Should you have an airline credit card?

Should you have an airline credit card?
An airline credit card may or may not make sense for you and your family. Today we are going to discuss situations where it would and would not make sense to get one based on factors that include airline loyalty, rewards, annual fees, credit card usage, and additional features.
The perks of an airline credit card include large sign-up bonus, free checked bags, and access to airport lounges.
Many frequent fliers already earn status with an airline. These travelers already get the same perks without airline credit cards. Frequent fliers would be better served with rewards other than those focused on flying. For example, frequent fliers often already get a free checked bag. Many airline credit cards have annuals fees between $100 to $550. Redundancies in rewards create monetary waste. In contrast to frequent flyers, a family of four that only flies once a year could more than pay for the annual fee of an airline credit card with one trip.
Before the pandemic, fliers built up vast reserves of airline points and miles. Now that everyone is traveling again, people are eager to spend these points and miles. In response, airlines have begun to raise prices and ratchet up the miles and points required to book a flight. Miles and points are not going as far as they once did.
It’s important to remember that booking a flight with miles or points does not make it free as you still need to pay for taxes, fees, and surcharges which can add up to hundreds of dollars.
Some airlines like Alaska Airlines offer better bonuses depending on the time of year or even the market you are in. For example, Alaska Airlines has targeted small business owners in Boise, Idaho in the past.
Most airline credit cards highlight lounges which may feature perks like free food and drinks, nice seating, free Wi-Fi, and even showers or nap pods. However, lounges have increasingly become so crowded at major airports that there are sometimes lines just to get in.
Ask yourself would you pay for a given benefit before you sign up for a credit card just to get it.
Some airline credit cards automatically qualify the cardholder to a higher level of status within the frequent flier program which could mean upgrades or early boarding.
Some airlines feature a companion pass whereby you can purchase an additional ticket for a companion at a reduced rate or even for free.
One strategy is to have multiple travel orientated credit cards. One card would be with an airline for its ancillary benefits. Another would be with a bank to earn points for travel.
Perhaps the easiest route is to just get a 2% unlimited cash back credit card and use it to pay for everything. Then, get a credit card for the airline that dominates your local market and use that for travel. A round trip’s bag fees should pay the annual fee on that card.
Some notes and observations:
Some people would say that American Airline’s frequent flier miles are worth something in contrast to Delta.
Some people would argue that miles directly with most airlines have become worthless unless you are flexible and willing to overnight on a layover when you can’t find a flight.
Works Cited:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/airline-credit-card-perks-frequent-flier-miles-7bc224c8?mod=hp_featst_pos4
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