Getting a credit card that gives back as you spend can be a smart investment, especially if you pay off your balance every month. Credit cards that offer airline miles will typically give one mile for each $1 spent, but if you compare all the features carefully, you can learn which card is best for you and reap the most benefits.
The Capital One Orbitz Visa card has no annual fee and offers one year of credit at 0 percent APR. While you are building points, every travel purchase you make on Orbitz.com equals 3 points per dollar. That means you will get 900 points when you buy a $300 ticket. Capital One points allow you to fly on various airlines. The disadvantages are that there are no bonus points for opening an account and you are restricted to booking your subsidized tickets on Orbitz.com and working around its blackout dates. You could find yourself in a situation where it is better to buy the ticket instead of using points. But if you do buy, you’ll still get bonus points.
Using a credit card to build miles for a specific airline can be beneficial. Since Delta merged with Northwest, you can also use affiliate airlines to redeem miles earned on the Gold Delta SkyMiles American Express Credit Card. These include Delta, Northwest, Alaska, AirFrance, AeroMexico, KLM and a few other international airlines. You get 2 points for every $1 you spend and earn 1 point for every mile you fly if you buy the ticket with the card. You may also be eligible to earn 25,000 bonus points if you open an account and have excellent credit (which is the typical amount for redeeming a domestic flight). The Delta card charges an annual fee of $95, which is waived the first year. You can redeem miles only on Delta and its affiliates.
Blue Sky from American Express is another card that does not charge an annual fee and offers the standard 1 point per $1 spent. The greatest advantage to this card is its flexibility when you want to redeem points. You can use them on any airline, hotel, cruise or rental company with no date or time restrictions. The biggest disadvantage is that there are very few options for earning extra points. If you pay for a lot of purchases with credit cards and pay them off and want more options for redeeming points, this is a good card that will give you more freedom to get airline and travel rewards.
When shopping for a credit card, decide whether you want to have airline miles accumulate to a specific airline or you’re willing to be more flexible and go through the credit card’s offers of multiple airline vouchers. Check whether there is an incentive to open an account, such as bonus miles. Also check whether the card offers double points for certain purchases. This will help you in the long run to get to that travel voucher, the main reason why you are getting this card. Check whether the card has an annual fee. Why pay a fee if you don’t have to?
