Best credit card for air miles?

[disneypoor]

With the Southweat card.... So to estimate what type of flight I will get for my points can I just do a search for a flight and ask it to show me the price in points? Do I have to use my points on a round trip or can it be one way? Could I use my points for my family of four to fly one way together? If our four one way tickets are 95,000 points and we only have 80,000 points, how would that work? Pay cash for the difference or maybe only use points on three tickets and end up with extra points for some later trip? I really don't want to get stuck with a credit card I dont need and then not even be able to use the benefits for the trip we want to use them on and end up paying expensive airfare anyway.

I have the Southwest CC and have been using it for several years. Yes, just look up flights with points instead of cash to know how many points they will cost. You can use your points to book for anyone. If you are short on points, you can purchase additional points, or you could book three with points and pay cash for one. You'd have to figure which way was cheapest. You can book one way or round trip flights. I feel like southwest is very easy to understand and work with. Hope this helps.

Susan

 

[MAJPLO]

I have the Southwest CC and have been using it for several years. Yes, just look up flights with points instead of cash to know how many points they will cost. You can use your points to book for anyone. If you are short on points, you can purchase additional points, or you could book three with points and pay cash for one. You'd have to figure which way was cheapest. You can book one way or round trip flights. I feel like southwest is very easy to understand and work with. Hope this helps.

Susan

Thanks thanks thanks!!!! I don't think we will use southwest for round trip but if we can use points and not have to pay for half that will be awesome. Thanks for the explanation.

 

[disneypoor]

Thanks thanks thanks!!!! I don't think we will use southwest for round trip but if we can use points and not have to pay for half that will be awesome. Thanks for the explanation.

No problem! We use a combination of points and cash for every trip we take. Super easy with SW!

 

[marthachick]

DH & I got Southwest cards in early February. We got one in each of our names. They were awarding 50,000 points at that time for $2,000 spent in the first 3 months. Last night I booked our flights from Charlotte to Phoenix and returning from Denver to Charlotte. For the 3 of us, I got all flights. It's Saturday, June 28 to Saturday, July 5 so flight prices were more points than normal. I will keep checking to see if they go down and will rebook or whatever I need to do to save points.

I'm not sure if they are still offering 50,000 points, so you need to check first to be sure. Seems like I heard it was going down to 25,000.

And with SW, 2 bags fly free per passenger.

 

[MAJPLO]

Regarding the JetBlue card.... Approximately how long does it take once you have used the credit card until the points are accessible to use for booking?

 

[mikehn]

Best credit card for air miles from where to where? I think a lot is going to depend on your travel habits. You'll have to evaluate each card against your travel habits in order to determine the best value. I live in Maryland, the best card for me is X. For someone who lives in Idaho, the best card might be Y.

 

[mrsp1030]

Barclays World Arrivals card has been voted top travel card. This and the chase sapphire preferred card give you the most flexibility in using any airline versus being locked into just one.

 

[mm1971]

I agree that if you can find a good rewards cared that is not tied to one specific airline (that provides equal benefits) that would be the best option.

For us, we have the Southwest card. Our decision was based on 2 factors. First, SW has more direct flights to our chosen destinations (including WDW) than the other carriers. We prefer not to use connecting flights unless we have to. Second, we fly out of a smaller airport to make things easier and not all airlines are present. Third, free bags and no change fees are awesome! We usually put most of our expenses on the card. We have not paid for a flight in the last two years and usually have enough points for 2-3 trips annually. We pay off the balance each month to make sure we get the full value of the rewards.

 

[Dreams0308]

For those of you saying that you and your spouse each got a SW credit card, do they allow you to combine those 50,000 pts each onto one rapid rewards account and then get the companion pass (110,000 pts - you would get there with the purchase points) ??? or do you just both use your own points to book flights on different accounts? I just signed myself up for the card (50,000 offer) and I didn't add my husband as an authorized user because I thought maybe he could get a card as well...

 

[jimandami]

For those of you saying that you and your spouse each got a SW credit card, do they allow you to combine those 50,000 pts each onto one rapid rewards account and then get the companion pass (110,000 pts - you would get there with the purchase points) ??? or do you just both use your own points to book flights on different accounts? I just signed myself up for the card (50,000 offer) and I didn't add my husband as an authorized user because I thought maybe he could get a card as well...

No you would need to have them both in your name so you would need to apply for a second card in your name to try to get the bonus points.

 

[Dreams0308]

No you would need to have them both in your name so you would need to apply for a second card in your name to try to get the bonus points.

SO like apply for the business one? Does it have to be a completely different type of card?

 

[jimandami]

SO like apply for the business one? Does it have to be a completely different type of card?

Yes the business card or the other regular card, depending on which you currently have (there is the regular one and the premiere).

 

[mrsp1030]

JetBlue allows you to combine miles into one family account.

 

[njpyro]

I love my capital one venture. You can use the points on any travel expense-hotel airfare car etc

Here's another vote for Capital One Venture. I love it. I originally got it because there was no annual fee and no international fees, plus you can use it for any type of travel. Since getting it, I've gotten it to cover two round-trip flights and the $200 deposit for a disney vacation package.

 

[mello]

I have the Alaska card as well and I'm about ready to cancel it. We were loyal Alaska customers for many years but the perks that come with the card have gradually been reduced to the point where I don't feel it's worth the $75 annual fee. We used JetBlue into LGB for the first time last year for both of our Disneyland trips and we were very impressed with their service, the amenities and the low fares. I too am reluctant to be tied down to another single airline card, so I've been very interested in this thread.

I'm right there with both of you! I like Alaska Airlines - it's nearly always on time, service is great, etc. But, I'm finding that lately, it's costing as much to fly Alaska while using my perks, as it would to fly other airlines without them. Therefore, I feel the $75 fee on the card is not really worth it anymore either.

 

[MillauFr]

I'm right there with both of you! I like Alaska Airlines - it's nearly always on time, service is great, etc. But, I'm finding that lately, it's costing as much to fly Alaska while using my perks, as it would to fly other airlines without them. Therefore, I feel the $75 fee on the card is not really worth it anymore either.

How is the $75 not worth it if you fly at least once per year? The companion fare is worth far more than the $75. We are flying to Hawaii (Lihue) and getting a $600+ ticket for $119 is a great deal. Also those Orlando tickets are usually close to $600 as well. JetBlue is great too but they only serve a few cities from Seattle.

 

[jpeppers]

How is the $75 not worth it if you fly at least once per year? The companion fare is worth far more than the $75. We are flying to Hawaii (Lihue) and getting a $600+ ticket for $119 is a great deal. Also those Orlando tickets are usually close to $600 as well. JetBlue is great too but they only serve a few cities from Seattle.

I flew my daughter and I both last month to MCO from Portland round trip for under $33,000 points. I love the non stop on Alaska out of Seatac but it is usually 40,000 points now. The Alaska card used to be a great value but not so much anymore. Southwest often offers 50,000 points when you join and since joining a couple of years ago my daughter and I have flown to Orlando twice and I have flown to Phoenix and Vegas and still haven't paid for a flight and I am back up to 18,000 points again. Alaska only offers a limited number of seats on points but Southwest points are offered on every seat plus bags fly free. I love Alaska but they are expensive now!

 

[mello]

How is the $75 not worth it if you fly at least once per year? The companion fare is worth far more than the $75. We are flying to Hawaii (Lihue) and getting a $600+ ticket for $119 is a great deal. Also those Orlando tickets are usually close to $600 as well. JetBlue is great too but they only serve a few cities from Seattle.

Well, just as a for instance, on our last trip to Las Vegas, we were able to fly Southwest (without any rewards perks) for less than it would have cost us on Alaska using our companion ticket or using half airmiles, half money. So the companion ticket sat unused. That caused me to start thinking about getting a Southwest Rewards card instead.

As another example, on our upcoming trip to Orlando, it worked out about the same to use the companion ticket as it would have cost with a couple other airlines, again without any rewards, and we did use the companion ticket. However, if we hadn't had it, we would have just used another airline, so the annual fee was no real benefit there either.

Now, when we've accrued enough airmiles for "free" tickets, it's useful; however, Alaska has also raised the amount of airmiles needed... we used to routinely get 1-way tickets for 12,500 miles, but nearly all of them are 20,000 miles now. So, on the whole, it is just getting less and less worth it to pay the $75, if I can find tickets on other airlines for the same price or less, without paying an annual fee.