A few of the differences between them, especially those within the same company, is the percentage of the airline rewards you would get; for example, 1% per dollar spent or 1 point per dollar.
Top Airline Reward Cards
The top 10 airline rewards are actually the company that offers them, more than the card itself. These airline rewards include Alaska Mileage Plan, Delta SkyMiles, JetBlue TrueBlue, United MileagePlus, American Airlines AAdvantage, Southwest Rapid Rewards, Frontier Miles, HawaiianMiles, Free Spirit.Some of these programs are catered to various clientele, for example, if you fly to Alaska and certain West Coast cities, you may like the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan; whereas if you live in major cities across America, United Mileage Plus or Delta SkyMiles may be the better airline rewards program for you.
What to Research
There are many things you should know before joining a rewards program; what to know before joining any of the airline rewards programs is how you want your rewards. Are you looking to earn points? Are you looking to earn a percentage of what you spend? Do you want to receive whichever your chosen option is for all purchases or just travel purchases? You may get larger rewards depending on which you choose. An example of this is a rewards program where you would get a certain (usually 1-2% or 1-2 points) amount per dollar spent on all purchases you make but then you would get twice that for a travel purchase.
For example, if you get a card that rewards you for all purchases, including bonus travel rewards, you could get 1 point (or percentage) for every dollar spent anywhere you use the card; with the same company you may get 4 points for every dollar spent on travel purchases - which include airline, card rentals and hotels to name a few.
Another thing you'd want to know is that your approval rating for a specific company may be greater if you already have a different credit card by the company.
This shows the company that you have a good record with them, if not in general. This could lead to a larger credit limit on your airline rewards card or more rewards with that card, as it may prove to the company that you going to pay on time as well as use, or save, your airline rewards for long enough to use them all at once.
Go With What You Know
If you have never had a rewards card before, I would suggest going with a program from a company you are already familiar with or are currently using. If neither of those apply, You could go with the company with the best rating, as long as it meets your personal requirements, or go with one that would work for most places in America and not just specific regions, such as the Delta or American Airlines. You could even go with Frontier, as even though they are a smaller company, they do go to various places and the rewards are pretty good, especially when you compare that to how much you would be paying for the plane ticket itself, since Frontier is a low-budget company.
