I am thinking about getting a credit card that rewards you with airline miles. What do you know about these, what are the pros, cons and hidden fine print.

I went to www.creditcards.com but want to have some real world feedback, not just advertisements.

Chase has a great mile program, it has no blackouts or featured airlines.

I’ve got one for United, Delta, and Alaska. Gets me free airfare everywhere I travel, and I haven’t paid for a plane ticket for the about the last 12 years. Well, er, used to travel is more appropriate as I haven’t been on a plane in almost 4 years, but did recently use travel miles to transport the lady L and her mom.

The problem with all of em is that you have to schedule at least 2-4 months in advance if you want any real hope of actually getting a flight. Some, such as Alaska offer some nice perks along with their mileage plan. These include 2 free first class upgrades, 1 $50 companion fair, and some at the airport freebies. All the ones I use bring me an endless barrage of discounts for everything related to travel to my mail box. The trick is to figure out where you’re likely to fly and get a mileage plan that covers the areas. MedMech’s suggestion is also useful, again, contingent of their offerings, or the airline offerings they rep going to where you wanna go.

Some mileage plans require membership fees for the credit card. IMO the cost is trivial but some don’t think so. If its gonna cost $100 per year and it takes you 5 years to collect enough miles for a free trip, you’d have a net savings by skiping the mileage credit card and just pay for the trip.

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...Tracy

'00 ML320 "Casper"
'92 400E "Stella"