Travel Reward Credit Cards That You Can Use On Any Airline

Those frequent flyer programs of yesteryear are what we now know today as frequent buyer programs. In days gone by it was solely the frequent fliers who had the opportunity to accumulate miles based only on the frequency of their travels and the distance they flew. Now consumers do not have to get on a flight to earn miles. Just by using their credit cards to pay for their everyday expenses that are able to rack up miles for future flights with their feet firmly planted to the ground.

As these programs adapted to consumers' needs and searched for more ways to compete banks came on board as affiliates to airlines and hotels chains but soon came up with ways to provide consumers with these incentives without the partnership. As it stands today all the major financial institutions have developed their own loyalty programs which are completely independent of their hotel or airline counterparts but still offer consumers a way to earn miles that they can use for travel or hotel stays.

Banks have been so successful in their replication of the airlines original programs that consumers are sometimes left wondering at the differences between the two and may not understand how to choose the type that is best for their needs.

Any Airline Credit Cards

Any airline credit cards rather than restricting consumers' choice to one airline give them the opportunity to fly on any airline of their choice and still earn rewards. They can also redeem their rewards for flights on any airline. These cards are advantageous in that they usually have no annual fees, have great introductory rates and can be used daily to accumulate rewards. The downside is that the points are not automatically redeemed. This means that you have to contact your provider and make arrangements for redeeming your points before they expire. Other cons include high interest rates once the introductory period is over and rewards that can be changed at the will of the lender. For instance, if you default on payments or even make a payment or two later than the payment date you can forfeit your points.

Airline Specific Cards

Airline specific cards are best for frequent fliers who might only have one or two airline choices. An example would be Atlanta residents who are primarily served by Delta. With the amount of time that these travellers spend in the air it makes perfect sense to accumulate miles in this way. Some advantages of airline specific cards include bigger and better rewards. As airlines compete to maintain customer loyalty they provide tons of incentives to keep members on board including double reward earnings and extra perks when travelling. Other advantages include exclusive member benefits for travel including free checked baggage, automatic upgrades, in-flight services and more and the rewards are automatically redeemed. Some disadvantages of airline specific cards include restrictions to use of rewards on one airline which is not always convenient for travellers. These programs more often than not have annual fees so members will have to calculate the costs to see if they will benefit from the annual fee that they will be required to pay. A final and frustrating disadvantage of airline specific cards is that fact that they will be restrictions to when the rewards can be redeemed as there might be blackout dates, seat unavailability and designated seating for these bookings.

• Compare other Airline Credit Cards

*Check with the online credit card application for further details about the terms and conditions for each card. Airline Miles Credit Cards has done everything possible to ensure that the information provided is up to date. Any changes made to these programs will be presented in the terms and conditions on the credit card issuer's website.

Read More About Airline Miles Credit Cards

• How Can I Earn More Airline Miles?
• Avoiding The Dangers of Aggressively Maximizing Credit Card Airline Miles
• How To Calculate Credit Card Airline Miles
• Why Should I Apply for an Airline Miles Credit Card?