Do Airline Credit Cards Pair Well with Transferable Points?

TPG reader Logan sent me a message on Facebook to ask about airline credit cards:

If you’re going to use two cards in tandem, then ideally their benefits should complement each other. The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is one of my favorites: It earns 2 points per dollar on travel and dining, gives you access to Ultimate Rewards travel partners (including British Airways), and offers some key travel benefits like primary auto rental insurance and no foreign transaction fees. Overall it’s a well-rounded card with a strong sign-up bonus, and it’s one that I recommend often.

Unlike many airline cards, the British Airways Visa Signature Card doesn’t offer flight-related perks such as free checked bags, priority boarding or discounts on in-flight purchases. The main benefits are a higher earning rate of 3 points per dollar spent on British Airways purchases (versus 1 point per dollar elsewhere), and the opportunity to earn a Travel Together Ticket after spending $30,000 in a calendar year.

Comparing the two cards, the BA Visa basically just gets you one extra point on British Airways purchases. The companion fare can offer good value when you redeem for premium awards, but you’ll need to find availability and have a flexible schedule to maximize it. In my opinion, those benefits aren’t a great complement to the ones on the Sapphire Preferred Card, and I think you’d be better off focusing on your Ultimate Rewards account than splitting your spending between the two.

There are other card tandems that are much more effective. For example, I think the Amex Premier Rewards Gold Card pairs well with the Gold Delta SkyMiles Card, since you get the combination of great bonus categories, Delta flight benefits, access to other Membership Rewards transfer partners and more. The same goes for the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from Amex and any of the various co-branded American Airlines cards.

One of the knocks against airline cards is that they don’t offer much in terms of bonus categories. The new JetBlue cards from Barclaycard are bucking that trend, and I’m hopeful that we’ll see others follow suit. Transferable points help you diversify your rewards portfolio and protect you from devaluation, but I’d happily shift some of my spending to airline cards if they offered a better return.

If you have any other questions, please tweet me @thepointsguy, message me on Facebook or send me an email at info@thepointsguy.com.

Source: thepointsguy.com