Airline co-branded card comparison: entry-level

Now that we’ve gone through the free airline cards, it’s time for the entry-level cards, those with an annual fee of around $100.  As I mentioned in the previous article, American, Delta, and United actually partner with 4 banks.  Specifically, at the roughly $100 level, American offers two cards: one with Barclays and one with Citi.

This article will cover four credit cards: the American Airlines AAdvantage Aviator Red MasterCard, the American Airlines Platinum Select credit card, the Delta SkyMiles Gold card, and the United Explorer card.

I provide the information here just to give readers a vague idea if the rewards offered by the card might make sense for them to consider the card.  All information should be confirmed with the card company before applying.

Welcome Offers

These credit cards have decent welcome offers.  American’s Platinum Select card offers 50 000 miles after spending $2 500 in the first 3 months and a waived first year annual fee (worth $99).  American’s Aviator Red card offers 50 000 miles after making your first purchase, but the first year annual fee is not waived.  Delta’s Gold card offers 40 000 miles after spending $2 000 in 6 months and a waived first year annual fee (worth $99).  United’s card offers 60 000 miles after spending $3 000 in 3 months and a waived first year annual fee (worth $95).

The winner here is the United card because it offers the most miles and has a waived annual fee.  This earns United’s card 3 points.  American’s Platinum Select card earns 2 points, and American’s Aviator Red and Delta’s cards each earn 1 point, respectively, for their welcome offers.

Points earnings

For all these cards, the best multiplier is offered on direct airline purchases.  American’s Platinum Select card offers 2x miles on American, dining, and gas.  American’s Aviator Red card offers 2x miles on American purchases.  The Delta Gold card offers 2x miles on Delta, dining, and US supermarkets.  United’s Explorer card offers 2x miles on United, dining, and hotel stays.  All cards offer 1 mile/$ on everything else.

The loser here is definitely the Aviator Red card, which only has one bonus category (1 point).  All the other cards offer double miles on dining.  It therefore comes down to gas vs US supermarkets vs hotel stays for the best bonus category for you, so each of these cards gets 2 points, since the earnings aren’t particularly impressive.

Elite earnings

The Aviator Red and Platinum Select cards have the same earnings of 1 loyalty point per $1 spent.  The Delta Gold card does not offer bonus MQM as a perk.  The United Explorer card offers 500 PQP per $12 000 spent on the card (up to a maximum of 1 000 PQP). This means that 1 000 PQP for $24k gets you 1/4 of the way to United Silver Status (12 PQF + 4 000 PQP). 

The winners are the American cards: $24k spend gets you 80% of the way to American Gold status (3 points).  United’s offering is relatively weak by comparison (1 point).  The loser here is the Delta card (0 points).

Benefits

The American Platinum Select card offers a 25% savings on inflight food and beverage on American, preferred boarding (group 5) and a first checked bag free (for you + 4 others).  You can also earn a $125 flight discount after spending $20k in a year.

The American Aviator Red card offers a 25% savings on inflight food and beverage on American, $25 back on in-flight WiFi each year, preferred boarding (group 5) and a first checked bag free (for you + 4 others).  The card also offers a Companion Certificate (buy one, get one for $99) after spending $20k in a year.

The Delta card offers 20% back on inflight food/beverages on Delta, a free first checked bag and ‘Main Cabin 1’ priority boarding (for you + 8 others).  The card also offers a $100 flight credit after spending $10k in a year.

The United card offers 25% back on United inflight food/beverages and on ‘premium’ (alcoholic) drinks in the United Club, priority boarding (for you and companions), and a free checked bag (for you and one companion).  The card also offers a $100 statement credit for Global Entry/TSA Precheck/NEXUS every 4 years. 

Although the Delta Gold card has the weakest in-flight discount, it has the strongest checked bag/boarding perks (3 points).  The United card has a better in-flight discount but really doesn’t have much in the way of spend-based benefits (1 point).  The American cards sit in the middle (2 points each).

How to use the points

The main use for earning airlines points is to redeem them for flights on the respective airline.  In general, American has the best redemption opportunities because they still use an award chart, rather than dynamic pricing, for redemptions on partners.  United is generally the next best because of its Star Alliance partners and generally better redemption prices.  Delta’s miles are generally worth the least. 

In terms of redeeming the miles, American comes first (3 points), United comes second (2 points), and Delta is the weakest (1 point).

Which of these cards is/are right for you?

These cards are all pretty good for someone who travels on one of these airlines a couple times per year but does not have status and flies in the main cabin.  I think in general these cards are sufficiently better than the free cards to be worth considering, especially because every airline offers a card with a waived annual fee the first year.  That means you can try out the cards for free and then downgrade if you’re not getting enough value out of them. 

These cards are all much closer in score: with American’s Platinum Select and Aviator Red cards getting 12 and 10 points, respectively.  The United Explorer card comes in second with 9 points, and the Delta Gold card comes in last with 7 points. 

However, I think any of these cards can make sense if you are loyal to one of these airlines.