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Frequent Flyer Credit Catd

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Dimkaumd

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I've never had a frequent flyer credit card and I am not even totally sure how it works, but I assume when I make purchases I get points to use towards flights.

That aside, can someone give me some tips about which credit card is good for earning miles, and which features to look for? I dont fly much, maybe 3 times a year, but I'd like to take advantage of a miles program.
 
Instead of a card that gives you miles, why not get one that gives you cash back instead?

- Cash gives you a choice of any airline. FF miles don't.
- Cash lets you get a ticket on any flight where there are seats available, whenever you want to make your plans. FF miles don't. Only a few seats on any flight are available for use with FF miles. If the FF seats are gone when you want to travel, what good are they?
- Your chosen airline may not fly to where you want to go. Even if they go there today, they might not in the future.
- Cash lets you buy a ticket using whatever rebate you've earned. With miles, if you don't have enough for the whole ticket, you can't use any.
- No expiration dates on cash.
- Airlines are not exactly rolling in profits. You might end up building up miles on an airline that goes bankrupt before you can use them.
 
Good points, but I thought that frequent flyer miles are worth more in value...meaning the 1% cash back I get from a reg CC wouldnt buy me a ticket to europe etc.
 
I have a Southwest Visa that I've used since 2006 and I've earned several free flights from it. Basically, you buy stuff on the card, and earn points based on your purchases. Earn a certain level of purchases and you earn credits for free flights. Buying stuff through Southwest earns me double point purchases. It's useful because I fly Southwest most of the time, however, if in your area Southwest isn't that big, you should consider a point program through a different airline like American or United, etc.
 
You can always consider getting a card that gives you points back that you can use towards anything. My Citi Premier Pass MC gives me 1 point per 3 miles flown by me with tickets purchased with said card, and 1 point per dollar spent overall, plus bonus points if shopping through certain retailers if I use their referral link. I can spend the points on gift cards, future flights, random garbage, etc...
 
As you do your research, factor in how long it will take you to earn enough miles.

I picked American Airlines to see how many miles are needed to go to Europe from North America. If you go from Oct 15-May 15, it's 40,000 FF miles round trip. From May 15-Oct 15 it's 60,000 miles round trip. Using their credit card, you earn 1 mile per $1 charged. If you charge $1,000 a month, it would take 3+ years to earn enough miles to go to Europe during the off-peak season.
 
We use an Amex Blue here at work to pay our bills with, we then pay it off at the end of the month. I have flown all over for free for years.
 
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