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• 14 Best Air Miles Credit Cards for Cheaper Travel in the New Normal

14 Best Air Miles Credit Cards for Cheaper Travel in the New Normal

Do you love to travel? The fact that you’re reading this right now means you’re at least planning to travel in the near future. But sadly, travel isn’t exactly a luxury at this moment when COVID-19 is still around. The pandemic will end eventually, so don’t cancel your air miles credit card just yet.

The next best thing you could do is earn travel points while everyone’s in a collective pause. In that case, you definitely need to keep or get an air miles credit card. Finding the right one is easier now more than ever. Compare your options from this diverse list.

Which Air Miles Credit Card is Perfect For You?

AUB Platinum Mastercard

• How to earn air miles: 1 Mabuhay Mile per PHP 33 spent
• Annual fee: Free for life
• Interest rate: 2.70%
• Other Travel Perks:
  • Free access to SkyView Lounge at NAIA Terminal 3 and Pacific Club Lounges at NAIA 3 and Clark International Airport
  • Double credit card rewards points for overseas purchases

BPI SkyMiles Platinum Mastercard

• How to earn air miles: 1 Delta SkyMiles mile per PHP 45 spent
• Annual fee: PHP 5,000 (waived for the first year)
• Interest rate: 3.50%
• Other Travel Perks:
  • Earn 2x miles for every PHP 45 spent on Delta Air Lines tickets
  • Travel insurance coverage of up to PHP 20 million
  • Exclusive pre-departure access to the Pacific Club at NAIA Terminal 3

Citi PremierMiles Card

• How to earn air miles: 1 PAL Mabuhay Mile or Cebu Pacific GetGo point per PHP 30 local and overseas purchase
• Annual fee: PHP 5,000
• Interest rate: 3.50%
• Other Travel Perks:
  • VIP airport lounge access
  • Travel insurance coverage of up to PHP 1 million
  • 24/7 concierge service

EastWest Priority Visa Infinite

• How to earn air miles: 1 Mabuhay Mile, Asia Mile, or KrisFlyer Mile per PHP 10 spent
• Annual fee: Free for life
• Interest rate: 1.99%
• Other Travel Perks:
  • VIP airport lounge access
  • Low foreign currency fee at only 1.70%
  • Up to PHP 20 million travel accident and inconvenience insurance

HSBC Platinum Visa

• How to earn air miles: 1 Cathay Pacific Asia Mile or Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Mile per PHP 25 spent
• Annual fee: PHP 5,000 (waived for the first year)
• Interest rate: 3.50%
• Other Travel Perks:
  • Get 4 bonus points for every PHP 20 spend on overseas purchases
  • Free travel accident insurance and travel inconvenience coverage

Maybank Platinum Mastercard/Visa Platinum

• How to earn air miles: 1 Asia Mile or KrisFlyer Mile per PHP 50 spent
• Annual fee: PHP 3,000 (waived for the first year)
• Interest rate: 3%
• Other Travel Perks:
  • Earn 1% cashback on overseas purchases
  • Low foreign currency transaction fee of 1.75%

Metrobank Travel Platinum Visa

• How to earn air miles: 1 Mabuhay Mile or 1 GetGo point per PHP 17 overseas, airline, and hotel purchase or PHP 50 local purchase
• Annual fee: PHP 5,000 (waived for the first year)
• Interest rate: 3.54%
• Other Travel Perks:
  • Travel insurance coverage of up to PHP 5 million
  • 24/7 concierge service
  • Unlimited access to airport lounges

PNB-PAL Mabuhay Miles World Mastercard

• How to earn air miles: 1 Mabuhay Mile per PHP 33 spent in the Philippines and abroad
• Annual fee: PHP 6,000
• Interest rate: 2.70%
• Other Travel Perks:
  • Free welcome gift of 2,000 Mabuhay Miles when you activate your card
  • Get 10,000 air miles when you make PHP 100,000 worth of PAL transactions within one year of having your credit card
  • Priority check-in at PAL business class counters at NAIA Terminal 2
  • 5% discount on select online PAL international flight bookings

Read More: 16 Co-Branded Credit Cards That Can Help You Save Money

RCBC Bankard Visa Infinite

• How to earn air miles: 1 rewards point = 1 RCBC Air Miles while 3 RCBC Air Miles are equal to 1 Mabuhay Mile, GetGo point, Asia Mile, or AirAsia BIG point. You can earn a rewards point per PHP 36 retail purchase or PHP 125 supermarket, gas, or drugstore purchase.
• Annual fee: PHP 3,600
• Interest rate: 3.54%
• Other Travel Perks:
  • 5% rebate on clothing and apparel retail shops worldwide
  • Travel insurance coverage up to PHP 1 million
  • Exclusive pre-departure access to the SkyView Lounge at NAIA Terminal 3 for the principal cardholder and one travel companion
  • 0% installment for overseas purchases

UnionBank Cebu Pacific GetGo Platinum

• How to earn air miles: 1 GetGo point per PHP 30 spent locally or internationally
• Annual fee: PHP 5,000
• Interest rate: 3.50%
• Other Travel Perks:
  • Free airport lounge access
  • Priority check-in on Cebu Pacific flights
  • Free 5-kg. extra baggage allowance on Cebu Pacific flights
  • Travel insurance coverage
  • Early Cebu Pacific seat sale alerts

UnionBank Miles+ Platinum Visa

• How to earn air miles: 1 Mabuhay Mile or GetGo Point per PHP 50 spent on airfare, accommodations, and shopping overseas
• Annual fee: PHP 3,000
• Interest rate: 3.50%
• Other Travel Perks:
  • Higher points for travel-related purchases such as airline tickets, hotel accommodations, and overseas transactions
  • Up to PHP 10 million travel insurance coverage when you use your credit card to purchase airline tickets
  • Exclusive pre-departure access at the SkyView Lounge at NAIA Terminal 3, MIASCOR Lounges at NAIA Terminal 1, and Club Manila Lounge at NAIA Terminal 1

How Do I Redeem My Air Miles?

Now that you’ve earned your air miles, it’s time to redeem your rewards. If you’re planning to use your points to score a free flight, just book a ticket on the airline’s booking website or app and use your miles as payment for the trip.

You can also book your free flight from your credit card provider’s booking platforms. Basically, you can redeem your rewards using any airline booking platform. But how many air miles do you need to get a free flight? It depends on the airline, the credit card provider, and the destination.

For starters, Philipppine Airlines’ Mabuhay Miles^[1] program requires at least 4,000 travel points for domestic flights and at least 9,000 points for international flights. The same goes with Cebu Pacific’s GetGo^[2] and AirAsia’s Big Loyalty^[3] programs.

Read more: 10 Best Travel Credit Cards in the Philippines for 2020

How Do I Choose Best Credit Cards to Earn Miles?

It’s now time to choose your very own air miles credit card. By now, you have probably made your choice. But if you’re still undecided, take the time to review your options. After all, choosing your air miles card requires a lot of thinking. To help you decide, here are some nifty features a best miles card should have.

• Peso-Per-Mile Conversion. Earn your air miles as quickly as possible by choosing a credit card with low peso-per-mile conversion. Pick a credit card that can earn you one air mile for at least every PHP 30 worth of purchase or lower.
• Travel Insurance and Assistance. Consider this a benefit you shouldn’t need, but it’s a benefit nonetheless. Travel more with the peace of mind that you’re financially covered while you’re out exploring. The best air miles credit cards offer travel insurance coverage as high as PHP 20 million.
• Dual Currency Billing. When you travel to a foreign land, you’ll need a credit card that can save you as much money as possible. Get one with dual currency billing or a low foreign currency transaction fee to help you do just that.
• Airport Lounge Access. It’s a known reality that flights can get delayed, or worse, denied. Sometimes, it can happen when you least expect it. Get yourself an air miles credit card that can give you access to VIP airport lounges worldwide. Stay comfortable while waiting for your next flight with this perk.
• Waived Annual Fees. It’s always an advantage to pick a credit card with waived annual fees, regardless of purpose. So get yourself an air miles credit card with no annual fee to save more on your travels.
• Frequent Business Flyer Program. Check for the best airline miles credit card for business that has a special program or rewards for owners and executives who travel often.

Final Thoughts

With financial comparison websites such as Moneymax, you can filter in less than a minute which air miles credit cards can give you the best value for your money. You can skip the painstaking jump from one bank’s website to the other, so there’s less friction on finding the best one for you.

Sources:

• [1] Mabuhay Miles – Redeeming Miles from Flights
• [2] Cebu Pacific GetGo
• [3] AirAsia Big Loyalty Program

Moneymax

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