The Complete Guide to Airline Trading Cards for Beginners [2025]

Psst! I’ll trade you a Frontier Northern Spotted Owl and an Alaska 737-800 Salmon People for a 2019 Delta A220-100 Horizontal No. 51. Or how about a 2025 Hawaiian A321neo for a Delta A350 Centennial?

Yes, that’s right: AvGeeks could soon start to resemble Eevee-addled schoolyard Pokémon addicts as airline collectible cards take off into the mainstream.

Sure, they may not involve fantastical creatures that evolve into bizarre shapes and that you force into gladiatorial combat, but airline collectible cards have grown from a niche item that was intended to be a one-off promotional event into something at least one expert says has the opportunity to develop into a full-fledged craze. And more airlines, such as Hawaiian Airlines, have joined the fray with their own sets of cards for pilots to hand out to passengers.

“There’s real potential that the airline cards could be a part of the collectibles world,” Mike Martin, cofounder of Replay Sports Cards, said in an email. “The airline cards fit right in.”

Where Did Airline Collectible Cards Come From?

Delta Air Lines was the first to introduce collectible cards, printing them in 2003 in honor of the retirement of its McDonnell Douglas MD-11, 7 years after Pokémon cards hit the market. It was meant to be a one-time promotional event. They proved so popular (and a cost-effective form of viral marketing) that Delta continued it, printing several more series and dozens of different card variants since then.

Soon, other airlines joined in, including United Airlines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, and Alaska Airlines, although not all of them have maintained card collections. In fall 2025, Hawaiian Airlines joined its sister airlines, announcing that it was rolling out its first-ever line of cards, featuring the Boeing 717, Airbus A321neo, Airbus A330, and Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, along with facts about each plane and blank fields for pilots to sign.

“Cards are available in our crew centers for pilots to take at their own leisure,” Marissa Villegas, a spokeswoman for Alaska and Hawaiian, said in an email. “This provides meaningful opportunities for our guests and pilots to connect over a love for aviation and the beloved Alaska Airlines brand.”

Airline collectible cards remained a prize mostly for airplane-obsessed adults for years, with trading groups popping up on Facebook, Reddit, and other popular social networking sites. It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram discovered their existence, introducing them to a broader audience that couldn’t necessarily distinguish an Airbus from a Boeing just by the nacelles. (Boeing planes are known for their “hamster mouths,” while Airbus nacelles are usually perfect circles.)

Nowadays, it’s not unusual for non-AvGeek adults and plane-loving kids to seek out airline collectible cards.

“I like them because they’re well-made, have lots of details on the card itself, and they’re the most popular out of all of the trading cards,” said 13-year-old Henri Turner, son of travel blogger Tanya Turner. “You’ll find them at almost any airport with Delta flights; LAX has been the best location for me. My favorite card is the Boeing 767-400. I like that one because it’s rare and not as popular. The stats on it are really interesting. The best and most popular card to get, in my opinion, is the MD-88/90.”

Martin said it isn’t surprising to him that airline collectible cards have taken off.

“Cards are an easy entry for their fans to collect something from a legacy brand they love and trust,” he said. “Entry price is sometimes free with upside on resell, which is enticing to collectors. They’re also very easy to store because of size, so that could entice someone to stack up on a bunch of these collectibles and not worry about where to store them.”

Villegas added that the pilots also have their own favorite cards. Among Alaska pilots, beloved cards include the Sub Pop card (in collaboration with the Seattle-based record label) and the Alaska Salmon People card.

How To Get Airline Collectible Cards

Pilots are typically the right airline employees to ask for airline collectible cards rather than flight attendants or ground crew, though Jessica Merritt, an Upgraded Points senior editor and content contributor (and the editor of this article), has always gotten her Frontier cards from flight attendants. The cards should always be given without any price attached, at least by airline staff, although pilots may not always have cards with them.

“We encourage our guests to ask a pilot for a card, though cards are first come, first served, and pilots may not always have them on hand,” Villegas said. “While the cards were created for our pilots to distribute, our flight attendants may have cards on hand from time to time and are also able to check with the flight deck should a guest ask.”

Henri Turner’s approach is to be friendly and courteous.

“I approach pilots in the airports and sometimes boarding a flight to ask for a card,” he said. “It’s important to be polite and say something like, ‘Hello, my name is Henri, and I was wondering if you have any Delta trading cards on you?’ If they have some to give you, it’s very important to say thank you, because they are busy doing their jobs.”

Henri added that he has the most success getting airline cards at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

If you’re looking for a long-term strategy for collecting airline cards, Martin suggests using sites like eBay to determine the fair market value of a card and make small trades to start.

“Start slow,” he said. “Buy a few affordable airline cards off eBay after checking some recent sold sales to ensure you’re buying around market price, and go from there. There’s always ways to trade or sell your cards in the future to try and trade up to a more expensive one, but you should start slow.

Ultimately, though, he said, a hobby should be about pursuing what you love.

“I always tell people in our shops: Buy what you like,” he said. “If you fly Delta, then find a really sweet Delta airline card. In collecting, it’s not always about the value in the cards. It’s what they mean to you.”

How Much Are My Airline Collectible Cards Worth?

Airline cards aren’t at the levels of Pokémon or baseball cards — yet. However, Martin said that the elements needed for them to skyrocket in the collectibles market could truly fall into place.

“These cards are still in an early, niche phase,” he said. “Some of the factors that would need to be matched are legacy, ‘chase,’ and pricing guides. Sports cards and Pokémon cards have all 3 of those categories down to a tee.

For legacy, sports cards have been around for 100-plus years, and Pokémon has been around for decades, so we’re still in that early phase for airline card collectibles. For chase, sports and Pokémon products have checklists for valuable cards to chase for max profitability. Lastly, these cards need a home or database where sales can be seen so collectors know when they have something valuable or may have ‘just another’ airline card.”

He said that he expects the real drivers of a potential airline card market to be the nostalgic airline loyalists, even if the overall demographic of airline card collectors is much more inclusive than it was 20 years ago.

“It’s a pretty healthy mix, but at the core, the travel enthusiasts are more inclined to collect these — your sports fans collect sports cards, and kids or adults who watched Pokémon tend to collect those type of cards,” Martin said. “Most people collect what they like. Your Diamond Medallion flyers are more inclined to collect Delta because of their loyalty, and your AAdvantage Platinum flyers are more inclined to buy American Airlines, and so on.”

Nevertheless, airline collectible cards are already being traded for real money on the resale market even though the airlines give them away for free. There have been reports of card collections fetching over $2,000, and Martin himself saw a 2019 Delta A220-100 card sell for nearly $400 this August.

“The sky’s the limit — pun intended,” he said, emphasizing that first-edition and earlier cards tend to be the most sought after. “There are $2 sales all the way to over $400 for a single card. Some complete sets are listed for thousands. The more these cards are printed and made available, the more value these will obtain. To get past the fad phase, longevity and legacy is really important.”

Final Thoughts

It doesn’t take much more than a love of airplanes or the thrill of the chase to get into airline collectible cards, which are growing in popularity beyond AvGeeks and among mainstream collectors. If you want to explore the world of airline cards, find a pilot from the right airline, put on a smile, and be polite! You may snag that rare or valuable card that’ll end up an heirloom — or a nest egg.