I’ve searched for the BEST airline credit card bonus offers and listed them below because you usually can get the sign-on bonus once per card type. The card offers are listed alphabetically by airline.
I keep the information on this page updated, but please double check the credit card applications for details about terms and conditions of the offers. Please let me know if you find a better offer so that I can list it here!
Here are 40+ ways to complete the minimum spending on credit cards if you are concerned about completing the minimum spending requirements.
Disclosure: I get a referral if you apply for some of these cards, but I always list the highest available bonus below. For example, the links to the 50,000 mile American Airlines cards are better than my affiliate offers. Emily & I are very grateful if you apply for cards using our links!
If you find something better, I want to know about it!
1. Air Tran
Chase AIRTRAN AIRWAYS
My thoughts on the Air Tran card:
Sign-Up Bonus: 16 Air Tran credits after spending $1,000 within 3 months with the Chase Air Tran credit card; 2 Air Tran business class upgrades after 1st purchase
Fees: $69 annual fee NOT waived for the first year; 3% foreign transaction fee
Anniversary Bonus: 2 Air Tran credits bonus on card anniversary
Daraius’ Tip: This FlyerTalk thread has links to an offer for 32 credits after spending $2,000 within 3 months. This isn’t my link, but it appears to still work. This card will not be available once the Air Tran and Southwest merger is complete, so this is a good way to get extra Southwest credits
2. Alaska Airlines
Bank of America Alaska Air - 25,000 bonus miles
- 25,000 bonus miles after approval on the Bank of America Alaska Airlines Personal card
- $75 annual fee NOT waived for the first year; 3% foreign transaction fee
- $99 companion certificate valid only in coach
- Alaska Air miles can be used on partner airlines such as American, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Delta, Air France, LAN, etc.
- 25,000 miles with the Bank of America Alaska Airlines Business card
- Warning: Bank of America may issue you a lower platinum plus or preferred card, if you don’t qualify for the Signature card, which offers only 6,000 or 4,000 miles!
- Tip: The highest bonus offer on this card was 40,000 miles, but I’ve heard that you may be able to get a new card every 3 to 4 months
3. American Airlines
Citi® Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® Visa Signature® Card – 50,000 miles
- 50,000 AAdvantage miles after spending $2,500 within 4 months on the Citi Visa. This is NOT my referral link, so YMMV (Your miles may vary, but almost everyone gets the bonus.
- You may be able to get another 30,000 miles if you apply for the American Airlines Gold MasterCard (below) a few days after applying for the 50,000 mile Visa card. See this post for more information.
- $85 annual fee is waived for the first year; 3% foreign transaction fee
- 1 free checked bag, priority boarding, and get 10% of miles redeemed back (up to 10,000 miles per year)
- Link to FlyerTalk thread with different versions of the offer
Daraius ‘ Tip: Earn another 50,000 AA, after spending $2,500 within 4 months, miles if you apply for the Citi AAdvantage Visa business card 65+ days after your personal card application
CITI® GOLD / AADVANTAGE® WORLD MASTERCARD® – 30,000 Miles
- 30,000 AAdvantage miles after spending $750 within 4 months on the Citi Gold MasterCard. This is NOT my referral link, so YMMV (Your miles may vary, but almost everyone gets the bonus.
- $50 annual fee is waived for the first year; 3% foreign transaction fee
Citi Executive AAdvantage Card – 50,000 Miles
- 30,000 AAdvantage miles after spending $1,000 on the Citi AAdvantage Executive within 3 months.
- Free Admiral’s club lounge membership, NO foreign transaction fee, 1 free checked bag for domestic travel, and priority AAccess
- Earn 10,000 elite qualifying miles after spending $40,000 in a calendar year
- $450 annual fee NOT waived; No foreign transaction fee
- High fee makes card less attractive unless you otherwise purchase Admiral’s Club access ($350 to $500). Sign-on bonus could be better too
4. British Airways
Chase British Airways
My thoughts on the British Airways card:
Sign-Up Bonus: 50,000 Avios points after spending $1,000 within 3 months on the Chase British Airways card
Fees: $95 fee NOT waived for first year; NO foreign transaction fee
Other Perks: Free companion ticket valid on award tickets after spending $30,000 within a calendar year
Daraius’ Tip: My review of the British Airways card and my post on how to use British Airways Avios points
5. Delta
Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express
- Bonus Miles: Earn 30,000 bonus miles toward Award Travel after you spend $500 on the Card within the first three months of Cardmembership.
- Earn As You Spend: Get 2X miles on Delta purchases and 1X miles for all other eligible dollars spent.
- Check your first bag free on every Delta flight – that’s a savings of up to $200 per round trip for a family of four.
- Premium Travel Perks: Settle in sooner with Priority Boarding, and enjoy the skies with 20% in-flight savings to use toward meals, beverages, and movies awarded as a statement credit.
- $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95.
- Terms and Restrictions Apply.
Daraius’ Tips
- Up to 45,000 miles after spending $5,000 within 6 months via the cardmatch tool from creditcards.com
- Log in to see how many miles you are offered. I was offered 40,000 miles after spending $500 within 3 months (Your offer will be different)
- 30,000 miles after spending $500 within 3 months+ $50 statement credit after a purchase from Delta. Take a few screenshots if you apply (just in case) since this isn’t my referral link.
American Express Delta Platinum – Up to 35,000 Delta Miles
- 25,000 bonus miles (5,000 are elite qualifying miles) after 1st purchase and an additional 10,000 miles (5,000 are elite qualifying miles) after spending $2,000 within 3 months on the American Express Delta Platinum
- First checked bag is free
- $150 fee NOT waived for first year; 2.7% foreign transaction fee
- Earn 2 Delta miles per $1 spent on Delta & 1 mile for everything else
- Earn 10,000 elite miles after spending $25,000 and an additional 10,000 after spending $50,000 in a calendar year
- Tip: I would not apply for a card with less than a 40,000 mile sign-up bonus in the current environment of large sign-on bonuses. The high annual fee also does not make this an attractive card unless you are a big spender in search of elite qualifying miles.
American Express Delta Reserve – Up to 30,000 Delta Miles
- 10,000 medallion (elite) miles after 1st purchase with the American Express Delta Reserve card
- First checked bag is free; free Delta lounge access
- $450 fee NOT waived for first year; 2.7% foreign transaction fee
- Earn 2 Delta miles per $1 spent on Delta & 1 mile for everything else
- Earn 15,000 regular & elite miles after spending $30,000 and an additional 15,000 regular & elite miles after spending another $30,000 in a calendar year
- Tip: This card could be worth the high fee if you’re looking for Delta club access and medallion (elite) qualifying miles. Otherwise, skip it.
6. Frontier Airlines
Barclays Frontier Airlines - 35,000 Frontier Airline miles
- 25,000 bonus Frontier Airlines miles after 1st purchase with Barclays Frontier Airlines card. 10,000 bonus Frontier Airlines miles after spending $750 within 90 days
- $59 fee NOT waived for first year; 3% foreign transaction fee
- Warning: Barclays may issue you a lower Platinum card, if you don’t qualify for the World MasterCard, which offers only 5,000 miles!
7. Hawaiian Airlines
Bank of America Hawaiian Airlines - 35,000 Hawaiian Airlines miles (or 70,000 Hilton points)
- 20,000 bonus Hawaiian Airlines miles after 1st purchase with Bank of America Hawaiian Airline card. 15,000 bonus Hawaiian Airline miles after spending $1,000 within 4 months
- Hawaiian Airline points transfer to Hilton in 1:2 ratio, so 35,000 Hawaiian Airline miles becomes 70,000 Hilton Honors points
- $79 fee NOT waived for first year; 3% foreign transaction fee
- Warning: Bank of America may issue you a lower platinum card, if you don’t qualify for the Signature card, which offers only 10,000 miles!
Daraius’ Tip: There is business card with 35,000 miles after your 1st purchase.
Bank of Hawaii Hawaiian Airlines - 35,000 Hawaiian Airline miles (or 70,000 Hilton points)
- 20,000 bonus Hawaiian Airlines miles after 1st purchase with Bank of Hawaii Hawaiian Airline card. 15,000 bonus Hawaiian Airline miles after spending $1,000 within 4 months
- Hawaiian Airline points transfer to Hilton in 1:2 ratio, so 35,000 Hawaiian Airline miles becomes 70,000 Hilton Honors points
- $79 fee NOT waived for first year; 3% foreign transaction fee
- Warning: You may be issued a lower platinum card, if you don’t qualify for the Signature card, which offers only 10,000 miles!
8. Lufthansa
Barclays lufthansa – 50,000 Miles
- 20,000 miles after 1st purchase with the Barclays Lufthansa card & 30,000 extra miles after spending $5,000 within 3 months.
- $79 annual fee NOT waived for the first year; 1% foreign transaction fee
- Earn 2 miles per $1 spent on Lufthansa; 1 mile per $1 spent elsewhere
Daraius’ Tip: You can use 50,000 Lufthansa miles for 2 domestic round-trip flights on United or US Air or for 3 1-way segments in business class. See my review for more details.
9. Southwest Airlines
Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus
My thoughts on the Southwest Plus card:
Sign-Up Bonus: 25,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 within 3 months with the Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus (Personal) & Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus (Business)
Fees: $69 annual fee NOT waived for the first year; 3% foreign transaction fee
Anniversary Bonus: 3,000 point bonus on card anniversary
Daraius’ Tip: Southwest has a 50,000 point offer ever 3 to 4 months, so I’d wait for that offer!
Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards PRemier
My thoughts on the Southwest Premier Card:
Sign-Up Bonus: 25,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 within 3 months with the Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier (Personal) & Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier (Business) credit card.
Fees: $99 annual fee NOT waived for the first year; NO foreign transaction fee
Anniversary Bonus: 6,000 point bonus on card anniversary
Daraius’ Tip: Southwest has a 50,000 point offer ever 3 to 4 months, so I’d wait for that offer!
10. United Airlines
Chase United Explorer
My thoughts on the United Explorer Card:
Sign-Up Bonus: 30,000 United miles with the Chase United MileagePlus Explorer card after spending $1,000 within 3 months
Fees: $95 annual fee waived for the first year; 3% foreign transaction fee
Anniversary Bonus: 2 free United club passes a year (~2 months after opening card)
Spending Bonus: 10,000 additional United miles after spending $25,000 within a calendar year
Other Perks: 1 free checked bag ($50 value) & priority boarding
Daraius’ Tip: A possible targeted offer for 50,000 United miles + $50 statement credit after spending $1,000 within 3 months if you have a few United miles in your account! A business United Explorer is also available
Chase United Club
My thoughts on the United Club Card:
Sign-Up Bonus: Free United Club lounge access, 1.5 United miles per $1 spent, & 2 free checked bags with the United Club Personal or United Club Business card
Card Holder Perks: Free Premier Access (priority boarding, security, etc.) & Free Hyatt Platinum status (free internet)
Fees: $395 annual fee + $95 statement credit; NO foreign transaction fee
Daraius’ Tip: If you are a United elite member, log into the United website for an offer with a lower annual fee for the 1st year. A possible targeted offer with the 1st year fee waived if you have a few United miles in your account!
11. US Airways
Barclay’s US Airways
- Earn 30,000 US Air miles after 1st purchase
- $89 annual fee NOT waived for the first year; 3% foreign transaction fee
- 5,000 mile discount when you redeem for US Air award travel
- 25,000 miles with the Barclays US Air Business card
- Warning: You may get approved for the lower which offers only 15,000 miles with an annual fee of $49
Daraius’ Tip: The links to the 35,000 mile offer on FlyerTalk (click the 2nd or 3rd link) with the 1st year’s annual fee waived are the better deal because the $89 annual fee is waived AND the terms and conditions do not suggest getting a lower sign-up bonus if you’re approved for a lesser card version.
12. Virgin America
Barclays Virgin America – 10,000 Points
- 10,000 points after 1st purchase with the Barclays Virgin America card
- $150 off a companion ticket each year
- Spend $25,000 for 10,000 status points
- $49 annual fee NOT waived for the first year; 3% foreign transaction fee
- Earn 3 points per $1 spent on Virgin America; 1 point per $1 spent elsewhere
13. Virgin Atlantic
Bank of America Virgin Atlantic American Express – 50,000 miles or 100,000 Hilton Points
- 20,000 bonus Flying Club miles after 1st purchase with Bank of America Virgin Atlantic card
- 25,000 extra miles after spending $2,500 within 3 months.
- 5,000 additional miles for adding 2 authorized users to your account
- Virgin Atlantic points transfer to Hilton in 1:2 ratio, so 50,000 Virgin Airline miles becomes 100,000 Hilton Honors points
- $90 annual fee NOT waived for the first year; 1% foreign transaction fee
- My review of the Virgin Atlantic credit card
14. Other Airline Card Offers
Check out FreeFrequentFlyerMiles.com for other airline credit cards which I have not listed here.
Missing your favorite offer? Please let me know!
Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through American Express Affiliate Program.
My thoughts on the Air Tran Card:
I have earned and redeemed millions of airline miles and hotel points to travel the world for free. Now I'm blogging to help more people do the same! 
@Brandon - Yes, it is still working, but you can get only 2 Citi cards every 65 days.
@ih – Very nice. It is common for banks to test different offers to see which has the better payback for them. They can’t take back the points already in your account, but $69 is a small price to pay for 50K points.
Pingback: How to Get 2 Citi American Airlines Cards at the Same Time | Million Mile Secrets
Pingback: New Rules for Getting 2 Citi Credit Cards | Hack.Travel
Pingback: Match Your Southwest Companion Pass to Virgin Elevate Gold Status | Million Mile Secrets
I noticed your Airtrain link is for 16 credits and another site has it for 32, I perfer to use your links since I benefit most from your info. I’m in no hurry so if you think you’ll will be getting the 32 link back I will wait. Also I have plenty of hotel and airline points so which do you think would be best for my next churn Airtrain or Priority Club? How many Southwest points do 32 Airtrain credits equal? Thanks!
Previously approved for Citi personal AA visa/amex and Business. 50K each. All more than 18 months ago. Subsequently have closed business and amex more than 4 months ago. Still use Citi Visa. My understanding I can reapply and still get sign on bonus since > 18 months ago. Do I need to close Citi visa before reapplying then wait a few days and do business card? I have no other city applications since. Do you think I will get new sign on bonus?
Thanks in advance.
@t.anderson – The Air Tran offer isn’t my affiliate link, so feel free to use any better link which you can find. Can you send me a link to the better offer so that I can post it on the blog?
@AJB - You should be able to get the Citi personal Visa and few days later the personal Citi Gold master card. You can only do 2 Citi apps within 65 days, so I’d wait longer to get the business card again.
Pingback: Authorized User on Credit Score | Million Mile Secrets
Your list starts at #2, so whats #1?
I applied to the US Air personal/busi. cards and received the application is pending further review. I don’t have any Barclays cards, have you had this happen before? The last time I applied for CCs was 4-5 months ago. Do you know what this means?
@Daniel – Ha! I’ll update the list. It is just sorted alphabetically, but I’ll add the #1.
@JC – Barclays is known for denying applications if you apply for a lot of credit cards recently. You could call their reconsideration line to see,but I’d wait a week before calling.
Is it still possible to get both Bank of America and Bank of Hawaii, Hawaiian airlines credit card? Also, can both of them be churn? Thank you.
Good evening,
One quick question: If you are named on someone else’s card, for example if you were named on your parent’s credit card, can you still apply for that card? Thank you for your help!
I applied for the US Air card on 2/18. I made a single purchase under $2 as soon as I got my card. I haven’t used it since and today I received the coveted flyer in the mail.
Spend $750 in each of the next 3 months and receive 15K bonus miles!
@Dave Op – You can still get both those cards and you can get them more than once as well…
@HighFly – You sure can. See this post for more information!
@Corridor! – Very nice! I’m still waiting for mine.
I have the Bank of Hawaii and the Bank of America Hawaiian Airlines cards and have a couple of questions. First, I applied for these cards in Dec., 2012. I do not use them that often as I have completed the spend requirements. When would be a good time to churn these and should I increase my use of them to appear a more attractive customer? Second, since so many Hilton bonuses are available from Citi, would a it be a better use of these points to get to Hawaii from the west coast?
Thanks
@Chris B – If you want to get to Hawaii, you could use the Hawaiian Air miles. There’s no point in stockpiling them for later. Folks have reported being able to get those cards every 3 or 4 months.
does anyone (Darius?) have any knowledge of applying for BOTH the Hawaiin Airlines cards at the same time? Seeing that they are 2 different banks, it seems it may be possible…
@JD – yes, I got both HA cards on 2/2/13, one from BofA and one BofH, but they’re both screened/issued from FIA, so they called me a day or two later and asked if I really wanted both cards. Once I confirmed, they processed both! I met both min. spends of $1k and now have 72k miles in my HA acct. Good luck!
Daraius, it looks like your link for the Citi Executive AAdvantage Card (Citi Executive / AAdvantage World Elite MasterCard) is to an offer that’s dead. Do you by chance have updated link for this card?
Thanks for all of the great info you provide to all of us!
@JD McNugent – Yes, that is possible!
@GregR – I have another link, but it is to the regular offer. I’ll update the page in a few days if I can’t find another offer.
Why is my mother, who hardly travels but is a member of the same frequent traveler (hotel and airline) programs (both us are non-elite) that Iam getting invitations to promotional emails that I am not?
Nevertheless, I sign up for all the emails she gets and they all seem to work.
@Billy D - Because they want her to start traveling (and make the airlines and hotels some money)!
We are currently buying up those 50k United Bonuses if anyone has…
Hi, I had a question about the Chase Air Tran Card. Are the Air Tran Roundtrips good for any domestic flight, even a long one? Say New York to San Francisco for instance?
Thanks!
Pingback: Barclays Lufthansa 50,000 Mile Card | Million Mile Secrets
Did the Southwest plus personal and business card get reduced to a 25,000 bonus. It says 50,000 but when you click on the link it
only offers 25,000.
What happened to the AAdvantage World MasterCard?
@Sophie – They are valid to wherever Air Tran flies!
@Doug – It got reduced a few weeks ago and the card description also mentions that it is currently only 25,000 miles.
@Blake – It is still available (link in this post).
Citi Executive AAdvantage link doesn’t work past the splash screen.
My wife has around 60K southwest points which she earned this year and this year. She needs another 50K to get companion pass. Currently she is ready for another set of App O Rama (its been around 100 days from last churn). Can she apply for 25K points offer and we may get the 50K offer again soon as its available to targeted people at this time and chase will offer 50K offer very frequently (I am expecting we will have 50K offer at least in the next 90 days and we can request for promotion matching ) .
Can we proceed the same or you want me to wait for few days to get the 50K offer. FYI : We should need companion pass.
@kishore
Why not get the AirTran card and transfer the A+ rewards to get 50k Southwest miles. Same with Chase Ink or Bold.
@Mike – Thanks! I’ll update it to the regular offer.
@Kishore – If there is a targeted offer available, you can send a secure message asking to be matched to it.
@Gold – Air Tran Rewards transfer to Southwest credits and not points, so don’t count towards the Companion Pass. Points transferred from Ultimate Rewards don’t count towards the companion pass status.
Here is a better AAdvantage Mastercard. It comes with all the same perks as the visa. https://creditcards.citi.com/credit-cards/citi-platinum-select-aadvantage-world-mastercard/
@Blake - It is a Platinum Select version which means that you can’t get the bonus on the Visa AND the MasterCard. But you can get the bonus on both the Platinum Select Visa AND the Gold MasterCard.
Bascially my first experience trying to change an award ticket on Delta today for my cousin; I told him when I booked it that changed were not allowed 72 hours before take-off; not only that, can’t even re-deposit the miles back into my account; have you or anyone ever asked Delta the reasoning why they are the only airline that has this policy? it’s a money make to charge huge fees to change or re-deposit so why in the world wouldn’t they take advante of that; I knew the deal when I booked it but I just can’t understand the philosophy unless they just want to see people use up the miles as quidkly as possible?
Darius,
Does the 50k AA Business visa still come with 50k sign up bonus? on the landing page, no such offer is mentioned.
Thanks
@Billy D – Delta doesn’t have the most customer friendly policies.
@wise – It does have a 50K bonus which you can confirm when you activate the card.
Hi Darius, I love the site, all the stories, and all the info so thank you so much for continuing to share! I am only on my third churn which included the united mileage plus reward card 30k deal. However, I went into a branch today to consolidate some credit from another Chase card and cancel it when I saw they offered 50k points for $2k spending within 3 months for the Mileage Plus card so I had them apply that to my current card (which just shipped after an easy reconsideration call) Thanks again for everything!
Is the link for the CITI® PLATINUM SELECT® / AADVANTAGE® VISA SIGNATURE® CARD a special link that has a 50k bonus? Just to test it, I went to apply for the card by going directly through Citi’s website in a Chrome Incognito window, and the bonus was only 30k. Please advise if there is still a 50k bonus. Thanks!
I just saw from previous posts that the link above, in fact, DOES bring you to an application for the Citi Platinum Select AAdvatage Visa Signature Card that comes with the 50k bonus. Sorry for the repeated question. Do correct me if I’ve got this wrong. Thanks!
i got approved 3 days ago. will post and let everyone know if it does come with 50k once i activate.
@David G - Glad you were able to get the United 55K offer and there is a link to the different ways you can get the offer under “Daraius’ Tips” in the listings above.
@CalKeen – The link has expired, but still works according to readers. But your experience can be different.
@wise – Please keep us posted!
@
If I cancel the Chase Southwest Personal Credit Card and the Southwest Business Credit Card, how long must I wait to reapply for these cards and be eligible to receive the bonus points again?
@Bill – You can apply for other versions of the Southwest cards. Otherwise it could be 2 years or more to get the bonus on the same card.
Hi Daraius,
Do you know if you can receive a bonus on a card if you’ve had the card a number of years ago?