How to Compare Air Miles Credit Cards
Air Mile Credit Card Best Buys
Air Mile Credit Card FAQ's
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Air mile credit cards offer a travel reward scheme that awards your card spending with air miles.
Air miles can be earned with a range of different flyer mile programs, and miles can be spent on a range of travel rewards including flights, hotel stays, holidays, car hire and more.
Choice is a great thing to have, but choosing isn't always so easy, which is why this guide aims to help you when comparing air miles credit cards.
These cards are best for...
- Regular travellers and holidaymakers
An air mile credit card or any travel reward credit card is great for people who travel regularly and want to save some money off their travelling expenses.
But you don't have to catch a plane on your commute to work everyday to make use of an air miles credit card. Anyone who holidays abroad can also use an air miles credit card to save money off your summer holidays.
- Airline lovers and flyer mile members
If you are already a member of a frequent flyer program - or you're an avid customer with a certain airline - an air miles credit card can help you clock-up additional miles on top of the miles you are already earning for your flights.
Air mile credit cards are available with a range of different airlines and frequent flyer mile programs, such as British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, AirMiles™, easyJet, bmi and bmibaby (although not strictly an air miles credit card).
Many air mile credit cards allow you to earn and spend miles on the named airline as well as all their partner airlines too - so you won't be restricted to just one airline.
- Regular spenders
Any credit card reward scheme requires you to spend on the card in order to earn rewards.
So air mile credit cards, or any reward credit card is great for people who regularly pay by credit card - or anyone who is willing to move their spending over to their new air mile credit card.
The more you spend, the quicker you'll be on your way to free travel rewards. So try and remember to always pay for your purchases with your air miles credit card. Spending such as your weekly grocery shopping and petrol can really boost your air mile earnings.
Of course, with all the spending on credit it's also important that you are a diligent payer too - leaving a balance on an air miles credit card will incur interest charges that will usually far outweigh any of the money-saving benefits of your hard-earned air miles.
These cards are not suitable for...
- Are air miles the right reward for you?
If you don't want to be tied down to only earning travel rewards there are many other reward credit cards available.
You could choose a cash back credit card that would reward your spending with straight up cash - which you could spend on any reward you like!
- Unorganised financial managers
If you know that you aren't great with keeping on top of repaying your credit card spending a reward credit card may not necessarily be the best credit card for you.
If you generally have a balance rolling over from month to month on your credit card you may find a low interest rate credit card would save you more money than a reward credit card.
The savings made by earning air miles will usually be outweighed if you have to pay interest on an outstanding balance left on your account. So for this reason, choosing a credit card with a low rate of interest may save you more money.
Alternatively, if you are just not that great at remembering to repay your credit card spending, setting up a direct debit to repay any spending you've made on your air miles credit card would be the best way to go.
- A poor credit history
If you know yourself to have a poor history with credit, and subsequently a bad credit score, applying for an air miles credit card may not be worth the risk of further damaging your credit rating if you are turned down by the card issuer.
It may be a better bet to take out a credit card designed especially for helping people to rebuild and strengthen a poor credit history. Using one of these cards can allow you to improve your credit score and increase the chances of getting an air miles credit card in the future.
See credit cards for a poor credit history here.
Knowing what's on offer...
As well as earning air miles towards free flights and travel, air mile credit cards can also offer many added travel perks and extras.
If you fly regularly, especially with a particular airline, an air miles credit card could offer you member benefits such as priority check-ins, access to VIP airport lounges, exclusive discounts and free upgrades.
- Flyer mile rewards
Air mile credit cards will reward you with an amount of air miles for spending made with the air mile credit card.
Air miles will be earned for the frequent flyer mile program as specified by the air mile credit card. For example, a British Airways credit card would earn you air miles for the BA frequent flyer program.
Often, flyer mile programs are a lot broader with the travel rewards they offer than it may seem at first glances. Many air mile credit cards allow you to spend and earn additional miles when you fly with all the partner airlines and travel companies too.
Frequent flyer programs such as British Airways, AirMiles™ or Virgin Atlantic, have a huge number of partner airlines and travel companies - including hotels, travel operators, car rental services and many more.
A more recent addition to the 'air mile credit card' collection is the easyJet credit card. This 'air mile' scheme is the first reward scheme of a low-cost airline and instead of offering rewards for so many of your earned miles, it works like a rebate scheme - automatically crediting the value of your miles back to your credit card account whenever you buy a flight from easyJet.com.
Finding out about the frequent flyer mile program an air mile credit card works with can tell you with whom and on what you can spend your air miles on, and also with which airlines and travel companies you'll be able to earn additional miles with.
'Additional miles' are air miles earned on top of the miles awarded for each pound spent on your air mile credit card. They can often be earned for the distance you fly with the airline, or for the number of nights you stay at a partner hotel.
- Bonus air miles
Many air mile credit cards offer bonus air miles as a joining incentive when you open the account or when you first spend on the air mile credit card.
Bonus air miles can be a great way to kick-start your mile earnings and are often enough to claim your first free travel reward!
The bmi credit card offers a staggering 20,000 destination miles if you spend £250 within the first 3 months - that's approximately £110 worth of free travel.
Check the conditions of the bonus air miles offer, as some air mile credit cards may require you to use the card in a set amount of time (usually within 90 days of account opening) for your purchase to qualify for the bonus air miles.
- Airline and frequent flyer membership
Air mile credit cards will usually offer automatic entry onto their frequent flyer program. Although, sometimes you may need to register with the airline's frequent flyer program first - and then supply the air mile credit card with the details of your membership.
Once an airline's frequent flyer member, you'll often have access to exclusive customer services and benefits, such as priority check-ins, access to VIP airport lounges, special offers and discounts and free upgrades.
Frequent flyer programs usually have tiered membership levels, which offer more and more benefits as you work your way through the levels.
When you first join a frequent flyer program you'll be started on the first tier of the membership program. You can move up the levels by earning air miles and flying regularly with the airline - the more you are a regular customer of the airline, the more membership benefits and features will be offered to you.
- Travelling companion tickets and upgrade offers
Many air mile credit cards will offer added rewards for greater levels of spending on the card - in other words, earning more air miles.
These added rewards can include free tickets for companion travellers when you claim a free flight or book a flight. You may also be rewarded with a free upgrade when you claim a free flight or book a flight.
These added rewards usually required you to have spent a certain amount on the air mile credit card in a particular year. They may also require you to have earned a certain amount of air miles.
Check out the details of each air mile credit card and it's frequent flyer mile program to find out about all the goodies, added incentives and rewards you'll be able to enjoy when you become an air mile credit card holder!
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Compare air mile credit cards
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