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The airline credit cards section is organized as follows. First, we highlight a few tips and articles on choosing specific frequent flyer credit cards. We then highlight reviews on major airline cards.
This is followed by a write up on alternative cards for those whose frequent flyer program does not have a US-based credit card.
Tips on choosing your card
Which Continental Airlines credit card should you get?
While OnePass members can certainly get the Chase continental airlines to earn faster miles, there is another reward card from Chase with no annual fee that offers a great alternative. Find out more.
Which American Airlines credit card should you get?
Citibank has got three versions (including a no annual fee version) of the American Airlines AAdvantage cards. Which is the best one? We compare them side by side. Find out what we think.
Frequent Flyer Credit Cards
Q&A : I am a member of a foreign carrier frequent flyer program which does not have a US credit card. Is there any way I can still earn miles from a credit card?
What if your frequent flyer program does not have a credit card. This will most likely to the case for many foreign airlines. Expatriates who move to the US may want to continue earning miles for their airlines. What should they do?
There are actually two cards you can consider.
The first card to look at is the American Express® Preferred Rewards Green Card. That is because the reward program Membership Rewards has 21 airline partners. You can either transfer points to miles (at a one for one ratio) or redeem for gift checks. Presently, their airline partners are Delta Skymiles, Continental OnePass, US Airways Dividend Miles, Jet Blue, Aer Lingus, AeroMexico, Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France, Air Jamaica, Alitalia, ANA, Cathay Pacific, El Al Israel Airlines, Frontier Airlines, GlobalPass, Hawaiian Airlines, LAN, Mexicana, Qantas, SONG, South African Airways, SouthWest Airlines, SwissAir and Virgin Atlantic.
The other card to consider is the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express . The reason is because the Starwood Preferred Guest program allows you to transfer points to miles on a one-for-one ratio on 30 airlines. If you transfer 20,000 points to your frequent flyer program, Starwood will give you an additional 5,000 miles!. The Starwood Preferred Guest credit card allows you to earn one point for every dollar you spend on "non-Starwood purchases". Hence, you do not need to be a Starwood frequent guest to get this card. You need to spend $20,000 on the card to get 20,000 points. Transfer them to your frequent flyer program and get 5,000 extra miles. In essense, you spend $20,000 to get 25,000 miles (enough for a roundtrip ticket around continental USA).
Starwood's airline partners include Aeroplan Air Canada, Air China Companion, Air New Zealand and Air Points, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, Alitalia Mille Miglia, All Nippon Airways (ANA) Mileage Club, American Airlines AAdvantage, Asiana Airlines, British Airways Executive Club, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Continental Airlines OnePass, Delta Airlines Skymiles, Emirates and Sri Lankan Airlines Skywards, Flying Blue, Hawaiian Airlines, Japan Airlines (JAL) Mileage Bank, KLM Air France Flying Blue, LAN LANPASS, Lufthansa Miles and More, Mexicana Frecuenta, Northwest Airlines Worldperks, Qantas Airways Frequent Flyer, Qatar Airways, Saudi Arabian Airlines Alfursan, Siangapore Airlines Krisflyer, Swiss Travel Club, Thai Airways International Royal Orchid Plus, US Airways Dividend Miles, United Airlines Mileage Plus, VARIG Smiles, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.
All of the above airline partners allow one starwood point to be converted into one miles with the exception of United Airlines Mileage Plus (2:1), Varig Smiles (2:1), LAN LANPASS (1:2), Japan Airlines Mileage Bank (3:2) and Air New Zealand and Air Points (65:1).
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