Bla bla bla Chase Sapphire Reserve. But kinda pointless if you're an Emirates flyer.
The point is not to be opening up credit cards willy nilly, but based on the airlines and hotels that someone is going to stay or fly with the most, because, honestly, that's where you're going to get the most value at the end of the day. It's going to be a hard, hard sell to still get me on a Delta plane.
Credit cards points, generally, are pretty useless within their own program. However, when they are transferred to an airline or hotel's program, that is when they are worth the most. Just watch out for the transfer ratio-though Chase does advertise a 1:1 transfer-cause they're not all the same, even within the same program.
Quick note: Some credit cards are linked to a bank's rewards programs, which will then allow credit card users to transfer over to a particular program. The star players here are Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards, which allow transfers to a ton of airlines and hotels. (Ultimate Rewards seems to have lost a few partnerships recently, whereas American Express seems to have more international partners.)
However, definitely don't underestimate the Starwood Preferred Guest cards, which offer the most partnerships and which has been a longtime perennial favorite.
Here's a quick chart showing which airlines are associated with what credit cards for your flying pleasure. 1
| Airline & Frequent Flyer Program | Credit Cards |
|---|---|
| Aeromexico Club Premier | AeroMexico Visa Signature® Card AeroMexico Visa Card American Express Green Card American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card American Express Platinum Card American Express Centurion Charge Card American Express Amex EveryDay Credit Card |
| Air Berlin topbonus | airberlin Visa Card basic airberlin Visa Card plus Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | American Express Green Card American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card American Express Platinum Card American Express Centurion Charge Card American Express Amex EveryDay Credit Card Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express TD AeroplanTM Visa Signature® Credit Card |
| Air China PhoenixMiles | Air China PhoenixMiles Peony Credit Card Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express |
| Air France and KLM Flying Blue | American Express Green Card American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card American Express Platinum Card American Express Centurion Charge Card American Express Amex EveryDay Credit Card Chase Sapphire Preferred Chase Freedom Chase Sapphire Reserve Chase Freedom Unlimited Flying Blue World MasterCard® Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express |
| Air New Zealand Airpoints | ANZ Airpoints Visa Card ANZ Airpoints Visa Platinum Card Air New Zealand Airpoints Low Fee MasterCard® Air New Zealand Airpoints Platinum MasterCard® Air New Zealand Airpoints Standard MasterCard® Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express Westpac Airpoints™ Credit Card |
| Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan | Alaska Airlines MasterCard® Credit Card Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® Credit Card Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express |
| Alitalia MilleMiglia | Alitalia American Express® Card American Express Green Card American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card American Express Platinum Card American Express Centurion Charge Card American Express Amex EveryDay Credit Card Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express |
| All Nippon Airways ANA Mileage Club | American Express Green Card American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card American Express Platinum Card American Express Centurion Charge Card American Express Amex EveryDay Credit Card Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express |
| American Airlines AAdvantage | Aviator Silver MasterCard® Aviator Red MasterCard® Aviator Blue MasterCard® Aviator MasterCard® Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive Card Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Card CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Card CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Select® Card Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express |
| Asia Miles2 | American Express Green Card American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card American Express Platinum Card American Express Centurion Charge Card American Express Amex EveryDay Credit Card |
| Asiana Airlines Asiana Club | Asiana Visa Signature® Credit Card Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express |
| British Airways Executive Club | American Express Green Card American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card American Express Platinum Card American Express Centurion Charge Card American Express Amex EveryDay Credit Card British Airways Visa Signature® Card Chase Sapphire Preferred Chase Freedom Chase Sapphire Reserve Chase Freedom Unlimited Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express |
| Cathay Pacific Airways Marco Polo Club | American Express® Cathay Pacific Credit Cards Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express |
| China Eastern Airlines Eastern Miles | Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express |
| China Southern Airlines Sky Pearl Club | Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express |
| Delta Air Lines SkyMiles | American Express Green Card American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card American Express Platinum Card American Express Centurion Charge Card American Express Amex EveryDay Credit Card Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express |
| El Al Matmid Club | American Express Green Card American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card American Express Platinum Card American Express Centurion Charge Card American Express Amex EveryDay Credit Card Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express |
| Emirates/Sri Lankan Airlines Skywards | American Express Green Card American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card American Express Platinum Card American Express Centurion Charge Card American Express Amex EveryDay Credit Card Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express |
| Etihad Guest | American Express Green Card American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card American Express Platinum Card American Express Centurion Charge Card American Express Amex EveryDay Credit Card Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express |
| GOL Smiles | Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express Crédito Smiles Gold Crédito Smiles International Crédito Smiles Platinum |
| Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings Club | Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express |
| Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles | American Express Green Card American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card American Express Platinum Card American Express Centurion Charge Card American Express Amex EveryDay Credit Card The Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express |
| Iberia Plus | American Express Green Card American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card American Express Platinum Card American Express Centurion Charge Card American Express Amex EveryDay Credit Card Iberia Sendo Oro Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express |
| Japan Airlines JAL Mileage Bank | Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express |
| Jet Airways JetPrivilege | Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express |
| JetBlue TrueBlue | American Express Green Card American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card American Express Platinum Card American Express Centurion Charge Card American Express Amex EveryDay Credit Card The JetBlue CardThe JetBlue Plus Card |
| Korean Air SKYPASS | Chase Sapphire Preferred Chase Freedom Chase Sapphire Reserve Chase Freedom Unlimited SkyBlue SKYPASS Visa Card SKYPASS Visa Classic Card SKYPASS Visa Secured Card SKYPASS Visa Signature Card |
| LATAM Airlines LATAM Pass | LANPASS Visa Signature® Card Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express |
| Lufthansa Miles & More | Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express The Miles & More® World Elite MasterCard |
| Qatar Airways Privilege Club | Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express |
| Saudi Arabian Airlines Alfursan | Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | American Express Green Card American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card American Express Platinum Card American Express Centurion Charge Card American Express Amex EveryDay Credit Card Chase Sapphire Preferred Chase Freedom Chase Sapphire Reserve Chase Freedom Unlimited Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express |
| Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards | Chase Sapphire Preferred Chase Freedom Chase Sapphire Reserve Chase Freedom Unlimited Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express |
| Thai Airways International Royal Orchid Plus | Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express |
| United MileagePlus | Chase Sapphire Preferred Chase Freedom Chase Sapphire Reserve Chase Freedom Unlimited Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express United MileagePlus® Explorer Card United MileagePlus® Club Card |
| Virgin America Elevate | American Express Green Card American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card American Express Platinum Card American Express Centurion Charge Card American Express Amex EveryDay Credit Card Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express Virgin America Visa Signature® Card |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | American Express Green Card American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card American Express Platinum Card American Express Centurion Charge Card American Express Amex EveryDay Credit Card Chase Sapphire Preferred Chase Freedom Chase Sapphire Reserve Chase Freedom Unlimited Virgin Atlantic World Elite Black Card Virgin Atlantic World Elite White Card |
