Credit cards tied to airlines

Some of the most prized credit card rewards are air miles. Some of these are general airline miles while some are tied to airlines.  There are advantages and disadvantages of both kinds of card, depending on whether or not the credit card would benefit from being loyal to one airline.

Card holders with airline tied cards cannot use the miles they accrue on most other airlines.  This means that this is not suitable for someone who is likely to be a bargain hunter.   Airline tied cards also are often linked to the rewards programme for the particular airline so they can be quite effective at gaining a large number of rewards quite quickly.

These cards are often marketed through the loyalty programmes for the airline.   This means that many of the travellers who apply for these cards are already enrolled on the airline’s frequent flyer programme and it is a good idea to ensure that the card rewards are an improvement on the current programme.

There are some good reasons for a card holder to be loyal to one airline and so tied to its reward programme.  The traveller may live near a hub for a particular airline and so will be able to use it to fly to a number of destinations.  It may also be the case that the employer has a preferred airline for business travel and also pays incurred expenses after a delay.  A person who has the vast majority of their flights on only one or two routes that are well served by one airline might also benefit from a tied rewards programme.

Tied airline rewards cards tend to be more expensive with have higher fees and interest rates and more onerous terms than an ordinary credit card would have.  Although a frequent traveller will have this offset by the rewards, an infrequent traveller may be better off getting a low interest card and using the savings to get flights. For this reason airline tied cards rarely work well as the sole credit card.

The alternative is to use generic air mile cards.  These are not tied in with an airline reward programme, and the rewards tend to be of a lower value.  However, the card rewards can be used on most airlines and so the discount is on an already reduced price.  Tied airline discounts are also of less value if the airline will not fly to the required destination at a convenient time.

Related Posts

• Don’t settle for your current interest rate
• Fees on long term Credit Card balance transfers
• Credit cards for immigrants
• Is it a good idea to give a young adult a credit card?
• Getting interest free money using credit cards
• How to get Discounts and upgrades with credit cards?
• Automatic privileges from credit cards
• The Best Credit Cards for Frequent Travelers
• Privilege programs for credit cards
• What is a Credit Card balance transfer fee?