Finding the Best Travel Credit Cards

While many airlines offer enticements of frequent flier miles,
there is a second prevalent option - travel credit cards - for
discounting your airline travels. There is a very solid reason
that these travel credit cards are so popular for avid
travelers.

These travel credit cards - i.e., those with a feature that lets
you earn air mileage discounts as you make purchases with your
travel credit card - offer a double dipping opportunity. What
this means, simply, is that you now have two ways to earn
mileage discounts with the same trip - if you use your travel
credit card to book the flight. You can earn credit not only
towards your flight, but also towards an auto rental or a hotel
room. You can also get mileage credit for purchases with your
travel credit card that are not flight-related, such as meals
and shopping from retailers.

Many credit cards work as travel credit cards, offering miles or
points for your purchases with the card. There are four types of
travel credit cards to consider. You might want to choose a
credit card that has partnered with a hotel chain or specific
airline. This may well be a good choice if your travel
destinations are consistent, and you use the same airline
continually; or if you have a preference in hotel chain. You
might choose a common brand of travel credit card, such as
American Express, Visa, MasterCard, Discover or Diners Club.
Your local bank, or another reputable banking firm might issue
its own credit card with a program that offers travel rewards.
You could also choose a debit card that acts as a travel credit
card.

It's difficult to say in general which are the best travel
credit cards. So much depends on individual need. Most folks new
to travel credit cards start with what are known as co-branded
or affinity travel credit cards - those specifically tied to the
frequent flyer offering of a certain airline. So, let's look at
a couple of those.

American Airlines, for instance, has a partnership with
Citibank, offering the AAdvantage mile program. With this
American Airlines travel credit card, the traveler card user
earn one AAdvantage mile for each dollar she or he charges on
the travel credit card.

United Airlines has a similar travel credit card offer, called
Mileage Plus First Card, and Delta Airlines has an American
Express Optima mileage frequent flier travel credit card.
Northwest's travel credit card is called the WorldPerks Visa.
Most affinity travel credit cards are MasterCard or Visa, Delta
being the most notable exception.

While travel credit cards certainly offer great mileage perks to
those who fly the friendly skies often, they also have the
disadvantage of comparatively hefty annual fees, however. The
fees can range anywhere from $25 to $125. Besides credit
history, the other factor that determines your travel credit
card annual fee or your annual percentage rate (APR) is your
choosing a standard, a gold or a platinum level card. APRs are
high for travel credit cards as well. You'll usually end up
paying 15 to 18 percent.

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