Best ways to earn airline miles

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You may already know that you can earn airline miles by flying with a specific airline. But did you know there are plenty of additional ways to earn airline miles that can be redeemed for (almost) free flights, upgrades and discounts on inflight purchases?

You can easily earn valuable miles with the right credit card, flying with partner airlines, online shopping and even dining at the right restaurants.

Therefore, even if you’re not a frequent flyer, it’s easy to earn airline miles. Keep reading to find out some of the best ways to earn miles.

Best ways to earn airline miles from credit cards

THE POINTS GUY

Credit cards can earn airline miles through both everyday spending and welcome offers.

If you are approved for an airline-branded credit card, you can earn airline miles for every dollar you spend, and the card will usually offer bonus miles for spending directly with the airline, as well as on travel generally. If you fly regularly, this can be an easy way to rack up plenty of airline miles that you could redeem for free or heavily discounted flights on the same airline.

Many cards also offer generous welcome bonuses to attract new and/or eligible customers. The welcome bonus will usually require a specified amount of spending within a set period (usually the first three months or six months of card membership).

Welcome bonuses significantly boost your airline miles account balance and get you to your next dream vacation sooner.

Here are some of the best welcome bonuses for airline-branded credit cards available right now:

Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 70,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles after spending $7,000 within the first three months of account opening. Earn 4 AAdvantage miles for every dollar spent on eligible American Airlines purchases. Includes access to nearly 100 Admirals Club and partner lounges worldwide. Annual fee: $595 (see rates and fees).Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card: Earn 40,000 bonus miles after spending $2,000 on purchases on your new card in your first six months of card membership. Earn 2 miles per dollar on purchases made with Delta, on dining at restaurants (including takeout and delivery in the U.S.) and at U.S. supermarkets. Annual fee: $0 for the first year, $150 after that (see rates and fees).United℠ Business Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first three months your account is open. Earn 2 United miles per dollar on United purchases, on local transit and commuting, and at gas stations, office supply stores and restaurants. Annual fee: $0 for the first year, then $99.Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card: Earn 50,000 points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Earn 3 points per dollar on Southwest purchases and 2 points per dollar spent with Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners; local transit and commuting; internet, cable and phone services; and select streaming. Earn 1 point per dollar on all other purchases. Annual fee: $149.

Best ways to earn airline miles from transferring points

BEN SMITHSON/THE POINTS GUY

Transferable points can be even more valuable than airline miles because of how you can maximize them. American Express, Bilt, Capital One, Chase and Citi offer rewards credit cards with points you can transfer to numerous flight and hotel partners.

Transferable points can be especially valuable if you want to travel in a premium cabin for the smallest number of points and miles. Instead of being limited to a single airline (and its partners), you can keep your transferable credit card points in your credit card account until you are ready to use them and then choose the best program to transfer them to based on the flights you want to take and the number of airline miles each program is charging.

For example, say you want to book a Delta Air Lines flight to Europe. Since Delta SkyMiles uses dynamic pricing, you could be paying more than 100,000 miles round-trip in economy. If you only earned SkyMiles, you would be stuck with this choice. However, if you earned transferable points, you could transfer your credit card points to Delta’s partner airline, Virgin Atlantic, which charges as few as 20,000 miles round-trip for economy flights to Europe (including those same flights on Delta).

This flexibility is very valuable.

The best way to earn transferable points is with the right credit card. Here’s a look at some of TPG’s favorites:

merican Express Membership Rewards

Here are the most popular cards that earn American Express Membership Rewards points:

The Platinum Card® from American ExpressThe Business Platinum Card® from American ExpressAmerican Express® Gold CardAmerican Express® Business Gold CardThe Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American ExpressAmerican Express® Green Card

The information for the American Express Green Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Bilt Rewards

Bilt offers one credit card, the Bilt Mastercard® (see rates and fees). Cardmembers earn 1 Bilt Point per dollar spent on rent (on up to $100,000 per calendar year), 2 points per dollar spent on travel (airfare, hotels, cruises and rental cars) and 3 points per dollar spent on dining. You need to make at least five monthly transactions to earn points (see rewards and benefits). The Bilt Mastercard has no annual fee (see rates and fees).

TPG founder Brian Kelly is a Bilt adviser and investor.

Related: Bilt Rewards program: Guide to earning points on rent, dining and more

KYLE OLSEN/THE POINTS GUY

Capital One miles

Here are the cards that currently earn transferable Capital One miles:

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit CardCapital One Venture Rewards Credit CardCapital One VentureOne Rewards Credit CardCapital One Spark Miles for BusinessCapital One Spark Miles Select for Business

The information for the Capital One Spark Miles Select has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Chase Ultimate Rewards

Here are the cards that earn fully transferable Chase Ultimate Rewards points:

Chase Sapphire Preferred® CardChase Sapphire Reserve®Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

However, if you have one of these cards, you can also combine your rewards from cash-back cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠ and the Chase Freedom Unlimited® into a single account, turning cash-back earnings into valuable Ultimate Rewards points.

Citi ThankYou Rewards

Citi ThankYou Rewards has 19 airline and hotel transfer partners. Currently, only a single card is available that offers transfers to all of these programs: the Citi Premier® Card (see rates and fees). Note that the Citi Prestige® Card is no longer available to new applicants.

The information for the Citi Prestige has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Best ways to earn airline miles from frequent flying

ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

When you fly with an airline that offers points and miles for flying with it, it is a good idea to join its loyalty program and add your number each time you fly.

The airline will award you miles for each eligible flight, which you can redeem for future flights or, depending on the program and airline, discounts on inflight purchases like Wi-Fi and beverages.

If you fly with a partner airline of American Airlines, you can add your AAdvantage loyalty number on that booking to earn AAdvantage miles, even though you’re not flying on American metal.

If you fly regularly, you may earn elite status in your program of choice, making your travel more convenient and comfortable with benefits like additional checked baggage, priority check-in and boarding, first-class upgrades, and lounge access.

Related: What are airline alliances, and who’s in them?

Best ways to earn airline miles from shopping portals

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Shopping portals allow you to earn bonus points and miles for the online shopping you might be doing every day. You’re still purchasing the same items directly from the merchant, but because you started at the shopping portal, you’ll earn bonus points.

While some portals will only offer 1 point per dollar with many retailers, it’s not uncommon to see offers of 10 or more points per dollar for select retailers. If you have a large online purchase coming up, this can earn you a huge haul of rewards.

To earn airline miles from shopping portals:

Select your loyalty program of choice.Ensure you are a member of that loyalty program.Download the optional Google extension to be notified if you shop with a retailer offering points through the portal.Shop through the portal rather than going directly to the retailer. This can be the hardest step to remember in your haste for some retail therapy. You may wish to set the shopping portal of your favorite airline program as your homepage on your internet browser so you never forget to start there.Shop as normal on the retailer’s site. You’re not required to pay with a cobranded credit card if you don’t want to.Wait for the points to arrive; this can take several weeks.

Related: The beginners guide to airline shopping portals

Here are some popular airline shopping portals:

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan ShoppingAmerican Airlines AAdvantage eShoppingBritish Airways Executive Club eStoreDelta Air Lines SkyMiles ShoppingJetBlue TrueBlue ShoppingSouthwest Airlines Rapid Rewards ShoppingUnited Airlines MileagePlus Shopping

Best ways to earn airline miles from stacking deals

Combining shopping portals with a rewards credit card allows you to double dip, earning more miles for every purchase.

Also, look out for additional offers from airlines and credit card issuers. They may offer additional cash back or bonus miles when spending on a specified card with a particular retailer. This means you could triple-stack your points earning, getting you closer to your dream redemption, by first shopping through a shopping portal, then purchasing from a retailer with a bonus offer from a card issuer, and then paying with a points-earning credit card.

Related: TPG staffers stacked offers to save big on holiday shopping — here’s how you can, too

Best ways to earn airline miles from dining

ERIC ROSEN/THE POINTS GUY

Most airline loyalty programs offer a dining rewards program, allowing you to earn extra points or miles.

Before you can use a dining rewards program, you have to sign up for the program online and then register at least one credit or debit card with the program. Then, you’ll automatically earn rewards through the dining program when you use your card to pay for eligible charges at participating restaurants, bars and clubs.

Here are some of the best airline dining rewards programs:

merican AAdvantage DiningBasic members: Earn 1 mile per dollar spent if you opt out of email communication from AAdvantage Dining.Select members: Earn 3 miles per dollar spent if you opt in to email communication from AAdvantage Dining.VIP member: Earn 5 miles per dollar spent if you opt in to email communication from AAdvantage Dining and complete 11 qualified transactions in the current or previous calendar year. Members will start earning at the VIP level on their 12th qualified transaction.Join here. laska Mileage Plan DiningBasic members: Earn 1 mile per $2 if you don’t opt in to emails from Alaska Mileage Plan Dining.Select members: Earn 3 miles per $1 if you opt in to emails.VIP members: Earn 5 miles per $1 if you dine with the program at least 11 times within a calendar year and remain opted in to emails.Join here.

Delta SkyMiles Dining

Members: Earn 1 mile per $2 if you don’t opt in to emails from Delta SkyMiles Dining.Select members: Earn 3 miles per $1 if you opt in to emails.VIP members: Earn 5 miles per $1 if you dine with the program at least 11 times within a calendar year and remain opted in to emails.Join here.

Free Spirit Dining

Basic members: Earn 1 point per $2 if you don’t opt in to emails from Free Spirit Dining.Select members: Earn 3 points per $1 if you opt in to emails.VIP members: Earn 5 points per $1 if you dine with the program at least 11 times within a calendar year and remain opted in to emails.Join here.

JetBlue TrueBlue Dining

Members: Earn 1 point per $1 if you don’t opt in to emails from JetBlue TrueBlue Dining; earn 3 points per $1 if you opt in to emails.Join here.

Southwest Rapid Rewards Dining

Members: Earn 1 point per $2 if you don’t opt in to emails from Southwest Rapid Rewards Dining; earn 3 points per $1 if you opt in to emails and an additional 10 points for each completed dining review.Join here.

United MileagePlus Dining

Basic members: Earn 1 mile per $2 if you don’t opt in to emails from United MileagePlus Dining.Select members: Earn 3 miles per $1 if you opt in to emails.VIP members: Earn 5 miles per $1 if you dine with the program at least 11 times within a calendar year and remain opted in to emails. Members will begin earning at the VIP level on their 12th qualified transaction.Join here.

Don’t forget to pay with a card that earns bonus points for dining expenses.

Related: Airline and hotel dining rewards programs: Which is best for you?

Bottom line

There are many ways to earn airline miles, even if you are not a regular traveler.

While all the programs, cards, airlines and options can seem overwhelming, it is a good idea to start by considering which airline you want to focus on and joining its loyalty program. Then, you can start plotting ways to increase your rewards balance, one step at a time, by adding your loyalty number to flights operated by that airline or a partner airline.

Also, consider a credit card that either earns points and miles directly in that program or can be transferred into that program. You can also maximize your travel with shopping portals and by stacking offers.

See Bilt Mastercard rates and fees here. See Bilt Mastercard rewards and benefits here. See Delta Amex Gold rates and fees here.

By: Ben Smithson
Title: Best ways to earn airline miles
Sourced From: thepointsguy.com/guide/best-ways-to-earn-airline-miles/
Published Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2024 12:30:43 +0000

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