Dirty Secrets of Airline Credit Cards

A Credit Article Contributed by Mistie Cauley

Picking an Airline Credit Card

When you decide that you believe you may want to get an airline credit card, be careful which one you choose. Many airline credit cards have a 5.9% higher interest rate than a non reward credit card. The airline credit cards give you back only 1.4% in free miles. This does not average out to be even near equal.

Airline Credit Cards May Cost You More Than You Think

With the facts that you are charges more interest and still only receive 1.4% back in free miles, you are going to end up paying more for the airline credit card then you would pay with a standard credit card. The airlines also strictly restrict the usage of free airline miles. Some programs allow you to only incur a certain number of free airline miles per year. How is this program saving you money?

If you can not use your free miles and are being charged more per month, how are you saving any thing? With a non reward credit card the figures in savings in actually more than with a miles reward credit card. You can save up to one hundred dollars per year, even with buying your own plane tickets. If you will save one hundred dollars a year with a non reward credit card, why would you need to have a miles reward credit card?

I believe that the airlines try to make you believe you are saving hundreds of dollars by using their free mile reward credit card. This is just not true. You can figure this up yourself. The interest cost of a non reward credit card verses a reward credit card. The actual free miles earned and you have been allowed to use verses the cost of a plane ticket at your own cost on your own time. Figure up the differences and then decide if an airline credit card is worth it to you.

Airline Credit Card Programs Canceled

Did you know that the airline has the right to cancel your free mile program at any time? Well, they can. If the program is canceled before you have used your incurred free miles, you get nothing. The free miles are just gone. So if you have an airline reward credit card, and you have a few miles built up, use them now rather than later. Later they may not be there. What can you do about this? Sorry to tell you, but you can do nothing at all. The airline reserves the right to cancel at any time.

And any time mean just that, any time. What do you do now? Well you are still expected to pay the credit card balance with the higher interest rate, but you still have no free miles. You could transfer the high interest rate card to a lower interest rate, non reward credit card. If you do transfer the credit card to another credit card, you will be saving yourself money, guaranteed.