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Get the Allways Rewards Visa® Credit Card only if you fly Allegiant several times a year or book its vacation packages of four or more hotel nights. Its points, worth 1 cent each, and perks like priority boarding for your party and buy-one-get-one airfare work only on Allegiant. Everyone else does better with a general travel card.
Get the avianca lifemiles American Express® Card if you fly Avianca to Latin America or book Star Alliance awards with LifeMiles, which adds no fuel surcharges. The $99 fee buys LifeMiles Silver status, with priority boarding and two Avianca lounge visits a year. If you mostly fly airlines outside Star Alliance, collect transferable points instead.
Get the Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Credit Card if you fly Aer Lingus between the U.S. and Ireland and can charge $30,000 a year on it, enough to earn a companion seat with no taxes or fees. If you can’t, a card with transferable points, which move to several airline programs, gives you more ways to use what you earn.
Get the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card only if you’ll use its seat perks on most work trips. It lets you pick a Preferred seat near the front when you book and upgrade free to Extra Legroom within 48 hours of departure. If a free checked bag and earlier boarding are enough, the $149 Premier Business has both.
Open the Frontier Airlines World Mastercard® if you fly Frontier at least once a year and check a bag. Two free checked bags on every Frontier flight you buy directly with the card are the perk that justifies its $99 annual fee. If you rarely fly Frontier, pick a general travel card instead.
Get the Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® credit card if you check bags on Alaska or Hawaiian, and buy your flights with it. At $45 a bag each way, the free first bag saves two travelers $180 on one round trip a year, nearly twice the $95 fee. Spending $6,000 a year on it adds a companion fare from $122.
Get the Mastercard® Black Card® only if you’ll use its $200 airline and $100 dining credits every year. Its Priority Pass lounge access and 24/7 concierge also come on Luxury Card’s $299 Titanium Card, so the $400 more you’d pay for the $699 Black buys mainly those credits.
Get the Mastercard® Gold Card™ only if carrying a 22-gram card made with 24K gold matters to you. Even if you use all $700 in yearly credits, you still pay $499 of the $1,199 annual fee, and the card’s 2% back on everyday purchases matches what a no-annual-fee card pays.
Get the Mastercard® Titanium Card® only if you fly often and will use its airport lounge membership, since its rewards alone don’t justify the $299 annual fee. Its points are worth 2 cents each toward airfare and 1 cent as cash, so a no-fee card paying 2% cash back earns as much on everyday spending.
Open the JetBlue Plus Card if you fly JetBlue a few times a year and check bags. It waives the first checked bag fee, $45 or more each way, for you and up to three companions on the same reservation. If you fly with only a carry-on, skip it.
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