You may already know that you can earn airline miles by flying with a specific airline. But did you know there are plenty of additional ways to earn airline miles that you can redeem for flights, upgrades and discounts on inflight purchases?
With the right credit card, flying with partner airlines, online shopping and even dining at the right restaurants can easily earn you valuable miles.
Therefore, even if you’re not a frequent flyer, it’s easy to earn airline miles. Keep reading to find out some of the best ways to earn miles.
Best ways to earn airline miles from credit cards
Credit cards can earn airline miles through both everyday spending and welcome offers.
If you are approved for an airline-branded credit card, you can earn airline miles for every dollar you spend, and the card will usually offer bonus miles for spending directly with the airline. If you fly regularly, this can be an easy way to rack up plenty of airline miles that you could redeem for free or heavily discounted flights on the same airline.
Many cards also offer generous welcome bonuses to attract new and/or eligible customers. Here are some of the best welcome bonuses for airline-branded credit cards available right now:
- United Questâ„ Card (see rates and fees) Best offer ever: Earn 100,000 bonus miles and 3,000 Premier qualifying points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
- Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® (see rates and fees): Earn 70,000 bonus miles after spending $7,000 within the first three months from account opening.
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card: Earn 70,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 on eligible purchases in the first six months of card membership.
- Unitedâ„ Business Card (see rates and fees): Earn 100,000 bonus miles and 2,000 Premier qualifying points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card (see rates and fees): Earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first five months from account opening.
Best ways to earn airline miles from transferring points
Transferable points can be especially valuable if you want to travel in a premium cabin for the smallest number of points or miles. Instead of being limited to a single airline (and its partners), you can keep your transferable credit card points in your credit card account until you are ready to use them and then choose the best program to transfer them to based on the flights you want to take and the number of airline miles each program is charging. This flexibility is very valuable.
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The best way to earn transferable points is with the right card. Here’s a look at some of TPG’s favorites:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees): Earn 100,000 bonus points and a $500 Chase Travel℠promo credit after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
- Citi Strata Eliteâ„ Card (see rates and fees): Earn 80,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first three months from account opening.
- The Platinum Card® from American Express: Find out your offer and see if you are eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership. Welcome offers vary, and you may not be eligible for an offer.
- American Express® Gold Card: Find out your offer and see if you are eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $6,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.
- Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
- Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening.
Best ways to earn airline miles from frequent flying
When you fly with an airline that offers points and miles for flying with it, it is a good idea to join its loyalty program and add your number each time you fly.
The airline will award you miles for each eligible flight, which you can redeem for future flights or, depending on the program and airline, discounts on inflight purchases like Wi-Fi and beverages.
If you fly regularly, you may earn elite status in your program of choice, making your travel more convenient and comfortable with benefits like additional checked baggage, priority check-in and boarding, first-class upgrades, and lounge access.
Best ways to earn airline miles from shopping portals
Shopping portals allow you to earn bonus points and miles for the online shopping you might be doing every day. You’re still purchasing the same items directly from the merchant, but because you started at the shopping portal, you’ll earn bonus points.
While some portals will only offer 1 point per dollar spent with many retailers, it’s not uncommon to see offers of 10 or more points per dollar spent for select retailers. If you have a large online purchase coming up, this can earn you a huge haul of rewards.
To earn airline miles from shopping portals:
- Select your loyalty program of choice.
- Ensure you are a member of that loyalty program.
- Download the optional Google extension to be notified if you shop with a retailer offering points through the portal.
- Shop through the portal rather than going directly to the retailer. This can be the hardest step to remember in your haste for some retail therapy. You may wish to set the shopping portal of your favorite airline program as your homepage on your internet browser so you never forget to start there.
- Shop as normal on the retailer’s site. You’re not required to pay with a cobranded credit card if you don’t want to.
- Wait for the points to arrive; this can take several weeks.
Related: The beginners guide to airline shopping portals
Here are some popular airline shopping portals:
Best ways to earn airline miles from stacking deals
Combining shopping portals with a rewards credit card allows you to double dip, earning more miles for every purchase.
Also, look out for additional offers from airlines and credit card issuers. They may offer additional cash back or bonus miles when spending on a specified card with a particular retailer. This means you could triple-stack your points earning, getting you closer to your dream redemption, by first shopping through a shopping portal, then purchasing from a retailer with a bonus offer from a card issuer, and then paying with a points-earning credit card.
Related: Use a shopping portal aggregator to maximize your online purchases
Best ways to earn airline miles from dining
Most airline loyalty programs offer a dining rewards program, allowing you to earn extra points or miles.
Before you can use a dining rewards program, you have to sign up for the program online and then register at least one credit or debit card with the program. Then, you’ll automatically earn rewards through the dining program when you use your card to pay for eligible charges at participating restaurants, bars and clubs.
Here are some of the best airline dining rewards programs:
Related: Airline and hotel dining rewards programs: Which is best for you?
Bottom line
There are many ways to earn airline miles, even if you are not a regular traveler.
While all the programs, cards, airlines and options can seem overwhelming, it is a good idea to start by considering which airline you want to focus on and joining its loyalty program. Then, you can start plotting ways to increase your rewards balance, one step at a time, by adding your loyalty number to flights operated by that airline or a partner airline.
Also, consider a credit card that either earns rewards in that program or rewards that can be transferred to that program. You can also maximize your travel with shopping portals and by stacking offers.
