There are more reward credit cards around now than ever before. There are cash back credit cards, points cards and American Express even have a new nectar card out. One of the long running popular rewards has been the airline credit card. These are offered by many of the main card providers and they offer as their reward scheme the chance to collect airmiles as you spend. Airmiles are an extremely popular reward as they can be redeemed on major airlines for free or upgraded flights. However, the question customers have to keep asking themselves in this respect is whether or not they offer the best value.
Looking at airline credit cards as a whole, they typically reward you with one airmile per pound spent. This seems fair enough but when you look at airmile redemption prices, you can see that it costs thousands of airmiles for even the shortest flights. For the vast majority of customers, it will take literally years to spend enough on the card to redeem a free flight, even within the UK. Some customers will be able to add these miles to ones they also collect on flights and in this way build up miles faster.
If you compare this to other rewards however, you may be forced to ask yourself if they are worth the hassle. First, compare this type of reward with similar rewards for using say a cash back credit card. While it will depend on the specific circumstances of your card, it may well be the case that you would have got back enough cash to buy a flight out right before ever getting enough miles to claim a free one.
Also, if you are paying high interest on an outstanding balance then airmiles will be the last thing you should be thinking of. Rather you should consider getting a good balance transfer card that will allow you to switch your balance to it and enjoy a substantial interest free period on the balance. This will likely save you far more than any reward scheme will b e worth to you. Also, you may want a card that gives you lower rates on purchases if you do not pay off your balance in full each month. As a general rule, if you don’t pay off your entire balance in full each month, you should be more concerned with interest rates and balance transfer possibilities than reward schemes on credit cards you use.
Written By: Joseph Kenny
