Can anyone recommend an airline rewards credit card?

[MichelleC]

I know there's a lot of variables involved, but if anyone knows of a good one, I'd appreciate hearing about it...or any to avoid, too.

We can fly out of Boston, Providence or Manchester NH, by the way.

 

[TreeOfLife]

I Love Delta Skymiles, teh points are credited quickly and you have many opportunities to get double points. The Optima card also has no annual fee.

 

[EmptyNester]

Hi Michelle:

DH & I use the Southwest Air FirstUSA. We charge everything we possibly can and earn 2-3 "award" tickets every year. (We also pay off the balance every month) There is an annual fee ($59.00??)

You can get info on the Southwest Website: www.southwest.com

- Sharon

 

[SuzyQue]

They have a string running on this over on the Transportation Board. ~~

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=309681

 

[MichelleC]

EmptyNester! Funny that you post from Maine...I'd be ditching my beloved LL Bean card for an airline card!! Sad, but I thinkI need to.
My best friend is moving to Portland...OREGON!! So, though I hate to fly, I'll do it for her. LOL!!

Southwest seems to have the best airfares from Providence or Manchester to Portland. That card may be the one we go with.

Thanks!

 

[mad4themouse]

Your best bet would be to find out who flies non-stop from your airports and go with their card.

Living near Phila., I have choice of either USAirways or AirTran. AirTran does not have a frequent flier rewards card so the decision is easy for me.

My USAirways VISA is a platinum card and is issued by Bank of America. The annual fee is $40. They reward 1 ff mile for each $ spent with double miles for purchases at their partners (National Car Rental. 1-800-Flowers, etc.) Every December they send a voucher with your statement that entitles you to up to 2 companion fare tickets for $90 when you book a flight that costs $300 or more within the continental US.

A roundtrip ticket within the continental US will cost you 25,000 miles. That means that you would have to charge more than $2,000 per month for a year to get just one ticket. And you'll pay a fee to have the ticket processed and don't forget the 9-11 tax which isn't covered.

Also, there are only a set number of seats available on each flight for frequent flier tickets. You may not be able to get your whole family on a flight for free, even if you have enough miles. Blackout dates also apply. I'm considering dropping the card b/c of the annual fee and restrictions on the flight availability.

I have a Chase-i card and I get $10 in Webcertificates for every $1,000 spent. That's $250 in webbies for every $25,000, which is what I would have to spend to get a free flight. For $250, I can get a ticket for myself and still have money left over. Plus, I don't have to be limited to whatever flights the airline has available to frequent fliers. I can book my own flights, whenever I want. Plus, there is no annual fee.

There are other cashback cards out there that give more back but only on an annual basis. The Chase-i webbies are sent every time your total charges exceed $1,000. So if your monthly charges are $1,786 then you get an $18 webbie that month. If your charges are $822 then that amount rolls over to the next month and the amount continues to acrue until you do go over $1,000 in charges.

I don't want to talk you out of getting an airlines' credit card but keep in mind that there are restrictions on frequent flier miles usage and that those miles are worthless anyplace else. You may also be getting a better deal with a Discover Card or American Express rebates card.

 

[MichelleC]

LOL! No one flies non-stop to Portland OR, which is where I'll be wanting to go most often!!

 

[pattybe]

I have a TravelRewards card through MBNA. You have 2 choices-9.9% interest and an annual fee-$50-75 or
12.9% and no annual fee
Since I pay it off every month, I went with the higher interest rate. It is good for any airline and also is 25,000 per ticket.
Let us know if you find better!

 

[disneygals]

Thanks for the heads up on the Chase-i card...that sounds good.

We have the American Airlines card as my dh used to fly a lot for business and racked up some miles.

I agree that there are so many restrictions with trying to use FF miles. Especially if you have a large family and are trying to use some FF and having to pay for the rest. However, they can often be used for other things. We will try and use ours for car rental gift certificates for our next trip.


Vivienne

 

[4forDis]

I have the MilesOne card from CapitalOne Bank. You earn 1 mile for every dollar and you can use your miles on ANY airline. I have used the miles for two free tickets so far and have not found any restrictions, black out dates or problems.

Their interest rate is 9.9% and I beleive there is an annual fee of approx $20.

Denise

 

[llupin]

The Southwest Visa is great, and they serve Providence and Manchester. 1 Rapid Rewards point for every $1000 spent, and you only need 16 points for a free ticket. Also, unlike other airlines, Southwest does not capacity control their free tickets, meaning that if there is an unrestricted seat available on the flight, you can use the free ticket. There are a few blackout dates (around holidays).

 

[SHELL]

We currently use Capital One. I have tried several cards and have found this to be the best one so far. No restrictions, no black out dates, $1 for 1 mile and I believe for travel within the east coast (we travel mostly from bos to fla) and is is 22,000 miles I believe. We have used approx 6 tickets and have had no problem. Mostly traveling during peek times like Thanksgiving when other programs have black out dates!! Good luck!!

 

[Sharper]

Originally posted by llupin
The Southwest Visa is great, and they serve Providence and Manchester. 1 Rapid Rewards point for every $1000 spent, and you only need 16 points for a free ticket. Also, unlike other airlines, Southwest does not capacity control their free tickets, meaning that if there is an unrestricted seat available on the flight, you can use the free ticket. There are a few blackout dates (around holidays).

I was just at the website and it indicates that you get one credit for each $1200 spent. Just curious if your post had a typo, or if there are different reward levels, maybe for different type cards??

 

[smart cookie]

Originally posted by mad4themouse
AirTran does not have a frequent flier rewards card so the decision is easy for me.

Actually they do have one:

http://www.airtran.com/programs/aplus/aplusvisa.jsp

 

[TRAPPED-PARENT]

I also vote for Visa "Miles One" from Capital One. Miles good for any airline and no black-out dates. If you don't fly you can cash in the miles as well -- for "cash."

 

[snowmouse]

Basically, your choices are limited by who is offering the best service options from where you live.

We have changed ours, as we have moved around the country.
When in Texas we used one offering American miles, moved to Idaho and switched to United. Now we live in the Twin Cities, home of Northwest Airlines, so guess what we have now? I really like this one now though, beause it is a Visa debit card, so I get miles for all of my everyday stuff without having to worry about a bill later. This is offered through US Bank.