Best Air Mile Credit Cards
When it comes to the best air mile credit cards, there is no shortage of options. Every major bank, airline, and credit card company have issued their own travel rewards credit card.
Unfortunately, there isn’t one card that stands out from all others. Instead, one chooses the best rewards card based on their own spending tendencies.
The purpose of this page is to review the best air mile credit cards, so you can make an informed choice based on your unique situation.
First Things First
Before considering applying for a credit card to earn bonus miles, answer the following question…Do you pay your credit card in full every month?
If not, don’t bother trying hack your way to free travel. Getting your debt balance to zero is your # 1 priority.
If you do pay your bill in full every month, let’s move on.
My Preferred Choice for Best Air Mile Credit Card
Let’s begin our review with my preferred choice for best air mile credit card, the American Express Starwoods Reward Card…
As I said, the Starwoods Reward card is my choice for best air mile card. For more on why I made this decision, the following is my complete review of the American Express Preferred Guest Credit Card .
Should I Pay an Annual Fee?
To decide if this fee is worth paying, look at your average spending. Say you spend on average $1,000 a month. In that case, the Starwood American Express Card would earn you 12,000 miles per year. In comparison, a travel rewards card without fees, typically earns you one mile for every two dollars spent. Therefore, over the course of the year, you only earn 6,000 miles. Is it worth to pay $65 a year to earn an additional 6,000 miles per year? In my opinion, no. My general rule of thumb is that in order to justify paying a fee, the ratio of extra miles to annual fee needs to be greater than 100:1.
A Travel Reward Card with No Annual Fee
If you’re spending is less than $1,000 a month, typically it doesn’t make sense to pay an annual fee. The card below, Blue Sky from American Express, offers good rewards with no annual fee.
Big Spenders Only
For the bigger spenders out there, one of the best cards to earn air miles is the Platinum Card. The annual fee is higher than most, but if you use the perks wisely, the fee is justifiable.
For advanced techniques on hacking your way to free travel, grab a copy of The Frequent Flyer Master. The book comes with a 25,000 mile guarantee. Good enough for one free domestic flight.