Monster Roundup Of Airline Credit Cards With Free Flight Offers
Updated snapshot of the airline credit cards and sign-up offers out there as of March 22, 2011. Let's grab some free flights, shall we?I have purposefully left out a few offers that I find to be subpar or not particularly competitive. If I've left out one of your favorite airline cards or frequent flier programs, though, please add it to the comments section below -- I will try to include yours in next month's update. Enjoy!
AirTran Airways' A+ Visa Signature -- This credit card comes in two flavors, one has an annual fee and one does not. The one with the $49 annual fee awards you 10 A+ Rewards credits when you spend $750 in the first 90 days -- which is more than enough for a free one-way flight in most cases.
JetBlue Airways American Express -- 10,000 bonus TrueBlue points after your first purchase on the new card, and another 10,000 bonus points after spending $500 within the first 3 months. No blackout dates for point redemption.
Delta SkyMiles Gold Card -- 20,000 bonus miles are added after the first purchase using the new card, and 2,500 bonus miles are added for each additional card submitted with the same application (maximum of two additional cards, for 5,000 miles total). The annual fee is waived the first year for new members; thereafter, it is $95.
United Airlines Mileage Plus VISA -- My favorite airline credit card at the moment! 25,000 bonus miles after your first purchase; another 5,000 if you add an authorized user to your account. No annual fee for the full first year, and you'll receive a $50 statement credit after your first purchase on the new card as well. Saver Award flights typically start at around 12,500 points, so this is enough for at least two free flights in most cases.
US Airways PREMIER WORLD MasterCard -- Up to 40,000 bonus miles; 15,000 bonus miles after your first use of the card, another 15,000 if you spend more than $750 on the card within the first 90 days, and up to 10,000 more miles if you make a balance transfer onto the new card within the first 30 days. Award flights typically start at 20,000 miles. $89 annual fee.
Spirit Airlines Credit Card -- This one's brand new. The Spirit World MasterCard offers new members 15,000 bonus miles after first qualifying purchase – enough for "3 roundtrip off-peak tickets," according to the airline.
Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus -- Another great one. The newly revamped Rapid Rewards Plus credit card offers new members 20,000 bonus points toward free flights after the first purchase. No blackout dates and points never expire.
JetBlue Card from American Express Review | Credit Card Offers IQ
The JetBlue Card from American Express is a travel rewards card designed to reward members for all their everyday purchases. When members make purchases and book their travels through the JetBlue site they receive extra rewards. This helps you earn flights faster. The card also offers a special introductory rate on balance transfers and has a low annual fee of $40 per year. You can earn bonus points which are enough for a free flight. This card is for those that are frequent flies of JetBlue and for those with good to excellent credit. Here’s a summery of the card features:
Jet for less: oneway Award Flights start at just 5,000 points and roundtrip Award Flights start at 10,000 points No blackout dates: Redeem for any seat, anytime Get up to 8 TrueBlue points per eligible dollar spent on jetblue.com: up to 6 points when you purchase a flight and an additional 2 points when you use your JetBlue Card Your points won’t expire: just use your Card or fly with JetBlue to extend the life of all of your points for one year The annual fee is only $40Rates and Offers The JetBlue Card offers members a special introductory rate of 3.9% or the first 6 months on balance transfers. In order to get the low rate you have to request the balance transfer within 30 days of the account opening. After the introductory period the rate will change to 15.24% on balance transfers. The APR for purchases is always 15.24%. The APR for cash advances is 25.24% and the penalty APR is 27.24% when it applies. The penalty APR can be applied if you have a late payment or you have a payment returned. if the Penalty APR is applied it will apply for at least 12 billing periods in a row. It will continue to apply until you pay on time, with no returned payments, for 12 billing periods in a row.
True Blue Rewards The JetBlue card allows members to earn up to 8 points when they book their travels on jetblue.com. Here’s how it works: triple points per every $1 plus 3 bonus points when they book on jetblue.com, but if you use your JetBlue Card then you get an additional 2 points per $1. On all your other purchases you will earn 1 point per every $1 in purchases. This means every time you use your card you can earn points towards flights. That means things like gas, groceries, household bills, and JetBlue flights can help you earn flights quickly. There are no blackout dates so you can redeem points for any seat, anytime.