Airline credit cards are referred to as mileage cards or airline miles credit cards. As its name suggests, the cardholder earns points on the frequent flyer miles credit every time they use it. They have recently been introduced in the market by enterprising credit card companies that tie up with big shot airline companies. Every dollar charged to the airline credit card is equivalent to a mile. As the purchases accumulate, the more miles the cardholder is able to use for free air voyage or the ability to upgrade from economy to business class.
 
Airline credit cards offer terrific value for frequent travelers. As they have steep annual fees and higher APR’s, this limits the qualifications of cardholders that will make the most of their airline credit cards. This type of credit card would be for people who settle their outstanding balance monthly and utilize their card frequently. The following are the various airline credit card offers on the market today:

  1. Waived annual fee for the first year. This is listed as their initial offer to cardholders. Utilize this waived fee, as on the second year, you’ll be paying about US$85 for the annual fee alone.
  2. Bonus miles. The majority of them throw this in with the waived initial annual fee. This is credited when you make that first purchase. It can be around 20,000 to 25,000 miles. 
  3. Mile per dollar conversion. A number of benevolent airline credit cards will give 1 mile per US$1 spent. Others are not as generous – some even charge 1 mile for every US$200 spent.
  4. Rewards partnerships. Various reward partners like Alaska Airlines and American Airlines collaborate with British Airways to offer you more than 500 destinations. Look for credit cards that cater to reward partners.
  5. Non-expiration of miles. Some establishments have miles that do not expire easily. There’s a catch to that – you have to redeem or earn them once every 18 months.
  6. Reduced mileage awards. This means you get to redeem the free ride for a smaller mile value like 8,000 miles, as many would allow you to redeem them after you have accumulated 20,000 miles.
  7. Free companion ticket. This is offered by some companies especially when you buy the first fare in full with the said card.
  8. No black out dates. Selected cards have no restricted dates on the particular airline that the subscriber chooses.  However, seats are very limited and might not be available on all flights.

When you do use airline credit cards, you have to remember when the points will expire. It would defeat the purpose of using this kind of credit card if you could not avail of a free flight. Other people who do not use up their miles for the ride will also suffer the same fate. Rewards of the gratis trip also have a catch. There are set point levels determined by airline companies so check your points regularly.

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