Full List of Our Picks for Best Airline Credit Cards

Click on the card name to read our full review.

Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express

What we love about the Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express Card: High rewards rate and perks for Delta travelers

The Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express Card comes with a rewards structure that makes it easy to compile miles. You ‘ll collect 3X miles per $1 spent on Delta purchases, as well as on purchases made directly with hotels. Plus, you’ll get 2X miles at restaurants. Delta flyers will appreciate the card’s travel benefits, which includes an annual round-trip companion certificate for a domestic flight. Perks also include priority boarding and free bag check for your first bag. The annual fee of $250 is relatively steep, but the rewards and benefits quickly make up for it. The card’s welcome bonus is particularly appealing, offering 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 in the first six months. Read our full review

Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority

What we love about the Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Card: Strong sign-up bonus and competitive rewards

As the top tier offered by Chase/Southwest, the Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card gives you a generous rewards rate. You’ll get 3X points per $1 spent on Southwest purchases and 2X points on purchases with Rapid Rewards hotel and rental car partners, commuting and transit, internet, cable, phone services and streaming. Upgraded boardings (four per year when available) sweeten the deal for this card. There’s also a $75 annual Southwest travel credit, 7,500 anniversary points and 25% back on inflight purchases, helping to offset the $149 annual fee. The card also charges no foreign transaction fees. Read our full review

Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier

What we love about the Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Card: Generous rewards and travel benefits

Occupying the middle tier of the Chase/Southwest card hierarchy, the Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Card offers strong benefits that pay off for the occasional Southwest flyer. With a welcome bonus that hands you 50,000 points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening, it justifies the $99 annual fee for many cardholders. You’ll earn 3X rewards on Southwest purchases. Plus, you’ll also get 2X points on any purchase made on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners, local transit and commuting, internet, cable, phone services and select streaming. You’ll also enjoy 6,000 anniversary points each year, 1,500 Tier Qualifying Points for every $10,000 you spend, two annual EarlyBird Check-Ins and 25% back on inflight purchases. And you won’t pay any foreign transaction fees. Read our full review

Chase United Quest

What we love about the Chase United Quest Card: Numerous rewards and perks for the United flyer

The Chase United Quest Card offers a significant amount of travel-related benefits and tops those off with a generous welcome bonus. You can earn 70,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months your account is open. You also receive a $125 annual United purchase credit, two 5,000-mile anniversary award flight credits, plus free checked bags. The card also boasts lucrative rewards, including 3X miles on United purchases and 2X miles on all other travel. When added up, the benefits that come with this card make it worth the $250 annual fee. Read our full review

Chase United Gateway

What we love about the Chase United Gateway Card: Competitive rewards without an annual fee

The Chase United Gateway Card charges no annual fee or foreign transaction fees and offers a decent sign-up bonus, making it great option for those looking to avoid extra costs. The card is an especially good fit for those who fly often on United. The welcome offer allows you to earn 20,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first three months your account is open. On the rewards side, you’ll snap up 2X miles on United purchases, at gas stations and on local transit and commuting. Additionally, you receive 25% back on United inflight and Club premium drink purchases. Finally, you earn 1X mile per $1 spent on all other purchases. Read our full review

Chase United Explorer

What we love about the Chase United Explorer Card: Solid welcome bonus and no first-year annual fee

The Chase United Explorer Card offers a substantial sign-up bonus along with a range of perks that comes close to the more expensive cards in the same Chase United family, while chargins a more modest $95 annual fee that’s waived the first year. For the welcome bonus, you can earn 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months your account is open. You’ll enjoy two United Club passes per year and 25% off in-flight purchases on United. Plus, you can take advantage of a $100 statement credit every four years on Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. United Airlines purchases will earn you 2X miles per dollar spent, as will dining and hotel accommodations when purchased directly through the hotel. Read our full review

Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus

What we love about the Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Card: Anniversary points and a low annual fee

The Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Card dishes out a decent welcome offer while charging a relatively low annual fee. The benefits combined make this card valuable for the occasional Southwest flyer. You can earn 50,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening, and the $95 annual fee is waived for the first year. Cardholders also receive 3,000 points every year on their Cardmember anniversary, two Early Bird check-ins per year, and 25% back on inflight purchases. Southwest Airlines purchases will earn you 2X points, plus you’ll also earn 2 points per dollar on Rapid Rewards hotel and car partners. Read our full review

Chase United Club Infinite

What we love about the Chase United Club Infinite Card: Hefty rewards for frequent United flyers

The Chase United Club Infinite Card is aimed at regular United travelers, who can enjoy extensive miles and perks that easily make up for the $525 annual fee. The welcome bonus gives you 80,000 miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Cardholders also gain membership to the United Club, two free checked bags, 25% off in-flight purchases and a $100 statement credit every four years on Global Entry or TSA PreCheck and United Premier Access services. But’s it’s the rewards rate that really stands out. You’ll earn 4X miles on United purchases and 2X miles on all other travel purchases and dining, plus 1X on everything else. Read our full review

Barclays AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®

What we love about the Barclays AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® Card: Extensive benefits for American Airlines travelers

The Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard comes with an array of lucrative features, especially when you consider the relatively modest $99 annual fee. Topping the list of benefits is the $99 annual Companion Certificate you’ll earn if you spend $20,000 on the card and your account remains open for 45 days past your anniversary. When flying on American Airlines, you also get your first checked bag free and priority boarding. Other card features include a 0% introductory APR for 15 months on balance transfers, no foreign transaction fees, 25% off inflight purchases, $25 annual onboard Wi-Fi credit and 2X AAdvantage miles on all American Airlines purchases. Additionally, you’ll qualify for a welcome offer of 50,000 miles after making your first purchase and paying the annual fee in full within the first 90 days. Read our full review

Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express

What we love about the Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card: Rewards on more purchases and a strong bonus offer

The Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card offers some of the great benefits that also come with its sister card that ranks first in this category. You’ll earn 2X miles on Delta purchases as well as on restaurants and U.S. supermarkets. The welcome bonus gives you 40,000 miles after you spend $2,000 in purchases on your new card in your first six months. Additional benefits include a $100 Delta Flight Credit to use toward future travel, first checked bag free and an extra discount for every 5,000 miles you redeem when you book online with Delta. Read our full review

What Is an Airline Card?

An airline card is a credit card that’s co-branded with a particular airline, allowing cardholders to earn miles or points that they can redeem for travel with that airline. These cards usually give bonus rewards miles when the card is used to book trips or make inflight purchases with the airline. Airline cards also usually offer travel perks such as free checked bags, airport lounge access and more.

How Much Are Airline Miles Worth?

An airline’s miles value varies depending on which airline you fly and how you choose to redeem your miles. A value of 1.5 cents per mile is generally considered pretty good for most airlines. The value of a mile can also fluctuate significantly for different bookings on the same airline. Let’s take a real world example: A morning flight from Seattle to Tucson on Alaska Airlines costs $419 or 30,000 miles. That equates to about 1.4 cents per mile. The same route later that day costs $209 or 25,000 miles. For that second flight, you’re only getting a value of about 0.8 cents per mile.

How To Pick an Airline Credit Card

You’ll want to consider several factors when comparing airline cards. Here are a few:

Do you always fly the same airline? If the answer to this is no, you may be better off going with a general travel rewards card, which will allow you more flexibility when it comes to earning and redeeming your miles. Airline cards are most suitable for travelers who tend to fly on the same airline for most of their trips. If you live near an airport that is a hub for a particular airline, that airline’s co-branded card might be the best choice for you, even if another airline offers more value per mile.

Do you want access to airport lounges? You have many options if airport lounge access is important to you. You’ll want to ask yourself whether you want access to a specific airline’s lounge or access to a variety of lounges. Some airline cards come with a Priority Pass that gains you access to more than 1,000 lounges worldwide.

Do you check bags? Free bag check is one of the perks you’ll enjoy with a co-branded airline card that you likely won’t get with a general travel rewards card. With many airlines charging $30 or more to check a bag, this perk can add up to significant savings.

Does it offer a companion fare? Companion fares are heavily discounted tickets that some airlines give their cardholders when they book one seat on a flight at full price. Cardholders usually receive one companion fare each year. If you can use your companion fare on one of the airline’s pricier routes, it can end up saving you hundreds of dollars.

What’s your credit score? You’ll need to have a good to excellent credit score to be approved for most airline credit cards. In fact, all the cards in our Best Airline Cards list typically require you to have a credit score of 670 or higher.

How To Maximize the Value of Your Airline Card

An airline credit card can allow you to rack up some solid rewards, especially if you use it strategically. Here are some tips:

Know the perks – If you’re only using your airline card to earn and redeem miles, you’re missing out on much of its value. Free checked bags, lounge access and discounts on inflight purchases are all common benefits of owning an airline card. Some cards also give you an annual companion fare — a heavily discounted ticket you can receive when you book one flight at full price.

Use your miles – Because you can’t anticipate how the value of miles may change over time, it’s generally considered a good idea to redeem them for flights when you can instead of holding onto them and watching them pile up.

Use miles for flights – Booking flights is almost always the most valuable use of airline miles. If possible, try to redeem miles for flights rather than for other uses such as gift cards or hotel stays.

Best Credit Cards 2023

• 10 Best Rewards Credit Cards for 2023
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• 10 Best Cash Back Credit Cards for 2023
• 10 Best Credit Cards for 2023
• 10 Best Travel Credit Cards for 2023

Methodology

CardCritics, our resident credit card experts, identify the best credit cards by compiling and extensively analyzing data on all of the major credit cards available, then rating them on a 5-star rating system. The comparison factors include annual fees, APRs, sign-up bonuses, ongoing rewards, accessibility, redemption options, and more. These factors were then weighted by importance to focus on key features that are most important in each specific category.