Before you fill out that next airline miles credit card offer, put some thought into the frequent flier credit card you want to apply for. There are 3 rules you should check down before you take the time to apply.
The first rule may be the most important. It is a rule based on where you live. Flying an airline that has a hub near you makes the most sense. Most airlines that do not have a hub in a major city near where you live usually won’t offer direct flights. Therefore, if you live in Chicago, which is a hub for United, you might want to consider the United Mileage Plus card. Most flights out of Chicago that are flown by United will go directly to the city you want to fly to. A flight on Northwest might fly from Chicago to Minneapolis and then to your destination since Northwest has a hub in Minneapolis.
Here are some of the major airlines and their hubs.
* Delta – Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Cincinnati, & New York (JFK)
* Contintental – Newark, Cleveland & Houston
* Northwest – Minneapolis, Memphis & Detroit
* United – Denver, Chicago (Ohare), Washington (Dulles), Los Angeles & San Francisco
* US Airways – Phoenix, Charlotte & Philadelphia
* American – Dallas, Chicago (Ohare), Miami, & St. Louis
* Jetblue – New York (JFK) & Boston (Logan)
The credit cards that go with the above airlines are as follows
* Delta – American Express Delta Skymiles
* Contintental – Chase Continental World Mastercard
* Northwest – US Bank World Perks Visa
* United – Chase United Mileage Plus
* US Airways – Juniper US Airways World Mastercard
* American – Citibank AmericanAirlines Card
* Jet Blue – American Express Jet Blue Card
The second rule that should be factored in is the flexibility of the credit card. This may or may not be more important than rule number 1 for different reasons. Having a flexible credit card allows you to get points for any airlines of your choice. However, you do not earn as many points towards an individual airlines like you can with a specific airline miles card. For example, if you book a ticket using your United Mileage plus card with United airlines, they might offer you 2x or 3x as many miles. Many flexible airlines cards also claim “no blackout dates,” which is definitely a plus. A popular flexible airlines miles card is the American Express Blue Sky credit card.
The third rule is the annual fee. Many airline miles credit cards have an annual fee ranging from $50-$150 per year (on average). If the annual fee will offset an airlines ticket, then only earning enough points to redeem one ticket a year would not be in your best interests.
If you take into consideration the above listed rules, and compare airline credit cards for the best rates and flexibility, you will find the perfect card to use for your airline travel and get the maximum benefit out of the card.






























