Check out the ONLY Airline Card I Have: magnified.reviews/Southwest
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▽MY FINANCIAL TOOLS▽
🏦 SoFi Complete Money Management
➤ Checking & Savings - magnified.reviews/SoFi
➤ Credit Card - magnified.reviews/SoFiCreditCard
➤ Invest - magnified.reviews/SoFiInvest
➤ Budgeting - magnified.reviews/SoFiRelay
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💰 Chime Fully Online Banking
➤ Sign-Up for Chime HERE: magnified.reviews/Chime
➤ Chime Credit Builder HERE: magnified.reviews/Credit-Builder
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💳 Favorite Credit Cards
➤ Chase Sapphire - magnified.reviews/Sapphire-Preferred
➤ Capital One Venture X - magnified.reviews/VentureX
➤ Chase Ink Business - magnified.reviews/Ink-Business
➤ Amex Green - magnified.reviews/Amex-Green
➤ Amex Platinum - magnified.reviews/Platinum
➤ Amex Business Gold - magnified.reviews/BusinessGold
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📊 Wealthfront Automated Investing
➤ First $5,000 Managed for FREE - magnified.reviews/Wealthfront
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💵 Current Card
➤ Current | Modern Banking App - magnified.reviews/CurrentCard
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📸 MY CAMERA GEAR
➤ My Camera: magnified.reviews/Camera
➤ My Microphone: magnified.reviews/Microphone
➤ My Lights: magnified.reviews/Lights
The first reason I don't like airline credit cards is the lower value signup bonuses. There are exceptions to this one like some of the delta SkyMiles credit cards but for the most part, brand-specific credit cards occasionally toss you a small sign of bonus or maybe a free checked bag but when compared to more general travel products it leaves a lot to be desired.
That brings us to the second reason that I don't like airline credit cards and that is the complex point redemption process. Most of the time these cards will give you airline-specific loyalty rewards meaning you you’ll earn delta skymiles or British Airways Avios points. Regardless of what the brand calls their points you are almost always locked into that airline.
Reason #3 is the limited opportunity to earn bonus miles on spending. Some of my favorite general travel credit cards like the Capital One venture X card offer up to 10 points per dollar on certain travel purchases and even products like the American Express gold card give you 4 points per dollar on dining and restaurants making it really easy to rack up bonus points in places where you're likely spending a lot of money anyways.
The seventh reason to avoid airline cards is you guessed it... The overpriced annual fees. A majority of airline credit cards fall in the $95 per year range and while that's a very common price point within the credit card industry as a whole, the value that you get for $95 per year when compared to a general $95 per year credit card like the chase sapphire preferred just doesn't compare.
The 8th reason is the confusing and overwhelming number of products when it comes to airline credit cards. Now some might view this as a benefit because options are good but some airlines offer the same card with four or more different tiered options each of which offering slightly different benefits at a different price point.
This ninth reason doesn't apply to a majority of airline credit cards but the fact that it applies to any of them drives me absolutely nuts which is why I feel I should mention it and that is foreign transaction fees. Maybe if you are a domestic airline I will give you a free pass but the fact that any airline credit card charges a foreign transaction fee just seems ridiculous.
But lastly the 10th and by far most aggravating reason why I do not like airline specific credit cards is for all the reason we just talked about, you are in many ways locked into just one airline loyalty program.
0:00-Low-Value Sign Bonus
1:05-Complex Point Redemption
1:50-Limited BonusMiles on Spending
2:54-High Travel Spending
3:32-Limited Travel Insurance
4:09-OverpricedAnnual Fee
4:57-Overwhelming Number of Options
5:53-Foreign Transaction Fees
6:29-Locked Into One Airline Program
7:33-When DOES This Make Sense?
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