How to Choose a Credit Card For Frequent Flyers
July 27, 2008 – 5:26 pm
Offering frequent flyer miles is a credit card companies’ way of getting their card holders to be long term. After all, it tales a long time to accumulate enough miles to take a trip. When you do get enough miles you want to make sure that you get the trip you want. The class you want, the destination you want, the seat you like, and all the other perks you are use to when it comes to flying. The best way to do this is make sure that the card don’t have any restrictions and book your vacation flight early to ensure what you want.
Before you go out and apply for every credit cards that offer frequent flyer miles there are a few things that you should look for. Many cards offer bonus miles just for you signing up to carry their card many times it is about 15,000 bonus miles. You should look for cards that reward you a mile for every dollar you spend or one point for every mile you fly. Pay close attention to the annual fee. Many times credit card companies offer cards with no annual fee, but only for the first year. Be aware that, next year you could get stuck with $75 or $95 charge only for the right of collecting these miles. Many credit card companies tell you what the maximum number of points that you can accumulate, so if you are a frequent flyer you want that number to be high and you want to apply for the ones that fit your travel schedule. The more you travel the more you want the maximum point to be. You also want to make sure that your credit card company won’t take your miles if you do not use you card for a certain amount of time. Some companies do this and that is really unfair. You want to make sure that your credit card company will allow you to travel on any airline you choose. You don’t want to be restricted just to one airline.
Frequent flyer credit cards have some pro’s and con’s for example it is good to be able to have the miles so you can use them to book flights or book hotel rooms, but in many cases you have to pay a booking fee which uses some of your points and frequent flyer miles do not cover children’s tickets so if you are planning a family trip you will have to pay cash for your children’s tickets.
The best way to find a credit card that is right for you and your travel schedule is to go online to a credit card comparison site and compare the credit cards. It is also best to apply online for the ones you choose. Don’t worry the process is confidential and your information will not be sold. You will be able to get an instant response so that you know weather or not to apply for another card in the event you get turned down