Airline Credit Card Perks

Recently, I posted on Hotel Credit Card perks and received many emails requesting for a similar post in regards to airlines. So, here you go, a compiled list of all the perks you receive with an airline specific credit card (including status, waived baggage fee, priority boarding, etc.). If you travel often on one airline, it might be worth it to see if the yearly fee outweighs the benefits that you will receive.

Delta:

• Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card
  • Checked Baggage Fee: First checked bag free for up to 9 passengers on the same itinerary
    
  • Priority Boarding: Zone 2 priority boarding on Delta flights
    
  • Status: None
    
  • Lounge Access: $25 per visit per person
  • Other: 20% In-Flight Savings on food and entertainment
  • My Thoughts: If you fly Delta often, but do not have elite status, being able to check your bags for free is a great reason for having this card.
• Platinum Delta SkyMiles Credit Card
  • Checked Baggage Fee: First checked bag free for up to 9 passengers on the same itinerary
    
  • Priority Boarding: Zone 2 priority boarding on Delta flights
    
  • Lounge Access: $25 per visit per person
  • Other: 20% In-Flight Savings on food and entertainment; Complimentary companion coach ticket each year upon renewal
  • My Thoughts: This card is more expensive than the Gold Delta card but does include two added benefits: 1) Complimentary companion ticket each year (which sometimes has strict terms and conditions making it tough to use), and 2) bonus MQMs towards status.
• Delta Reserve Credit Card
  • Checked Baggage Fee: First checked bag free for up to 9 passengers on the same itinerary
    
  • Priority Boarding: Zone 2 priority boarding on Delta flights
    
  • Status: Earn additional MQMs yearly (however, this might change at a later time): $30,000 spend a calendar year earns 15,000 MQMs and an additional $60,000 spend a calendar year earns another 15,000 MQMs (30,000 MQMs is needed for silver status) – MQMs can be gifted to someone else
    
  • Lounge Access: Complimentary club access
  • Other: 20% In-Flight Savings on food and entertainment
  • My Thoughts: While this card is quite expensive, if you spend quite a bit on the card you can secure Silver elite status. You also get complimentary club access, which alone is about $400/year. I personally think this annual fee is too high for what it is worth. You are better off getting the American Express Platinum card if you are interested in lounge access.

American Airlines:

• Executive AAdvantage World Elite MasterCard
  • Checked Baggage Fee: 1st checked baggage fee waived for you and your companion on the same itinerary (up to eight additional passengers)
    
  • Priority Boarding: Priority check-in (where available), priority airport screening (where available), and priority boarding privileges when traveling on American Airlines operated and marketed flights
    
  • Status: Earn 10,000 AAdvantage elite qualifying miles towards status when you spend $40,000 on your card each year
  • Lounge Access: Free lounge access for you and your immediate family (or to two others)
  • Other: No foreign transaction fees; no mileage cap; All miles earned on credit card spend up until December 1, 2012 will count towards Gold or Platinum lifetime status
  • My Thoughts: Personally, I think this credit card is quite expensive and might not be worth the perks included. The only reason I would advocate getting this card is if you are looking to reach that million mile status (Gold or Platinum for life) with your credit card spend over the next 11 months. All the other perks are included in the Amex Platinum card plus more.
• Citi Platinum Select AAdvantage Visa Signature / Citi Select AAdvantage American Express / CitiBusiness AAdvantage Visa
  
  • Checked Baggage Fee: No
    
  • Priority Boarding: No
    
  • Status: No
    
  • Lounge Access: Two free lounge passes (offer until 1/31/12)
  • Other: $150 statement credit after making any purchase from American Airlines (offer until 1/31/12)
  • My Thoughts: While this card will not help you reach any elite status, it is a good way to increase your point balance. Unlike other airlines, there are not too many perks by having the AA card (i.e, no free checked baggage). If you are looking to get the card for the long term and rack up miles with AA, I’d actually suggest the Starwood credit card instead – read this prior post to understand my reasoning behind this.

United:

• The New United Plus Explorer Card
  

• Checked Baggage Fee: First checked bag is free for up to two people per reservation
  
• Priority Boarding: Priority boarding after elites
  
• Status: No
  
• Lounge Access: 2 free United Club passes each account anniversary (which means you will not receive them your first year with the card)
• Other: Earn 10,000 bonus miles when you spend $25,000 or more each calendar year
• My Thoughts: If you do not have elite status and fly United often, being able to check a bag for free is a decent perk (up to 2 passengers).

Southwest:

• Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Premier Card

• Checked Baggage Fee: 2 checked bags for all passengers (no credit card needed)
  
• Priority Boarding: No
  
• Status: No
  
• Lounge Access: No
• Other: Others have reported that the credit card new applicant bonus counts towards companion pass status
• My Thoughts: I would only apply for this card if you are looking to get companion pass status. Currently, the 50,000 bonus points are counting towards companion status, and if you get both the personal and business credit card that will get you 100,000 points. To earn the companion pass, you only need 110,000 points. To learn more about the Southwest companion pass, read this prior blog post. If you are not applying for both cards and wont be able to get to the 110,000 points, I’d suggest instead applying for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. This card also has a 50K offer and allows you to transfer your points to Southwest. This will give you much more flexibility.

If there are any other perks or credit cards you’d like included, please feel free to comment below and I will update the post accordingly. I included most of the major airlines. To see an up to date list of all the credit card promotions, visit this page on the blog.