14 Best Air Miles Credit Cards for Cheaper Travel
Published: January 16, 2019 | Updated: May 26, 2020 | Posted by: Moneymax | Credit Card
Saving money on your travel expenses takes a lot of discipline to wait for the best deals. You also need the right financial tools such as air miles credit cards to make it happen.
Using your air miles credit card, you can enjoy many perks when buying your travel must-haves such as airfare and accommodation compared to paying in cash or debit card. The latter won’t give you air miles you can use to travel for free in the future plus other travel benefits such as access to exclusive lounges in airports or purchase protection when buying something abroad.
Finding the right air miles credit card is easier now more than ever. You have a lot of cards to choose from.
But which among them are the best air miles credit cards? We’ve picked the cards with the highest air mile rewards in the Philippines.
Table of Contents
- 1. HSBC Visa Platinum
- 2. Citi PremierMiles Visa
- 3. UnionBank Cebu Pacific GetGo Platinum
- 4. UnionBank Cebu Pacific GetGo
- 5. PNB-PAL Mabuhay Miles World Mastercard
- 6. PNB-PAL Mabuhay Miles Platinum Mastercard
- 7. AUB Platinum Mastercard
- 8. BDO Cathay Pacific American Express Elite
- 9. EastWest Priority Visa Infinite
- 10. BPI SkyMiles Platinum Mastercard
- 11. Metrobank Travel Platinum Visa
- 12. Maybank Platinum Mastercard/Visa Platinum
- 13. UnionBank Miles+ Platinum Visa
- 14. 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:
- Final Thoughts
1. HSBC Visa Platinum
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 by simply charging your overseas purchases
- Free travel accident insurance and travel inconvenience coverage
2. Citi PremierMiles Visa
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
3. 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 of up to PHP 10 million
- Early Cebu Pacific seat sale alerts
4. UnionBank Cebu Pacific GetGo
How to earn air miles: 1 GetGo Point per PHP 30 spent locally or internationally
Annual fee: PHP 3,000
Interest rate: 3.50%
Other Travel Perks: Early Cebu Pacific seat sale alerts
Read More: 16 Co-Branded Credit Cards That Can Help You Save Money
5. 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
6. PNB-PAL Mabuhay Miles Platinum Mastercard
How to earn air miles: 1 Mabuhay Mile per PHP 33 spent in the Philippines and abroad
Annual fee: PHP 3,000
Interest rate: 3.25%
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
- 5% discount on select online PAL international flight bookings
7. 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
8. BDO Cathay Pacific American Express Elite
How to earn air miles:
- 1 Asia Mile per PHP 38 spent in the Philippines
- 2 Asia Miles per PHP 50 spent abroad
- 2 Asia Miles per PHP 38 spent on online Cathay Pacific flight bookings
Annual fee: PHP 5,000 (waived for the first year)
Interest rate: 3.25%
Other Travel Perks:
- Earn 3,000 bonus miles with your very first purchase and after your first year as a cardholder (minimum annual purchase of PHP 600,000)
- Travel accident insurance coverage of up to PHP 15 million
- Travel inconvenience coverage of up to PHP 200,000
- Accident Medical Expense coverage of up to PHP 80,000 per family
9. EastWest Priority Visa Infinite
How to earn air miles: 1 Mabuhay Mile, Asia Mile, or KrisFlyer Mile per PHP 40 spent
Annual fee: Free for life
Interest rate: 1.99%
Other Travel Perks:
- VIP airport lounge access
- Up to PHP 20 million travel accident and inconvenience insurance
10. 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
11. 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
12. 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%
13. 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
14. 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:
- 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
Read more: Ring in 2019 with These 20 Rewarding Credit Card Promos
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 air miles credit card for you.
With a goal to help Filipinos lead healthier financial lives, Moneymax regularly publishes tips and tricks on personal finance and lifestyle, among many other topics. For more finance-related news and articles, follow Moneymax on Linkedin.
