The following is a guest post from Elisa. Elisa is a writer who writes about travel and personal finance writer for FrequentFlyerCreditCards.com.au where you can get advice on airline loyalty programs, review and compare the best cards for frequent flyers.
If you have been shopping around for a new credit card, then you might have noticed that there are quite a lot of frequent flyer credit cards available. These are credit cards with which you can accumulate “miles” (or points) for every dollar you spend. Some cards will award a free airline mile for every point, and some cards will even award 2 or 3 points for every mile. So is a frequent flyer credit card something you should consider? Let’s take a look to see if you are the type of person who would benefit the most.
1. You Already Travel a Lot
If you already take a lot of plane flights every year – whether for business or pleasure – then you are probably already a member of at least one airline’s reward program. Perhaps you already enjoy earning points toward a free flight every time you buy a ticket. With a frequent flyer credit card, you’ll be able to earn the same points much more quickly. Further, frequent flyer credit cards often award twice as many points when you use them to buy a plane ticket. You’ll not only enjoy these extra points, but you’ll get the points from the ticket itself. You’ll be able to get more free plane tickets faster.
2. You Have a Favorite Airline
There are two general types of frequent flyer credit cards. The first type offers “flexible” miles. These can typically be redeemed for free tickets on any airline. However, the really powerful frequent flyer credit cards are the “airline specific” cards. These can only be redeemed for a ticket on a particular airline, but they typically accumulate points 2 or 3 times as fast. If you are the type of person who is loyal to a particular airline rather than someone who always shops around for the best price, then which type to get is an easy decision.
3. You Like to Travel in Style
Perhaps you don’t fly very regularly; but when you do, you like to do it in style. Your points can be redeemed for other things besides plane tickets. You can use them to upgrade your ticket to first class or to get a discount on a high class hotel.
4. You Spend a lot Every Month
If you spend a lot of money every month, then it makes little sense to always pay cash. With a frequent flyer credit card, every purchase you make builds toward something that you can redeem at a later date. However, it is important to always pay off your balance every month, or the interest rates can far outweigh the benefits you receive.
5. You Want to Take a Vacation One Day
Even if you never fly at all because airline tickets are too expensive, this is your chance to finally make it a possibility. You can slowly build points so that one day you’ll have enough miles to get free plane tickets for the entire family. You can redeem your points for not only free plane tickets; but also for free car rentals, free tour packages, and free motels. Your entire vacation can be paid by a frequent flyer credit card.
Frequent flyer credit cards aren’t for everyone, but they can provide many benefits depending on your situation. If you don’t yet have one of these cards, then you can start by comparing different programs today.
As always, your comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated below…
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