Best Airline Credit Cards of October 2019

Airline cards are co-branded with a major airline, such as Delta, United, or American Airlines. They let you earn frequent flyer miles on every dollar you spend on the card, with extra miles given for purchases made through that particular airline. Some general travel cards also highly reward airline ticket purchases and offer robust travel reward redemption options, so we considered them for this list, too. 

Miles or points can be redeemed for flights, seat upgrades, and even other travel expenses, like hotel stays. Most airline cards also offer high-value sign-up bonuses to new cardholders who spend a certain amount within a few months of opening their account. The best cards award bonuses large enough to book a round-trip plane ticket. 

Many airline cards also offer extra airline and travel benefits, like free checked bags, early boarding privileges, and discounts on in-flight purchases. Premium cards may include lounge access and various types of travel insurance. 

Pay attention to these card details to select the best airline card for you: 

Sign-up bonus: Use our mile valuations (below) to determine which card offers more value right off the bat. Multiply the number of miles in the sign-up bonus by the per-mile value (i.e., 1.3 cents-per-mile value x 50,000 bonus miles = $650 value). Also, based on your normal monthly spend, does one card have a more attainable spending requirement than another?

Annual fee: Benefits can offset annual fees (typically between $95 and $450), but If you don’t care about extra airline or travel perks, don’t open a card with an annual fee. 

Airline flight options: If you’re considering a co-branded airline card, but aren’t near a major airline hub city (like Atlanta for Delta or Denver for United), how often can you fly the airline, based on desired departure and arrival locations? For general travel cards, can you easily redeem (or transfer) the points for flights on a variety of airlines? 

Extra rewards: If you don’t already have a good everyday rewards card, consider an airline card that will earn miles on non-travel purchases, like groceries and gas. In some cases, a general travel card may offer more flexible rewards earning options. 

Additional benefits: An airline card will be more valuable if you use the benefits it provides, like free checked bags, TSA Precheck/Global Entry application fee reimbursement, or free airport lounge access. 

Average mile value data can help you gauge whether or not an airline card sign-up bonus (or flight) is actually a good deal. 

Our point valuations may be more realistic for you than other website valuations. They represent the value you should easily find when booking a plane ticket with a major airline, on a popular route. Airline miles can save money on something you would’ve purchased anyway, so we don’t calculate value by looking just at first-class travel. Premium tickets can be a good way to redeem a large number of miles, but economy flights may help you redeem miles (and travel) more often.

Here's our analysis of average airline-mile value when redeemed for domestic economy flights on major U.S. carriers, based on research conducted in the second quarter of 2019:

• American Airlines (AAdvantage): 1 mile = 3 cents
• Delta Air Lines (SkyMiles): 1.3 cents
• United Airlines (MileagePlus): 1.1 cents
• Southwest (Rapid Rewards): 1.5 cents
• JetBlue (TrueBlue): 1.3 cents
• Alaska Airlines (Mileage Plan): 1.2 cents

Most airline frequent flier programs don’t permit transfers between one another, even if the airlines are in the same alliance. There are numerous international airline alliances, but the biggest ones with major U.S. airlines are: Star Alliance (United), OneWorld (American Airlines), and SkyTeam (Delta). 

However, within these groups, you can typically earn miles by flying one airline and redeem them for flights on another. For example, Delta SkyMiles may be used for flights on Air France and Virgin Atlantic in the SkyTeam alliance. 

Each rewards program has its own rules, but to maximize airline card rewards overall, follow these tips: 

1. Don’t make reservations through a third-party agent or website. Book all flights directly with the airline or rewards portal.
2. Airline miles are usually most valuable when used to book flights or other travel reservations. You may see options to redeem rewards for merchandise or gift cards, but they are often a worse value. 
3. Watch for loyalty program opportunities to earn extra miles or score discounted flight tickets.
4. Pair with another card that earns rewards on everyday expenses if the airline card lacks earning options.
5. Book travel companions on your reservation so they can enjoy many of the airline benefits you do.
6. Connect your frequent-flyer account to your card to access all loyalty perks.

Most airline cards charge annual fees, but people who travel just a few times each year can easily recoup that cost. For example, most airlines charge $30 for a checked bag, each way. If a card offers one free checked bag each way, but charges a $95 annual fee, it only takes two round trips to make up the fee cost. No-annual-fee airline cards usually lack valuable benefits, like free checked bags, and come with low-value sign-up bonuses.

If you prefer a card with no annual fee, we recommend a cash-back credit card with no annual fee, instead.

At The Balance, it's our mission to give you unbiased, comprehensive credit card reviews. To do this, we collect data on hundreds of cards and score more than 55 features that affect your finances.

About This List

We reviewed more than 50 airline-specific and general-travel-rewards credit cards to find the very best airline cards, and 4 cards made cut for this list.

What We Score

Cards with big sign-up bonuses, flexible rewards programs, valuable miles, and better benefits receive better scores. Airline cards with low miles value, few perks, and limited transfer options receive lower scores accordingly. For more information about how The Balance evaluates credit cards, see our full credit card review methodology.