How to Earn American Express Membership Rewards Points Fast

August 26, 2021 by Rosemarie Clancy Leave a Comment

The American Express Membership Rewards program is one of the largest credit card rewards programs and the most established flexible points programs. Reward programs with flexible currency are very popular with travelers because cardholders can use reward points to purchase travel or they can be transferred to hotel and airline programs.

Many travelers prefer flexible redemption options because they don’t always have flexible travel plans. With flexible points, you can transfer points to over a dozen American Express travel partners or you can use your points to book travel directly through Amex. This is a great option when awards seats are limited or if you are not familiar with how airline programs work or don’t have the time to search for award space.

The Amex rewards program is also popular because the card issuer has a lot of credit cards that let you earn Membership Rewards. They range from ones with no annual fee to premium cards. Cardholders earn one point for every dollar spent and they earn bonus points on select categories depending on the card.

Which Cards Earn Membership Rewards?

Popular Amex cards that earn Membership Rewards points include:

the Amex EveryDay and Amex EveryDay Preferred cards,
the Green Card,
Blue from American Express,
American Express Gold Card and
the Platinum Card by American Express.

For small business owners, the Blue Business Plus card, the Business Gold Rewards card and the Business Platinum cards are the most popular ones that earn Membership Rewards points.

Amex also issues a number of co-branded hotel and airline cards, but these cards earn miles or points in the associated airline or hotel loyalty program rather than the Amex Membership Rewards program. Amex also has a number of cashback cards which also earn points, but those are redeemed for cash and are not Membership Rewards points so keep that in mind when choosing a card.

All American Express cards that earn points in the Membership Rewards program earn 1x point per dollar spent. You can maximize the points you earn by using an Amex card that lets you earn bonus points in select categories.

In this article, we’re going to cover some of the ways you can boost your Membership Rewards points balance by taking advantage of bonus points earning opportunities using both personal and business charge and credit cards issued by American Express.

12 Ways to Earn Amex Rewards Points Quickly

Take Advantage of Sign-Up Bonuses

Credit card sign-up bonuses are the best way to jumpstart your Amex rewards balance or build your points stash. There are five personal American Express credit cards that offer welcome bonuses to get you on your way. Amex will only allow you to earn one sign-up bonus for any particular card so it’s a good idea to apply when there is an elevated offer.

Two Amex cards are currently offering big bonuses for a limited time including the Platinum Card from American Express, which is currently offering a whopping 100,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 in the first six months you have the card. The card does have a $695 annual fee though, so make sure the rewards and benefits are worth it for you before hitting the apply button.

If that annual fee is too high for you, then you might want to consider the Amex Gold card, which has a $250 annual fee and an elevated sign-up bonus of 60,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend $4,000 within the first six months. Most other Amex cards in the Membership Rewards program also offer sign-up bonuses, but these are the two largest bonuses currently available for personal cards.

Find Bonus Spending Categories that Fit Your Life

Bonus spending categories are a great way to maximize your points earning ability. It’s a good idea to make sure the card you are applying for rewards you in the areas where you spend the most.

For example, as part of its sign-up bonus, the Amex Platinum card lets you earn 10x points per dollar spent at restaurants and when you shop small in the US for the first six months on up to $25,000 in combined purchases. You’ll also earn 5x on flights and prepaid hotels, and one point per dollar on all other purchases.

The Amex Gold card offers 4x per dollar on dining and groceries and 3x on flights. These are both good options for travelers. Other cards in the American Express Membership Rewards lineup also have bonus spending categories, but in general the better bonuses can be found on cards with an annual fee.

Book Flights Using Amex Gold or Platinum

Book a flight using the Platinum Card by American Express (see credit score requirements) or the Amex Gold Card (see credit score requirements) and earn 5x or 3x points respectively. Airline tickets purchased through third-party airline booking sites don’t trigger the bonus so be sure to book directly with the airline.

If you spend $10,000 a year on airfare and book it with the carrier using the Platinum card, you’ll earn 50,000 points a year. The same amount charged to your Gold Card will earn you 30,000 Membership Rewards points.

There is no limit on bonus points earned with the Gold Card, and the bonus is maxed out if you spend $500,000 on airfare annually with the Platinum card. Most people don’t spend that much money flying, but if you travel frequently, fly first class and bring companions, you might max out this bonus. If you do, that would earn you 2.5 million Membership Rewards points.

Use Amex Travel

Use Amex Travel to book your travel and earn bonus points. Most Amex travel cards offer bonuses on bookings through their portal. For example, the Platinum offers 5x per dollar spent on prepaid hotel bookings through Amex, and the Gold offers 3x per dollar spent on airfare booked through the Amex portal. The EveryDay Preferred card earns 3x points on all travel booked through Amex Travel.

Business cards in the lineup also offer bonuses for booking through the Amex portal. The Business Platinum Card for example offers 5x on flights and prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel.

Use an Amex EveryDay card

If you don’t travel that frequently, there is a way to earn 20% or 50% extra points per month if you use one of the Amex EveryDay cards often. The no-fee Amex EveryDay card earns 2x on groceries and one point on everything else. The Amex EveryDay Prefered credit card, which carries a $95 annual fee, earns 3x per dollar spent on groceries and 2x at gas stations.

If you use one of these card cards 30 times or more per month, you’ll earn a bonus that month. The no-fee card has a 20% bonus and the Preferred version offers a 50% bonus every month you make the required number of charges.

There is no minimum amount needed to qualify for the bonus, so even buying a pack of gum will count. But if the purchases are small the bonus will be as well, so keep that in mind. You can use the card every day to buy your morning coffee and to pay for your daily commute to work and easily hit the bonus, but be sure to take advantage of bonus earning categories like gas stations and supermarkets to maximize the points you earn.

Buy Groceries

Using an Amex card to buy groceries can be very rewarding. If you use the Amex Gold Card, you can earn 4x points on groceries at US supermarkets up to $25,000 per calendar year. If you spend $1,000 a month on groceries, you’ll earn 4,000 Membership Rewards points a month or 48,000 a year.

If you use the EveryDay Preferred card for your grocery shopping and you spend $500 a month on groceries which earn 3x with that card up to $6,000 a year, you’ll earn 1,500 points per month. If you make 30 purchases of any kind to get the 50% bonus, those 1,500 points from grocery spend will become 2,250 points.

After bonus categories are maxed out, you earn one point per dollar spent, so keep track of how much spend and switch to a new Amex card with a supermarket bonus if you reach the cap.

Bonuses are only at US supermarkets and some stores that sell groceries may not be categorized by Amex as supermarkets. For example, Amex does not classify specialty food stores, superstores like Walmart or Target, or warehouse clubs like Costco as supermarkets. When in doubt, check your statement to see how the store is categorized.

Dine Out or Order Takeout

Earn 4x points per dollar spent eating out w/ Amex Gold!

If you dine out or order takeout and you have the Amex Gold card, you can earn 4x points per dollar spent on those purchases up to $25,000 per year. If you max out that category by spending a little more than $2,000 per month at restaurants or for food deliveries, that adds up to 100,000 points a year.

Also, the Platinum card is currently offering 10x points on restaurant dining worldwide and at small business in the Amex Shop Small collection as part of its welcome bonus. That bonus is only good for new cardmembers in the first six months of holding the card, and it caps out at $25,000 in combined purchases. But if you max out that bonus, it’s worth 250,000 bonus points.

Several Amex cards also offer a monthly dining credit that will automatically appear on your statement the month the purchase is made. For example, the Gold Card offers up to a $10 credit every month on orders through GrubHub, Seamless, or at the Cheesecake Factory, Boxed and participating Shake Shacks. Other certain co-branded Delta, Hilton and Marriott Amex cards also offer dining credits from $5 to $20 so check the fine print to see if your card is eligible.

Fuel Up

Fuel up or get snacks at the gas station and you can also earn bonus Membership Rewards points with Amex cards. The Amex EveryDay Preferred credit card, which is a mid-tier card that has a $95 annual fee, will earn you 2x points on US gas stations.

The American Express Business Gold Card automatically gives you 2x points each month on the two categories you spend the most on in that billing cycle up to $150,000 a year, and US gas stations is one of the categories. If you spend $500 a month in gas and it is one of your two top spending categories, you will earn 1,000 Membership Rewards points a month.

Use an Amex Business Card

Use an Amex business card to earn bonus points. If you have the Business Gold you will earn 2x bonus points on your top two spending categories up to $150,000 as noted above. The categories that can potentially earn double points are gas stations, airfare purchased directly from the airline, US restaurant dining including takeout and delivery, advertising online, TV or radio in the US, shipping and select technology like hardware, software and cloud storage.

The Blue Business Plus card lets you earn 2x points on business expenses up to $50,000 per year. That can translate to 100,000 points. You earn one point per dollar spent after you reach that limit.

If you have the Amex Business Platinum you can earn 1.5 points per dollar spent on big purchases over $5,000 up to a million points per year. A $10,000 purchase for example will earn you 15,000 Membership Rewards points.

Review your Amex Offers

Amex Offers are discounts and bonus earning opportunities on dining, shopping and travel. The offers are linked to your card, and you can find them by logging into your account and viewing your offers by card. If you have more than one Amex card, check offers for each card as the deals vary by card. And check often as offers expire and new ones are added frequently.

The offers typically have an expiration date, but there is no limit on how many you can add so if you think you might use an offer, go ahead and add it to your Amex card and be sure to use the associated card to make the purchase.

You can enable your location to view local offers, or you can find offers for online stores, restaurant chains, gas stations and retailers. For example, current offers on some cards include an extra bonus point up to 5,000 points on bestbuy.com purchases and two extra bonus points per dollar spent at Yard House, Longhorn Steakhouse or Capital Grille. There are also offers for BP, Amoco and Shell that earn two or three bonus points per dollar spent.

Shop through Rakuten

Rakuten has partnered with Amex so you can earn membership rewards points.

Shop through Rakuten, which was formerly known as Ebates, to earn bonus points. Rakuten offers cashback rebates for in-store and online shopping, and they have partnered with American Express and you can now earn Membership Rewards instead of cash.

You need to set up a new account to earn Amex points as you can’t convert your current account from cashback to Membership Rewards. You’ll verify your Amex account by using your American Express login.

Once you sign up, you can earn 3,000 Membership Rewards points if you make a purchase over $25 in the first 90 days after opening your account. When shopping online, be sure to go to the online retailer from the Rakuten site to get the bonus offer. If you plan to use an in-store offer, you need to link your card and activate the offer.

Add more Users or Refer a Friend

You can also earn Amex Membership Rewards points for adding an authorized user or referring a friend to sign up for a card. The offers to add an authorized user are targeted or may be offered when you apply.

If you want to refer someone, go to the “Refer a Friend” section in your online account or in the app and share your custom link via text or email. The bonus points vary by card and the applicant has to be approved for you to get the points, but the Amex EveryDay and Blue Business Plus cards have a referral bonus of 10,000 points with a limit of 55,000 points earned by referrals each year.

Final Thoughts

American Express allows you to carry up to five of their credit cards at any time including business cards, so if you want to accumulate a boatload of Membership Rewards points to splurge on a first class ticket or take the whole family on vacation, you can apply for a few cards. Charge cards are not included so you can have the Amex Green, Gold or Platinum card plus five other personal or business cards.

Watch for elevated offers so you can get the biggest welcome bonus available since you can only get it once. Be sure to space out the applications to give yourself enough time to meet the minimum spend on each card. If your credit score is in the excellent range above 720, you can apply for the Gold or Platinum card. But if your score is borderline, you might want to start with the EveryDay card as it will be easier to get approved for.

When it comes time to spend, use the highest earning Amex card in your wallet for your spending categories, and be mindful of the caps on earning. You’ll be able to accumulate plenty of Membership Rewards points and reach your travel goal quickly with this strategy.

How to get United Airlines Elite Premier Status + is it worth it in 2021?

August 25, 2021 by Lauren Graves Leave a Comment

United Airlines is known for two things:

having a ton of flight routes (including ultra long haul flights)
and having one of the best (if not the best) frequent flyer programs.

MileagePlus is well known for having valuable miles that don’t expire and a wide variety of awards to choose from. Even basic members who don’t travel often get preferential treatment and save more when flying, but fans of the airline know that being an elite member is the way to go.

Here’s how to reach elite status with United Airlines loyalty program, MileagePlus, and what elite membership with this particular airline looks like.

About MileagePlus Membership

If you’re not already a MileagePlus member, this is your sign to enroll.

There is no fee for becoming a MileagePlus member. Just fill out this form with your personal information to create an account. You must be over the age of 18 to join, but parents can create an account on their children’s behalf.

Miles you rack up as a MileagePlus member can be used to book award travel, pay for seat upgrades, stay at hotels, pay for rental cars, and so much more. You can also use your miles to book travel for someone else, whether that’s flight tickets or hotel reservations. But we’ll go into more detail about how to use your miles later on in this article.

MileagePlus miles don’t expire as of 2019, but you do need to keep your account in good standing in order to make sure they’re still there when you need them. Always update your personal information when it changes and respond to communication from United Airlines promptly if there is a problem to avoid having your account closed. While some people have had success in getting their miles back in these scenarios, it’s not guaranteed and may cost you.

Anyone can earn miles, but premier members earn the most. To become a premier member, you need points.

Earn Points to Reach Elite Status

From now through January 31, 2023, it’s actually easier than ever to reach premier status within the MileagePlus program. This is because United has lowered the point and flight requirements to reach elite status and allowed United credit cardholders to earn points on their spending too.

Here are some of the best ways to earn enough points to qualify for premier status through the MileagePlus program.

Fly With United Airlines

Starting with the obvious, you can earn miles by taking flights through United Airlines.

For United flights and tickets issued by United for flights on partner airlines, points are not calculated by distance traveled but by Premier Qualifying Points (PQP) and Premier Qualifying Flights (in other words, it goes by how much you spend not how far you fly). For partner flights booked outside of United, points are calculated by distance.

You can increase your status with a combination of PQF and PQP or PQP. Here are the points and flight thresholds for each premier membership tier.

Premier Silver – 8 PQF and 3,000 PQP OR 3,500 PQP
Premier Gold – 16 PQF and 6,000 PQP OR 7,000 PQP
Premier Platinum – 24 PQF and 9,000 PQP OR 10,000 PQP
Premier 1K – 36 PQF and 13,500 PQP or 15,000 PQP

Contrary to how it seems, you can’t qualify for premier status with PQP alone. Even with the minimum number of PQP required you need to fly at least four segments on United or United Express flights to be eligible to bump up your level.

Lifetime Gold, Platinum, and 1K status are possible. If you reach one million miles, you will be a Premier Gold member for life. If you reach two million miles, you will be a Premier Platinum member for life. And if you reach three million miles, you will be a Premier 1K member for life. Unless you reach lifetime status, you need to qualify for premier each year.

In addition to earning points when you fly, members earn miles (but you already knew that).

Certain flight classes and routes are eligible to earn more miles than others. For example, business and first class tickets earn you more miles than economy tickets. In fact, Basic Economy tickets earn 50% premier qualifying miles while Premium Plus tickets earn 150% premier qualifying miles. Here’s what each fare class earns in bonus miles.

You also earn points more easily with premier status regardless of what flight classes you choose. For example, base MileagePlus members do not earn any bonus miles when they fly, but Premier Platinum members earn four miles per dollar on top of the five miles per dollar granted to everyone for a total of nine miles per dollar spent.

Base members: 5 miles/dollar
Premier Silver members: 7 miles/dollar
Premier Gold members: 8 miles/dollar
Premier Platinum members: 9 miles/dollar
Premier 1K members: 11 miles/dollar

No matter what your membership status, you can only earn up to 75,000 miles on any single flight.

Please note that you only earn miles when you’re the one doing the traveling. If you, for example, book a flight for another MileagePlus member or non-member, you will not receive points in your account for that trip unless you also take it yourself.

Purchase Preferred Seats

You can earn more PQP per ticket when you pay for seat upgrades. Economy Plus seating and subscriptions and other types of preferred seating qualify you for more points, and you can earn even more when you pay for upgrades. Upgrade to a higher flight class such as Polaris or First Class or pay for a seat with more legroom or closer to the door.

Not all flights offer seat upgrades and some make them available after booking rather than during. Premier members, those who have booked premium seating, and Chase cardholders who spend at least $25,000 per year are prioritized for upgrades on the waitlist. You are not guaranteed an upgraded seat unless you receive confirmation from United before checking in.

Only upgrades you pay for earn you PQP. You can use your miles to purchase MileagePlus Upgrade Awards, but you won’t get any points for it. And if your loyalty status qualifies you for free upgrades, these won’t earn points either.

Use Accelerators

You also have the option to purchase additional award miles at a reduced price when you are making a booking with United’s “Accelerator” products. These are specifically designed to help you pad your account with miles (not points).

Award Accelerator lets you add award miles to your purchase when making a flight booking. These are discounted off their base price and go right into your account within 24 hours. Premier Accelerator lets you specifically by elite qualifying miles. You need to purchase miles through Award Accelerator in order to apply Premier Accelerator boosts.

Fly With a Partner Airline

United partners with a number of other airlines through the Star Alliance network. You are eligible to earn premier qualifying credit on flights you take through partner airlines when you are a MileagePlus member of any status.

Preferred partners within the Star Alliance network include (but are not limited to) Air China, All Nippon Airways, Air Canada, SWISS International Airlines, and Lufthansa. MileagePlus partners include Singapore Airlines, SAS, Aegean Airlines, EgyptAir, Olympic Air, and Air India.

See a complete list of United Airlines preferred Star Alliance partners and MileagePlus partners here. Note that Aer Lingus, Aeromar, Boutique Air, Cape Air, Hawaiian Airlines, Vistara, and Silver Airways, though currently or previously part of the Star Alliance network or MileagePlus network, do not participate in the MileagePlus program.

Preferred partner flights earn more than MileagePlus partner flights. You can earn up to 1,500 PQP when you fly first or business class with a preferred partner or 1,000 when you fly first or business with a MileagePlus partner. Economy and Premium Economy points are capped at 750 for preferred partner flights and 500 for MileagePlus partner flights.

To determine how many PQP a partner flight will earn, determine how many award miles you would be eligible for if you were booking a United Airlines flight (reference the previous section to see how many miles per dollar you’ll earn based on your loyalty status) and:

Divide by five for preferred partners or
Divide by six for MileagePlus partners

Your award status may make you eligible for miles bonuses as well, though they may not exceed the maximums above and do not count as part of your base miles.

Certain flight classes such as Basic Economy and certain destinations such as Cuba and Venezuela are not eligible to earn PQP at this time (subject to change).

If you book a flight on a partner airline but purchase the ticket through United, your award miles will be calculated using the price of your fare. If you book a flight on a partner airline and purchase the ticket through that airline, your award miles will be calculated using the flight distance and fare class.

Tickets purchased from United usually earn more miles than tickets purchased through a partner, but that shouldn’t stop you from capitalizing on opportunities to earn MileagePlus points when flying internationally.

Use Your Credit Card

United MileagePlus Chase Cardmembers are now eligible to earn points on their annual spending in addition to bonus miles for their accounts. PQP earned through card spending can be applied up to 1K status as long as you still have enough PQF to level up. Only United Presidential Plus and United Presidential Plus Business cardmembers can work their way up to 1K with card PQP and other PQP without having to meet PQF requirements.

The more elite your card, the more you can earn.

All cardholders can earn 500 PQP for every $12,000 they spend, up to 1,000 points per year for the majority of cardholders but up to 3,000 points per year for MileagePlus Select, Club, Club Infinite, and Quest cardholders. Presidential Plus cardholders can earn up to 10,000 a year by earning 500 PQP for every $12,000 they spend.

All cardholders except Presidential Plus cardholders can earn up to 5,000 PQP in a year. Presidential Plus cardholders can earn up to 10,000.

You still need to have enough PQF or ther PQP to qualify for Premier 1K status because it’s not possible to get there through just credit card spending, but points you get using your card can really add up.

United Airlines offers several different branded credit cards in partnership with Chase Bank. These include the following:

Note that the United MileagePlus Select has been discontinued and is no longer available to new customers and the Club card is now the Club Infinite card. Read more about these cards below. You may also be interested in our best credit cards for United Airlines frequent flyers guide as well.

United Gateway Card

This card earns two miles for every dollar spent on United purchases, fuel purchases, and transportation and rideshare purchases and one mile for every dollar spent on everything else. Earn up to 30,000 bonus miles when you spend $1,000 or more within three months of opening your account. There is no annual fee.

United Explorer Card

This card earns two miles for every dollar spent on United purchases, dining, and hotels and one miles on everything else. Earn up to 70,000 bonus miles when you spend $3,000 or more within three months of opening your account. The annual fee for the United Explorer card is $95 after the first year.

United Quest Card

This is the newest card in the lineup. Earn 100,000 bonus miles when you spend $5,000 or more within three months of opening your account. This card earns three miles for every dollar spent on United purchases (including airfare, cruises, hotel bookings, car rentals, transportation, etc.); two miles for every dollar spent on all other travel, dining, and streaming services; and one mile for every dollar spent on everything else.

United Club Infinite

This is the most elite United credit card there is. Earn up to 75,000 bonus miles when you use your card to spend $3,000 or more within three months of opening your account. This card earns four miles for every dollar spent on United purchases, two miles for every dollar spent on dining, and one mile for everything else. The annual fee for the United Club Infinite card is $525.

How to Earn More Miles

What good is a loyalty account without a balance? Here are a few of the best ways to earn miles besides flying.

Shop and Dine Through MileagePlus

If you don’t have anywhere to go anytime soon, just stay where you are and use the MileagePlus shopping and dining portals to earn miles on purchases you’d be making anyway.

MileagePlus shopping is a portal that lets members earn miles shopping online or in-person at select stores. According to United, members earn an average of 3,123 miles annually just by shopping.

There are over 900 stores featured in the MileagePlus shopping portal and most of them earn you about a mile or half mile per dollar you spend. Different retailers offer different bonuses, and the deals always rotate. Shop online right through the portal or shop in-person by linking a credit or debit card to your MileagePlus account and paying with that.

Sometimes, you can earn as much as three or four miles per dollar. Often, however, extra miles are limited to certain spending categories. For example, you can earn up to four miles per dollar at Sam’s Club right now, but only on spending toward new memberships. Be sure to read the fine print and shop the places offering extra miles. There may also be miles caps.

Refer Friends

If you have a co-branded United MileagePlus credit card, one of the fastest and easiest ways to earn miles is to refer people. All cardmembers can earn 10,000 bonus miles for every friend they refer up to five friends of 50,000 miles per year. Just share your unique referral link with a friend and they can use it to sign up.

People you refer have their pick of any MileagePlus credit card available and do not have to get the same card as you.

Buy More Miles

While we don’t typically recommend purchasing miles outright, this is a pretty easy way to bulk up your account. Before buying miles through MileagePlus, calculate the cost of each mile. MileagePlus miles are estimated to be worth about 1.6 cents apiece, so you’ll want to keep this in mind. Look for discounts and BOGO offers

You can use this option if you’re really close to reaching elite status but not quite there or if you see a great deal on miles. Otherwise, we suggest you try the above methods for getting award miles.

How to Use Miles

You can use your miles in a number of ways. You can use them to purchase award travel, bump up your seat class, or book hotels.

Buy Award Tickets

Most premier members use their miles to fly. To book award travel, use this link and sign into your account. This tool shows only available award tickets for your destination and preferences. Award travel is often limited to select flights and seats, so it helps to not be too picky.

Book Hotels, Cars, and Cruises

Flights aren’t the only kind of travel you can book with miles. You can also pay for hotel stays, rental cars, and even cruise trips using your MileagePlus balance by making reservations through United Hotel Awards, Cruise Awards, or Car Awards.

If you have a loyalty account with a particular rental car company or cruise or hotel chain, be sure to enter your loyalty ID when checking out to earn points for that account too.

Purchase Gift Cards and Experiences

If you download the MileagePlus X app, you can use your miles to purchase physical or electronic gift cards at stores and restaurants.

MileagePlus members also have exclusive access to events and experiences through MileagePlus Exclusives. Examples include concerts, wine tastings, and private tours. Some VIP events are reserved only for members with premier status.

Transfer Miles to Someone Else

If you’re feeling generous or want a simple gift, you can always transfer some of your miles to another MileagePlus member’s account. It costs $7.50 per 500 miles to do this.

Perks of Elite Status – Is It Worth It

You’re probably wondering whether making the effort to reach elite status is worth it. To that, we say absolutely. Because MileagePlus miles never expire, this loyalty program is definitely more rewarding than others that’ll have you scrambling to keep your miles from voiding. MileagePlus miles also don’t have as significant a markup as other airlines, so you get more for your “buck.”

And although earning points more easily as a premier member is a definite plus, elite status comes with a number of perks and advantages besides miles in your account. Premier members get:

Priority boarding and check in
Complimentary seat upgrades whenever they’re available
Free checked bags on every flight
Early access to seats for themselves and their travel companions (plus access on sold-out flights)
Fees waived for changes and cancellations
Premier status with Marriott Bonvoy and Hertz

Click here to see the full benefits chart for premier members.

Final Thoughts

All in all, we have to agree that the MileagePlus loyalty program is one of the best out there. Achieving premier status is not as difficult as it is for some other frequent flyer programs and rewards members with miles, perks, and savings. It’s definitely worth climbing the ladder to premier status for the miles that don’t expire and the freebies.

The Ultimate Guide to Costco Travel in 2021

August 19, 2021 by Lauren Graves Leave a Comment

Costco keeps managing to collect new members to the tune of a 6%+ increase every year for the past several years, so it only makes sense that new stores are popping up all over the country and even on other continents. And Costco’s deals aren’t confined to their 150,000-square-foot-or-more warehouses—any Costco member can tell you that.

But while people seem to love Kirkland products and Costco’s infamous rotisserie chicken, Costco Travel doesn’t get as much recognition as you might think. That is, unless you know just how much time and money you can save on vacation packages, hotel stays, and more through Costco’s very own travel platform.

We’ve put together this comprehensive guide to Costco Travel to make planning your next trip a bit easier and help you get the best possible deals on travel next time you take to the road, skies, or seas.

What Is Costco Travel

Costco Travel is Costco’s travel department promising deals on trips and the winning service long-time customers have come to expect from the Costco Wholesale Corporation. Costco Travel employs travel experts to help customers plan trips and features a suite of discounted travel products including flights, hotel stays, car rentals, and more.

To find out if Costco has the lowest prices on travel, we’ll compare costs with Expedia, a well-known online booking platform, throughout this article.

Who Is Eligible to Use Costco Travel?

As you might expect, you need to be a Cotsco member to be eligible to book travel services through this retailer. You also need to be a U.S. resident.

A Costco membership will cost you at least $60. There are three types of Costco memberships, and these are:

Gold Star Membership:

Membership fee of $60 annually
Valid at all U.S. locations and online
Includes one card for the primary cardholder and one Household Card (eligible to be used by family members)

Business Membership:

Membership fee of $60 annually
Valid at all U.S. locations
Includes one card for the primary cardholder and one Household Card free
Can add more cardholders for $60 each
Can be used for resale

Gold Star Executive Membership:

Membership fee of $120 annually
2% annual reward on all Costco Wholesale and Costco Travel purchases, limit $1,000
Exclusive discounts
Costco Connection magazine subscription

Please note that all Costco membership levels have a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Many Costco Travel packages and bookings are extra-discounted for Executive members and may come with complimentary perks and benefits on top of this. Plus, elite members earn 2% annually on all Costco purchases including travel (with exceptions for fees and service charges), so it may be worth it to splurge on that higher membership level if you do a lot of traveling.

Costco does not, unfortunately, price match its travel products.

How to Open a Costco Travel Account

You do not automatically have a Costco Travel account when you are a Costco member, so you need to sign up. And while not you’re not required to have a Travel account when booking travel and can check out as a guest, you can make things a lot easier on yourself in the future by opening an account and saving your information and preferences.

To create a Travel account, you need to go to the Costco Travel website and first enter your membership ID number. You can find this 12-digit number on the back side of your membership card or on your Costco Anywhere Visa Card, if you have one.

Then, you will need to provide the email address linked to your Costco account and create a unique password just for Costco Travel purposes. To finish, just select “Create Account.” You will receive an email to confirm your registration. There is no additional fee for a Costco Travel account and your account will stay active as long as your Costco membership remains open and in good standing.

Can You Book Travel for Someone Else?

Yes, Costco Travel lets members use their accounts to book some travel, such as vacation packages and rental cars, for non-Costco members. This is allowed even if you will not be traveling with them. And, such trips are still eligible to receive the annual reward of 2%.

You just need to provide a name and date of birth for everyone in the party and you will be responsible for any fees your travelers may incur by failing to provide the necessary travel documents. Otherwise, there are no additional costs when you book for someone else.

Vacation Packages

Vacation Packages are Costco Travel’s bread and butter. With an impressive range of package types and locations, there’s something for everyone. You need to be 25 years old or older to book most packages.

Costco vacation packages include everything from air travel to hotel or resort bookings. Each package comes with unique perks, like complimentary massages, and exclusive discounts and coupons such as food and beverage credits, Costco Shop Cards, and recreation credits.

Vacation packages are priced per person and default to double occupancy. However, many are family-friendly, and some even let kids stay at discounted rates or for free.

With all vacation packages, the prices you see are based on a preselected room type. You can change this or even add additional destinations and excursions not included in the base vacation, but you will almost definitely end up paying more.

Where Will You Go?

Want to travel but don’t know where to go? There are several ways to go about narrowing down your choices.

To book a vacation package, you can start by choosing your destination. Curated packages are available in the following locations:

California (including Disneyland)
Las Vegas
Arizona
New York
Florida (including Universal Studios and Walt Disney World)
Mexico
Canada
Costa Rica
Caribbean
Cook Islands
Fiji
Tahiti
Europe and
Africa

Alternatively, you can search packages by vacation type. For example, you can filter for only getaways that are family-friendly, search the limited-time deals section, or see what’s most popular.

The “What’s New at Costco Travel” section will show you the most recently added vacation packages. These vacations won’t have as many member reviews yet, but there’s a chance they won’t sell out as quickly and you save a bit of money.

Popular Destinations

All-Inclusive Resorts, Adult Escapes, Hidden Gems, and Romantic Getaways are favorites among travelers.

All-Inclusive Resorts

All-inclusive resorts promise comfort and convenience in exotic destinations. Many of these vacation packages come with Costco Shop Cards and added perks such as free nights for kids and tour credits.

Some also come with benefits just for Executive members. For example, a stay at Majestic Mirage Punta Cana, a 5-star hotel in the Dominican Republic, includes a $100 spa credit for Executive cardholders (per room).

We’ll also tell you more about all-inclusive cruise packages, with durations from seven to 16 nights, later on in this article.

Each all-inclusive vacation package has a minimum number of nights you must stay and may specify a date range you must travel within.

Some of these packages are family-friendly and others are exclusively for adults. If you’re looking for an adult-only experience, you probably want to browse the Adult Escapes category.

Adult Escapes

Vacations in the Adult Escapes category are exclusively for people over the age of 18. Available resorts include but are not limited to the Hotel wailea, Relais & Chateaux resort in Maui, the Hammock Cove Resort & Spa in Antigua and Barbuda, and the Grand at Moon Palace resort in Cancun.

Possible perks such as $100 tour credits, $50 resort credit per day, Costco Shop Cards, and complimentary breakfasts may come free with your booking. Some but not all Adult Escapes are all-inclusive.

Hidden Gems

Hidden Gems vacation packages are for travelers who want to have remarkable experiences in places near and far.

From New York City to the Caribbean, these packages tend to be a bit more luxurious than others but still come with benefits like massage and tour credits, Costco Shop Cards, and complimentary meals.

Romantic Getaways

Finally, there’s the Romantic Getaways category. These packages feature experiences curated specifically for two adults in tropical locations such as Costa Rica, Jamaica, Maui, and Aruba.

If you’d rather stay stateside, check out the JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa in Phoenix package or the W Fort Lauderdale luxury hotel package in Fort Lauderdale.

How to Book a Vacation Package

Once you’ve decided where you’re going, you’ll select your package and read through all of the package details to make sure you’re happy with your choice. You’ll see what’s included in the reservation and any additional Costco member benefits that may apply.

Then, scroll down to the “Available Dates and Prices” section. If the “Valid for Travel Through ___” date works for you and the minimum number of nights you must stay is good, you can click “Continue.”

Word of Caution

Pay close attention to the “Valid for Travel Through ___” date . If you need to make a change to your reservation later on, Costco does not guarantee that you will get your money back and you will need to adhere to rules set by the hotel or resort you’re booking with. This goes for flights too.

Flight

Next the system will take you to the Flights section. If you don’t want a flight included in your package, uncheck the top box that says “Include Flights with your package.” If you do want a flight, enter your departure city and choose your service class, if you have a preference (otherwise, the site will show you all available flights). All flights are round-trip for vacation packages. Finally, select your dates and the number of adults and children in your party and hit “Search.”

Costco will automatically select a flight for you by choosing the option with the least amount of stops and layovers and the shortest duration. You can see this flight at the top. If you want this one, just select “Continue to Hotel” in the top right corner of the screen and you will get this flight. Please note that this is not necessarily the most affordable option.

But if you don’t like the one chosen for you, just scroll down to see your choices. The section that reads “Additional Flights Available” includes a number of filters you can use to customize your flight. You can select a narrower departure and/or arrival time window, specify which airlines you want to use, and choose how many stops you are willing to make.

Flights other than the one pre-selected for you may cost more, less, or the same as the one Costco recommends. You can find the price difference by looking for “+$” or “-$” next to the Select button. If you see a negative number, it means that flight is cheaper than the one in your bag. If you see a positive number, it means that flight is going to cost you more. Some will say “No Change in Price.”

Under each available flight, you can select the link “Preview Seat Availability, View Details and Baggage Fees” for a complete description of flight times and layovers. Airline taxes are included in the prices for all flights.

Costco Travel lets you buy flight tickets from American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, and many other major carriers. If an airline you like is not available or doesn’t have your desired flight class, try choosing a different airport for your departure. After booking a flight, you may have the option to reserve seats, but not all airlines allow you to make pre-reserved seating arrangements.

Hotel or Resort

Once you’ve picked a flight, select “Continue to Hotel” in the top right corner of the screen. The option that you see at the top is the room that is included in the booking at the price shown when you selected the package. In almost every instance, this is the best possible price. To see other options, select “Modify Room.” This will show a list of larger or more deluxe rooms with the added cost to the right.

The Costco Shop Card included in many vacation packages is calculated based on the price of your room. You will be able to see what the total amount of your card would be under “Included Extras” for each room. Please note that any room other than the one included in the original vacation package may have different cancellation and refund policies.

Transportation

Finally, select “Continue to Transportation.” This section shows you how you will be getting to your hotel from the airport. Most of the time, the pre-selected choice is in a Shared Vehicle, which is the most affordable option and will not increase the price of your trip. But if you prefer a private vehicle, you can scroll down to “Additional Transportation Options.” If a private vehicle is available, it will show up here.

All that’s left to do is select “Continue to Recap.” Take your time reviewing your entire reservation, from the Flight to the Required Documents you’ll need to take with you (note: COVID-19 restrictions require all international travelers to test negative for coronavirus and bring their test results when arriving at their airport).

Costco also arranges for free ground transportation such as shuttles and taxi cabs from your flight to your hotel and back on packages.

Can You Use Airline Points?

Unfortunately, you can’t use your airline points when booking through Costco. The booking process doesn’t allow it.

How to Build Your Own Vacation Packages

If the premade vacation packages just aren’t doing it for you, you can always create your own. All you have to do is choose what you want your bundle to include. The choices are:

Hotel, flight, and car
Hotel and flight
Hotel and car

Then, enter your destination and departure locations and your date. There are more than 2,000 destination cities to choose from. Some major cities such as Chicago, Boston, and Seattle are eligible to be bundled for discounts.

If you’d rather start your search with the best Costco Travel has to offer, scroll down the web page to the featured sections. Featured Hotels and Featured Cities highlight unique, tourist-friendly destinations—like Key West, Florida, and Los Angeles, California—and award-winning hotels and resorts like the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort and Spa and Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach in California.

The Interests section lets you explore your options according to what you most want to do on your trip, whether that’s hiking national parks, lounging on the beach, or exploring historic sites. You can even sort by Hotel Brands, which would be a good move if you’re an elite hotel rewards member (who ever said no to more rewards?). You may be eligible to earn points on these stays, but you won’t be able to use your points when booking with Costco (see “Can You Use Hotel Reward Points?”).

The process of creating the perfect vacation package yourself is much the same as when booking a pre-made package in terms of choosing your flight, room, etc.

Best Deals on Vacations

Does Costco have the best deals on vacation packages? We compared a few Costco trips with trips you can book through Expedia to find out.

Atelier Playa Mujeres is an all-inclusive resort in Cancun, Mexico. It is a popular and highly-rated vacation package on both Costco Travel and Expedia. This 5-star hotel is family- and even pet-friendly and has beach access as well as a massic pool.

Here’s what you will pay for a basic economy flight ticket from JFK airport through American Airlines and four-night stay in a Junior Suite (two queen beds), non-ocean view room when you book with either travel site at the end of August.

Costco	Expedia
– $2827.55 (including some tax and resort fees)	– $3,431.78 (including tax and resort fees)
Includes: – Room service and housekeeping – Unlimited food, drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), and snacks – WiFi – Parking on the premises – Gym access – Bathrobes and slippers – 1 50-minute massage (limit one per room, per trip)	Includes: – Room service and housekeeping – Unlimited food, drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), and snacks – WiFi – Parking on the premises – Gym access – Bathrobes and slippers

These two packages are almost identical. As you can see, Costco Travel is the more economical option by not an insignificant amount. The Costco booking also comes with more complimentary upgrades and perks than the Expedia package.

However, because Costco’s price is a limited-time deal based on a negotiated room rate, the cancellation policy is stringent. You must cancel no later than two weeks before you are scheduled to travel to get your money back. Otherwise, you’ll owe a 100% fee.

But are Costco vacation packages always less expensive? Let’s take a look by comparing a trip to New York City and a stay at the luxurious Towers at Lotte New York Palace hotel. If you were to stay for two nights, checking in on September 16 and checking out on September 18, in a room with two queen beds, this is what you can expect to pay.

Costco	Expedia
$1,318.73 (including tax)	$2,583.14 (including tax)
Includes: – WiFi – Shuttle – Transport in private vehicle from EWR airport to hotel – $25 food and beverage credit (limit one per room, per stay)	Includes: – WiFi – Shuttle

At the contracted rate Costco managed to negotiate for this particular room, you can save over $1,000 by booking through Costco rather than Expedia or the hotel itself. Plus, you’ll get a food and beverage credit and transportation from the airport if you need it. If you modify your room, you will not get this rate.

Say you’re going to be taking a trip in early October to the W Costa Rica Reserva Conchal, a sprawling top-rated resort. You’ll be taking a non-stop, round-trip flight through Alaska Airlines from Los Angeles (LAX) to Liberia (LIR) in economy class and you’ll stay at the hotel for seven nights in the Wonderful Escape Room with one king bed. For the same exact trip, flight, and room, here’s what you’ll pay.

Costco	Expedia
$3,311.05 (including tax and daily resort fee of $40)	$3,986.43 (including tax but not including daily resort fee)
Includes: – Free parking – Free – WiFi – $75 spa credit (limit one per room, per stay) – Unlimited access to driving range – Ground transportation to and from airport	Includes: – Free parking – Free WiFi

Again, the Costco vacation package is cheaper and comes with more perks. But at the end of the day, it makes the most sense to compare all of your options before booking a vacation. There will be times when Costco costs a lot less than Expedia and times when it costs more.

Keep in mind that sometimes what you gain in savings you lose in flexibility when booking Costco vacation packages. Costco doesn’t book flights on budget carriers, doesn’t let you use rewards points to save money, and often has very limited times and availability on its best-priced vacation packages.

Limited-Time Deals

There is a Limited-Time Deals category where you can see all of the discounted vacation packages on one screen. Deals might come in the form of complimentary added perks or discounted rates. These trips have short booking windows, so you have to act fast. Here are a few examples of the discounts running now:

Four nights for the price of three at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort & Spa in Oahu
Complimentary room upgrade at the Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres Resort & Spa in Cancun
$200 instant savings on a tour through Athens, Mykonos, Santorini, and Crete (in free amenities and experiences and reduced booking rates)

H2. Save More With the Costco Credit Card

To save even more on Costco vacation packages, you can open a Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi. This credit card offers:

4% cash back annually on Costco fuel purchases (first $7,000)
3% on dining and travel
2% on all Costco purchases
1% on all other non-Costco purchases

There is no annual fee for this card. You must be a Costco member of any tier to sign up.

Hotels

If you’re just looking for a place to stay and don’t need the whole package, head over to the Hotels section of the Costco Travel website. Costco Travel lets you book hotels by four different brands: IHG (including Holiday Inn, Regent, and more), Fairmont, Hyatt, and Swissotel.

With thousands of locations including luxury resorts and more modest hotels, you won’t have any trouble finding a place to stay.

How to Book Hotel Stays

The first thing you’re going to want to do when booking a hotel through Costco Travel is enter your destination and dates into the search tool. A page will automatically populate with hotels that have rooms available when you will be traveling and in close proximity to your destination.

From the results page, you can enter minimum and maximum prices to see only hotels that fit your budget and sort results by distance to city center, price high to low, or price low to high. You can also filter results by distance from your destination, member reviews, hotel star rating, hotel brand, or area.

Once you’ve chosen a hotel, the next screen will auto-select a room type for you at the price point shown when you chose the hotel. But if you want a different room, just select “Modify Room.” This will show you all of the available rooms for your stay and how much they cost in relation to the total price in the top right of your screen. Once you’ve chosen a room, select “Continue to Travelers.”

But before moving on, make note of two things: how and when you will be required to pay for your room (i.e. advance purchase, non-refundable or reserve with credit card and pay later) and included extras such as food and beverage credits or complimentary breakfasts. Advance purchase rates are always lower but may not allow for cancellations or changes.

On the next page, you will enter the names of each person traveling in your party including the Lead Traveler whose name will appear on the booking (this must be a Costco member). Be sure to enter your hotel rewards ID number if applicable.

Then, select “Continue to Special Requests.” If anyone in your party needs a specific room type such as accessible or non-smoking or you want to let the hotel know that you’re celebrating an anniversary or honeymoon, make those requests here by checking the corresponding boxes and entering comments. Costco Agents monitor requests for accessible rooms and contact members for additional details.

Finally, you can select “Continue to Payment.” If your booking requires you to pay in advance, you will need to pay in full online before finalizing the booking. Otherwise, just enter your credit card information and personal details to reserve your room and bring the same card with you to pay for your room in person.

Does Costco Have the Best Hotel Prices?

You will need to log in to your Costco account to see prices and availability on hotels. If you have a Costco Travel account, use your login information to sign in. If you don’t have a Travel account, you can choose “Continue without an account” on the right and enter your Costco membership ID and last name. Again, let’s make a side-by-side comparison of Costco and Expedia’s prices.

This time, you’ll be staying at the Hyatt House at Anaheim Resort and Convention Center in sunny California. This booking is for an accessible room with one king bed where you will be staying for two nights.

Costco	Expedia
$396.21 (including taxes)	$449 (including taxes)
Includes: – Free WiFi – Daily buffet breakfast – $12 food and beverage credit to be used at the hotel’s bar or pantry (limit one per room, per stay)	Includes: – Free WiFi – Daily buffet breakfast

If you were to book this reservation through Costco, you’d be about $50 richer. However, one thing to note about the Costco booking is that it is non-refundable. This is an advance purchase rate that is not eligible to be modified or refunded in the event of cancelation.

Adding Flights and Car Rentals to Your Hotel Booking

You can easily add other travel items onto your hotel booking if you’ve found your ideal hotel by following the above steps. Just go back to the search tool and this time choose the “Hotel + Flight,” “Hotel + Flight + Car,” or “Hotel + Car” option from the top. Then input your destination, dates, etc. to create a package.

This is the same as creating your own vacation package except that you can center the whole trip around your hotel of choice instead of viewing all of your choices at once. Just enter the name of the hotel you want in the “Hotel Name” filter on the second page and add a flight or car rental to the booking.

Featured Hotels and Cities

If you’d prefer to leave your options open, you can look through Featured Hotels, Featured Cities, or National Parks sections. This is where this site starts to feel a little like a travel agency and can help you decide where to go.

Costco also makes it easy to book stays in areas surrounding the following national parks: Yellowstone, Zion, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Indiana Dunes, and Joshua Tree. Just choose a park to see nearby accommodations.

Can You Use Hotel Reward Points?

Costco Travel does not allow users to use hotel rewards points when booking hotel reservations, but some hotels such as Hyatt do allow you to enter your loyalty number to earn points on your stays. You can also use your Costco credit card to make sure to get 2% cash back on your hotel bookings.

Cruises

Don’t skip cruises if you like sightseeing and packed itineraries. Costco cruise packages are available in every corner of the globe, with many family-friendly options and opportunities to save money.

Cruise Packages

Sail to destinations around the world including domestic waters, international waters, and even rivers. Choose from the following destinations:

Asia
Alaska
Hawaii and the South Pacific
Australia and New Zealand
North America
Mexico
Panama Canal
South America
Caribbean
Bahamas
Bermuda
Transatlantic
Europe and Mediterranean
Africa

And of course, you don’t have to choose just one location—these are cruises, after all. Choose “World Cruise” from the destination dropdown in the search tool for trips featuring multiple stops.

Costco Travel supports travel through 12 major cruise lines. These include:

Azamara
Carnival
Celebrity Cruises
Crystal Cruises
Cunard
Disney Cruise Line
Holland America Line
Norwegian Cruise Line
Princess
Regent
Royal Caribbean International
Uniworld River Cruises

How to Book Cruise Trips

As with other bookings offered by Costco Travel, there are a few ways to go about booking cruise travel. You can start with the trusty search tool and select a destination and your departure month. Keep in mind that cruise dates are not as flexible as other trips and are dependent on when a ship is scheduled to arrive and depart; Costco has no control over these dates.

Or, you can browse by category: Kirkland Signature, Buyer’s Choice, Explore Alaska, Grand Voyages and World Cruises, Discover a Private Island Paradise, and Getaway Cruises. Kirkland Signature and Buyer’s Choice cruises have some of the best discounts and exclusives for Costco members.

You can also search cruises by six major Departure Ports in the U.S. and Canada: Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale, San Francisco, Seattle, New York, and Vancouver. Finally, you can explore by cruise line to get started.

If you choose to begin with an “explore” category, the site will take you to the top deals in that category. These cruises are discounted and may include complimentary amenities.

Click on a cruise and scroll down first to the “Sailing Itinerary.” This gives a general schedule for your trip. Then go to the “Onboard the ___” section and expand the list items to get a better idea of what will be included on your trip.

Finally, view the “Available Dates & Prices” section. Confirm that these dates work for you then sign in to view prices. The rooms will be arranged from least expensive on the left to most expensive and inclusive on the right. Choose a date then a room and select “Continue.” On the next screen, select the number of staterooms you need and provide the age of each person in your party.

Don’t forget to fill in the “Savings Opportunities” section to see if you qualify for additional savings. Then hit “Continue to Stateroom Type.” This page will automatically highlight the room you already chose when you began booking, so feel free to just continue on to Stateroom Location to pick which part of the boat you want your rooms to be on (a room should already be selected for you; if you don’t like it, you may need to choose a different kind of room).

To complete the booking, just choose “Continue to Add-Ons.” Here, you can add items such as flights onto your package. After this, just continue through the steps on the screen to finalize your trip.

Can You Book Group Cruises?

Cruises are actually the only type of travel that allow for group bookings. You can book travel for large groups on most cruise trips. And in fact, you may get freebies and perks on group cruises such as a guest sailing free, extra amenities, and private dining experiences.

How many staterooms you can book at once depends on the cruise line. Uniworld Boutique River cruises allow for bookings of five or more rooms; Crystal Cruises and regent Seven Seas Cruises allow for bookings of six or more rooms; and Azamara, Carnival, Celebrity Cruises, Cunard, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, and Royal Caribbean International allow for bookings of eight or more rooms.

Only the lead traveler needs to be a Costco member.

Best Deals on Cruises

Enter your Cruise Line Loyalty information when booking for additional savings.

Rental Cars

Costco works with four different car rental agencies to provide customers with cars when traveling: Alamo, Avis, Budget, and Enterprise.

How to Book Car Rentals

Booking a rental car through Costco Travel is simple. Just enter your dates and locations into the Low Price Finder and the site will find you the most inexpensive cars available.

From this page, you can choose up to four different locations to easily compare prices across brands. This will bring you to a chart that shows you different car types and rates for each brand. You can also see what make and model of vehicle to expect. Choose a car and hit “Continue” to see Optional Equipment and Upgrades. Add the renter’s personal and contact information to finalize the reservation.

Best Deals on Car Rentals

Let’s compare prices once more, this time for car rentals. Here’s what it would cost you per day to rent a Midsize/Intermediate SUV (Mazda Cx-5 or similar) from the same Avis location in New York City.

Costco	Expedia
$179.02	$210.20

Costco Travel wins again, and its optional upgrades are cheaper too ($14 for an infant child seat from Costco compared to $17 from Expedia). Just note that this price doesn’t include any additional fees for additional drivers, drivers under the age of 25, etc.

AARP members may be offered extra savings.

Can You Use Car Rewards Points?

Unlike flights and hotel bookings, you actually can use loyalty points when reserving car rentals through Costco Travel. However, only Enterprise, Avis, and Budget are eligible (sorry, Alamo loyalty members).

Theme Parks and Specialty

Theme park and specialty vacation packages are the last kind of trip you can take through Costco Travel. These packages include everything from flights to car rentals and may also include VIP experiences such as tours, photo opportunities, and private dining.

How to Book Specialty Travel

Specialty trips include African Safaris and Guided Vacations. Choose from Walt Disney World, Disneyland Resort, and Universal Orlando for a theme park vacation. Or, go to the Vacations of a Lifetime category for luxury experiences currently being offered.

Booking many specialty trips is the same as booking any vacation package, so head back to that section of this article for a detailed, step-by-step guide through the process.

However, for some specialty travel such as Adventures by Disney packages, you may need to call for details and help booking. Other trips such as African Safaris may require you to visit an external website and work with an agent to put together a package.

User Experience

Costco is known for delivering a positive consumer experience overall, and its travel agency is no exception.

If you ever want to reach a customer support representative for questions about your booking or help scheduling a trip, call one of the following numbers.

Before your trip/during booking: 1-866-921-7925 between 7 am and 7 pm Monday through Friday or between 8 am and 5 pm PT Saturday and Sunday

During your trip: 1-866-317-4711 (same hours as above)

If you need to report an issue with your trip after the fact, submit a form through this page.

Pros and Cons of Costco Travel

One of the primary benefits of Costco Travel is convenience. You can book an entire trip from start to finish through one website (for almost every trip) in a matter of minutes without having to worry about arranging for a car to pick you up from the airport or reserving a room with the accommodations you need.

But this brings us to our first disadvantage, which is that there isn’t a lot of wiggle room when booking packages through this agency. You can’t shop around for the cheapest flights or bookings to the same extent that you’d be able to if you were making individual reservations for each item. So even though a package from Costco may cost less than a package from another travel shopping company like Expedia, you may not be getting the best price possible across the board.

You can, though, score some pretty amazing prices in the limited-time deals and sale sections of Costco Travel. For this reason, it makes a lot of sense to use this service when you can play around with your dates and destinations. However, the good prices you can get when booking travel through Costco don’t come without some drawbacks. Sometimes you’ll sacrifice reservation flexibility to save money and other times you may need to fly much earlier or later than you’d prefer in order to cut costs.

After reviewing prices, we think it makes the most sense to leave flights out of your Costco Travel purchases. You’re better off shopping around for flights and booking these with travel points whenever possible, and reserving Costco for hotel bookings and rental cars.

Your best bet, if you have the time, is to build vacations from scratch and compare prices on each component from the flight to the rental car rather than comparing vacation packages (which tend to come with a lot of upgrades you may not actually want to pay for).

Another advantage of Costco Travel is the annual reward. If you’re going to be using Costco Travel, it’s probably worth the added price of $60 to be a Gold Star Executive member so you can cash in on that 2% travel reward. Unfortunately, there are no membership tiers within Costco Travel, so you won’t save more the more you travel.

Final Thoughts

Costco Travel is impressive in a lot of ways. Booking travel through the warehouse’s travel agency can save you big money and a lot of hassle that often comes with going on trips. Flexibility is going to be your friend when booking trips through Costco Travel. The more flexible you can be with your dates, departure locations and times, and room types, the more you can save. Otherwise, it’s always best to hunt around for the best deals.

The Best Credit Cards for United Airlines Frequent Flyers in 2021

August 11, 2021 by Rosemarie Clancy Leave a Comment

Travelers have a wide selection of credit cards to choose from, which can make it difficult to figure out which one to apply for. Frequent travelers may think that a co-branded credit card from the airline that they are most loyal to is the best option, but that’s not always the case.

There are a number of things to consider when deciding which card is best including the benefits, rewards and annual fee of the card. When reviewing card offers, it’s important to compare features, but it’s equally important to keep in mind which benefits will serve you best.

In this article, we are focusing on credit cards that are a good fit for people who frequently fly on United Airlines. We’ll take a look at the most popular benefits you can expect to receive, and we’ll tell you which card is best for that travel perk.

We’ll also run through the airline’s co-branded credit cards and explain what they offer. If you are a frequent flyer on United Airlines, this guide will help you find the best card or cards based on your preferences and needs.

Best Premium Card for Lounge Access

United Airlines has a premium card that offers unlimited access to its more than 45 United Club lounges, but those are only in the busiest airports the airline serves. If you don’t see your major city on the list, it may be currently shut down. For example, SeaTac International Airport of Seattle has a United Lounge on concourse A but it is closed until further notice due to COVID-19. You can see a full list of United lounges that are currently open here.

The American Express Platinum card may be a better fit for United flyers because you get access to over 1,300 Priority Club lounges in 600 cities across 148 countries, and you can also use any of the 13 American Express Centurion lounges which are primarily in the US.

The card does have a very high annual fee of $695, but it comes with a $200 annual travel credit, elite status in Marriott and Hilton loyalty programs, and up to $200 a year in Uber credits, $100 in Saks Fifth Avenue credits and reimbursement of TSA PreCheck or Global entry fees. There are also other credits and perks to offset the annual fee including discounts on flights on over two dozen airlines through the International Airline Program.

The sign-up bonus on the Amex Platinum card is 60,000 bonus points when you spend $4,000 in the first three months after getting approved. The value of those bonus points and other benefits will definitely offset the annual fee the first year if you use all the credits.

Best Premium Flexible Points Card to Earn United Airlines Miles

You may think that having a co-branded United Airlines card would also be the best option to earn maximum rewards for your travels. But the Chase Sapphire Reserve can really help you boost your United MileagePlus balance because the Reserve card earns 3x Ultimate Rewards points on all your travel and dining and one point on all other purchases. United is a Chase partner, so you can transfer your Ultimate Rewards points to your MileagePlus account and turn them into miles at a 1:1 ratio.

The card also has some great travel protection including trip cancellation/interruption insurance of up to $10,000 per person or $20,000 per trip. It also has trip delay reimbursement of up to $500 per ticket if the delay is more than 12 hours. If your bags are delayed more than six hours, you will be reimbursed up to $100 a day for up to five days. And it provides primary car rental insurance.

The Sapphire Reserve card does have a $550 annual fee, but you get a $300 travel credit to help offset the fee. It also comes with a 60,000-point sign-up bonus after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months, so that bonus and the other benefits and earning opportunities will more than cover the cost of holding the card the first year.

Best Mid-Tier Flexible Points Card for Earning United Miles

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the mid-tier card in the Chase Ultimate Rewards family of credit cards. It is a good choice if you want to earn flexible points that can be transferred to United, and it has the same travel protections as the Sapphire Reserve for a much lower annual fee.

The Preferred card costs $95 a year, and it is currently offering a limited time bonus of 100,000 points if you make $3,000 in purchases in the first three months of having the card. The Preferred card earns 2x points on travel, dining and food delivery and one point on everything else.

Best Card With No Annual Fee for United Flyers

Chase also issues the best card with no annual fee for United frequent flyers. The Chase Freedom Unlimited earns points in the same Ultimate Rewards program that the Sapphire Preferred and Reserve cards do, but there is no fee to hold the card.

You earn 5x points on grocery store purchases up to $12,000 per year. Travel purchased through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal will also earn 5x points, and all other purchases earn 1.5x points which transfer to United at a 1:1 ratio like the other cards in the UR family.

The Freedom Unlimited card has a $200 bonus offer after spending $500 in the first three months. The card also has a 0% introductory APR so this may be a good choice if you plan to carry a balance or just don’t want to pay an annual fee.

Best Small Business Card for United Airlines Frequent Flyers

The Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express also does not charge an annual fee, and it lets you earn 2x Membership Rewards points on all purchases up to $50,000 a year, and one point per dollar after that.

Membership Rewards points can’t be transferred directly to United, but MR points do transfer to Star Alliance partners, so you can book a United award seat through one of those carriers. Or you can use the points to book travel on United through Amex Travel.

The welcome bonus is 15,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $3,000 in the first three months. And like the Freedom Unlimited, it also has a 0% introductory APR for the first 12 months.

United Airlines Co-Branded Credit Cards

There are some key credit card benefits that will make your flights more enjoyable and save you money. Popular perks for frequent flyers include free checked bags, lounge access and upgrades. Frequent flyers on United may already have some of these perks because of the type of fare they book or because of their MileagePlus elite status.

But if you’re not flying in business or first class and/or don’t have elite status perks, a United Airlines co-branded card can help you access those types of benefits. Now that we’ve covered which non-United cards are best for earning, lounge access and other benefits, let’s go over the perks of holding a United Airlines co-branded credit card.

United offers several co-branded personal credit cards through Chase, which include everything from premium cards to ones with no-fee. Benefits vary as you would expect, with the most expensive card in the lineup offering the greatest perks. We’ve outlined which cards are the best for the benefits most sought after by United passengers.

Best Credit Card for United Club Access

If you primarily travel from an airport that has a United Club lounge, then the United Club Infinite card is probably your best choice for lounge access. This premium United credit card has a $525 annual fee, but the annual United Club lounge membership alone (valued at $650) can justify the cost if you use it frequently.

Plus there are other benefits. You’ll get two free checked bags, which is a valuable benefit if you travel with multiple pieces of luggage or other goods that need to be checked. United Airlines charges $35 each way for your first bag, and $45 for a second checked bag, so the savings can really add up.

You’ll also get Premier Access priority check-in and boarding, 25% back on in-flight purchases, Premier Upgrades on award tickets and a $100 credit toward TSA Precheck or Global Entry. There are also other benefits including Hertz Gold Plus Rewards President’s Circle elite status and access to the Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection.

The Infinite card comes with a 75,000 point sign-up bonus after spending $3,000 in the first three months of account opening. This card will earn you 4x miles per dollar spent on United purchases, 2x miles on other travel and dining and one mile per dollar on everything else purchased using the card.

Best Co-Branded Card for Elite Status and Upgrades

Elite status in the United MileagePlus loyalty program (referred to as MileagePlus Premier) offers many benefits for frequent flyers including upgrades, but most miles earned through spending on credit cards do not help travelers achieve status.

The United Quest Card can help you move to the next tier in the airline’s frequent flyer program. You can earn up to 3,000 Premier qualifying points (PQPs) every year, which is enough points to move your status up one tier from Silver to Gold or Gold to Platinum. You’ll also receive 500 PQPs for every $12,000 spent on the Quest credit card.

This card has a $250 annual fee, but you get a $125 statement credit towards United purchases including airfare. It also includes up to two free checked bags on every flight and free Premier Upgrades if available. You’ll also get priority boarding and 25% off in-flight purchases. This card earns 3x miles on United purchases, 2x on all other travel and dining including eligible food delivery, and one point per dollar on everything else.

The Quest card actually currently has a slightly larger sign-up bonus than the premium Infinite card, but the minimum spend to get the bonus is also more. You’ll receive 80,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first three months after the card is approved. You can also get 20,000 more bonus miles if you spend $10,000 total in the first six months for a whopping 100,000 United miles.

Best United Card for Free Checked Bag

All of the United Airlines credit cards that charge a fee come with a free checked bag, but the United Explorer Card offers the best value for most consumers who only need to check one bag when flying.

This Explorer is the airline’s mid-tier co-branded card. It has a $95 annual fee which is waived the first year, so your bag won’t cost you anything to check. And if you take at least two roundtrips on the carrier and check a bag, you’ll cover the cost of holding the card in the second year and beyond.

You’ll also have access to other card benefits which include priority boarding, a 25% discount on in-flight purchases, two United Club passes a year and TSA Precheck or Global Entry every four years.

This card comes with a 60,000 mile bonus once you spend $3,000 on the card in the first three months after opening the account. If you spend at least $6,000 total in the first six months, you’ll get 10,000 additional bonus miles. The Explorer card also earns 3x points on United flights, 2x on hotels and dining and one point per dollar spent on other purchases.

Best United Credit Card With No Annual Fee

If you’re trying to avoid an annual fee but you still want a co-branded card to earn miles, the United Gateway Card is a good option. It’s also a good card to downgrade to if you don’t want to keep paying the annual fee on a United card.

The sign-up bonus is not as impressive as the other United co-branded cards, but the minimum spend is also much less. You can earn up to 15,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 on the card within the first three months of having it. And if you spend a total of $3,000 in the first six months, you’ll earn 15,000 more miles for a total of 30,000.

This card is the only United card that does not come with a free checked bag or priority boarding, but it does earn 2x miles per dollar spent on United Airlines, at gas stations and on transit including local commuting charges. You’ll also get a 25% discount on in-flight purchases of food, beverages and Wi-Fi as you do with the other United co-branded credit cards.

Best United Small Business Card

If you own a business, you should consider the United Business card, which currently has a sign-up bonus of up to 150,000 bonus miles. The card includes a free checked bag, priority boarding and two United Club passes for one-time use every year. Employee cards are free, and like other United cards you get a 25% discount on in-flight purchases. The annual fee for this card is $99, and you can earn a $100 credit if you book seven flights a year that cost over $100 each.

The sign-up bonus is 75,000 miles after you spend $5,000 in the first three months, and an additional 75,000 miles if you spend a total of $20,000 in the first six months of having the card. You’ll also earn two miles per dollar on United purchases, dining, gas stations, office supply stores and on local transit, and one mile per dollar on everything else.

Final Thoughts

Travelers have different needs and priorities, so it’s important to think about what you need or will use when selecting a credit card. If you don’t check bags because United offers a free carry-on and you travel light, then free checked bags will not benefit you.

Also, if you don’t arrive at the airport early enough to use a lounge and/or your flights do not usually have layovers, then lounge access is not valuable. And if you fly United regularly, you may have elite status that comes with some of the benefits that credit cards offer.

The sign-up bonuses offered can be very attractive, but you need to balance the value of those extra miles or points and the card’s benefits against the annual fees you have to pay to hold some of the cards we covered. You should also consider your spending categories to determine which card might help you maximize rewards.

If you’re a frequent flyer on United for your business travel, but have another carrier in mind for your vacation plans that you want to fund with rewards, then a card with flexible points like Chase Ultimate Rewards or American Express Membership Rewards might be a better choice. You can always transfer those miles to United or use them in the card issuer’s portal to book travel.

Credit Card Issuer Rules

There are also a few considerations depending on what company is issuing the credit card. All of the cards we consider the best for United Airlines frequent flyers are issued by either Chase or American Express. Both card issuers have some rules that could block you from getting approved or getting a sign-up bonus.

For example, Chase has a 5/24 rule, so if you have applied for more than five cards in the past two years you will not get approved for a Chase credit card. Also, you can only get one sign-up bonus every 48 months for a card in the Chase Ultimate Rewards family, so keep this in mind when planning your credit card application strategy. All of the United cards and Ultimate Rewards earning cards we covered are issued by Chase, so this is an important consideration.

Many people who plan on applying for several cards to earn bonus points and miles will often get their Chase applications in first so they don’t run afoul of the 5/24 rule. And if you don’t remember the last time you got a bonus on a particular Chase card, check your credit report to pinpoint the month and be sure to leave a little extra room to make sure you’ve cleared the four-year limit since earning your last bonus on a Chase Ultimate Rewards card.

Also, most business cards don’t count in the 5/24 rule, so this might be a good choice if you are over the limit and still want a Chase card that earns Ultimate Rewards points that can be transferred to United.

American Express will only let you hold five credit cards at a time including personal and business cards. This rule is not as strict as Chase’s rule, so you may be approved for a sixth card, but it’s not likely. This only applies to credit cards, so your Amex charge cards don’t count.

Also, Amex only lets you earn a sign-up bonus once per lifetime for each of its products, so if you’ve previously held the Amex Blue Business Plus card but you still want a business card, then the Chase United Business card is probably a better option.

Credit Score Needed

One last important consideration is to make sure you have the right credit score to obtain the card you want before you take a hit on your credit score for applying. Most travel cards require a good or excellent credit score, so your FICO credit score should be 720 or better. You’ll also be asked about your income, and issuers will review your credit history to make their determination.

In general, premium cards require a better credit score and history than mid-tier and no-fee cards, so don’t shoot too high if your credit score is borderline or your history is too short or has some negative items. For example, it’s harder to get the premium Amex Platinum card than other cards in the Amex Membership Rewards family, and the same is true for the Chase Sapphire and United co-branded cards.

Check your credit score and history before you apply to make sure there are no challenges to obtaining your card of choice, or go down a tier or two on the card you’re thinking of getting if you don’t think you’ll get approved. For example, you might be better off applying for the Chase Freedom Unlimited or the Chase Sapphire Preferred instead of the Sapphire Reserve if your credit score is closer to 700.

The Best Credit Cards for American Airlines Frequent Flyers in 2021

August 6, 2021 by Rosemarie Clancy Leave a Comment

image credit: aa.com

With all the travel credit cards available, it can be tough to pick the right one (here are some tips on how to pick the right one). A big sign-up bonus may catch your eye, but the annual fee and ongoing benefits are important things to consider before you hit that apply button.

Some travel credit cards have no fee, some are mid-tier cards that carry a $95 fee which is often waived the first year, and others are premium cards that will cost you $500 or more a year to hold. If there are annual fees involved, you need to consider whether you are getting enough benefits from the card to justify the cost and/or whether another card might offer similar benefits for a lower fee.

American Airlines has co-branded credit cards with both Citibank and Barclays that range from top-of-the-line premium cards with lots of benefits including airport lounge access to credit cards with less benefits but no annual fee.

Benefits and Cost

Benefits can include lounge access, free checked bags, travel insurance, in-flight discounts and statement credits. Sign-up bonuses, rewards and annual fees are also big considerations for any credit cards you are thinking about applying for. Keep in mind that most premium cards that carry a high annual fee often have more than enough benefits and credits to offset the cost of holding the card, but only if you use them.

Another thing to consider is which perks you might already be getting with your elite status if you are a frequent flyer. Many cards and loyalty programs offer similar benefits to those offered to elite members of a frequent flyer program like American Airlines AAdvantage, so you may not need a particular perk if it’s already included with your status.

Depending on what you value most and what you are willing to spend to hold the card, an American Airlines AAdvantage co-branded credit card may or may not be the best choice for you. Also, since there are many credit cards available for travelers, chances are good that you might want more than one credit card if you travel frequently. If that’s the case, then it’s good to know which card should be used for what in order to maximize rewards and benefits.

To help you decide which card is best for you, we’ll look at a few credit cards that we consider the best ones for travelers who frequently fly on American Airlines, and then we’ll go over the lineup of American Airlines co-branded cards available and highlight their benefits.

Best Premium Card for Lounge Access

The Platinum Card from American Express (see credit score required for approval) provides you access to over 1,300 Priority Club lounges in 148 countries as well as access to American Express Centurion lounges. There are a dozen of them currently in the US and one in Hong Kong.

The annual fee is pretty steep at $695, but the card is currently offering 100,000 Membership Rewards points as a welcome bonus after spending $6,000 in the first three months after getting approved. These points don’t transfer to American Airlines, but there are some Oneworld alliance partners that are part of the Amex program and you can book American Airlines award seats through them. Or you can use the MR points to book American Airlines flights through the Amex travel portal.

The Amex Platinum card also offers a $200 annual travel credit, Marriott and Hilton elite status, and a host of travel credits including up to $200 a year in Uber credits, $100 in Saks Fifth Avenue credits and reimbursement of TSA PreCheck or Global entry fees.

The card also has some great reward earning potential including 10x on up to $25,000 in purchases at restaurants worldwide and at participating small businesses in the US during the first six months of membership. You’ll also earn 5x on flights booked directly with the airlines or through American Express Travel up to $500,000 per year, and you’ll earn 5x on prepaid hotel bookings through Amex.

(Related: See where the Amex Platinum card stacks up against the competition in our rundown of the best credit cards for airport lounge access.)

Best Mid-Tier Credit Card for Travel Insurance

The hottest card in the market right now is the Chase Sapphire Preferred (see credit score required for approval), which is offering an elevated sign-up bonus of 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $4,000 on the card in the first three months. The points don’t transfer to American Airlines, but you can use them to book flights on the carrier through the bank’s online booking portal. The sign-up bonus is worth $1,250 in free travel because you get a 25% bonus on points when booking through Chase.

The Sapphire Preferred has a $95 annual fee, and you earn two points per dollar spent on all dining and travel purchases and one point per dollar on everything else. But one of the best features of this mid-tier card is that It comes with great travel insurance including primary car rental insurance, up to $20,000 for cancelled or interrupted trips, up to $500 for trip delays of more than 12 hours and $100 per day for up to five days if your luggage is delayed.

Best Premium Card for Earning Rewards

The premium Chase Sapphire Reserve, which is the upgraded version of the Sapphire Preferred, is a great card for earning rewards for all of your travel. Also, it comes with all the same insurance protections of the Sapphire Preferred.

The biggest difference between the two cards is the annual fee, which is $550 for the Reserve compared to only $95 for the Preferred version. But you do get a $300 annual travel credit with the Reserve that will offset more than half the cost.

The sign-up bonus on the Reserve card is 60,000 points, which is worth $900 on travel booked through the Chase travel portal because the card gives you a 50% bonus when redeeming points that way. While you can’t transfer your points directly to American Airlines, Chase does have Oneworld alliance partners that you can transfer points to in order to book American Airlines award seats. Or you can book American flights using Ultimate Rewards points in the Chase portal.

The best thing about this card though is that it lets you earn 3x Ultimate Rewards points on all your travel, so if you travel frequently those points will really add up. You’ll also get triple points on dining worldwide, and one point per dollar spent on everything else.

American Airlines Co-Branded Credit Cards

American has quite a few co-branded cards with two issuers because of its merger with US Airways back in 2013. Many basic benefits on the cards are similar including earning double miles on American as well as priority boarding and rebates on in-flight purchases, but annual fees vary as does the spending needed to get sign-up bonuses, earn elite status miles and companion certificates. We’ll go over the choices and highlight the best thing about each card below.

Best for Earning Miles

The mid-tier Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard can help you boost your AAdvantage mileage balance because it earns 2x points on American Airlines purchases as well as double points at restaurants and in gas stations. The card currently has a 50,000 mile sign-up bonus after spending $2,500 on the card in the first three months.

The AAdvantage Platinum Select card has a $99 annual fee, but it is waived the first year. Cardholders get a free checked bag on American Airlines domestic flights and one free checked bag for up to four companions, as well as preferred boarding and a 25% discount on in-flight purchases. If you spend $20,000 or more on the card a year, you’ll get a $125 American Airlines discount certificate. Learn more here.

Best for Admirals Club Airport Lounge Access

The Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard is a premium card that costs $450 a year to hold, but you’ll get an Admirals Club membership that is worth $650. Membership allows you to access any of the 50 Admirals Club lounges as well as some partner lounges, and you can bring immediate family or up to two guests with same-day boarding passes on American Airlines or a partner airline.

You’ll also get free checked bags for yourself and up to eight companions on domestic flights, priority boarding and a 25% rebate on in-flight food and beverages. Other benefits include a $100 statement credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry every five years. The sign-up bonus on this card is 50,000 AAdvantage miles after you make $5,000 in purchases in the first three months.

Best for Elite Status

The AAdvantage Aviator Silver Mastercard is no longer available to the public, but if you have this card you can earn elite qualifying miles (EQMs) and elite qualifying dollars (EQDs) toward American Airlines AAdvantage elite status. If you spend $20,000 or more on the card in a calendar year you will earn 5,000 EQMs, and if you spend $40,000 you’ll get an additional 5,000 EQMs. If you spend $50,000 on the card in a year, you’ll earn $3,000 in EQDs toward status.

There is no sign-up bonus for this card as you can no longer apply for it, but if you do hold it you’ll get preferred boarding, free checked bags for yourself and up to eight companions, and two $99 companion certificates good for domestic flights after you spend $20,000 in a year.

The annual fee is $195 and the card earns 3x miles on American Airlines purchases, 2x miles on hotels and car rentals, and one point per dollar on all other purchases. It also has a $25 reimbursement per day for food and beverages and a $50 credit annually for WiFi on board the plane.

Best for In-Flight Discounts and Credits

If you still hold the Aviator Silver card that is no longer being issued, you can upgrade to AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard. It currently offers a 60,000 mile sign-up bonus after making a single purchase, and the annual fee is $99. Cardholders get preferred boarding and a free checked bag.The card earns 2x miles on American Airlines purchases and one point per dollar on all other purchases.

With the Aviator Red card you get a 25% off in-flight food and beverages, and reimbursement for up to $25 a year for in-flight Wi-Fi. Because it’s a World Elite Mastercard you also get monthly $10 Lyft credit after taking five or more rides, and a 5% cash reward for shopping on Boxed. Another nice perk is cell phone protection of up to $800 per claim for a lost or damaged phone. There is a $50 deductible and the benefit can be used twice a year for up to $1,000 in claims.

Best No-Fee American Airlines Card

The American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp Card is best for people who don’t want to pay an annual fee, but still want to earn AAdvantage miles with their credit card spending. You get 2x miles on American Airlines purchases and at grocery stores, and one point per dollar on all other purchases.

The sign-up bonus is 10,000 miles and a $50 statement credit after you spend $500 on the card in the first three months after opening the account. This is a small sign-up bonus, but it’s a very low minimum spend and you are not paying an annual fee. You’ll also get a 25% statement credit on in-flight purchases of food and beverages like other American Airlines AAdvantage cards.

Best Co-Branded Cards for Business Travelers

There are two banks issuing American Airlines co-branded cards, so there are multiple cards available for business travelers. The Barclays version has a lower minimum spend and sign-up bonus, but it can help you earn elite status. Both come with a free checked bag and a 25% rebate on in-flight purchases, and both allow you to earn a companion certificate if you spend $30,000 a year on the card. Below are more details on each of the American Airlines business credit cards.

Barclays Bank Card

The AAdvantage Aviator Business Mastercard from Barclays comes with a generous 75,000 sign-up bonus. You’ll earn 65,000 miles after spending $1,000 in purchases within the first three months, and another 10,000 miles when one of your employees uses their card. The annual fee for this card is $95.

One of the best things about the Aviator Business card is it allows you to earn elite status. If you make $25,000 in purchases a year you will receive $3,000 EQDs toward elite status, and if you spend $30,000 per year you will receive a $99 companion certificate. Other perks include a free checked bag for the cardholder and up to four companions on the same reservation. You and your traveling companions will also receive preferred boarding and a 25% rebate on in-flight food and beverages.

This card earns 2x miles on American Airlines purchases, car rentals, at office supply stores and on telecom purchases. Everything else earns one point per dollar charged on the card. You’ll also get a 5% bonus on points earned every year.

Citibank Business Card

The CitiBusiness / AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard is another good option for small business owners that fly on American. The $99 annual fee is waived the first year, and the card offers a 65,000 mile bonus after spending $4,000 in the first four months of having the card.

Bonus categories for this card include 2x on American Airlines purchases, car rentals, gas stations, cable/satellite services and on telecommunications. You also get a free checked bag and a 25% rebate on in-flight purchases including food, beverages and WiFi. If you spend $30,000 or more on the card, you’ll also get a $99 companion certificate.

Final Thoughts

When reviewing travel credit cards it’s important to compare features, but it’s equally important to keep in mind which benefits will serve you best. If you fly American Airlines frequently, you may already have elite status that comes with its own benefits like lounge access and free checked bags.

Even if you don’t have elite status, you may not need a free checked bag or lounge access because you bring a carry-on bag and don’t arrive at the airport early enough to use a lounge so these benefits may not be valuable to you. If you’re collecting miles for a free trip, the bigger sign-up bonus may be attractive, and if you’re chasing elite status you may like a card that can help you reach the next tier.

Credit Score Needed and Bank Rules

Once you’ve narrowed down which card might be best for you, keep in mind that most travel cards require a good to excellent credit score. The more premium cards require your score to be closer to excellent, which is a FICO score of 720 or more, while the cards with no annual fee usually require at least a good credit score, which is between 690 and 719.

Banks also have rules on how often you can apply and when you can earn a bonus. For example, Citibank will only let you earn a bonus on an American Airlines card every 48 months. Barclays only allows you to earn a welcome bonus on the same card if you close the card and wait 24 months before applying again.

Neither Barlcays or Citibank have strict rules on how many cards you can hold, but if you intend to apply for more than one American Airlines co-branded card you should consider how much credit you already have with either Citibank or Barclays.

Citibank may not have a rule on how many credit cards you can open with them, but they do have a set amount of credit they will extend to you. On the other hand, Barclays has a 6/24 rule which is very much like Chase’s 5/24 rule where you can’t open more than five credit cards in the past two years or your application will be denied. With Barclays, you can not have gotten more than six cards in the past 24 months. With Chase you are pretty much guaranteed a denial if you go over the limit, while Barclays is a little more flexible but not much.

Your credit card history will be taken into consideration when you apply for a card with either of these banks, but they will also be checking your creditworthiness to determine your eligibility. To do this they look at your credit score, income and credit history.

Be sure to check your credit report before applying if you haven’t reviewed it lately to make sure your credit score is in the good to excellent range and that there are no mistakes on your report that might cause the bank to deny your application.

Top 11 Credit Cards for Airport Lounge Access

July 30, 2021 by Adam Luehrs Leave a Comment

Find out which credit cards unlock access to thousands of luxurious airport lounges worldwide.

Access to thousands of airport lounges is on the table for 2021. Getting the right card in your wallet is the secret to getting your body in a plush, comfortable seat inside an airport with great runway views, hot meals, work stations, private bathrooms and much more. Which cards pull out all the stops when it comes to lounging in style for free during stopovers? As airlines vie to recapture post-pandemic travelers, the cards have definitely been shuffled around a bit since 2019. The most exciting aspect is that airlines are expanding both their lounge offerings and their lounge access. Let’s cover the best credit cards for complimentary airport lounge access in 2021!

Here’s a look at the credit cards offering the best lounge access in 2021:

1. The Platinum Card® from American Express: Access to the most lounges of any card! Choose from 1,200 airport lounges in 130 countries.
2. Chase Sapphire Reserve: Access to 1,200 VIP airport lounges around the world via free Priority Pass Select access.
3. Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card: Delta SkyClub access with potential for a big status boost on your Medallion status with every purchase!
4. HSBC Elite Credit Card: Free and unlimited LoungeKey access with an annual fee that’s lower than other elite cards.
5. Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ Mastercard®: Free American Airlines Admirals Club® membership with opportunities to jump to a higher status through card purchases.
6. Mastercard® Black Card: Automatic enrollment in Priority Pass Select for access to more than 1,300 lounges around the world.
7. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card: Complimentary Priority Pass™ Select access for entry to more than 1,200 lounges around the world when flying on any airline.
8. American Express Green Card: $100 LoungeBuddy Credit.
9. Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card: Complimentary Priority Pass access with the bonus of complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond status.
10. United℠ Explorer Card: Two United Club passes per year with a card that offers opportunities to earn PQPs.
11. The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: Complimentary access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection with big potential to earn extra points and status upgrades.

The Platinum Card® From American Express

If it’s sheer volume you’re looking for, this personal credit card offers access to the largest number of airport lounges. Platinum Members enjoy totally unlimited complimentary access to Centurion Lounges with Priority Pass Lounges access. That’s a lot of luxury to be rolling your luggage into between flights! In fact, it adds up to access to 1,200 airport lounges spread across 130 countries. What’s more, AMEX is adding new lounges every year. All of that choice won’t seem overwhelming because cardholders can use the American Express app to swiftly find lounges on the go!

There’s also a really big cherry on top with this card. It is one of the rare cards to provide lounge access for a cardholder while also giving the green light for two additional guests. While most cards and lounges have been on a streak of restricting or phasing out guest perks, Platinum still rolls out a red carpet that’s big enough for two to three people every single time!

Let’s quickly cover some specifics of this card.

Yes, the limitless lounge access that goes along with this card comes with a price. The annual fee on the Platinum Card® from American Express is $695. However, a little perspective helps when justifying the decision to jump for this card. An annual Priority Pass membership costs $429. However, the AMEX Platinum is just a little more with actual AMEX-branded lounge access paired with Priority Pass membership. You’re also getting the prestige and credit boost of having this elite card.

The free lounge access is just skimming the surface of the perks offered by the AMEX Platinum. Let’s not forget that this card comes with 5x points on flights and prepaid hotels with a threshold of $500,000!

You can also make back half of your annual fee just by taking advantage of the card’s $240 digital entertainment credit that rewards you with $20 each month when you pay for select digital subscriptions using your card.

There’s also a $200 annual hotel credit, $200 annual airline fee credit, $200 Uber cash credit, $179 CLEAR credit and $300 Equinox Credit.

Lastly, AMEX will give you an annual Global Entry or TSA Pre✓® credit. While there are simply too many perks to get into with this card, the AMEX Platinum offers dozens of “extras” that include things like upgrades to Marriott Bonvoy™ Gold Elite status or Hilton Honors Gold status without qualifying stays, free flight upgrades, car rental protection, special cruise privileges and more!

Chase Sapphire Reserve

The caveat with Chase Sapphire Reserve is that you have to be looking specifically for robust Priority Pass access for this card to be worth it in terms of airport lounge access.

The Sapphire Reserve card actually mirrors many of the perks of the slightly more elite Platinum Card® from American Express for a lower annual fee of $550.

In addition, Sapphire Reserve is only slightly behind the elite AMEX card with its offering of access to 1,200 VIP airport lounges around the world via free Priority Pass Select membership. Lounge guests flashing their Sapphire membership enjoy perks like free snacks, drinks and Wi-Fi whenever they touch down! You can also bring along two guests per visit!

Some of the other perks that pad this card include 3x points on worldwide dining and travel, 1:1 points transfers, a $300 travel credit and credits for Global Entry or TSA Pre✔®. There’s also a bump of 50 percent more points when redeeming airfare, car rentals, cruise reservations and hotels.

Some of the auxiliary perks of this card include $60 in DoorDash credits, a free DashPass subscription, a free year of Lyft Pink ($199 value), trip cancellation insurance, a rental collision damage waiver, baggage delay insurance, lost luggage reimbursement, travel insurance and emergency medical and dental benefits.

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card

This card is perfect for a self-selecting group that prefers to fly with Delta. In addition to giving you free Delta SkyClub access, this card is going to catapult you to Medallion Status much faster! It’s a win-win deal.

With an annual fee of $550, this card will be a better bet for most than simply paying the $545 annual fee for Delta Sky Club membership because of all the perks and potential for earning back baked into it! In addition to complimentary Delta SkyClub access for you, this card throws in two one-time guest passes per year. While that’s not as generous as the two-guests-per-visit perk offered by both the Chase Sapphire Reserve card and AMEX Platinum, it’s still something. There’s also access to the Centurion® Lounge whenever you book flights with your card. Members with this card also get upgrade priority over other Medallion members within the same level and fare class.

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card has a nice roster of Delta-oriented perks. The big one is that you can earn 15,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $30,000 in purchases up to four times per year through the Status Boost perk. In addition, the Medallion Qualification Dollar (MQD) Waiver waives all other requirements for Platinum, Gold or Silver Medallion Status if you make at least $25,000 in purchases per year with your card.

Purchases made on Delta flights and Delta Vacations will earn you 3x miles. Everyday purchases made with your card will earn you 1 miler per dollar with zero limits on how much you can earn.

That challenges you to reach that $30,000 annual spending threshold for your Status Boost by using your card to pay for everything from gas to groceries. Some of the additional perks built into this card include a Global Entry or TSA Pre✓® credit, a baggage insurance plan, trip delay insurance, trip cancellation insurance, car rental insurance and access to the Premium Global Assist Hotline when you find yourself in a logistical or legal pinch while traveling.

HSBC Elite Credit Card

The big draw of the HSBC Elite Credit Card is free and unlimited access to LoungeKey lounges. Of course, you might not be very familiar with LoungeKey. One of the newer players in the lounge industry, LoungeKey provides lounge access at more than 1,000 locations around the world for cardholders aligned with various credit cards. Coming in with a lower-than-average annual fee of $395, the HSBC Elite Credit Card offers decent perks. The bonus breakdown for purchases made with your card breaks down to 3x travel purchase points for airfare, hotels and car rental. While you’re getting 2x dining points, it’s 1x points for all other purchases. There’s also $400 in travel credits on the table.

Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ Mastercard®

A favorite among people who fly with American Airlines, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ Mastercard® comes with a free Admirals Club® membership that’s valued at $650. That’s not bad when you consider that the annual fee for this card is $450.

This next point is why this card is worth considering even if you’ve already shelled out the fee to get Admirals Club® membership. The card will actually give you a prorated refund on membership if you’re an existing Admirals Club® member. Upgrading can be a great way to maintain the membership you already love while gaining some extra perks every time you spend.

This card provides 2 miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases. You’ll earn 1 mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases. You can also jet your way to elite status with American Airlines faster once you have this card in your wallet. That’s because the card gives you 10,000 Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) after you spend $40,000 annually. You’re getting handed an opportunity to cultivate 50,000 bonus miles. The longer list of perks offered with this card includes priority boarding, one free checked bag on domestic flights, 25 percent off airline food and beverage purchases and Global Entry or TSA Pre✓® credits.

The perks on this card are neat and easy. While Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ Mastercard® won’t have much value for you if you’re already invested in another airline due to years and years of loyalty, it is probably the best card for getting free lounge access every time you fly if you’re an American Airlines devotee.

Mastercard® Black Card

Offering automatic enrollment in Priority Pass Select, the Mastercard® Black Card provides access to more than 1,300 airport lounges worldwide. If you want to bring a guest along, the fee is $32 per person.

While the Mastercard® Black Card isn’t the only card to offer free Priority Pass Select membership, it does stand out for being a card that’s geared for luxury-oriented leisure travelers while having a $495 annual fee that’s lower than many other cards.

Cardholders receive $200 in annual air travel credit that can be used for airline tickets, baggage fees, upgrades and other flight-based purchases. All of your credits will automatically land in your account without any maneuvers on your end.

Members also receive a $1,000 gift card for TCS World Travel jet expeditions if they spend $35,000. The other perks to go along with this card include a Global Entry or TSA Pre✓ credit, baggage delay insurance, travel accident insurance, auto rental collision waiver, 24/7 Mastercard Global Service, trip cancellation/interruption insurance and travel assistance.

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card

A no-brainer decision if you book stays at Marriott when flying, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card provides complimentary Priority Pass™ Select access for entry to more than 1,200 lounges around the world when you fly with any airline.

Also baked into this card is $300 in annual statement credits for purchases made at hotels in the Marriott Bonvoy program.

This card shines for frequent travelers by offering 6x points on hotels, 3x points on dining and 3x points on flights. There’s also a $300 Marriott Bonvoy statement credit. You also get one free night as a reward each year for your card anniversary.

American Express Green Card

If you spend part of the year in Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain or Switzerland, this card is designed specifically for you.

While this card does come with lounge perks, it is not a heavy hitter in terms of lounge access by any means. The American Express Green Card only offers a single $100 Lounge Buddy Credit per year. However, that could be all you need if you’re just looking for lounge access one to two times per year when you’re making a trek home.

This card also comes with 3x membership rewards at restaurants, transit and travel. There’s 1x membership reward points on all other purchases. In addition, this card comes with great classic AMEX perks like a $100 CLEAR credit, trip delay insurance, upgrades via points, car rental loss/damage insurance, baggage insurance, purchase protection and more. The annual fee on this card is just $150.

Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card

A great card if you’ve been coveting Hilton Honors Diamond status, the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card grants your wish when you sign up! Yes, this card comes with complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond status.

This card also comes with Priority Pass access that opens up entry to 1,200 lounges around the globe. In addition to free entry for you, you’re getting free entry for up to two guests per lounge visit. The perks for hotel lovers keep coming with an astounding 14x points on hotels and resorts. You’re also getting 7x points on select travel and dining.

In addition, this card comes packed with credits like a $20 airline fee credit and $100 Hilton on-property credit. You’re also covered with extra cardholder perks like car rental loss and damage insurance, access to the Premium Global Assist® Hotline and a baggage insurance plan. The annual fee on this card is $250.

United℠ Explorer Card

If you fly with United a couple times per year, this card might hit the spot. First, the disclaimer on this card is that it is not a lounge superstar by any stretch of the imagination. You’re not getting the highly generous and unlimited lounge access that’s offered by many of the elite cards on this list when you go with this card.

However, United customers who fly once or twice a year might like the added perk of getting some free lounge access on top of enjoying what is a really solid credit card. The United℠ Explorer Card comes with two one-time United Club passes per year.

While visiting a United airport lounge, you can enjoy drinks, snacks and Wi-Fi in a very posh setting. However, this card probably isn’t worth signing up for just for that perk. That’s why knowing about some of the other nice features of this card helps with making your decision.

First, you’re getting 2x points on dining, hotel stays and United purchases. All other purchases get 1x points. There’s also the perk of getting one free checked bag per trip. That adds up to about $150 saved per flight!

If you’re climbing the points ladder with United, this card offers the chance to earn up to 1,000 Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) per year. Each $12,000 spent equals 500 PQPs. What makes this card really stand out is that it’s the first on the list to offer perks for no annual fee! While there’s a $0 intro annual fee for your first year of owning the card, the fee does rise to $95 per year after that.

This card also includes Global Entry or TSA Pre✓ credit.

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

While personal credit cards are famed for offering better lounge access than business cards, the Business Platinum Card® from American Express is one card to have your eye on if you often mix business with travel. This card offers big bonuses and big rewards! Of course, the big question has to do with what it offers in terms of lounge access. This card comes with complimentary access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection. That means access to more than 1,300 beautiful lounges across more than 140 countries.

In addition to pampering you with Centurion® Lounge and International American Express Lounge access, you can also visit partner lounges operated by big names like Delta Sky Club®.

This card comes with 5X Membership Rewards points for your flights and prepaid hotels booked through Amex’s travel portal. There’s also an airline bonus of 35 percent with the potential to get up to 500,000 points back per calendar year.

Some of the other perks included with this card are a $200 airline credit fee, $179 CLEAR Credit, a credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✔, trip delay insurance, trip cancellation insurance, car rental loss insurance, a baggage insurance plan, premium car rental privileges and Premium Global Assist® Hotline access. You’re also invited to skip to Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status without the need to book the number of qualifying stays needed!

Next, it’s time to get to what makes this a “business” card. The Business Platinum Card® from American Express actually rewards you for making a larger purchase by offering more points! You’re getting 1.5x points on purchases of $5,000 or more. It adds up for the potential of 1 million extra Membership Rewards® points each year! One of the priciest cards to own, the Business Platinum Card® from American Express comes with an annual fee of $595.