Airline Credit Cards From Our Partners (2019)

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Airline credit cards are associated with a specific airline, such as American Airlines or Delta Air Lines. These cards typically earn bonus points for purchases through the airline and many offer some type of reduced elite status benefit to the card holder, such as a free checked bag or priority boarding.

Building up miles/points with these cards can be somewhat harder due to the lack of extra bonus categories.

Usage of points is also more restricted with these cards since rewards must be redeemed with a single airline and its partners. However, many of these cards can hold tremendous value if used correctly!

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Credit Card	Annual Fee	Welcome Offer	Rewards Rate	U.P.
New! Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card	$199	Earn 80,000 points.	3 points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases.	Apply Now Full review
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*	Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for each $1 spent at grocery stores, including grocery delivery services, and on eligible American Airlines purchases	Apply Now Full review
Delta Reserve for Business Credit Card Terms Apply	$450	Earn 80,000 bonus miles and 5,000 MQMs	Earn 2 Miles per dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta. Earn 1 mile on every eligible dollar spent on purchases.	Apply Now Full review Rates & Fees U.P. Rating
The JetBlue Business Card The information for the JetBlue Business Card has been collected independently by Upgraded Points. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.	$99 per year	30,000 points	Earn 6 points per $1 on JetBlue purchases and 2 points per $1 at restaurants and grocery stores	Full review U.P. Rating
United℠ Explorer Card	$0 Intro for First Year, then $95	Earn up to 60,000 Bonus Miles	Earn 2 miles per $1 spent at restaurants, on hotel stays and on purchases from United. 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases	Full review U.P. Rating
CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Mastercard®	$99, waived for first 12 months*	Earn up to 60,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles: 50,000 AAdvantage® miles after making $3,000 in purchases in first 3 months and 10,000 after making a total of $10,000 in purchases in first 12 months of account opening*	Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on purchases at telecommunications, car rental merchants and at gas stations.	Full review U.P. Rating
United℠ Explorer Business Card	$0 Intro for the First Year, then $95	Earn 50,000 bonus miles	N/A	Apply Now Full review U.P. Rating
Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite™ Mastercard®	$99, waived for first 12 months*	Earn 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after $2,500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening*	Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent at gas stations, restaurants, and eligible American Airlines purchases*	Apply Now Full review U.P. Rating
British Airways Visa Signature® Card	$95	Earn up to 120,000 Avios	4 Avios for every $1 spent on all purchases up to $30,000 in the first 12 months from account opening, you will then earn 3 Avios for every $1 spent on British Airways purchases and 1 Avios for every $1 spent on all other purchases.	Apply Now Full review U.P. Rating
United MileagePlus® Club Card The information for the Chase United MileagePlus® Club Card has been collected independently by Upgraded Points. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.	$450	Earn 50,000 bonus miles	Earn 2 miles per $1 spent on tickets purchased from United	Full review U.P. Rating
Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ Mastercard®	$450	Earn 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $5,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening*	Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases	Apply Now Full review U.P. Rating
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card (Learn More) The information for the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card has been collected independently by Upgraded Points. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.	$69	40,000 points	2x points per $1 on Southwest® purchases	Full review U.P. Rating
Citi® / AAdvantage® Gold Mastercard®	$50	Earn 25,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles	1 AAdvantage® mile for every $1 spent on purchases.	Full review U.P. Rating
The JetBlue Plus Card The information for the JetBlue Plus Card has been collected independently by Upgraded Points. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.	$99 per year	Earn 40,000 bonus points	6X points on JetBlue purchases, 2X points at restaurants and grocery stores	Full review U.P. Rating
Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express Terms Apply	$195	Earn 80,000 bonus miles and 5,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $6,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months	Earn 2 miles per dollar spent on purchases made directly with Delta.	Apply Now Full review Rates & Fees U.P. Rating
Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express	$195	Earn 5,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) and 75,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months.	Earn 2X miles on purchases made directly with Delta	Apply Now Full review Rates & Fees U.P. Rating
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card The information for the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card has been collected independently by Upgraded Points. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.	$99	40,000 points	2X points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases	Full review U.P. Rating
Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express Terms Apply	$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95.	Earn 60,000 bonus miles after you use your new Card to make $2,000 in purchases within your first 3 months and a $50 Statement Credit after you make a Delta purchase with your new Card within your first 3 months.	Earn 2 Miles per dollar spent on purchases made directly with Delta.	Apply Now Full review Rates & Fees U.P. Rating
Gold Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express Terms Apply	$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95	Earn 70,000 bonus miles	Earn 2 miles per dollar spent on purchases made directly with Delta.	Apply Now Full review Rates & Fees U.P. Rating
The JetBlue Card The information for the JetBlue Card has been collected independently by Upgraded Points. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.	$0	Earn 10,000 bonus points	3X points per $1 on JetBlue purchases, 2X points at restaurants and grocery stores	Full review U.P. Rating
Bank of America Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Credit Card (Learn More)	$75	30,000 points	1-5 pts/$1	Learn More Full review U.P. Rating
Delta Reserve® Credit Card from American Express	$450	Earn 5,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) and 75,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months.	2 pts/$1 on Delta purchases	Apply Now Full review Rates & Fees U.P. Rating

How Do Airline Credit Cards Earn Points?

Each airline card will earn two to three points per dollar when making purchases with the airline. There are a few exceptions to this, but in general, you'll find this to be the case across the board.

Qualifying purchases don't just include flights, but also bag fees, in-flight purchases, and anything else that will be categorized as a service provided by the airline (in-flight WiFi does not count since it is provided by a third party).

For all other purchases, you will earn one point per dollar.

Which Airlines Offer Branded Credit Cards?

Most major airlines have at least one branded credit card, and many of the largest airlines have multiple options available. Further, a lot of these are cards for those with good or excellent credit scores.

We have reviewed credit cards for American Airlines, British Airways, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways, and Delta Air Lines.

Airline cards are great for rewards if you have specific carriers you prefer, or already have points in one of the specific loyalty programs.

Chase British Airways Visa Signature® Card

You can earn 2x Avios for your British Airways Executive Club account when you use the Chase British Airways Visa Signature® Card, the only British Airways credit card.

After spending $30,000 in a year, you'll also get a free companion pass you can use for an award or regular travel in any class.

The card also offers 1x Avios on all other purchases, a 10% discount on all purchased travel (must use a code), and other travel insurances.

It costs $95 per year.

Citi / AAdvantage Credit Cards

There are 4 Citi / AAdvantage credit cards that we have reviewed on the site.

Earn 2x miles in your American AAdvantage account when you use the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite™ Mastercard®.

This card also offers a 10% rebate for all miles redeemed in a year (up to 10,000 miles back), 25% off inflight beverages and food, a free checked bag, and priority boarding.

You also get access to reduced mileage awards, which are only available every other month and must be booked by phone. Using these options will save you a couple thousand miles per award!

For all other purchases, you'll earn 1x miles. Fees are $99 per year but are waived the first year.

The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ Mastercard® is the premium, luxury travel card for American Airlines. You earn 2x points on all purchases with the airline and 1x points on all other purchases.

However, the card comes with an Admirals Club Membership, priority check-in, a $100 Global Entry Fee credit, and more. The annual fee on the card is $450, but frequent travelers won't have trouble finding value!

At the other end of the spectrum is the Citi® / AAdvantage® Gold Mastercard®. This simple card earns just 1x points for all purchases. It has Reduced Mileage Award benefits as well as a 25% inflight discount.

The cost of this card is $50 per year.

Finally, business owners can earn 2x points for American services as well as on select telecommunications, car rentals, and gas station purchases with the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Mastercard®.

There are other perks to the card as well, and it costs $99 per year (waived first 12 months).

United Credit Cards

Earn 2x miles in your MileagePlus account for all United purchases when you use the United MileagePlus® Explorer Card.

This card also offers a 10,000-point bonus when you spend $25,000 or more in a year, two United Club passes, a free checked bag, and priority boarding.

You will earn 1x miles for all other purchases, and this card also costs $95 per year with a first-year fee waiver.

The Chase United MileagePlus® Explorer Business Card is very similar in that it earns 2x miles for all United purchases, but it also earns 2x miles at restaurants, gas stations, and office supply stores for the same fee.

Southwest Credit Cards

With the Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card, you will earn 2x points towards your Rapid Rewards account for all Southwest Airlines purchases.

The 6,000 point annual bonus helps pay for the cost of the card, and you can earn 1,500 Tier-Qualifying points (TQP) for every $10,000 spent (up to 15,000 TQP annually).

One of the most valuable benefits, however, is the fact that every point you earn on the card, (including the sign-up bonus!), goes toward getting the Southwest Companion Pass.

Once earned, this pass is good for the remainder of the current year AND all the way through the next calendar year.

This is perhaps the most valuable benefit in all of travel, since it allows you to bring a companion with you on all your flights for just the cost of taxes and fees. Your companion will get a confirmed seat, as this is not just a stand-by benefit.

You'll pay $99 per year for the Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card.

The Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card earns 2 points per $1 spent on Southwest® and Rapid Rewards® purchases and participating Hotel and Car Rental partners, and 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.

The Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card costs $69 per year and comes with a 3,000 point bonus every year.

Delta SkyMiles Credit Cards from American Express

We have reviewed the following cards that Delta offers:

The Gold Delta SkyMiles® Card from American Express also earns 2x points for all Delta purchases, which are deposited directly into your SkyMiles account just like most other airline credit cards.

When you own this card, you get a free checked bag, priority boarding, and discounted Sky Club lounge access.

Additionally, you will get 20% off in-flight purchases when you use the card, on top of the 2x points. The annual fee is $95.

The difference between the former card and the Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express is that the latter has a big spend bonus which earns additional bonus award miles plus Medallion Qualification Miles.

That means you can reach your elite status more quickly to take advantage of some of the nice benefits. The annual fee is $195.

Finally, the luxury card for Delta Air Lines is the Delta Reserve® Credit Card from American Express, which has the same point earning structure and similar benefits of the Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express.

The big difference for this card is the complimentary Delta Sky Club access as well as a Companion Certificate. The annual fee is $450.

JetBlue TrueBlue Credit Cards from Barclaycard

JetBlue recently formed a partnership with Barclaycard to administer its credit cards.

All cards offer some additional perks to flying JetBlue, such as a 50% in-flight discount.

The JetBlue Card earns 3x points on JetBlue purchases and 2x points at restaurants and grocery stores. It earns 1x points for all other purchases and has no annual fee.

A step up from this card is The JetBlue Plus Card, which earns 6x points instead of the 3x points with JetBlue and has the same earning categories for the other two. It costs $99 per year.

Finally, The JetBlue Business Card earns 6x points for JetBlue purchases, 2x points for restaurants and office supply stores, and 1x points for everything else. It costs $99 per year.

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