Airline credit cards

[ruadisneyfan2]

Check out the I Love Credit Cards thread - tons and tons of great info there.

I personally would not get started with an airline co-branded card if you are not loyal to a specific airline. I do love SW and I do have their CCs - got them to earn the companion pass.

If you are just starting out with earning CC points and are not loyal to a particular airline check out the Chase Sapphire Preferred. Once you earn UR points you can transfer them to quite a few airline (and other) partners. You can also book through their travel portal for airlines you cannot transfer points to. I have used my Chase UR points to:

• transfer UR points directly to Southwest Rapid Rewards to book flights
• book a hotel room through the Chase portal using UR points
  
• book an American Airlines flight through the Chase portal using UR points

And there are so many other uses to the UR points too. It is a great "beginner" card for travel.

I was just about to post this but you said it better than I would have! We LUV SWA and we had their visa for 10+ years when we were offered the CSP card from a banker while in a Chase branch. I was very skeptical and only agreed to it because the bonus was good and he suggested dh and I each get one for a total of 100,000 bonus points, plus the first year was no AF.
Well, I can't believe I fell in love with this card!
Sure, the AF is higher than the SWA card but it is so much more flexible. First, with the SWA card the only way to earn double points is to make a purchase with SWA. We usually fly on points so it's rare that we actually pay for flights so we almost never earned double points on purchases. With the CSP, you earn double pts for ANY dining and ANY travel, whether you're simply taking a taxi or paying for airport parking, or stopping for pizza after work.
Second, you can book almost ANY travel with UR points. We bought one way flights to MCO on American, booked with UR points, and the flight still earned us American Airline miles because to them, it's not award travel. Awesome! We also used our bonus points for a stay at the Boardwalk so it's nice that you're not stuck with just airfare as a reward.
The only thing better than free flights is free flights AND free hotel! (or close to free! IIRC, it would have been free if we had chosen a moderate or cheaper but we love BWI)

I did go back to the SWA visa briefly, just for the 60k bonus to get a CP but once the year expires, we won't be renewing them.

 

[trenty]

I was just about to post this but you said it better than I would have! We LUV SWA and we had their visa for 10+ years when we were offered the CSP card from a banker while in a Chase branch. I was very skeptical and only agreed to it because the bonus was good and he suggested dh and I each get one for a total of 100,000 bonus points, plus the first year was no AF.
Well, I can't believe I fell in love with this card!
Sure, the AF is higher than the SWA card but it is so much more flexible. First, with the SWA card the only way to earn double points is to make a purchase with SWA. We usually fly on points so it's rare that we actually pay for flights so we almost never earned double points on purchases. With the CSP, you earn double pts for ANY dining and ANY travel, whether you're simply taking a taxi or paying for airport parking, or stopping for pizza after work.
Second, you can book almost ANY travel with UR points. We bought one way flights to MCO on American, booked with UR points, and the flight still earned us American Airline miles because to them, it's not award travel. Awesome! We also used our bonus points for a stay at the Boardwalk so it's nice that you're not stuck with just airfare as a reward.
The only thing better than free flights is free flights AND free hotel! (or close to free! IIRC, it would have been free if we had chosen a moderate or cheaper but we love BWI)

I did go back to the SWA visa briefly, just for the 60k bonus to get a CP but once the year expires, we won't be renewing them.

If you get the Chase Freedom and/or Chase Freedom unlimited you can also earn UR Points that can be transferred to the Sapphire points to increase your earnings. Chase Freedom gives 5X points on rotating categories. I don't have the Chase Freedom Unlimited yet, plan to soon - that one gives 1.5 points on purchases.

I actually cancelled one of my SW cards after receiving the yearly bonus and plan to cancel the other one after I receive that yearly bonus. I never use them since the rewards are better with Sapphire and Freedom. Eventually I will reapply for the sign on bonuses to get the Companion Pass again.

 

[trenty]

I’d suggest the chase freedom unlimited. You earn 1.5 points per dollar spend everywhere and the points transfer to most airlines 1:1. Plus no annual fee!

I believe with the Chase Freedom Unlimited you cannot transfer directly to airlines. I think you need to pair this card with the Chase Sapphire for 1:1 airline transfers.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I believe with the Chase Freedom Unlimited you cannot transfer directly to airlines. I think you need to pair this card with the Chase Sapphire for 1:1 airline transfers.

It's good to know but I'm not good at juggling a lot of cards and paying them all off every month. When charges are scattered like that it's harder for me to keep track of spending. I have a good system and haven't carried a balance in years so I don't want to rock the boat now.
Even just getting those SWA cards to get the bonuses for a CP messed me up a bit and we stopped using the CSP the day we switched to the SWA card.