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Flights, hotels, points and miles, and the cost of the whole trip. Go further on the same budget.
Get the British Airways Visa Signature® Credit Card if you’ll book a British Airways reward flight from the U.S. each year, because that booking’s $100-plus statement credit covers the $95 fee. Its 75,000 Avios welcome offer also pays for several short American Airlines flights. If you want points that move to many airlines, pick a transferable-points card instead.
Get the avianca lifemiles American Express® Elite Card if you fly Avianca and earn 500-plus miles a month on it. The $99 standard card has the same LifeMiles Silver status, so the Elite’s extra $150 mostly gets you a LifeMiles+ plan that adds 6,000 miles a year and doubles your first 1,000 card miles each month.
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.
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