Airline Miles Rewards Credit Cards

You can find a card that gives 0 balance transfer and airline miles, like the Frontier Airlines World Mastercard. With cards like this, it’s best to ensure that you aren’t increasing your debt just for the sake of earning miles. Also, avoid paying additional interest by ensuring your balance transfer is paid off before the 0% introductory period expires.

There are credit cards that offer both airline miles and no annual fee. The Blue Delta Sky Miles Credit Card from American Express is one of them. It offers 2 miles per dollar for purchases made at U.S. restaurants and on Delta airline purchases. One mile per dollar is earned on all other eligible purchases. To see this and other no fee airline miles credit cards, click here.

You can find such cards here. For example, the Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard offers 50,000 bonus miles. Cardholders earn 2 AAdvantage miles per $1 spent at restaurants, gas stations and on eligible American Airlines purchases. All other eligible purchases earn 1 mile per dollar. To receive the bonus miles, you must spend $2500 within 90 days of owning the card. The card doesn’t limit the number of miles you can earn, nor do the rewards expire.

There are a couple of airlines that offer this. For example, spend $1000 within the first 90 days of owning the Alaska Airlines Visa Credit Card and you can earn 30,000 miles. Purchases made through Alaska Airlines earn 3 miles per $1; all other purchases earn 1 point per $1. There is no limit to how many miles you can get.

There are cards that will offer 75,000 bonus miles. The Citi/AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard is one of them. You’ll need excellent credit to get it. The card lets you earn this windfall when you spend $7,500 within the first 90 days of the account opening. With this card, you earn 1 mile per $1 spent. There is no limit to the number of rewards you can receive, and they do not expire.

It is possible to transfer your frequent flyer miles, but fees and limitations apply. Most of the major airlines, like United, charge a service fee and a per mile transferred fee. They also set a cap for how many miles can be moved between accounts, even for immediate family members. There are a small number of airlines that do not allow transfers at all.

So what can you do?  You may:

• Purchase a ticket for someone else using your miles. Most frequent flyer programs allow this. You may only have to pay a small fee.
• Give miles as gifts. You can purchase the miles directly from the airline and send them to the recipient. There is a possibility you may still pay a decent-sized fee (approximately $35 per 1,000 miles bought). Yet, depending on if there is a promotion available, this may be the most cost-effective solution.
• Pool miles. A few airlines allow immediate family or same-household members to combine the miles in their accounts. JetBlue and British Airways offer some version of pooling. For more information, review the terms and conditions.

No. Technically, it isn’t illegal to sell your miles (except if you’re conducting part or all of the transaction in Utah). It is against the airline’s frequent flyer contract to do so. Some people attempt to sell their miles through a miles broker. We don’t recommend this because the potential risk is not worth the extra income.

Airlines are always on the lookout for people who do this. If they catch you (and they likely will), they’ll confiscate all of your points, not just the ones you are attempting to sell. Trying to get your points back is an exercise in futility.

While you can’t sell your points, you may be able to gift them, pool them, or transfer them. Some airlines may offer you the ability to buy someone else’s ticket using miles.