Best airline credit cards of June 2026

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If you frequently fly with the same airline, using the right credit card can earn you increased rewards and special perks when you travel. After all, loyalty should count for something, right?

There are dozens of airline cards on the market, and they're not all created equal. To cut through the noise, we looked into each card's perks and drawbacks to find the best of the best based on your travel habits.

Who's this for? Delta frequent flyers who want perks that are useful both when traveling and when at home should consider the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card.

Standout benefits: You can earn nearly $400 in statement credits from this card every year. You'll get up to $120 in Resy credits (up to $10 in statement credits per month when you use your card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases; enrollment required), up to $120 in rideshare credits (up to $10 in statement credits per month on U.S. rideshare purchases; enrollment required) and up to $150 in statement credits each year for booking prepaid hotels or vacation rentals through Delta Stays.

Who's this for? The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card is ideal if you frequently fly Southwest, as the benefits can easily offset the annual fee.

Standout benefits: You'll receive the first checked bag free, a complimentary Preferred seat at booking and extra legroom upgrades within 48 hours before departure. These benefits apply to you and up to eight companions on the same reservation.

Who's this for: The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a great choice if you want flexibility with your rewards since its points can be transferred to 10 different airline loyalty programs.

Standout benefits: This card can help you book awards with nearly any major airline. Your Chase Ultimate Rewards® points can be transferred to airline programs such as Southwest Rapid Rewards, JetBlue TrueBlue and United MileagePlus. You can also book awards with American Airlines, Alaska Airlines and Delta by transferring your points to programs that partner with those airlines, such as Flying Blue (Delta) and British Airways Executive Club (American and Alaska).

Who's this for? The United℠ Explorer Card offers a variety of impressive benefits for United flyers, including United Club access, expanded award availability and free checked bags.

Standout benefits: Every year, you'll get two United Club one-time passes; that's a value of over $100 per year and helps justify the annual fee. Plus, enjoy priority boarding, a statement credit toward Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS and save 10% or more when booking flights with miles.

Who's this for? The United Gateway℠ Card is for you if you want to earn extra United miles without paying an annual fee.

Standout benefits: Save 10% or more on flights booked with miles and earn two checked bags after you spend $10,000 in a calendar year. Plus, earn 25% back on in-flight food, beverage and Wi-Fi purchases, as well as United Club premium drink purchases. You'll also get an introductory APR on purchases.

Who's this for? The Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® offers a host of benefits for American Airlines travel, including a strong welcome bonus, preferred boarding and the ability to earn elite status without flying.

Standout benefits: You and up to four guests on the same reservation get your first checked bag free on domestic American Airlines flights, saving you up to $100 per person per round-trip flight. This card also features a $125 American Airlines Flight Discount after you spend $20,000+ during your card membership year (and renew your credit card) and statement credits for Turo, a rental car marketplace.

Who's this for? The JetBlue Plus Card is a great option for earning rewards on JetBlue purchases and increasing the usefulness of your JetBlue points.

Standout benefits: You'll receive a 10% rebate on points redeemed for JetBlue flights just by having this card. This instantly makes all of your JetBlue points a bit more valuable. Plus, every year, you'll get a 5,000-point bonus after your card anniversary and enjoy a free first checked bag for you and up to three travel companions.

Who's this for: The Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® Card was one of the cards created out of the Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines merger, and is great for those looking to earn rewards and benefits with both airlines.

Standout benefits: The Atmost Summit Infinite offers a fairly reasonable $95 annual fee, and a $99 Companion Fare (plus taxes and fees from $23) after spending at least $6,000 each account anniversary.

Airline credit cards are co-branded credit cards that offer rewards and benefits tied to a specific airline. They are similar to store credit cards in this regard, but airline cards tend to be much more valuable than the cards offered by retailers.

Airline cards typically offer value in several ways, including:

• Earning airline miles or points
• Providing the ability to earn elite status credit
• Discounts and travel perks with the airline, such as priority boarding, in-flight purchase rebates and free checked bags
• Credits and other perks

Not every airline card offers all of the above benefits. If you have a no-annual-fee airline card, you'll typically have a smaller array of benefits. But when the card has an annual fee, you can expect to receive free checked bags, elite status credit and other perks that may make the card worth keeping. Many airlines also offer a premium credit card; these cards normally come with luxury perks such as airport lounge access.

Making the most of your airline rewards boils down to understanding all of your options and knowing what the value is for each redemption. You may be able to use your miles for gift cards and merchandise, or to offset baggage fees or pay for a lounge membership. However, these redemptions typically offer a lower value of 1 cent per mile or less.

The best way to maximize your airline miles is almost always to use them for award flights. Keep in mind that you can typically use airline miles to book flights with select partners as well. So if you have American Airlines miles, you're not limited to only booking American Airlines flights. These partner bookings can be exceptional deals, especially for international flights in premium cabins.

When you're looking for an airline rewards credit card, consider the additional travel perks that best suit your needs — whether it's free checked bags for you and your companions, lounge access, in-flight food and beverage discounts or priority boarding. You'll also be able to earn free flights with the miles you get from spending on the card. Many cards offer multiple perks, so decide what's most important to you before choosing one.

In addition, if you're based in a city dominated by one airline (for example, Atlanta is a major hub for Delta), having a credit card attached to that airline could be useful. For instance, the free checked bag benefit could save you hundreds of dollars a year — even if you don't travel too often.

If you're not loyal to a specific airline, consider our list of the best travel credit cards, which provides alternative cards that offer competitive rewards rates on broader travel purchases, such as hotels and cruises, in addition to airfare. These cards provide travel insurance, more flexibility and often allow points to be transferred to frequent flyer programs of your choice.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every credit card article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of credit card products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best airline credit cards.

To determine which airline cards offer the best value, CNBC Select analyzed over 250 major credit cards issued through FDIC-insured banks and NCUA-insured credit unions that are widely available in the U.S.  

We compared each card on a range of features, including rewards, annual fees, welcome bonuses, introductory and standard APR and balance transfer fees and foreign transaction fees. We also considered additional perks (e.g., ongoing travel or merchant statement credits), cardholder protections (e.g., purchase protection, $0 liability protection and travel insurance), the application process when available (e.g., is there a credit pull or required credit score) and how easy it is to redeem points (e.g., are rewards are tied to a specific brand; if transferable, to how many/which partners, can you redeem for straight cash back). 
 
We also considered CNBC Select audience data when available, such as general demographics and engagement with our content and tools.  

When choosing the best airline cards, we focused on cards that earn frequent flyer miles or rewards you can transfer to airline loyalty programs. We also gave higher priority to airline-specific benefits and perks.

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Information about the Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® Card has been collected independently by CNBC Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.

For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, click here.

*Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card Welcome Offer: To view your personalized offer, you must first submit an application. If approved, you will: (1) receive your Welcome Offer details, (2) have the option to accept the Card with that offer, (3) be required to spend $3,000 on eligible purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership, and (4) earn Membership Rewards® points. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. If you're approved and accept your offer, a credit check may be conducted, which could impact your credit score. Terms apply.