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Best Credit Cards for Travel Miles

People often ask me how me can afford to travel.  I cash in miles!!  I have cashed in miles for flights to Europe, Hawaii, Boston, Raleigh and NYC.  I have also used points for rental cars and hotels.  

There are many great travel credit cards available so you need to ask yourself a few questions to help narrow down the field.

•Is there an annual fee and APR

•what is the sign up bonus

•Is there a spending minimum to get the bonus

•Where do you fly and which airline has the best routes for you

•What hotel chain do you prefer to stay 

•How many miles do you get for each dollar spent  

One of the first things to look into is how many points you need to redeem for a flight and if there are blackout dates when you can’t redeem your points.  It is no good if you can’t cash in for flights at Christmas when you know that is when you travel most!

Another thing is to think about where you will fly most often.  If you know you will be going from Michigan to Florida every year, then look into a regional airline such as Allegiant Air.  

For me, I like to travel everywhere, so I have a few cards going at the same time.  Right now I have a Frontier and a Southwest  plus my American Airlines Citibank Master Card.  I use the American card the most as I use the miles for anywhere in the USA and  I am planning to cash in to go abroad.  

I use my points cards for as many purchases as I can.  I pay all of my utilities on my points cards (I then set up direct payments to pay the credit card bill, so basically the same as a direct debit from my checking account to the utility company). I have paid rent, taxes, and even my college tuition.  Some places charge a fee to use credit cards but if you do the math and time it correctly to correspond with bonuses, you could earn enough for free flights so the fee is worth paying. 

I do know people that use and are very happy with the Capital One Venture Card. I have never used this card but from what my friends told me it does work on any airline.  They have used it to travel to Ireland and Denver.   They said basically you pay 100 points for every dollar the ticket costs.  So your $300 flight to NYC would cost you 30,000 miles.  



 Following is a list of airline miles cards with their bonuses

Airline Card (annual fee) Bonus offer Alaska  Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card ($75) Buy 1 ticket, get 1 for just the taxes and fees with Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™ Offer. Get 30,000 bonus miles after you make $1,000 or more within the first 90 days of your account opening.

American American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ Card ($0) Earn 10,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles and receive a $50 statement credit after making $500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening*

American Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite™Mastercard® ($0 for the first year, then $99) Earn 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after $2,500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening*

Delta Blue Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express($0) Earn 10,000 bonus miles after spending $500 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months of Card Membership. Terms Apply.

Delta Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express($0 for the first year, then $95) Earn 30,000 Bonus Miles after spending $1,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months and a $50 statement credit after you make a Delta purchase with your new Card within your first 3 months. Terms Apply.

Delta Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express ($195 (This offer is no longer valid on our site)) Limited Time Offer: Earn 70,000 bonus miles and 10,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card within your first 3 months. Offer expires on 9/19/2018. (This offer is no longer valid on our site)

Southwest Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card ($69) Earn 40,000 points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.

Southwest Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card ($99) Earn 40,000 points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.

Southwest Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card ($149) Earn 40,000 points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.

United United℠ Explorer Card ($0 for the first year, then $95) 40,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.

So if you plan to travel and want to save a lot of money, start using one of the travel points cards as soon as you can to start racking up points!!  If you have to pay bills you may as well get a free flight while doing so!!

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