Air miles credit cards

[NCteacherlovescruising]

My husband and I both have AAdvantage credit cards. We wiped out our miles on both cards on flights for next summer.  I thought we’d play the game and get a new credit card to get a huge lump sum of miles. Which credit card do you think is best?  I have seen some recommendations for both Chase Sapphire cards (the one with the $95 annual fee and one with $595, I believe) and Capital One Venture X. What are your thoughts on these?  Any others we should look at?  We live in Charlotte so we have AA, Delta and United. Jet Blue too but I haven’t heard good things about them. 

[goletans]

We are very happy with our Chase Sapphire card, just be sure to pay it off every month. We use it for flights. The customer service reps are stellar!

[NCteacherlovescruising]

19 minutes ago, goletans said:

We are very happy with our Chase Sapphire card, just be sure to pay it off every month. We use it for flights. The customer service reps are stellar!

Which Sapphire card do you have?

Edited August 3, 2023 by NCteacherlovescruising

[goletans]

We have the Chase Sapphire cards (the one with the $95 annual fee)

[NCteacherlovescruising]

34 minutes ago, goletans said:

We have the Chase Sapphire cards (the one with the $95 annual fee)

Is it easy to book air with your miles?

[goletans]

Yep; I just go to my account, click Redeem next to my points balance and this takes me to the travel center where I search for flights that fit my itinerary. If I don't have enough points to cover the whole purchase price, the balance is put on my card. EASY. IF I want help, the stellar reps are a phone call away. Points can be used for hotels, rental cars, and more.

Check this out: https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/credit-cards/chase-sapphire-preferred

[NCteacherlovescruising]

1 hour ago, goletans said:

Yep; I just go to my account, click Redeem next to my points balance and this takes me to the travel center where I search for flights that fit my itinerary. If I don't have enough points to cover the whole purchase price, the balance is put on my card. EASY. IF I want help, the stellar reps are a phone call away. Points can be used for hotels, rental cars, and more.

Check this out: https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/credit-cards/chase-sapphire-preferred

Thanks!  I had read it can be kind of confusing to reap the full benefits of the card so it’s good to hear. 

[texasstar]

 I would steer clear of Delta American Express.  They make it nearly impossible to book oversees trips.

[FlyerTalker]

12 minutes ago, texasstar said:

 I would steer clear of Delta American Express.  They make it nearly impossible to book oversees trips.

 

Quite the contrary.  DL has excellent availability for most routings.

 

OTOH, if you are talking about "affordable" availability -- DL uses dynamic award pricing, so the redemption value of SkyPesos is usually quite bad for international trips.

 

 

[waterbug123]

20 hours ago, texasstar said:

 I would steer clear of Delta American Express.  They make it nearly impossible to book oversees trips.

I haven't found that to be the case.  We fly Delta almost exclusively for international itineraries.

[texasstar]

22 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Quite the contrary.  DL has excellent availability for most routings.

 

OTOH, if you are talking about "affordable" availability -- DL uses dynamic award pricing, so the redemption value of SkyPesos is usually quite bad for international trips.

 

 

The op was looking for a credit card that would be good for using miles for trips.  That is what I was referring to.  

[Post Captain]

On 8/3/2023 at 4:30 PM, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I had read it can be kind of confusing to reap the full benefits of the [Chase Sapphire Preferred] card ... 

 

@NCteacherlovescruising ~

 

To an extent, that is true.  Just to be clear (so you know before you apply for the card, and thus avoid any unexpected surprises):

 

There are a number of significant benefits associated with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card (and the more "premium" Sapphire Reserved card, which generally is useful only for very frequent fliers/travelers who want/need special perks, and which carries a hefty annual fee.) 

 

In addition to a couple of standard charge methods (i.e, with money!), there are two ways to book with points using the Chase Sapphire Preferred (or Sapphire Reserve) card:

 

1.  Through Chase's Ultimate Rewards travel portal.  With the CSP card, your existing points are multiplied by 1.25, thus almost magically increasing your purchasing power.  Thus, for example, 10,000 points ($100) on your card are valued valued at 12,500 points ($125). 

 

This method is much the simplest to execute, though not always cheaper than using method #2. However, be aware that in using the Ultimate Rewards travel portal, you are booking through a third-party website. (If I recall correctly, it's actually an Expedia booking platform).  So the usual caveats about third-party bookings applies, though I would trust the Chase/Expedia platform far more than the sort of [fly-by-night] third-party agencies you find via some travel search engines)

 

2.  By transferring points from your Chase card directly to one of Chase's partner airlines (and/or to partner hotels)--or, to be more precise, to the airline's loyalty program--and then booking directly on that airline's website.  Transferring points to the airline is fairly straightforward, though you will first have to register for the airline's frequent-flier/loyalty program.  Moreover, method #2 requires more research to determine whether using this method for your particular desired flight is actually cheaper than method #1 or, indeed, cheaper than actually charging the flight to your credit card via the UR travel portal.  (I've not detailed that method and its potential advantages, since your original question has to do with paying with points/miles; but in some instances, it can be advantageous to use that method--which you would have to use anyway if you haven't accumulated enough points to cover the cost of the flight.)

 

Also, be aware that Chase does not partner with all major airlines, and thus it may not be possible to transfer your Chase points directly to your preferred airline. For example, Delta is not a Chase partner; if you wanted to use your Chase points toward a Delta flight, you would have to first transfer your points to the Air France - KLM "Flying Blue" program; you could then book your Delta awards flight via the Flying Blue platform, since Delta is part of the Sky Team alliance that includes Air France and Delta.

 

Finally, although points are always transferred at a 1:1 ratio, you have to calculate the value of each point on your particular airline's program.  As I said, this booking method takes more work and research; for many people, it's enough to make your head hurt.🤔😕  (And on top of all this, some other conditions also apply...)

 

For more information, see The Guide to Chase Transfer Partners on the nerdwallet.com website linked in post #6 above. Additionally, there are quite a few articles/reviews/comparisons of various travel credit cards on other financial information websites as well as video reviews and explanations on YouTube.  

 

(NB -- Disclaimer:  The information provided in this post does not claim to be complete and definitive, nor is it intended as a recommendation for any particular credit card.  Always do your due diligence and read the fine print on the credit card issuer's own website!  As we say in the trade, Your mileage may vary.)   

 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

8 hours ago, Post Captain said:

 

@NCteacherlovescruising ~

 

To an extent, that is true.  Just to be clear (so you know before you apply for the card, and thus avoid any unexpected surprises):

 

There are a number of significant benefits associated with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card (and the more "premium" Sapphire Reserved card, which generally is useful only for very frequent fliers/travelers who want/need special perks, and which carries a hefty annual fee.) 

 

In addition to a couple of standard charge methods (i.e, with money!), there are two ways to book with points using the Chase Sapphire Preferred (or Sapphire Reserve) card:

 

1.  Through Chase's Ultimate Rewards travel portal.  With the CSP card, your existing points are multiplied by 1.25, thus almost magically increasing your purchasing power.  Thus, for example, 10,000 points ($100) on your card are valued valued at 12,500 points ($125). 

 

This method is much the simplest to execute, though not always cheaper than using method #2. However, be aware that in using the Ultimate Rewards travel portal, you are booking through a third-party website. (If I recall correctly, it's actually an Expedia booking platform).  So the usual caveats about third-party bookings applies, though I would trust the Chase/Expedia platform far more than the sort of [fly-by-night] third-party agencies you find via some travel search engines)

 

2.  By transferring points from your Chase card directly to one of Chase's partner airlines (and/or to partner hotels)--or, to be more precise, to the airline's loyalty program--and then booking directly on that airline's website.  Transferring points to the airline is fairly straightforward, though you will first have to register for the airline's frequent-flier/loyalty program.  Moreover, method #2 requires more research to determine whether using this method for your particular desired flight is actually cheaper than method #1 or, indeed, cheaper than actually charging the flight to your credit card via the UR travel portal.  (I've not detailed that method and its potential advantages, since your original question has to do with paying with points/miles; but in some instances, it can be advantageous to use that method--which you would have to use anyway if you haven't accumulated enough points to cover the cost of the flight.)

 

Also, be aware that Chase does not partner with all major airlines, and thus it may not be possible to transfer your Chase points directly to your preferred airline. For example, Delta is not a Chase partner; if you wanted to use your Chase points toward a Delta flight, you would have to first transfer your points to the Air France - KLM "Flying Blue" program; you could then book your Delta awards flight via the Flying Blue platform, since Delta is part of the Sky Team alliance that includes Air France and Delta.

 

Finally, although points are always transferred at a 1:1 ratio, you have to calculate the value of each point on your particular airline's program.  As I said, this booking method takes more work and research; for many people, it's enough to make your head hurt.🤔😕  (And on top of all this, some other conditions also apply...)

 

For more information, see The Guide to Chase Transfer Partners on the nerdwallet.com website linked in post #6 above. Additionally, there are quite a few articles/reviews/comparisons of various travel credit cards on other financial information websites as well as video reviews and explanations on YouTube.  

 

(NB -- Disclaimer:  The information provided in this post does not claim to be complete and definitive, nor is it intended as a recommendation for any particular credit card.  Always do your due diligence and read the fine print on the credit card issuer's own website!  As we say in the trade, Your mileage may vary.)   

 

Thanks!  I have read numerous card comparisons and watched several videos and keep coming back to the two Chase cards as our best options. Because I’ve done so, I can’t recall which one(s) had warned about the complexity of those cards in making the most of them. It’s quite unfortunate we can’t transfer the miles to AA which we already have and has a major hub here in Charlotte. We do have United though. 
 

With that said, I can’t make up my mind between the Chase Sapphire Reserved and Preferred. We cruise every year. If we use the card to pay for a cruise (or hotel, etc) would that give us the $300 travel credit on the Reserve card or would we have to pay through their portal. Do VRBO or Air B&B rentals count?  We tend to rent cabins in the mountains annually.  The Priority Pass membership sounds like a nice plus, but we aren’t frequent flyers. It looks like we would need to book hotels through their portal to reap the most benefits, but it’s generally cheaper to book directly with the hotel. 
 

 

Edited to add: We are also considering the Am Ex Platinum card, but that annual fee is so high!  I do see where we’d get a lot of it back though. 

Edited August 5, 2023 by NCteacherlovescruising

[Gardyloo]

Even though Alaska Airlines doesn't serve CLT (yet, but they've been expanding their east coast destinations for some years) I should mention the Alaska Airlines-branded Visa as a possible contender.  Here's my thinking.

 

Alaska's mileage plan is one of the best, and since they joined Oneworld (along with American, British Airways, Iberia, Qantas, Japan Airlines, Cathey Pacific et al) it's arguably gotten better.  At present, their signup bonus is for 40,000 miles but it's often for 50K.  

 

The real value, however, comes from the annual "companion certificate" (electronic, not paper) that provides that if one person flies on any Alaska Airlines trip - one way, round trip, open jaw... paying the going price, a companion flies the same route/flights for $99 plus some taxes, usually totaling $122 all in.  

 

Now like I said, Alaska doesn't fly to CLT, but they do to RDU, so if you could get yourselves to Raleigh/Durham (couple of freeway hours, right?) then the following math might apply.

 

Say next June your (annual) cruise is to Alaska, say a one-way cruise from Vancouver to Seward.  An "open jaw" ticket bought today for CLT to Vancouver, returning Anchorage to CLT two weeks later, would cost around $700 per person on either United or American, so call it $1400 for two.

 

However, if you were to fly on Alaska out of RDU, the round trip for one passenger would be around $750, but the companion ticket would cost $122, for a total of $872 for two, or $528 less than the total cost from CLT.  

 

If you chose Hawaii instead (maybe not for a cruise, just a trip) the savings would be on the order of $1000 for two.  

 

Both the prime traveler and the companion get full mileage credit for the flights, the card gets you free bags and priority boarding, and the card also earns miles at the usual rate throughout the year.  

 

So in this example, the $95 card fee is erased fivefold with the one trip.  This repeats every year.  

 

And since American is an alliance (and codeshare on many routes) partner with Alaska, award travel with Alaska miles is quite easy from CLT.  Alaska's redemption rates (miles needed for a given flight) are usually better than American's, and way, way better than United's or (especially) Delta's.  

 

Maybe worth considering.  Alaska Airlines Visa® Credit Card - Apply Today

 

Mileage Plan™, our loyalty program for frequent flyers - Alaska Airlines

 

 

Edited August 5, 2023 by Gardyloo

[Dobby36]

@Gardyloo makes a solid case for the Alaska card.  I have it too, and love it.  The value is there with the companion fare and I’ve used their miles to book business class in Japan  airlines, Singapore airlines, and British airways (albeit with high taxes on BA) 

 

i see the OP noted the Amex platinum.  I have it too and highly recommend checking out an online calculator tool which helps you estimate the value you personally find from the numerous benefits.  Some are worthless to me, others I max out monthly and come out ahead overall. Take a look at the math and you may be surprised how much you get from that initial $695 annual fee. 
 

https://www.asksebby.com/credit-card-reviews/amex-platinum-card

[NCteacherlovescruising]

Thank you all! Dh got the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.  If we don't think it's worth it after a year, I believe he can change to the Preferred.  

[GeezerCouple]

3 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

Thank you all! Dh got the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.  If we don't think it's worth it after a year, I believe he can change to the Preferred.  

Post Captain, above, described two methods for redeeming awards/miles/points for actual airline tickets.

 

We have always used the second method, which can yield *very* good "value" for the awards (in terms of cash price to amount of awards).  And it can work with a lot of airlines and airline partners.

Although it does take a bit extra work (and yes, it can seem quite confusing at first), we've had some phenomenal business and first class flights on top international airlines.

 

For starters, use Google for information such as "Amex airline partners" (Amex doesn't have an airline, obviously, so this is different than how the other cards tend to work), and you'll see the full list.  Also Google 'Amex airline partners awards chart" or similar.

For the airline-affiliated cards, such as the AAdvantage Citicard (American Airlines), do the same thing.  But in this case, you could use the points on AA or on a partner.

We've used awards for many international trips with AA points, but *never* flown on AA equipment.

 

And as mentioned above, there is also the opportunity to transfer awards to a partner airline, but from their, get ticketed on yet another partner airline.

 

There is no way we would have paid cash for quite a few of the premium trips that we took on airlines like Cathay Pacific or Singapore Airlines.

And there were some trips that we wouldn't have taken if we couldn't get those comfortable beds (our aging bodies are less forgiving than they once were....).

 

There are sections on www.FlyerTalk.com about using awards.

(Be aware that there are a few grumpy souls on FT; just ignore them!)

 

With the Chase cards, if both spouses get a new card, the points can be transferred at no cost to the other spouse.  So one only needs to "keep" one account open, after collecting two bonus awards.  Note:  We always keep the accounts open at least one year before closing them, to avoid the risk of having the points snatched back.  (I have no idea how often they do that, but we use those points enough that we just don't want to risk it!)

 

Just double check the "airline partners" (and *their* partners!) whenever you are applying for a new card, given your interest in using the awards for flights.

 

Enjoy your travels!

 

GC
 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

12 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

Post Captain, above, described two methods for redeeming awards/miles/points for actual airline tickets.

 

We have always used the second method, which can yield *very* good "value" for the awards (in terms of cash price to amount of awards).  And it can work with a lot of airlines and airline partners.

Although it does take a bit extra work (and yes, it can seem quite confusing at first), we've had some phenomenal business and first class flights on top international airlines.

 

For starters, use Google for information such as "Amex airline partners" (Amex doesn't have an airline, obviously, so this is different than how the other cards tend to work), and you'll see the full list.  Also Google 'Amex airline partners awards chart" or similar.

For the airline-affiliated cards, such as the AAdvantage Citicard (American Airlines), do the same thing.  But in this case, you could use the points on AA or on a partner.

We've used awards for many international trips with AA points, but *never* flown on AA equipment.

 

And as mentioned above, there is also the opportunity to transfer awards to a partner airline, but from their, get ticketed on yet another partner airline.

 

There is no way we would have paid cash for quite a few of the premium trips that we took on airlines like Cathay Pacific or Singapore Airlines.

And there were some trips that we wouldn't have taken if we couldn't get those comfortable beds (our aging bodies are less forgiving than they once were....).

 

There are sections on www.FlyerTalk.com about using awards.

(Be aware that there are a few grumpy souls on FT; just ignore them!)

 

With the Chase cards, if both spouses get a new card, the points can be transferred at no cost to the other spouse.  So one only needs to "keep" one account open, after collecting two bonus awards.  Note:  We always keep the accounts open at least one year before closing them, to avoid the risk of having the points snatched back.  (I have no idea how often they do that, but we use those points enough that we just don't want to risk it!)

 

Just double check the "airline partners" (and *their* partners!) whenever you are applying for a new card, given your interest in using the awards for flights.

 

Enjoy your travels!

 

GC
 

I wouldn’t qualify for their cards currently because of their 5/24 rule, even though I have a high credit score. 

[GeezerCouple]

41 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I wouldn’t qualify for their cards currently because of their 5/24 rule, even though I have a high credit score. 

 

I didn't mention only one type of card.

I referred to several cards/programs.

 

And even with Chase, what I wrote - unless they change the rules - would still be an advantage for spouses in a very few years.  (And the spouses could play leapfrog, and alternate getting the new card+bonus, etc., so the bonus points would be arriving more frequently, assuming the programs stay the same, which they may well *not*, of course.)

 

We each got the Preferred card, not the Reserve.  Our main interest was the points, not the other perks; the "extra points" for opening the Reserve vs. the Preferred wasn't all that great.  And I responded to some "special offer" and got 100k points to open mine, plus 20k points to "refer" DH when he opened his card.  IF the program stays the same, we'll soon be on a staggered schedule in the future.

 

And meanwhile, we'll open more AAdvantage-linked cards whenever there's a good offer, as old cards drop off (so we don't keep paying the annual fees for *all* of those cards).

 

The Amex points have also been very useful for certain airlines. However, we only get those points through spend.  They aren't as good for bonus points, unfortunately.

 

GC

[Jeremiah1212]

The main things to know about getting into Chase UR points: 

Two partners/spouses should not get the same Chase cards at the same time. 

Never book through the Chase portal. 

Understand transfer partners. 

 

Not that it can't work, but with restrictive timing for cruise arrivals and departures leveraging reward flights can be tough to make work. You have to be flexible to maximize your redemption. I have about a million UR miles and soon will be looking for reward flights for next August. To make it make sense I'm looking at essentially a 3 week window and willing to take a repo flight to get where I need to go. Otherwise you're limited to atrociously bad redemption values. 

 

 

 

[LuckyStar]

I realize this topic is old but I love my United Milesplus VISA.  It is so easy to book using miles. No blackout dates.  It does have a $95 annual fee which is totally worth it because I get free luggage check in for each flight, two United Club passes annually and free TSA and renewals. My Mom is in Houston, so I fly there quite a bit. 

Edited September 24, 2023 by LuckyStar