The 5 Best Credit Cards Offered By Budget Airlines

When most people think of airline credit cards, they are typically drawn to the most well-known offerings from legacy carriers like Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and American Airlines. Massive credit card issuers like JPMorgan Chase Bank, American Express, and Citibank back up these cards, making them some of the most ubiquitously advertised on the market.

Nonetheless, there are dozens of other credit cards on the US market today, many of which provide benefits that make one’s travel experience far easier and more affordable. Budget airlines offer several different credit cards that allow one to amass both status and points on their respective carriers with ease.

However, there are crucially multiple factors that distinguish a good budget airline credit card from a bad one, and making the wrong choice could load one with unworthwhile annual fees. In this article, we will take a deeper look at five of the best credit cards offered by budget airlines on the market today.

5 Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card

Annual fee: $99

Four key rewards:

1. Earn 50,000 bonus rewards points after spending $1,000 on purchases within three months.
2. Earn 3 points per $1 spent on the card on Southwest purchases.
3. Earn 2 points per $1 spent on select hotel and rental car partners, as well as transportation (including rideshare services) and internet streaming services.
4. Earn 1 point per $1 spent on anything else.

The Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier card offers continual opportunities for its holders to earn rewards points, giving your average customer a headstart on free travel. As one would expect from a budget airline, there are few onboard perks offered by the card, except offering cardholders two free opportunities to perform EarlyBird check-in per year.

As NerdWallet is quick to note, the card is unlikely to offer any perks beyond Southwest’s services, as the carrier has no alliance partners. Nonetheless, the company explains that the 6,000 anniversary bonus miles offered by the card would likely be enough to cover the $99 annual fee alone.

Another key benefit of the card is that it allows passengers to accumulate 1,500 tier qualifying points (TPQs) for every $5,000 spent on the card, points which are critical to earning the coveted Southwest Companion Pass. It’s also worth noting that the card itself gives you a significant amount of Companion Pass qualifying points each year.

4 JetBlue Plus Card

Annual fee: $99

For the relatively modest annual fee that it offers, the JetBlue Plus card provides some outstanding rewards to its members. According to Fortune, new cardholders are eligible to earn 60,000 bonus points after spending just $1,000 on the card within the first 90 days of opening the account.

Photo: JetBlue Airways

Much like the 15% redemption discount offered by Delta Air Lines’ American Express credit cards, the JetBlue Plus card also provides a similar benefit. When redeeming points for travel on the airline, holders of the JetBlue Plus card, which is administered by Barclays, are eligible to receive a 10% points discount.

3 Frontier Airlines World Mastercard

Annual fee: $89

This card offers some impressive benefits if you are a frequent traveler on Frontier Airlines (and if you are not, this card is probably not for you). With an impressive bonus offer of 50,000 bonus miles after just $500 spent on the card in the first 90 days, the card begins to offer value right from the beginning, according to USA Today.

Photo: Denver International Airport

Issued by Barclays, the card also offers a $100 flight voucher on the account anniversary after the expenditure of $2,500, which alone makes the annual fee worthwhile. The Frontier Airlines World Mastercard also allows its holders to amass elite status, earning 1 qualifying point per $1 spent.

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2 Free Spirit Travel More World Elite Mastercard

Annual fee: $79 (waived first year)

Three key ways to earn points:

1. 3 points per $1 spent on eligible Spirit purchases
2. 2 points per $1 spent on restaurant or grocery store purchases
3. 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases

Spirit Airlines offers a unique credit card through Bank of America, which allows loyal customers to gain Spirit rewards points and offers impressive benefits over time. According to the bank’s website, the card offers a signup bonus of 50,000 points alongside a $100 companion flight voucher after $1,000 is spent on the card in 90 days.

Photo: YES Market Media | Shutterstock

The card also offers the same $100 companion flight voucher as an anniversary benefit after at least $5,000 in purchases are made on the card each year. This benefit alone is easily enough to justify the relatively low $79 annual fee.

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1 Allways Rewards Visa Credit Card

Annual fee: $59

Three key ways to earn points:

1. 3 points per $1 spent on eligible Allegiant purchases
2. 2 points per $1 spent on dining purchases
3. 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases

The final card on this list has some very strong proponents but may also not be fit for those who are not consistently loyal Allegiant flyers. The card’s annual fee is relatively low, yet unsurprisingly, so is the signup bonus of just 15,000 points after $1,000 in purchases on the card, according to Credit Karma.

Photo: Philip Pilosian | Shutterstock

Allegiant’s Allways Rewards card, however, does offer some unique benefits, such as buy one, get one free airfare on itineraries that include hotel stays booked through the carrier. These offerings could help Allegiant better compete with Southwest Airlines, its closest direct competitor on the vast majority of its routes.