How to Compare Air Miles Credit Cards: part 2
Air Mile Credit Card Best Buys
Air Mile Credit Card FAQ's
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Air mile credit cards offer a great way for frequent flyers or regular holidaymakers the chance to earn air miles on their credit card spending.
Air mile credit cards can be of benefit to people who are already members of a frequent flyer program and also for people who have yet to start earning air miles.
For current members of a frequent flyer mile program an air mile credit card will allow you to boost your air mile earnings, as you'll be able to earn miles on all your purchases as well as your flights.
For people new to earning air miles, air mile credit cards give you membership onto a frequent flyer mile program, so you'll be able to start earning air miles and look forward to your first free flight!
This section aims to help you when comparing air mile credit cards, letting you know exactly how to compare and choose the perfect air mile credit card for you!
What to look for...
- Which airline/s is the air mile credit card in association with?
The first point to consider is which airline or airlines the air mile credit card is in association with.
This will give you a good idea of which frequent flyer mile program you'll be earning air miles for and also what you'll be able to spend your miles on.
It's usually fairly easy to tell which airline the air mile credit card is in partnership with as most air mile credit cards will be branded by the airline.
You also may want to find out which other airlines and travel operators the air mile credit card is in partnership with. For example, the British Airways credit card allows you to earn and spend miles with all of BA's partner airlines and travel companies. This information can be found out in the individual air mile credit card's review or on the airline's frequent flyer program website.
Up and until recently air mile schemes were only found with large airlines and were only of greatest benefit to long-haul flyers. However, low-cost European airline easyJet are now offering an air mile scheme of their own. It works a lot more like a rebate scheme but allows short-haul European travellers to cut the cost by flying low-cost and save even more money by earning easyJet Miles.
- How many air miles will your spending earn?
Primarily, air mile credit cards award your card spending with a number of air miles for each pound spent.
You will usually also earn air miles for the distance you fly with the named airline and it's partner airlines, as well as when you spend with partner travel companies. These additional air miles are often added on top of the air miles earned if you pay with your air mile credit card.
Different air mile credit cards will offer different amounts of air miles for your normal card spending. For example, one card may offer 1 air mile for each £1 spent, where another card may offer 4 air miles for each £10 spent.
Essentially the more you spend on an air miles credit card, the more air miles you'll earn. However, it can be useful to work out how much you spend on average each month to find out how many air miles each air mile credit card would earn you.
When you compare air mile credit cards you'll be able to enter your spending amounts into the calculator to see how many air miles you'll be earning on each card if you took one out.
- How much are the air miles really worth?
Slightly trickier to work out - let alone calculate - is how much the air miles you're earning are actually worth.
Different reward schemes have different monetary values for their points or miles - and they are rarely, if ever, publicised.
For example, 100 air miles with scheme A might be worth £100, whereas just 50 air miles with scheme B could be worth £150.
So choosing an air mile credit card based purely on how many miles you'll get per pound could be a misleading way of finding the most lucrative air mile credit card.
The actual worth of each scheme's miles can be worked out though, and luckily we've already done the hard work and provided you with an air miles calculator that will work out how many air miles your spending will earn you, and also how much that amount of air miles will be worth.
The 'actual value' of the air miles is a rough approximation of the value of the reward/s you would be able to claim for the amount of air miles you would earn.
- Air mile joining incentives
Many air mile credit cards offer joining incentives to new cardholders. These joining incentives can include introductory mile earnings - more miles per pound for an initial period - and / or bonus miles awarded with your first card purchase.
Introductory bonuses can be a great way to kick-start your air mile earnings, and the bonus miles on offer are often enough to claim your first free flight!
- Frequent flyer mile member benefits
If the air mile credit card works with a certain frequent flyer mile program you may be able to enjoy a number of membership benefits.
Flyer mile member benefits can include anything from priority check ins and access to VIP airport lounges, to complimentary companion flights and flight upgrades!
As a frequent flyer mile member, you'll also often be able to earn additional miles for the distance you fly with the airline.
The British Airways credit card, British Airways Premium Plus credit card and the Virgin Atlantic credit card, all offer excellent frequent flyer mile member programs.
What to watch out for...
- Annual fees
Annual fees are fairly rare but they when they turn up, it's usually on an air mile credit card.
An annual fee is a fee charged yearly just for holding the account, like an account management fee.
Annual fees can often be noticed by strikingly higher APR's - as the APR - Annual Percentage Rate - is calculated using the standard interest rate for purchases plus any annual fee.
Annual fees are often charged where an air mile credit card offers more miles for each pound you spend.
For frequent flyers, the extra earnings in air miles will probably outweigh the annual fee. However, it is important to consider the extra cost and whether or not you'll be earning enough miles to make it worth paying.
If you pay the annual fee of £120 for the British Airways Premium Plus you'll get to earn 1.5 BA Miles for each £1 spent and double BA Miles when you fly with BA. Alternatively if you don't wish to pay the annual fee you can earn 1 BA Mile for each £1 spent and BA Miles for the distance you fly with the British Airways standard credit card.
Other air mile credit cards that do not charge an annual fee are the easyJet credit card, Virgin Atlantic credit card, bmi credit card and the Lloyds TSB AirMiles Duo credit card.
Don't forget!
- What you will and what you won't earn air miles on
Aside from air miles earned by flying with the airline or travelling with the airline's partners - air mile credit cards allow you to earn air miles on card purchases.
Most air mile credit cards will award any card spending with air miles - so you won't be tied down to selected retailers or companies.
Air miles are only awarded on purchases though, which includes buying goods or services from retailers or companies.
Air miles will never be awarded for cash transactions - ATM withdrawals, foreign currency purchase, etc. - or balance transfers.
- Frequent flyer mile offer conditions
Frequent flyer mile programs do have certain terms and conditions on the air miles you earn and how you can spend them.
There are a couple of points to watch out for.
Firstly, you should find out if there are any conditions or limitations when redeeming your air miles. You can usually find out more information about each flyer mile program by visiting the airline's website.
Secondly, do the air miles expire? If they do, it's worth finding out when they expire and making sure you spend your air miles while they are still valid.
If air miles do have expiration dates, it will usually be around 3 years, so it'll be more than enough to time to accrue enough miles for a free flight or holiday - and don't forget you can usually part redeem your miles and part pay cash, so you don't have to wait until you have a certain number of miles to claim a free travel reward.
- To repay your air mile credit card spending!
As with any reward-based credit card one of the most fundamental ways to save money is to always repay your air mile credit card spending in full.
Keeping on top of your repayments and clearing your balance in full will ensure that the money you save by earning air miles remains free and is not lost in interest charges.
Set up a direct debit to pay your full statement balance or use Internet banking to keep abreast of your air mile credit card spending and payments.
Also, remember to always make at least the minimum monthly payment and stick within your credit limit to keep your air miles safe - failing to do so could lose you the air miles you've earned.
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Compare air mile credit cards
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