Best Airline Miles Credit Cards of 2023

Best Air Credit Cards

When it comes to rewards credit cards, airline credit cards offer some of the highest bonuses and ongoing rewards on your spending. Whether you are attracted by the free upgrades, premium lounge access, companion vouchers or potential for rewards travel, many of these cards can deliver hundreds of pounds in overall benefits. Finding the best card for you will depend upon your individual situation.

Airline Credit Cards for Rewards

After looking through our airline credit card models, we picked the following two credit cards for giving the highest potential value in terms of air travel rewards. They both offer high-value perks like companion reward seats and/or free upgrades, in addition to high rates on earning miles. The decision between the two may largely come down to which airline you prefer to use.

Best Airline Credit Card for Rewards: Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Credit Card

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Consider this if you want to earn Flying Club miles at a higher rate.

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• Purchase Rate (variable)
  • 26.9%

• 0% on Purchases for up to
  • n/a

• 0% on Balance Transfers for up to
  • 6 months

• Initial Balance Transfer Fee
  • 3%

• FX Fee
  • 2.99%

• Cash Fee
  • 5%

The Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Credit Card can be incredibly rewarding to Virgin Flying Club members who will spend at least £10,000 per year on their cards. At £10,000 of general spending, you'll have earned back the £160 annual fee plus be awarded with a Virgin Atlantic Reward, which is redeemable for either a premium upgrade, 2-4-1 Companion Voucher or even an airport lounge pass, depending on your membership level (e.g., Red, Silver or Gold) when you redeem. The Virgin Atlantic Reward is good for 24 months, giving you time to use it before it expires.

A 15,000 Flying Club miles welcome bonus, earned with your first purchase in 90 days, is nearly enough for an off-peak, round-trip awards flight or premium upgrade to places like New York or Dubai (but remember you still pay taxes and fees which can be a few hundred quid per ticket). On top of that, the card offers Flying Club miles on Virgin Flight and Holidays purchases (3 miles/£1 spent) and also general spending (1.5 miles/£1 spent).

We like that the new Virgin Atlantic card is a Mastercard, which is accepted nearly everywhere. Assuming your Flying Club miles are worth 1p each, expect rewards rates around 3% on Virgin Flights and Holidays and around 1.5% on other general spending.

Summary

Best Airline Credit Card for Rewards: British Airways American Express Premium Plus Credit Card

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Consider this if you want to earn Avios at a higher rate.

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• Purchase Rate (variable)
  • 31%

• 0% on Purchases for up to
  • n/a

• 0% on Balance Transfers for up to
  • n/a

• Initial Balance Transfer Fee
  • 3%

• FX Fee
  • 2.99%

• Cash Fee
  • 3% (min £3)

With the British Airways American Express Premium Plus cardholders can earn a welcome bonus of 25,000 Avios (after spending £3,000 in the first three months), which is more than half of the points needed for a round-trip ticket to New York City or Dubai. Besides this welcome bonus and Avios earning power of 3 Avios/£1 on BA flight and holiday purchases and 1.5 Avios/£1 elsewhere, cardholders can earn a Companion Voucher in every year they hold the card and spend more than £10,000.

One hard-to-value perk of the Premium Plus card is the extended expiration on Companion Vouchers—vouchers earned on the Premium Plus card are good for two years, giving you more time to use this perk and extract more value from the card. (The free BA Amex, on the other hand, has a shorter one-year expiration on companion vouchers.)

Summary

Best Credit Card for Airport Lounge Access: The Platinum Card

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Consider this if you want airport lounge access.

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• Purchase Rate (variable)
  • 30.7%

• 0% on Purchases for up to
  • n/a

• 0% on Balance Transfers for up to
  • n/a

• Initial Balance Transfer Fee
  • 3%

• FX Fee
  • 2.99%

• Cash Fee
  • n/a

The Platinum Card by American Express is a top premium card with features aimed at frequent travellers, like complementary access for you and a guest at over 1,400 Priority Pass airport lounges, Platinum Concierge service, worldwide travel insurance (including gap year cover for children), up to £150 in statements credits to spend on participating UK restaurants each year (and a further £150 to spend abroad), up to £100 in Harvey Nichols statement credits a year, and free upgrades at Amex's Fine Hotels & Resorts (when available). The Platinum Card is part of Amex's Membership Rewards program. Expect ongoing rewards of 1 point per £1 spent, 2 points per £1 spent at Amex travel and a welcome bonus of 60,000 Membership Rewards points by spending £6,000 in the first six months. With a 26% APR on purchases, The Platinum Card is not good for carrying a balance from month to month (because of the higher interest rate).

While the £575 annual fee is the highest in the market, those who will make use of the premium perks may still find value with the card. For instance, buying lounge access directly from Priority Pass, through a Prestige membership for £339 a year, gives you free and unlimited lounge entry. Guests are an additional £15 per visit. Assuming you’ll travel with a guest 2-3 times a year, the lounge access could be worth hundreds of pounds to some people. In short, the card is expensive but offers a top selection of premium perks to frequent travelers.

Summary

Best Airline Credit Cards for No Annual Fee

If you want a card for lower levels of spending then a free card might be best for you—but expect a smaller welcome bonus and lower ongoing rewards if you're not paying an annual fee.

Best Free Air Rewards Card: Virgin Atlantic Reward Credit Card

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Consider this if you want a free card for earning Virgin Flying Club miles.

more details less details

• Purchase Rate (variable)
  • 26.9%

• 0% on Purchases for up to
  • n/a

• 0% on Balance Transfers for up to
  • 6 months

• Initial Balance Transfer Fee
  • 3%

• FX Fee
  • 2.99%

• Cash Fee
  • 5%

The Virgin Reward Credit Card offers decent rewards to those who will spend less than £10,000 per year on their card—cardholders spending more than £10k per year can probably create more value from the £160 per year Reward+ card. Given that, we don't expect cardholders to try to earn a Virgin Atlantic Reward on the free card.

Cardholders can earn a 5,000 Flying Club mile welcome bonus, earned with the first purchase in 90 days. In terms of ongoing rewards, the card delivers Flying Club miles on Virgin Flight and Holidays purchases (1.5 miles/£1 spent) and also general spending (0.75 miles/£1 spent).

We like that the new Virgin Atlantic card is a Mastercard, which is accepted nearly everywhere. Assuming your Flying Club miles are worth 1p each, expect rewards rates around 1.5% on Virgin Flights and Holidays and around 0.75% on other general spending. Also, the Virgin Atlantic Reward is good for 24 months, giving you time to use it before it expires.

Summary

Best Airline Credit Card for Rewards: British Airways American Express Credit Card

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Consider this if you want to earn Avios on a free card.

more details less details

• Purchase Rate (variable)
  • 31%

• 0% on Purchases for up to
  • n/a

• 0% on Balance Transfers for up to
  • n/a

• Initial Balance Transfer Fee
  • 3%

• FX Fee
  • 2.99%

• Cash Fee
  • 3% (min £3)

With the British Airways American Express cardholders can earn a welcome bonus of 5,000 Avios (after spending £1,000 in the first three months). Besides this welcome bonus and Avios earning power of 1 Avios/£1 spent, cardholders can earn a Companion Voucher in every year they hold the card and spend more than £12,000. The Companion Voucher earned on the free BA Amex expires in just one year, as opposed to a longer 2-year expiry for vouchers earned on the paid Premium Plus card (above).

Summary

How Air Rewards Credit Cards Work

Air Rewards credit cards enable a cardholder to earn miles/points when they spend, which can later be redeemed for free flights at partner airlines (the fare is "free" but you still need to pay for taxes, fees, and carrier charges for all tickets bought with miles). The value of a mile depends on how you redeem your miles and can be anywhere from £0.002 to £0.027 per mile—we think it's safe to assume a value of 1p per Flying Club mile or Avios for comparison purposes, although the value you achieve will certainly vary depending on how you use your miles/points. Typically the miles redeemed for long and costly flights are worth more than the miles used for short, economy class trips.

Most air rewards cards also offer a welcome bonus of a few thousands miles or points, plus the chance to earn other perks like 2-4-1 Companion Vouchers, upgrades or lounge access. These perks can be worth hundreds of pounds if used carefully; if they expire unused they are worth nothing.

Comparing the Best Airline Credit Cards

When analyzing the value of airline credit cards we considered many factors, including the mileage or points earnings rate, the value of the miles or points, welcome bonuses, annual fees and the estimated value of any upgrades or companion vouchers. Keep in mind that many air rewards card "perks" may seem valuable, but you need to spend money to earn them and to use them. Also, perks like companion vouchers may expire before they are used, significantly degrading the value of a card's rewards.

Below is a summary of UK air rewards credit cards and a recap of where they shine.

Comparing Air Rewards Credit Cards

How to Choose an Airline Card for You

When choosing the best airline card for you, first consider which airline flies to destinations you want to visit and which airline you most enjoy flying with. Your ultimate rewards are a function of how you redeem your miles, so choice of airline is important. Beyond that, consider the financial rewards offered by the individual credits cards.

Will You Use Companion Vouchers?

Another important consideration in choosing a card is whether or not you expect to use the companion vouchers. We know many people who have "earned and burned" companion vouchers, because they couldn't find seats when they wanted to fly during peak times. The new Virgin Atlantic Reward cards are nice in that you have a choice of companion voucher or premium upgrade (or possibly lounge access), in our view increasing the change you'll use your reward.

Card to Use on Overseas Spending?

Another point to consider is whether or not you need a credit card to use while you're out of the country. Before you travel, always be alert to the fees charged by the credit cards in your wallet, as FX fees generally add 3% to the cost of non-sterling purchases. You can learn more in our articles about cards with no foreign transaction fees and FX fees explained.