Which cards should be in the smart premium traveler’s wallet and why
Rule 1: Carry cards that have a pinpoint purpose. This could include earning miles on a favorite carrier; offering free companion tickets; a fast-track to elite status; airport lounge access; or because it gets you elite cards for free in other programs. Ignore the overlap in benefits and focus on the advantage the card offers. While there is often some overlap in benefits, each card is usually better at something than its competitors. That’s why it’s wise to carry several cards, depending on the benefits you need.Rule 2: Don’t carry the co-branded card marketed by your preferred airline. Because it lets you earn miles in only one program! Sure, old-school thinking had you throw in your lot with just one carrier. Today, the best way to play your cards is holding a hand that earns points in the card issuer’s own “currency” (like Amex and Diners)—but also allows you to transfer them into other airline programs. (See the few exceptions/caveats below.)
Rule 3: Avoid cards that offer their own mileage programs, such as MBNA or Capital One. It’s the biggest mistake premium travelers make. While these cards sound seductive—they usually have no blackout dates and are valid on multiple carriers—they leave out one big detail: The points earned are usually not valid for Business or First Class travel. Or, if they do permit premium travel, it’s at a very poor redemption rate.
Here’s our 2006 ranking of the cards that earn miles.
OKAY: American Express Cards Most earn Membership Rewards points, which are transferable into 14 different programs. That’s not bad, but many partners (Aeromexico, Frontier, JetBlue, Mexicana, and Southwest) are at the lower end of the scale on comfort and service. BIG Side Benefit: The fact that you can buy up to 500,000 miles annually (at 2.5¢). This can get you in the mileage game overnight. The card also offers double-miles promotions throughout the year with certain purchases. They can be worthwhile, if you have the time to keep abreast of the promos.[aside headline="AMEX Membership Rewards: What’s changed since last year" alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]US Airways bailed out of the program in March. Not an enormous loss as you can still fly the carrier and Star Alliance partners via the Amex partnership with Air Canada and All Nippon. However you cannot use miles from those two carriers’ to upgrade on US Airways flights, but only free tickets, which is a big loss as you could net some great upgrade values to Europe. The addition of AirTran to the program is inconsequential for most.[/aside]
BETTER: Diners Club For more than a year now, the card has been a member of the MasterCard consortium, which makes it much more powerful than before—especially in Europe, where American Express is not the best card to have. However, now that Diners Club is a credit card, there’s no longer a 60-day payment window.
The reason to get this card is because you can transfer points, on a one-to-one basis, to 21 airlines (make sure your preferred carrier is one of them): Air Canada, Air France & KLM’s Flying Blue, Alaska, American, Asiana, British Airways, EL AL, Frontier, GlobalPass, Hawaiian, Icelandair, Korean Air, Mexicana, Midwest, Scandinavian, South African Airways, Southwest, Thai Airways, US Airways/America West, and Virgin Atlantic. Only the Amex Starwood card (next page) has more.
[aside headline="DINERS CLUB: What’s changed since last year" alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]Continental, Northwest and United have all dropped the card, purportedly because the new affiliation with MasterCard conflicts with existing relationships they have with co-branded and other cards. The only addition, EVA Airways, will not pick up the slack. It’s still a decent card, but increasingly for foreign carriers, so study partners carefully.[/aside]
Other Diners’ benefits
- Airport lounge access to clubs worldwide
- Free companion tickets with British Airways in First and Business Class.
- An annual 50% bonus for points converted into British Airways miles (30% now awarded by Star wood), which can be the difference between Business Class and coach or First Class and Business.
- A corporate version of the card, which Star wood doesn’t officially offer.
- The option to transfer American miles into Diners Club points. You take a 50% hit, but it makes sense if you’re migrating to British Airways, as the annual 50% bonus can make up for some of the loss.
his card also offers the only “everyday” and “every airline” transfer bonus, 25%. That means transferring 20,000 points nets 25,000 miles with any partner, anytime. That can be the difference between economy class and Business, and Business Class and First. Other benefits include being able to buy 20,000 miles annually to get you in the game, and having one of our favorite programs, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, as a partner. The other partners: Air China, Air France, Air New Zealand, Alaska, Alitalia, All Nippon, American, Asiana, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Continental, Delta, EL AL, Emirates, Hawaiian, Japan Airlines, LAN, Lufthansa, Mexicana, Northwest, Qantas, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, SWISS, Thai Airways, United, US Airways, Varig, and Virgin Atlantic.
[aside headline="STARWOOD: What’s changed" alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]That’s the best part—it’s only gotten better. The program has added Air Canada, EL AL, and Qatar to its roster, and lost only Scandinavian Airlines. Two other airlines that were part of the program, America West and KLM, have been rolled up into other programs: US Airways absorbed the former, Air France the latter.[/aside]
But this card comes with two caveats: There’s no corporate version (although I know many people who use this card for business), and it’s not good for United Mileage Plus members, as it only gives half credit on that carrier.
Best of Both Worlds
Have the Amex Starwood card and use the Diners (MasterCard) as backup. If Diners doesn’t partner with your favorite carrier(s), this is the time to get that/those carriers’ co-branded MasterCard or Visa.Which cards should be in the smart premium traveler’s wallet and why
Rule 1: Carry cards that have a pinpoint purpose. This could include earning miles on a favorite carrier; offering free companion tickets; a fast-track to elite status; airport lounge access; or because it gets you elite cards for free in other programs. Ignore the overlap in benefits and focus on the advantage the card offers. While there is often some overlap in benefits, each card is usually better at something than its competitors. That’s why it’s wise to carry several cards, depending on the benefits you need.Rule 2: Don’t carry the co-branded card marketed by your preferred airline. Because it lets you earn miles in only one program! Sure, old-school thinking had you throw in your lot with just one carrier. Today, the best way to play your cards is holding a hand that earns points in the card issuer’s own “currency” (like Amex and Diners)—but also allows you to transfer them into other airline programs. (See the few exceptions/caveats below.)
Rule 3: Avoid cards that offer their own mileage programs, such as MBNA or Capital One. It’s the biggest mistake premium travelers make. While these cards...