SW CC or AA CC?

[aimeekdg]

I JUST found out about getting miles with every CC purchase you make..I guess I've been living under a rock Anyways, I don't know which one to get! The Citi American Airlines card is so different from the Southwest Airlines one and I need your help choosing. I would like to fly in June, I know the Southwest one gets you 2 free round trips if you spend $2,000 in the first three months. The AA gets you 30,000 miles for $1,00 spent in the first three months and I don't think I can get enough points for a free flight by June :/ I really am new to all this so any info would be greatly appreciated

 

[luvmarypoppins]

I am thinking by the time you earn the miles/points etc. there might not be any seats left for the flights you want or maybe at a less desirable time etc.

Flyer Talk website is a good source of info.

What airline would you use more, do they have direct or connecting flights?

I know with the american airlines credit card you can use it for hotel rooms (Disney)

My dh travels a lot for business and I sign him up for every airline ff program. The credit card we stick with 1 where we can rack up the most points.

A lot of times you wont find the seats you want unless you book far out etc.

Also southwest does not even list how many seats are available for each flight.

You would get a better idea with the aa seating chart for a flight you want etc.

Are you already a member of Rapid Rewards or American Aadvantage?

 

[aimeekdg]

I am thinking by the time you earn the miles/points etc. there might not be any seats left for the flights you want or maybe at a less desirable time etc.

Flyer Talk website is a good source of info.

What airline would you use more, do they have direct or connecting flights?

I know with the american airlines credit card you can use it for hotel rooms (Disney)

My dh travels a lot for business and I sign him up for every airline ff program. The credit card we stick with 1 where we can rack up the most points.

A lot of times you wont find the seats you want unless you book far out etc.

Also southwest does not even list how many seats are available for each flight.

You would get a better idea with the aa seating chart for a flight you want etc.

Are you already a member of Rapid Rewards or American Aadvantage?

I have only been on Continental/United airlines because my mother works for that company and I basically fly for free. I guess I should really ask if I can use these miles towards another person? (in this case it would be my best friend) Flying for free is awesome..flying alone..not so much
I'm not part of any rewards program, what cards have you gotten for your husband?

 

[mrsklamc]

I don't think SW has a certain number of seats available. I think if there's a seat, you can book it w/ points. It might take more points, but only in the same proportion that it would cost more $.

 

[KerryCM]

I have the SW card and also had the AA card. I got rid of AA because I could never get a seat with the lowest amount of points. SW is so much easier to use. When you go to book a flight I get the price in points, it shows both, and book. I have used it for myself, my husband and even booked flight for my adult children and niece.

I charge everything each month and then pay the bill in full at the end of the month.I love the SW card.

 

[aimeekdg]

I have the SW card and also had the AA card. I got rid of AA because I could never get a seat with the lowest amount of points. SW is so much easier to use. When you go to book a flight I get the price in points, it shows both, and book. I have used it for myself, my husband and even booked flight for my adult children and niece.

I charge everything each month and then pay the bill in full at the end of the month.I love the SW card.

Wohoo! I'm excited!! I can finally travel with a friend and I'm doing the whole charge everything on it then pay it all off that month. Do you get the points within a month? I think I might take a trip to go see my friend in August

 

[KerryCM]

The points are added at the end of each of each cycle. Mine ends on the 27th of the month so by the 28th they points are on my account.

 

[jls886]

SW is much more flexible. There are no longer a set number of rewards flights...if you can book the flight with cash you can book it with points. AA is really hard to ever earn enough points for a flight, in my experience. I think you will earn SW flights MUCH more quickly than AA flights.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I also luv the SWA card. I used to have the USAirways cc but cancelled that. Similar to AA, you can almost never get flights in the lower tier.
I also like that with SWA, it doesn't even have to be booked as a RT flight. If I only have enough points for a one way flight I can book that way. Sometimes the departing flights and return flights vary a lot in price depending on the day of the week such as a Wed departure & Sunday evening return which is typically more expensive. So if I apply points to our southbound flight, I might have enough for 2 one way seats instead of 1 return flight, then pay cash for our return flights.
I like the flexibility.

 

[aimeekdg]

Thanks for all the great answers!! I'll be applying for it soon but I do have ONE credit card with some debt to it but it's still kinda new and I'll have it paid off by June (discover) Do you think that might be a problem? I have good credit and I haven't ever been denied but I'm still nervous because this would be my first rewards card for a airline.

 

[bjscheel]

Thanks for all the great answers!! I'll be applying for it soon but I do have ONE credit card with some debt to it but it's still kinda new and I'll have it paid off by June (discover) Do you think that might be a problem? I have good credit and I haven't ever been denied but I'm still nervous because this would be my first rewards card for a airline.

All you can do is try and see what happens!

I got a SW cc for DH and one for me in January. I had him buying his semi fuel on them so we could get our $2000 spent on each ASAP. I had my points and bought tickets to California for June in mid-March. I keep checking and haven't found cheaper flights yet so I must have bought at a good time. Since purchasing them, I have actually flipped my trip around (flying into SNA and out of SAN instead of vice versa), and this morning I moved our return flight to a later time so we don't have to leave the hotel at 5 am. I had to spend a few more points on the latter change, but I am LOVING this flexibility! I will also have enough points since we both got a card to help with our next vacation.

Good luck!

 

[aimeekdg]

All you can do is try and see what happens!

I got a SW cc for DH and one for me in January. I had him buying his semi fuel on them so we could get our $2000 spent on each ASAP. I had my points and bought tickets to California for June in mid-March. I keep checking and haven't found cheaper flights yet so I must have bought at a good time. Since purchasing them, I have actually flipped my trip around (flying into SNA and out of SAN instead of vice versa), and this morning I moved our return flight to a later time so we don't have to leave the hotel at 5 am. I had to spend a few more points on the latter change, but I am LOVING this flexibility! I will also have enough points since we both got a card to help with our next vacation.

Good luck!

Wow!!

 

[mm1971]

I have the SW card. Got 50K miles and using it to take a nice vacation for the family. The 50K miles actually paid for almost 4 tickets. It's easy to use the points and we fly SW a lot.

I guess it depends on what airlines you fly the most. I charge a lot on our cards (and pay off each month) so we are hoping to save up for flights to France next year.