Asiana Visa Platinum from Bank of America Review

Summary - The Asiana Visa® Platinum Plus Card will appeal to the Asiana Airlines frequent flyer member, especially those who travel business class on this airline, as it allows you to earn faster miles towards your next free flights. Its main features are as follows:

• Earn double miles when you purchase Asiana Airlines tickets with your card
• 90% discount on a full fare business or First Class ticket for a companion every year
• $500 discount towards a purchase of a full fare business class ticket with a free first class upgrade (once a year)

Let us take a closer look at this card.

Miles Formula - The Asiana Visa® Platinum Plus® Card allows you to earn double miles for every dollar you spend on Asiana Airlines tickets. You earn one miles for every dollar you spend on other purchases. You can earn up to 100,000 miles in one calender year. You will also receive 5,000 bonus miles upon your first purchase with the card.

Asiana Miles Expiration and Partners - Asiana Airline miles do not expire. They are part of the Star Alliance group and miles can be redeemed on flights of any Star Alliance partners.

Anniversary Bonus - The Asiana Visa® Platinum Plus® Card offers very generous anniversary bonuses. Firstly, you get 2,000 miles each year upon the renewal of your card. You will also get a 90% discount on a full fare business or First Class companion ticket once a year. You will also get a $500 discount towards the purchase of a full fare Business Clas ticket with a free First Class upgrade (also once a year) and two free Asiana lounges passes. These anniversary bonuses will appeal to those who travel on business class or first class. Those who can take advantage of these bonuses will find that their value more than offsets the annual fee you have to pay.

Annual Fee and APR - The Asiana Visa Platinum has an annual fee of $80.00. You get a 1.9% introductory APR for 6 billing cycles for both purchases and balance transfers. There after, the APR is prime rate plus 9.99%. The average daily balance method (including new purchases) is used to calculate the monthly balance.

Verdict - We recommend the Asiana Visa® Platinum Plus®Card to the Asiana Frequent Flyer member, especially to those who travel by business or first class as they have very good anniversary bonuses for those who travel business or first class. Those who can take advantage of the anniversary bonuses will have more than offset the annual fee of the card.

Update and Alternatives - Bank of American (which is the issuer of this card) has drastically cut back on their credit card approvals and portfolio due to the financial and credit crisis. It is now very difficult to get cards issued by them. As an alternative, we suggest you consider the Starwood Preferred Guest� Business Credit Card from American Express. The Starwood program allows you to transfer points to Asiana miles at a one for one ratio. Furthermore, you get 5,000 bonus miles when you transfer 20,000 points into miles (note that you can do that with 30 airline partners as well). The annual fee of $45 is very reasonable as well.

Positives

• Earn double miles
• Excellent anniversary bonuses, especially for those who fly business class


Negatives

• High annual fee (but not uncommon for an airline card that allows you to earn double miles. In fact, those who take advantage of the anniversary bonuses will have more than offset the annual fee.