A guide to Airline Miles Reward cards

Airline Miles Rewards cards are available from a huge variety of different credit card providers. From Citibank to American Express to Capital One, almost every major credit card company will offer you cards that allow you to earn miles for spending. It is important to make sure that you understand the terms, conditions and reality of the deal before you find yourself agreeing to a credit card rewards program that isn't really right for you. This article will help you to do so.

What do you get points for

The first thing to find out is how you earn air mileage from the credit card you are considering. Most cards will give you a certain amount of points for each dollar you spend on anything, from gas to groceries to rent. Some cards will also give you bonus miles if you are using your card to book flights or hotels. Find out exactly how you earn points and consider the areas where you spend the most in order to maximise your earning potential.

How many points do you need to redeem?

You also need to consider what is the worth of each point you earn. Find out how much it costs in points or miles to get tickets to some of the destinations you are most interested in going. Then, consider how much you would have to spend on the card in order to get that number of points. The card that will allow you to spend the least amount to get the tickets you want the most is often going to be the best one for you.

Blackout dates

When redeeming air miles, some credit card companies have blackout dates when the flight miles you have earned cannot be used. For instance, it is common for a credit card company to not allow you to use travel miles on popular travel days like immediately before Christmas. If you need to use your miles at this time, find a card without these restrictions. Capital One cards in particular are famous for their promise of no blackout dates.

Consider fees

Once you have found a card that looks good, consider whether there is an annual fee. If there is, then the card had better be good enough to make paying that fee worth it, since there are many no fee miles cards out there.