These Airline Cards Don’t Require Loyalty

Tl;dr: Some airline credit cards like the Atmos Summit or Delta Gold have enough benefits to outweigh the annual fee, even if you never take a paid flight with the airline. And the loyalty benefits can make award travel even more affordable. 

For some frequent flyers, airline co-branded credit cards can make a lot of sense. Most offer priority boarding, baggage fee waivers, and discounts for onboard purchases, while more premium cards can offer accelerated status earning or even lounge access. With baggage fees rising, even a single trip with checked bags could save enough money to justify a card’s annual fee. 

But what if you don’t regularly pay to fly a particular airline, and don’t know if you’ll actually be able to use the flight-based perks in a given year? In many cases, getting an airline card can be worthwhile for a welcome bonus, but it might not make sense as a long-term keeper. But there are a few airline cards that break this mold. These are cards that offer enough outside benefits—those you can use even if you never pay cash to fly with the airline—to justify the annual fee. All while enhancing your award travel.  

Why I’m Comfortable Earning Airline Miles Directly

Many people recommend cards that earn flexible rewards—like those from Amex, Bilt, Chase, and others—that can be redeemed via multiple channels and partners. And that’s good advice. If you earn directly with an airline or hotel program, there’s always a risk that the points could be devalued. But with transferable points, even if one program is devalued, you have alternative ways of redeeming them. 

I think that’s good advice in general. However, in the years that I have been using my points for flights, Alaska, American, and Delta have consistently offered the best options for simple, high-value international flights. So I target those miles. Sure, if the choice is between an equal number of Bilt points or Alaska Atmos points, I would choose the Bilt points, because I can redeem them via Atmos but have alternative options. But because I’ve gotten such consistent value from these airlines over many years, I’m happy to keep earning directly in those programs for now. 

Not coincidentally, the best airline cards for points travel earn these highly valuable points. 

The Best Airline Cards for Award Travelers

Atmos Summit (Bank of America)

Annual fee: $395

Benefits: 25k-point annual companion award discount, 100k-point companion award discount after spending $60,000 (cardmember year)

Earning: 3x on Alaska Airlines purchases, dining, and foreign purchases, otherwise 1x (extra 10% bonus points with a qualifying Bank of America account).

The Atmos Summit is my personal favorite card, and if I could only have this one card in my wallet I wouldn’t complain. The catch is that you really need to use the 25,000-point companion award discount. But if you can, that benefit alone can easily justify the annual fee. And with the Summit, you can earn elite status just from the card’s various status boosts and award flights. That Oneworld status can benefit you even when your award travel is on partners like American Airlines or Japan Airlines. 

Meanwhile, you’ll have a Visa Infinite card with an earning structure that is competitive with the best cards on the market, even without unlocking the massive reward for spending $60,000 in a cardmember year. 

Delta Gold (Amex)

Annual fee: $150 (waived first year)

Benefits: $100 Delta Stays (hotel) credit, $10 monthly rideshare credit, $200 Delta flight credit after spending $10,000 (calendar year)

Earning: 2x on dining, U.S. supermarkets, and Delta purchases, otherwise 1x

The Delta Gold card is compelling either as a simple, one-card solution or as a team player in an Amex setup to unlock the best Delta SkyMiles deals thanks to its 15% discount on award flights. The hotel and rideshare credits can easily cover the cost of holding this card year after year. The card only earns 2x on dining, U.S. supermarkets, and Delta purchases, so it benefits from pairing with other Amex cards like the Gold Card that earn points more efficiently. But even its modest earning rates can still be competitive given how cheap Delta awards can be at their best. The Delta Gold card can pay off even if you only fly Delta when redeeming SkyMiles.

Honorable Mentions

Delta Platinum (Amex)

Annual fee: $350 

Benefits: $150 Delta Stays (hotel) credit, $10 monthly rideshare credit, $10 monthly Resy credit, annual companion certificate

Earning: 3x on Delta purchases & direct hotel bookings, 2x on dining and U.S. supermarkets, otherwise 1x

Like the Delta Gold, the Delta Platinum offers enough value to justify its annual fee, an award discount for the best SkyMiles deals, and modest earning rates. The fee is higher, though, and you’ll need to keep track of and use more credits to break even. Ultimately, I think the Gold is the better choice in most situations due to its simplicity, although the Platinum upgrade could pay off for those who can take advantage of the companion certificate or want a head start on Delta status. 

United Explorer (Chase)

Annual fee: $150 (waived first year)

Benefits: Two $50 United Hotels credits, $5 in monthly rideshare credits, two $25 Avis/Budget credits when booking via United, $10 monthly Instacart credits, $100 in TravelBank Cash after spending $10k (calendar year), and a 10k-point award discount after spending $20k (calendar year)

Earning: 3x on United, 2x on dining and direct hotel bookings, otherwise 1x

The Explorer offers enough credits that it’s possible for them to outweigh the annual fee, but it’s an awkward mishmash that can make this card something of a hassle to maintain. Having a United card opens up more saver award availability and adds a discount on award flights, which can be useful for domestic flights and business class. But in my experience, the pricing on international economy flights generally isn’t competitive, so I would only really consider this one if I were collecting Bilt or Chase points (which transfer to United, and can be earned more efficiently) and focusing on those domestic or international business class redemptions. 

Lazy Take 🦥

You don’t have to be loyal to a particular airline to benefit from its co-branded credit card. A few cards can justify their annual fees with benefits you can use without ever buying a ticket on the airline—while still making the airline’s miles much more useful when you redeem them.