good this business card can be. Use your points to book a flight like the U.

Or, you can book short-haul flights within the U. With this perk, your travel companion gets a free seat in the same cabin when you pay with points. You will still have to pay fees and taxes on this complimentary seat. This is easily one of the best air miles credit cards. Aer Lingus and Iberia also have perks and bonuses on their Avios earning cards.

Yes, miles credit cards are worth it when the bonus, perks, and benefits offset the annual fee. The average number of airline miles you need for a free flight depends on the airline you choose to fly with, your destination, and when you decide to travel.

Keep in mind there are no completely free flights, even if you use your points. The best airline miles credit cards help you book free flights faster. Flights can cost around 20, miles each way , plus any applicable taxes and carrier-imposed fees. They also have MileSAAver awards that are available for 7, miles each way plus taxes and fees.

These are some of the best credit cards for American Airlines flyers and the best business credit cards to use for American Airlines. One-way domestic flights cost anywhere from 10, to 50, points. Saver Awards may require fewer points than their Everyday Awards. But again, it might be harder to find flights due to high demand. There are typically more seats available using Everyday Awards.

You can see the best United Airlines credit cards in this expert review. Reward pricing on Southwest Airlines depends on destination, time, date of travel, and other factors. One of the easiest ways to earn rewards with Southwest is to take advantage of the bonus offers that come with their credit cards. Here are the best Southwest credit cards as well as the best Southwest business credit cards.

The easiest way to see how much fares cost is to go to their site and put in your flight information. It looks like points vary anywhere from 16, to 49, and higher. Redeeming points for a free flight on JetBlue requires a minimum of 3, points. JetBlue has a deals section — and one-way flights start at 7, points, plus taxes and fees. Flights that can be redeemed with points range from 5, miles to 70, , depending on long far you fly and what class ticket you book.

They can still earn all of the miles flown when you choose this award. Air Canada uses its Aeroplan program, and flights redeemed with points start at 15, points and go all the way to , Air Canada takes advantage of its robust airline partnerships, which means you can easily fly to over 1, destinations worldwide using the Star Alliance member airlines.

See their helpful chart of how many points you need to redeem a free flight. This card earns 3x points on:. Other benefits include complimentary Aeroplan 25K Status as a new cardmember, for the remainder of the calendar year, plus the following calendar year. Related: Aeroplan Credit Card Review. The best way to earn points is to sign up for a travel credit card or airline-branded credit card. They offer simple ways to earn extra points. The best travel miles credit cards for premium travelers include the Chase Sapphire Reserve, the Platinum Card from American Express , and more.

See our complete list of the best travel credit cards and use the one that is right for you. If the premium cards are not worth it for you, consider these airline cards instead which have more reasonable annual fees. These are some of the best airline credit cards for the largest airlines.

You earn 2x SkyMiles on Delta purchases, at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery , and at U. Cardholders can use the Credit for future travel.

Learn more: Airline Credit Cards. This is one of the few airline cards to award bonus miles on non-airline purchases. You get 2x miles on dining and eligible delivery services, hotels, plus United Airlines purchases. It is one of the best United credit card options.

In addition to earning 2x miles on American Airlines purchases, you also earn double points at restaurants and gas stations. It is one of the many and best Citi credit card options that may work for you. Plus, now enjoy more benefits and more ways to earn. Also, remember that Southwest offers all passengers to enjoy the first two checked bags for free. Each card has a system for essentially erasing travel-related purchases from your monthly statement.

So why would you want to transfer credit card points to your airline miles account? The short answer is that doing so can often make your points go further.

This is because it requires fewer points to book a flight. Whether to transfer or not depends on what you want to do with the points you have. You should opt to transfer credit card points to a participating air miles partner when the flight you want to book costs fewer miles when paid for with frequent flyer points than credit card points.

Or when the credit card company offers additional miles when you transfer, exemplified in this Chase Sapphire Preferred review. Often, credit card points or miles are worth 1 cent apiece.

However, when transferred they sometimes get a boost if airlines value miles at something closer to 1. The deciding factor should be how many miles the flight costs with each method.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is often touted as the best credit card for travel on the market. One reason is that Chase allows you to transfer Ultimate Rewards points to participating frequent flyer programs. Points transferred are on a ratio. So make sure of your decision before you click! To redeem points or transfer them, start on your Ultimate Rewards Dashboard. American Express credit cards have a larger pool of airline partnerships to choose from.

There are more than 20 airline partners and three hotels to choose from. However, check carefully before transferring. While most programs offer a rate, one or two, like JetBlue, offer fewer miles per credit card point. On the flip side, others, like Aeromexico, offer quite a few more, which makes transferring even more attractive.

Then, follow the step-by-step instructions to finish your transfer. If you do fly the airline, though, take a good, long look at the JetBlue Plus Card. This card gives you high-value miles — and a lot of them — plus a checked bag benefit, a generous anniversary bonus and other perks.

Our pick for: No-annual-fee airline card. Our pick for: Premium airline card. Our pick for: International airline card. Our pick for: Airline card for small business. The annual companion certificate — which is good even in first class — and the checked-bag benefit add considerable value, too. Airline credit cards earn frequent-flyer program miles every time you use the card, but the value of these miles depends both on the airline and how you redeem the miles.

To better understand what miles are worth, NerdWallet researched the cash prices and reward-redemption values for hundreds of flights. Our results:. For details about our methodology, see our valuations page. Our valuations are different from many others you may find. You should therefore use these values as a baseline for your own redemptions. If you can redeem your points and miles for the values listed, you are doing well.

The first step in choosing an airline credit card is determining whether an airline card even makes sense for you, especially compared with a general travel credit card whose rewards aren't tied to a specific carrier.

An airline card can be a good choice if you regularly fly the same airline and do so often enough that the benefits you get from the card justify the annual fee. The more you fly a particular airline, the more able you are to rack up enough miles for a free flight or seat upgrade and use those rewards for a flight you want.

Checked bags are a big consideration because most major airline cards include a checked bag fee waiver, which can be valuable and quickly make up for the annual fee.

If you fly mostly one airline, choose a card from that carrier. If you regularly fly a couple of airlines, you might even consider getting cards for both. If you think lounge access is worth it, get the premium card but be prepared to absorb a hefty annual fee. Beware that a lower-tier, no-annual-fee airline card might not include free checked bags. For more, see our guide to choosing an airline credit card. The three biggest domestic airlines all offer credit cards with no annual fee:.

No-annual-fee airline cards are best for people who don't travel regularly but still want to earn airline miles — those who get a psychological boost from "getting closer to a trip" with each purchase.

NerdWallet doesn't recommend no-annual-fee airline cards for frequent flyers because while they earn miles often at comparable rates to annual-fee cards and sometimes entitle you to a discount on in-flight food and entertainment, they lack the most valuable benefits of carrying an airline card:. Annual-fee airline cards generally include a free checked bag for you and at least one other person traveling on your reservation. As a rule, no-annual-fee cards do not include free bags.

Annual-fee airline cards usually give you preference in boarding. Some airlines call this "priority boarding," others call it "preferred boarding. No-annual-fee cards don't give you and head start on boarding. Annual-fee airline cards offer richer bonuses.

New cardholder bonus offers on cards with fees are typically hundreds of dollars more than on no-annual-fee cards. If you fly a single airline a couple of times a year and you regularly check bags, you'll easily save more money with an annual-fee card than with a no-annual-fee option.

But if you're dead-set against paying annual fees in any case, consider skipping an airline card entirely. Consider a no-annual-fee general-purpose travel credit card whose rewards can be used on any airline or any other travel expense , or get a good cash-back credit card and save your cash rewards for your next trip.

And with some airlines, notably United Airlines and JetBlue Airways, you must use your airline card to pay for your tickets in order to qualify for free checked bags. Many airline cards have no foreign transaction fees, so can be a good choice to use while traveling abroad. Because airline cards typically give you accelerated rewards for airline purchases — often 2 miles or more per dollar spent — use the card for airfare, in-flight purchases and other airline-related expenses.

For more, see our guides to airline frequent flyer programs. Travel enthusiasts have multiple options besides airline cards, notably general travel credit cards. These cards provide travel rewards without tying you to a single airline.

Their rewards usually apply to a wide range of travel-related expenses. And general travel cards tend to be simpler than airline-specific credit cards. You might not need a travel card at all, if a different kind of rewards credit card is a better fit. Indeed, a NerdWallet study found that most people — including many travelers — would get more in rewards with a cash-back card than with any travel credit card. Finally, if you fly different airlines but prefer a particular hotel chain — or if you would just prefer free nights to free flights — consider getting a hotel credit card.

NerdWallet's Credit Cards team selects the best airline credit cards based on overall consumer value, as evidenced by star ratings, as well as their suitability for specific kinds of consumers and for flyers loyal to a specific airline. Factors in our evaluation include each card's annual fee, rewards earning rates, redemption options, bonus offers for new cardholders, and noteworthy perks such as free checked bags, priority boarding, free or discounted companion fares, in-flight privileges or discounts, and airport lounge access.

Learn how NerdWallet rates credit cards. Every time you use an airline-branded credit card to make a purchase, you earn rewards points, usually called "miles. Many airline credit cards also come with perks, such as free checked bags, priority boarding, discounts on in-flight purchases or access to the airline's airport lounges. You must be a member of an airline's loyalty program to earn miles with that airline's credit card. Your card will be linked to your account in the program.

Airline loyalty programs are commonly referred to as "frequent-flyer" programs, but anyone can be a member. It's free, and you can join regardless of how often or how seldom you fly. In most cases, there's no limit to the number of miles you can earn with an airline credit card. The more you spend, the more you earn:. Additionally, most airline credit cards offer new cardholders a bonus as an incentive to use the card.

The miles you earn with an airline credit card come on top of the miles you earn from actually flying on the airline. Most airline programs nowadays earn miles based on how much you pay for a ticket rather than how far you've flown. The term "miles" is a holdover from the days when the miles you earned were literally based on the miles you flew.

For example, an airline might give basic members of their loyalty program 5 miles per dollar spent on a ticket. You could get an additional 2 miles per dollar spent by buying the ticket with the airline's credit card.

That would bump your total rewards for the flight to 7, miles. There's no standard value for airline miles, although it's helpful to think of them as being worth about 1 cent apiece, on average.

The actual value you get depends on how much money you save by redeeming them for a free flight. That, in turn, depends on the airline, the route you're flying, how far in advance you book your flight, and the fare class of the ticket economy, business, first.

The two key factors here are the price of a ticket and the number of miles you need to redeem for the same ticket. NerdWallet has done extensive research to determine an average value per mile for the larger U.

See our findings here. When it comes to using miles to book flights, the miles earned with an airline credit card are no different from the miles you earn by flying the airline. However, miles earned with a credit card usually don't count toward earning elite frequent-flyer status with the airline.

Elite status in a frequent-flyer program entitles you to perks not typically available to casual travelers, such as free seat upgrades, priority boarding, higher rewards rates, fee waivers and other benefits. Airlines reserve this status for their best customers, so elite qualifying is mostly tied to how much business you actually do with the airline — how much money you spend on tickets and how many flights you take.

Miles earned from spending on a credit card generally don't count toward elite status. That said, some airline credit cards offer a boost toward elite status as an added incentive to use their cards. One way to gain Southwest's elite "A-List" status is to earn 35, "tier qualifying points" in a year.

In general, you get qualifying points by buying tickets from Southwest; points earned from spending on the credit card don't count. Also, keep in mind that airline credit cards offer some of the perks of elite status, such as free checked bags and preferred boarding. In most cases:. See major airline cards' baggage perks.