The Ultimate Airline Credit Cards for 2023 – Which One is Best?

by Daniel | Last Updated Mar 15th, 2023

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In this article, I’m going to talk you through 3 of the best airline reward credit cards that are available today and why you might want to consider getting one if you spend a fair amount of time traveling each year.

I’ll also be comparing which card offers the most value and then giving you my opinion of which card is the best at the end of the article.

https://youtu.be/QL8aFahVw2s

Who Are These Cards Good For?

Basically, if you spend a fair amount of time traveling each year and tend to fly with either Delta, United, or American Airlines, any of the cards in this review are going to offer you a ton of extra value.

It really just depends on which airline you prefer to fly with and how much you want to spend on a credit card each year.

All three of these cards have relatively high annual fees of between $450 and $550 which is not exactly cheap.
But to be fair it is relatively easy to cover the cost of the annual fee for each of the cards and be left with a ton of value in the way of benefits and user perks.

Annual Fee

Now seeing that all three of these cards are top-tier credit cards they are relatively expensive when it comes to the annual fee.

But don’t let that concern you as it is quite easy to make up for this just by taking advantage of some of the many benefits and perks that come with each card.

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Winner

So both the Delta SkyMiles Reserve card and the United Club infinite card are priced almost identically, whereas the Citi AAdvantage World Elite Mastercard is approximately $100 cheaper on an annual basis which means takes the top spot for this section.
Now let’s continue on with the review and see how each card compares in terms of the sign-up bonus and which cards present the most value.

Sign-up Bonus

So the sign-up bonus for all of these cards can change quite often throughout the year depending on if the card issuers are running a special offer or not, so it can make sense to sometimes wait until there is an increased sign-up bonus available with the card you are interested in, as you may well receive quite a lot more value.

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Winner

So not surprisingly the most expensive card of the three, the Reserve card has the most valuable sign-up bonus, it also allows for a 6-month period to meet the spend requirement whereas the other two cards only allow for 3 months.
So for this section, the Reserve card takes the win.

And although the Citi AAdvantage Executive world elite Mastercard is about $100 cheaper on an annual basis than the other two cards, its signup bonus is more than $350 less than the other two cards.

Miles Earning Potential

So all of these cards offer a pretty generous miles earning potential, with all cards offering the highest earnings available from airline bookings. 

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Winner

So for this section, the United Club Infinite card has the edge over the other cards as it offers the ability to earn miles from a wider range of categories.
This means it is possible to earn more value than the other two cards.   

Benefits And User Perks

Now all of these cards are packed with great benefits and user perks, so let’s take a deeper look into what each card actually offers.

Now the most valuable benefit that comes with this card is the Delta Reserve Annual Companion Certificate.
And with this benefit, it is possible to receive a free domestic First class, Comfort+, or Main Cabin round trip fare.
Needless to say, this benefit can be worth quite a lot, definatley more than what the annual fee costs.
Just note that it is only possible to receive this benefit after you renew the card after one year of card ownership.

Now when you travel on a Delta-marked flight it is possible to gain access to both the Delta Sky Club and the Amex Centurion Lounge.
This is a really nice benefit to have, and if you travel quite often it presents quite a lot of value.  

Each year there are two Delta Sky Club One-Time Guest Passes, which will allow you to bring a couple of friends into the lounge free of charge.
And with entry into the club costing $50 per person, just this benefit is worth $100.

When flying on Delta-marked flights your first checked bag will be free of charge and you will also receive 20% back for any inflight purchases of food, beverages, or audio headsets.

There is a $100 credit for use on either Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.

And finally, If you manage to spend $25,000 on the card within a 12-month period it will be possible to waive the Medallion Qualification Dollar Requirement for either Silver, Gold, or Platinum Medallion Status. 
Then after spending more than $30,000 in a 12-month period, it is possible to earn 15,000 Medallion Qualification Miles, and this can be received up to 4 times in a calendar year.
So if you manage to spend $120,000, you will receive 60,000 MQMs.

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Then when flying on a United flight you will receive both your first and second bag checked free of charge, this can actually save you quite a lot of money if you do travel quite frequently. 

You will also receive 25% back on any United flights when purchasing food, beverages, or Club Premium drinks 
And there is a $100 credit for either TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, or NEXUS.

Included with this card is access to the United MileagePlus program, and with this, you will receive the following benefits:

• A 10% discount on United Economy Saver Awards flights that are within the US and Canada, this basically means that when you book a flight it is possible to use 10% fewer miles.
• Then for every $12,000 that you spend on the card, you will earn 500 Premier Qualifying Points (PQP) that can be used towards reaching Premier Status, with Premier Silver status starting at 3,500 PQP, and this is limited to a total earning of 4,000 PQPs in a calendar year.

Premier status has some decent benefits when flying with United which include the ability to earn more miles and complimentary access to economy plus.

There is also Premier Access travel services which basically provide you with priority check-in, security screening, boarding, and baggage handling privileges. 

You will receive IHG Rewards Platinum Elite Status, and this gives you the ability to get complimentary room upgrades and late checkout if either is available.
It is also possible to receive up to $75 in statement credits for any purchases made at IHG Hotels and Resorts.
There is then access to The Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection.
And this provides you with daily breakfast for two, a $100 hotel credit, a room upgrade, early check-in, and late check-out if available.

If you ever need to rent a car you will have access to Avis President’s Club, and with this, it is possible to receive complimentary two-car class upgrades and guaranteed availability.

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There is a $100 credit for use on either TSA PreCheck or Global Entry.

Then when flying on American Airlines it is possible to receive:

• A 25% saving for inflight food and beverage purchases.
• Your first checked bag free, which is also available for up to 8 people flying with you on the same flight as you.
• Priority check-in and priority boarding, again for up to 8 people on the same flight as you.

And finally, If you have a qualifying Citigold account it is possible to receive a $145 statement credit each year as long as you remain an active card member.

Winner

So for this section, the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card offers the most value mainly due to the fact that it offers the Delta Reserve Annual Companion Certificate.
Along with this, the lounge access is better than the other two cards as you have the ability to go to both the Delta Sky Club and the Centurion Lounge. 

Insurance Coverage

Now as you might expect, all of these cards offer quite a lot of insurance-related coverage.
And this can come in handy if anything does go wrong when you are traveling or if you happen to lose your cell phone.

So let’s compare all of the cards to see which one offers the most coverage.

With Cell phone protection you are covered for up to $800 per claim with a maximum of 2 claims per 12-month period, and each claim will incur a $50 deductible fee.

There is Trip delay insurance of up to $500 per trip if your trip happens to be delayed for more than 6 hours.
Then with trip cancellation, there is coverage of up to $10,000 per trip and a total of $20,000 per year if your trip is canceled for a covered reason.

Along with this is baggage delay insurance that covers up to $1,250 for carry-on luggage and up to $500 for checked luggage.

With purchase protection, there is 90 days of coverage on new purchases and coverage of up to $10,000 per occurrence and $50,000 per year.

Then with return protection, there is also 90 days of coverage for items that a retailer won’t take back, and this covers up to $300 per item and a total of $1,000 per year.

And finally, there is an extended warranty of 1 extra year on any warranties that are 5 years or less.

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• Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance that covers up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip.
• Lost Luggage Reimbursement of up to $3,000 per passenger.
• Baggage Delay Insurance of up to $100 a day for 3 days if your baggage is delayed for more than 6 hours.
• Trip Delay Reimbursement of up to $500 per ticket if your trip is delayed for more than 12 hours.
• Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
• Purchase Protection that covers up to 120 days against damage or theft, with a maximum of $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per year.
• Return Protection which covers 90 days on new purchases that a merchant won’t take back and provides up to $500 per item, $1,000 per year.
• Extended warranty of one extra year on warranties that are 3 years or less.

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Winner

So for this section, I’d have to give it the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card in terms of overall coverage.
Mainly because it offers cell phone protection.

APR

Last but not least, let’s just go over what the current APR is for each card and what fees are charged for making a late payment.

There is a Penalty APR of 29.99% if you make one or more late payments to the card or you have a payment returned by your bank.

And either one of these penalties will incur a fee of up to $40 each.

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The APR for a cash advance is 29.49% and will also incur a fee of either $10 or 5% of the amount of each transaction.
There is a Penalty APR of 29.99% and a penalty fee of up to $40 for either a late payment or a return payment from your bank.  

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The APR for a cash advance is 29.74% and will also incur a fee of either $10 or 5% of the amount of each transaction, whichever amount ends up being more.

The Penalty APR is the usual 29.99% and will incur a penalty fee of up to $41 for either a late payment or a returned payment from your bank.

Final Thoughts 

So that covers pretty much everything there is to know about these three cards, and as you can see from this review, all of the cards offer a ton of value.

Now before choosing any credit card it’s worth considering which airline you are more likely to travel with and what benefits will make the most sense for your situation.

For me, the Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard doesn’t provide as much value as the other two cards, even though it is cheaper on an annual basis, its sign-up bonus offers more than $350 less than both of the other cards, Also, the insurance-related coverage that is offered with this card is nowhere near as good as the other two cards.

In terms of the most valuable card in this review, I would have to give it to the Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card.
Mainly because it comes with the Delta Reserve Annual Companion Certificate, which can be quite valuable.

Now, this doesn’t mean the United Club card is any less of a card, if you do happen to prefer flying with United it is a fantastic card that comes with tons of benefits and perks which can more than cover the costs of the annual fee. 

So now that I’ve gone over the Ultimate Airline credit cards for 2023, check out this article here where I review and Compare the best hotel credit cards for 2023.