Best Airline Travel Rewards Cards

Airline reward cards fall into one of two categories.

  • Branded airline card – offers the perks of working with one airline 
  • General travel card – allows you to collect travel reward points on all spending

Always, read the fine print. Sometimes points aren’t valid if you book through a discount broker – make sure you check. If you need to travel at a certain time of year, look fort blackout dates that prevent you from using rewards mileage to travel during that time.

Here are ConsumerFu’s top picks for general travel cards. We also give a full rundown of branded cards in the table below.

Card Annual Fee Interest Rates Reward Rates Other Perks

Capital One® Venture℠ Rewards Credit Card 

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$0 first year, $59 after that 13.9%-20.9% variable APR Earns 2 miles for every $1 spent
  • Rewards are paid in No Hassle Miles instead of miles tied to one airline
  • No foreign transaction fee
  • 10,000 mile signup bonus

Chase Sapphire Preferred

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$0 first year, $95 after that 15.24% APR Earns 2 miles for every $1 spent on travel and dining and 1 for $1 on all other spending
  • 20% discount when you redeem through Ultimate Rewards
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • 40,000 signup bonus if you spend $3000 in the first 3 months

Capital One VentureOne

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$0 0% 12 months, 11.9% – 19.9% thereafter Earns 1.25 miles for every $1 spent on any purchase 10,000 mile signup bonus when you spend $1000 in the first 3 months

 

The following is a rundown of other U.S. based airline specific reward cards.

Card Annual Fee Bonus Miles Rewards Rate VIP Perks

AMEX Gold
Delta SkyMiles

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$95 30,000
Delta Miles
2 miles per $1 on Delta, 1 mile per $1 on other

airlines

Priority Boarding 20% off in-flight purchases

First checked bag free

AMEX Express
JetBlue

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$40 10,000
JetBlue Miles
As many as 8 points per $1 on jetBlue, 1 mile per $1 all other

airlines

None

Bank of Hawaii  Hawaiian Airlines

Visa Signature

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 $79

35,000  Hawaiian Airlines

Miles

2 miles per $1 on Hawaiian, 1 mile per $1 all other

airlines

One-time $25 discount on two full price round

trip coach fares

Chase The Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards

Premier Card

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$99 25,000 Bonus Points After

$1000 spent

2 points per $1 spent directly on Southwest or AIRTRAN,

1 for $1 on all other purchases

Up to 15,000 tier qualifying points annually, 6000 Anniversary points annually,

No foreign transaction fees

Citi Platinum Select AAdvantage

World MasterCard

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$95 30,000 American
Airlines Miles
1 miles per $1 Priority Boarding First checked bag free 25% discount on eligible in-flight purchases

$100 AA flight discount annually

Citi AAdvantage

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$50 25,000 American Airlines

Miles

1 miles per $1 Priority Boarding 25% off in-flight purchases

First checked bag free

Frontier Airlines
Credit Card

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 $59

35,000
Frontier Miles

2 miles per $1 on Frontier, 1 mile per $1 on other 

airlines

None

Frontier Airlines
Credit Card – No Fee

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$0 5,000
Frontier Miles
1 mile per $1 on Frontier, 0.5 miles per $1 on other

airlines

None

Hawaiian Airlines
Credit Cards

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$50 10,000 Hawaiian Airlines

Miles

2 miles per $1 on Hawaiian, 1 mile per $1 on other

airlines

25% discount on
Mainland to Hawaii flights

US Airways
Credit Card

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$49 10,000
US Airways Miles
1 mile per $1 5,000 mile discount on reward redemptions,
$149 companion ticket annually

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