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Airlines Miles Cards

Almost everyone enjoys going on a holiday each year and, believe me, it's even more enjoyable when you don't have to pay much for it!

This is where airline frequent flyer programmes come in. Traditionally, you have been able to earn frequent flyer miles every time you have flown with an airline. By just doing this it can take quite a while to build up enough miles for a free flight. With an airline miles credit card you can be earning miles towards your next free flight every time you shop.

While there are still a lot more airline cards available in the US, this kind of card is now starting to take off in the UK too.

		Popular Airline Credit Cards BMI Credit Card - Earn 1.5 miles for every £1 spent, with no annual fee...more details BA Credit Card - Earn 1 mile for every £1 to use on one of the world's largest airlines...more details Compare all Airline Miles Cards

Most cards offer 1 mile for every £1 spent, although some now give you more. The miles needed for a free flight will vary by airline and how far you are planning on traveling. For example, a flight to the US with Virgin will cost you 40,000 frequent flyer miles from the Virgin Flyers Club.

Airline Miles Compared to Cash Back

It can be a good idea to think about where you might want to use your miles for and compare the number of miles needed to fly there with the actual cost of the ticket - do you need to spend more or less, for example, to earn enough miles with a card than you would have to spend on a cash back card to get enough cash back to just buy a ticket instead.

Generally, though, miles are credited to your account every month where as cash back is only distributed once a year - something else to bare in mind if you want that bit more flexibility. Don't forget, though, that you can spend cash back on anything where as airline miles are much more restrictive.

I have generally found that airline miles and cash back cards are fairly comparable when looking at the cost of economy tickets. However, if you are a business or first class traveler the difference in miles needed is usually much less than the difference in cost of a ticket meaning that the airline miles card can be a better deal in these cases.

Compare Airline Miles Credit Cards

	Miles Earned	Standard APR	Annual Fee	Application
British Airways	1 mile per £1 Spent Double miles for 3 months	Typical 15.9% APR Variable	None	Details
British Airways Premium Plus	1.5 miles per £1 Spent	Typical 35.4% APR Variable	£120	Details
BMI	1.5 miles per £1 spent. Double miles at flybmi.com	Typical 15.9% APR Variable	None	Details