Best card for flights
The cards we track, ranked by what they earn on flights, with the credits and perks that sweeten the category.
Cards with this credit
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British Airways Visa Signature Card $600/yrReceive statement credits of $100 for Economy/Premium Economy or $200 for Business/First Class seats, up to three times per year, up to $600 total, when booking a Reward Flight on British Airways and paying taxes/fees/carrier charges with the card.$600 calendar year
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Capital One Venture X Card $300/yrReceive a $300 annual credit for hotels, flights, vacation rentals and more through Capital One Travel.$300 anniversary
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The Ritz Carlton Card $300/yrUp to $300 in statement credits per calendar year for qualifying airline purchases such as baggage fees, seat upgrades, in-flight purchases, and lounge memberships or passes.$300 calendar year
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American Express Platinum Card $200/yrEarn up to $200 per calendar year in statement credits after incidental fees, such as checked bags and in-flight refreshments, are charged by your one selected qualifying airline to your Card.$200 calendar year
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Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card $200/yrUp to $50 in statement credits each quarter, for a total of up to $200 back each year, on flight purchases made directly with an airline, through AmexTravel.com, or through the Amex Travel App.$50 quarterly
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United Club Business Card $200/yrGet up to $200 back as a statement credit each anniversary year when booking flights directly with JSX using your card.$200 anniversary
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United Club Infinite Card $200/yrGet up to $200 back as a statement credit each anniversary year when booking flights directly with JSX.$200 anniversary
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United Quest Card $200/yrAutomatically receive $200 in United TravelBank cash after account opening and annually on your account anniversary, for a future United- or United Express-operated flight.$200 anniversary
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United Business Card $125/yrReceive $125 in United TravelBank cash after making 5 United flight purchases of $100 or more each calendar year.$125 calendar year
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AAdvantage Globe Mastercard $100/yrEvery calendar year, earn up to $100 in statement credits on inflight purchases when you use your card on American Airlines flights.$100 calendar year
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Bank of America Premium Rewards Card $100/yrUp to $100 in Airline Incidental Statement Credits annually for qualifying purchases such as seat upgrades, baggage fees, in-flight services, and airline lounge fees, automatically applied to your card statement$100 calendar year
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United Explorer Card $100/yrUp to $100 back as a statement credit each anniversary year when booking flights directly with JSX using the card.$100 anniversary
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IHG One Rewards Business Credit CardGet a $100 statement credit when you spend at least $250 on flights purchased directly with the airline each calendar year through 12/31/27.$100 calendar year · after $250 spend
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IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card$100 statement credit when you spend at least $250 on flights purchased directly with the airline each calendar year through 12/31/27.$100 calendar year · after $250 spend
Which card
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Marriott Bonvoy Bold Card$750 credit (Calendar Year)Redeem Marriott Bonvoy points for a statement credit on qualifying travel purchases made directly with airlines or at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy, up to $750 total in redemptions per year, at a value of $100 for every 12,500 points.
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American Express Platinum Card$300 credit (Semiannual)Get up to $300 back in statement credits semi-annually on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection bookings through American Express Travel.
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American Express Business Platinum Card$300 credit (Semiannual)Statement credits up to $300 semi-annually on prepaid bookings through Amex Travel with Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection.
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British Airways Visa Signature Card$600 credit (Calendar Year)Receive statement credits of $100 for Economy/Premium Economy or $200 for Business/First Class seats, up to three times per year, up to $600 total, when booking a Reward Flight on British Airways and paying taxes/fees/carrier charges with the card.
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AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard$250 credit (Semiannual)Every calendar year, earn up to $500 in statement credits on eligible American Airlines Vacations℠ travel packages or experiences, up to $250 January through June and up to $250 July through December.
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Bilt Palladium Card$200 credit (Semiannual)$400 Bilt Travel Hotel credit applied twice a year as $200 statement credits for qualifying Bilt Travel Portal hotel bookings.
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Chase Sapphire Reserve8.00x Travel~16.40¢/$ in Chase's rewards currency
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Chase Sapphire Reserve Business Card8.00x Travel~16.40¢/$ in Chase's rewards currency
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Capital One Venture X Card$300 credit (Anniversary)Receive a $300 annual credit for hotels, flights, vacation rentals and more through Capital One Travel.
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Citi Strata Elite Card$300 credit (Calendar Year)Each calendar year, enjoy up to $300 off a hotel stay of 2 nights or more when booked through cititravel.com.
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The Ritz Carlton Card$300 credit (Calendar Year)Up to $300 in statement credits per calendar year for qualifying airline purchases such as baggage fees, seat upgrades, in-flight purchases, and lounge memberships or passes.
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Venture X Business$300 credit (Calendar Year)Receive an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
Cards with this benefit
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Delta SkyMiles Platinum Card Loyalty boostersTake up to $50 off the cost of your flight for every 5,000 miles you redeem with Pay with Miles when you book on delta.com.And 6 more matching benefits on this card
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JetBlue Business Card More perksPay for your flight with almost any combination of dollars and TrueBlue points, starting with as few as 500 pointsAnd 5 more matching benefits on this card
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United Club Infinite Card More perksMileagePlus members can use miles to book any United-operated flight, any time, with no restrictions or blackout dates.And 5 more matching benefits on this card
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United Explorer Card More perksMileagePlus members can use miles to book any United-operated flight, any time, with no restrictions or blackout dates.And 5 more matching benefits on this card
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Delta SkyMiles Gold Business Card Loyalty boostersTake up to $50 off the cost of your flight for every 5,000 miles you redeem with Pay with Miles when you book on delta.com.And 4 more matching benefits on this card
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Delta SkyMiles Gold Card Flight perksReceive a 20% savings in the form of a statement credit after you use your Card on eligible Delta in-flight purchases of food and beverages.And 4 more matching benefits on this card
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United Quest Card More perksSave 10% or more when booking United or United Express award flights with miles; Premier members save even more (at least 15%).And 4 more matching benefits on this card
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American Express Business Platinum Card More perksGet 35% points back after using Pay with Points for flights booked through Amex Travel with your selected qualifying airline, up to 1,000,000 points back per calendar year.And 3 more matching benefits on this card
Learn
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Cash Back vs. Travel Points Lesson, phase 1: FoundationWhen they book a flight or a hotel room, they have four hundred dollars to spend.
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Currency 101 Lesson, phase 1: FoundationYou can only use Delta miles to book flights on Delta or its direct alliance partners.
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Understanding Cents-Per-Point Lesson, phase 1: FoundationThe highest cents-per-point values are unlocked on premium flights.
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The Power of Welcome Offers Lesson, phase 2: AccumulationSwipe the card at the grocery store, swipe it at the gas pump, swipe it at dinner, and watch the balance creep upward until one day there is enough for a flight.
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Travel Portals vs. Transfer Partners Lesson, phase 3: RedemptionYou enter your dates, search flights or hotels, and check out with points instead of a card.
Which card is best for flights? The ranking below scores each card's flights rate in cents per dollar at published point valuations; the calculator does the same across your whole monthly spend.
Good to know
- Rates apply to the issuer's definition of the category, which can be narrower than the everyday word (a warehouse club is rarely "groceries").
- Enter your actual monthly flights spend in the best card finder to see the value in dollars, alongside every other category you spend in.
Related
Hold any of these cards? Ask your own wallet about Flights and Find answers from your cards, cycle state included.