Each time you charge an airline ticket to your credit card, you could be earning mega points or miles towards a free trip. Plus, the perks that usually come with these cards provide a more convenient and comfortable travel experience.
See our best credit card bonuses here.
Before you book another flight, make sure you have one of our best credit cards for airfare purchases below.
Best Credit Cards For Airfare Purchases
So let’s get straight to it, shall we? Here are the best credit cards on the market for airfare spending:
| The Platinum Card® from American Express | Best for airline miles |
| The Business Platinum Card® from American Express | Best for airline bonus miles |
| Chase Sapphire Reserve® | Best travel protections |
| Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card | Best sign-up bonus |
| American Express® Gold Card | Best for dining at restaurants |
| Citi Premier® Card | Best for broad travel categories |
| Citi Prestige® Credit Card | Best for airline miles & dining |
Let’s get into more detail with each card below:
The Platinum Card® from American Express from American Express has an industry reputation for premium benefits, but the card isn’t as well-known for its rewards on spending. Even so, the Platinum Card does give an impressive points on airfare when you book directly with the carrier or via Amex Travel. Similarly, you’ll earn generous points on prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel.
The Membership Rewards points you earn with this card holds incredible value potential, especially if you transfer them to an airline or hotel partner program.
THE PLATINUM CARD® FROM AMERICAN EXPRESS
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
The Platinum Card® from American Express has a special offer for 100,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 in purchases within your first 6 months.
Membership Rewards® points are some of the most valuable in the market. Redeeming these points by booking travel through American Express or by redeeming for gift cards will give you a standard 1 cent per point value. The 100k bonus points are worth $1,000 going this route.
You can potentially get more value by transferring your points to Membership Rewards travel partners. Using this strategy can get you up to an average value of 2 cents per point. Get around $2,000 in value with 100,000 points this way. Read more on this here.
With this card, earn 10X Membership Rewards Points for eligible purchases on the Card at restaurants worldwide and when you Shop Small in the U.S. (up to $25,000 in combined purchases) during your first 6 months of Card Membership
5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year.
The biggest drawback to this card is the $695 annual fee (see Rates & Fees, Terms Apply), which puts it in the premium class of credit cards. The card has a market because it offers premium travel benefits, such as 5X points for flights (up to $500,000 on these purchases) and eligible hotels, access to 40+ Centurion Loung and Studio locations worldwide, up to $200 airline fee credit annually, and an annual Walmart+ membership. These benefits are given as statement credits.
For frequent travelers, the added benefits make sense in terms of value and added luxury.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express from American Express also gives generous points on airfare and prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel. But unlike the Platinum Card, you won’t get bonus points on flights booked directly with the airline.
THE BUSINESS PLATINUM CARD® FROM AMERICAN EXPRESS
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express has a welcome offer for 120,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $15,000 on qualifying purchases within your first 3 months of Card Membership. We value 120k points to be worth around $2,400.
This card earns 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel. Also earn 1.5X Membership Rewards® points on eligible purchases in key business categories, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more everywhere else. Cap applies.
Use Membership Rewards Pay with Points for all or part of a flight with your selected qualifying airline, and you can get 35% of the points back, up to 500,000 bonus points per calendar year. Also, get up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year toward baggage fees and more at one qualifying airline. You will also get up to $179 back per year on your CLEAR® membership when you use your Card.
This is a premium business card with a $595 annual fee ($695 if application is received on or after 1/13/2022). See Rates & Fees, Terms Apply.
With the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you’ll earn extra points on all travel expenses, including hotels, car rentals, parking, tolls and more, as well as airfare of course. You’ll also get extra points on all dining purchases.
CHASE SAPPHIRE RESERVE®
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® card is offering 50,000 bonus points (worth up to $1,000 in travel per our valuations). You’ll need to spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening to qualify for the bonus. These 50k points are redeemable for $750 toward travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
This is a premium travel card with a premium annual fee of $550. But, you’ll receive premium benefits such as 5X points on air travel, 10x points spent on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards® immediately after earning your $300 annual travel credit, access to 1,300+ airport lounges with Priority Pass Select, 3X points on all other travel and dining, and 50% more in travel redemption through Chase Ultimate Rewards. For all other purchases, it’s 1 point per dollar spent.
Other nice features include an application fee credit (up to $100) for Global Entry or TSA Pre✓®, and complimentary Lyft Pink and complimentary DashPass subscription from DoorDash. Also, with Pay Yourself BackSM, your points are worth 50% more for existing purchases in select, rotating categories.
You’ll earn Ultimate Rewards points with this card, which can be pooled together with certain other Chase cards. Examples include the Chase Freedom®, Chase Freedom Unlimited®, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and all the Chase Ink Business cards. Read more on this here.
Earn extra points on travel (including airfare) and select business categories each membership year with the Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card. The card doesn’t come with a lot of bells and whistles, but it does have a generous sign-up bonus.
INK BUSINESS PREFERRED® CREDIT CARD
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card from Chase has a new cardmember offer for 100,000 bonus points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after opening.
These bonus points are worth $1,250 towards travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards. Or, transfer points over to Ultimate Rewards travel partners to potentially get even more value – up to an average $2,000 for 100k points. Read more about this here.
This card earns 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, internet, cable and phone services, and on advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year. You’ll earn unlimited 1 Point Per $1 spent on all other purchases.
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card earns Ultimate Rewards points. This makes it a great choice for pairing with the non-business Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve®. You’ll be able to pool points together for faster rewards.
This card has a $95 annual fee.
The American Express® Gold Card offers extra points on airfare purchased directly from the airline or via Amex Travel.
AMERICAN EXPRESS® GOLD CARD
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
The American Express® Gold Card has a welcome bonus for 60,000 Membership Rewards Points when you spend $4,000 within 6 months.
Membership Rewards Points have great flexibility. We value each point to be worth up to an average 2 cents per point. At this value, 60k Membership Rewards Points can be worth up to $1,200.
The Amex Gold Card has plentiful perks. You’ll get:
- Choice between Gold or Rose Gold.
- 4X points at restaurants, including takeouts and deliveries.
- 4X points at U.S. supermarkets on up to $25,000 per year in purchases (1X thereafter)
- 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com
- Up to $120 in annual dining credits (get up to $10 monthly statement credits)
- No foreign transaction fees
The annual fee is $250. See Rates & Fees, Terms Apply.
The Citi Premier® Card is another solid choice for airfare purchases with extra points on all travel spending. You’ll also get extra points on dining and entertainment.
CITI PREMIER® CARD
The Citi Premier® Card offers a 80,000 ThankYou Points after you make at least $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. These points are worth $800 in gift cards through Citi.
This card offers 3 points for every $1 spent on travel including gas stations, 2 points for every $1 spent at restaurants and on entertainment, and 1 mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases.
The card has an annual fee of $95 that is waived for the first 12 months.
The Citi Prestige® Credit Card matches the Platinum Card with generous points on air travel. But with Citi Prestige, you’ll get extra points on dining, hotel and cruise spending as well.
CITI PRESTIGE® CREDIT CARD
The Citi Prestige® Card has a 50,000 bonus points offer. Spend $4,000 within 3 months of account opening to qualify. These 50k bonus points are worth $500 in travel.
For the most value out of your points, redeem for flights through Citi, where your bonus will be worth 1.33 cents per point. This is another card that competes in the premium travel category, and the annual fee will signify that at $495.
In effect, this card is only a good option for frequent travelers who can take advantage of the premium benefits : 5X points on air travel & restaurants, 3X points on hotels & cruise lines, $250 Air Travel Credit annually, and free access to 1,300+ airport lounges with Priority Pass Select. For those in this niche market, this card will provide high perceived value.
Additional Guides
While we focused on airfare purchases in this post, you’ll want to choose a card with additional earning potential that matches your spending behavior. For our guide on the best credit cards in other categories, check out these other posts:
Bottom Line
We selected our best credit cards for airfare purchases because they have huge earning potential for flights, but also because they come with useful benefits. Depending on the card, these perks might include travel statement credits, lounge access and maybe even the ability to transfer your rewards.
Which of the credit cards in this guide do you prefer? And why? Let us know in the comments below. For further reading, check out Best Credit Cards For Earning Points & Miles By Spending Category.
| OFFER LINK | OFFER | OUR REVIEW |
| Chase Business Complete Banking℠ | $300 Cash | Review |
| Chase Total Checking® | $225 Cash | Review |
| Bank Of America Advantage Banking | $100 Bonus Offer | Review |
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| Huntington Bank | $500 Cash | Review |
| HSBC Premier Checking | $450 Cash | Review |
| Axos Business Checking | $100 Cash | Review |
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Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
Disclaimer: These responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, credit card issuer, hotel, airline or other entity. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post. It is not the bank advertiser's or any other entity's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.