Best Credit Cards to Earn Airline Elite Status in 2024

Airline elite status can offer some hefty benefits, including free checked bags, free seat upgrades, and priority boarding. This could help enhance your travels and put some money back in your pocket, especially if you’re saving for an epic vacation.

But what’s the cost behind achieving elite status? You typically have to fly a lot, which can get expensive.

Fortunately, certain credit cards can offer another, potentially quicker, way to get airline elite status. Let’s see which cards are the best options for earning elite status at five major airlines.

The best credit cards to earn airline elite status

One of your best options for earning elite status through credit cards is typically using the best airline credit cards. Many of these cards are co-branded with major U.S. airlines, which means you can earn miles with your favorite airline.

Let’s jump into the details for five airlines to see what your options are for using credit cards to earn elite status.

United Airlines

To earn elite status with United Airlines, you have to earn a combination of Premier Qualifying Flights (PQF) and Premier Qualifying Points (PQP), or simply a higher total of PQP. You also need a minimum of four segments flown on United or United Express-operated flights for all status tiers, regardless of which method you use — which means you can’t avoid flying to earn elite status with United.

This are the typical requirements for each status level:

But due to the coronavirus pandemic, United has offered reduced elite status requirements. You still need a minimum of four flight segments with United or United Express.

Certain United Airlines credit cards can help you meet the PQP requirements for elite status. Here’s a quick breakdown:

• United℠ Explorer Card: Earn 25 PQP for every $500 you spend, up to a maximum of 1,000 PQP in a calendar year. For more, read our United Explorer Card review.
• United Quest℠ Card: Earn 25 PQP for every $500 you spend, up to a maximum of 6,000 PQP in a calendar year. For more, read our United Quest Card review.
• United Club℠ Infinite Card: Earn 25 PQP for every $500 you spend, up to a maximum of 10,000 PQP in a calendar year. For more, read our United Club Infinite Card review.
• United℠ Business Card: Earn 25 PQP for every $500 you spend, up to a maximum of 1,000 PQP in a calendar year. For more, read our United Business Card review.
• United Club℠ Business Card: Earn 25 PQP for every $500 you spend, up to a maximum of 1,000 PQP in a calendar year. For more, read our United Club Business Card review.

Whether you’re not flying as much or want to supplement your qualifying earnings from flights, these United co-branded cards can help you meet the PQP requirements to achieve and move up status levels.

Southwest Airlines

Southwest has two status levels, A-List and A-List Preferred. It also offers the Southwest Companion Pass, but that’s not a status level (though it can be very valuable). To earn status with Southwest, you need to accumulate a certain number of one-way qualifying flights or tier qualifying points in a calendar year.

Certain Southwest credit cards offer the opportunity to earn tier qualifying points through spending. See which option would be the best Southwest credit card for you:

• Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Premier Credit Card: Earn 1,500 tier qualifying points for every $10,000 you spend. There’s no limit on how many tier qualifying points you can earn using this method. For more, read our Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier review.
• Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Priority Credit Card: Earn 1,500 tier qualifying points for every $10,000 you spend. There’s no limit on how many tier qualifying points you can earn using this method. For more, read our Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority review.
• Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card: Earn 1,500 tier qualifying points for every $10,000 you spend. There’s no limit on how many tier qualifying points you can earn using this method. For more, read our Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card review.

Considering you can earn A-List or A-List Preferred tiers through tier qualifying points alone, it’s possible to only use a credit card to earn your elite status with Southwest. But it would take a lot of money.

Delta Air Lines

Delta offers four status levels that can be achieved through earning Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs). Here are the requirements for each tier:

JetBlue

JetBlue offers one level of elite status, called Mosaic. This elite status can be achieved by earning Mosaic Qualifying points; flying 30 segments and earning Mosaic Qualifying points; or spending enough on certain JetBlue credit cards.

If you want to earn JetBlue elite status by only using a credit card, these are your best card options:

• JetBlue Plus Card: Earn Mosaic status if you spend $50,000 or more in a calendar year. For more, read our JetBlue Plus Card review.
• JetBlue Business Card: Earn Mosaic status if you spend $50,000 or more in a calendar year. For more, read our JetBlue Business Card review.

American Airlines

American Airlines offers four elite status levels. In the past in order to qualify for elite status and its benefits, you had to earn Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQDs) and Elite Qualifying Miles, or simply earn Elite Qualifying Segments (EQSs). But starting in 2022, American Airlines has introduced a new process for earning elite status with Loyalty Points.

Each AAdvantage mile you earn for flying, using AAdvantage credit cards for purchases, or by earning with AAdvantage partners typically equals one Loyalty Point — though you would only earn one Loyalty Point per $1 of base spending in bonus categories on credit cards. This means if a card offers multiple AAdvantage miles per $1 of spending in a certain category, you would only receive one Loyalty Point per $1. Here are the required Loyalty Points for each status level:

Certain American Airlines credit cards can typically help you earn Loyalty Points. Here are the best options:

• AAdvantage^® Aviator^® Silver Mastercard^®: Earn 1 Loyalty Point for every 1 eligible mile earned from purchases. Earn up to 15,000 additional Loyalty Points after qualifying spend each status qualification period.
• Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Executive World Elite Mastercard^®: Earn 1 Loyalty Point for every 1 eligible mile earned from purchases. Earn 10,000 additional Loyalty Points after you spend $40,000 in purchases during the qualifying status year. For more, read our Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard review.
• AAdvantage^® Aviator^® World Elite Business Mastercard^®: Earn 1 Loyalty Point for every 1 eligible mile earned from purchases. For more, read our AAdvantage Aviator World Elite Business Mastercard review.

General travel cards

If co-branded airline credit cards don’t seem like the right fit for you, consider general travel cards. These cards have flexible rewards that can be used with a variety of hotel and airline partners. In addition, some cards can also help you earn elite status with certain airlines.

Here are a few cards to consider:

Card name	Welcome offer	Rewards rate	Annual fee
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card}	Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening	5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠; 3X points on dining, select streaming services, and online groceries; 2X points on all other travel purchases, and 1X points on all other purchases	$95
Chase Sapphire Reserve®	Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening	5X points on flights and 10X points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually; 3X points on other travel and dining & 1X points per dollar on all other purchases	$550
American Express® Gold Card	Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases within the first 6 months of card membership	4X Membership Rewards points at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 per year, after that 1X) and at restaurants, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S., 3X on flights booked directly with airlines or on Amextravel.com, and 1X on all other eligible purchases	$250 (Terms apply)
The Platinum Card® from American Express	Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $8,000 on purchases on your new card in the first 6 months	5X points per dollar spent on eligible airfare (on up to $500,000 per calendar year, after that 1X) and eligible hotel purchases, and 1X points per dollar on all other eligible purchases	$695 (Terms apply)

With these cards, flights can be booked with Chase Ultimate Rewards points or Amex Membership Rewards points. Each program has its own travel portal to book flights with major airlines. These flights count as paid fares, which means you’ll earn rewards miles and any applicable qualifying miles, points, or dollars for elite status.

How to pick the right credit card for you

Before you compare credit cards, you’ll want to consider a few questions to narrow down which card might be the best option for you:

• What’s your preferred airline? This may seem straightforward, but it often makes sense to choose a card based on which airline you frequently fly.
• Where do you typically fly? Each airline has its own routes and airline hubs, which could affect which airline’s elite status you should go for. If you can narrow down the airline, it will likely make sense to choose one of those airline’s co-branded cards or a general travel card.
• What are your spending habits? All travel credit cards offer rewards, and some cards have bonus categories for rewards. If you want to earn more points or miles, find a card that has bonus categories that align with your typical spending habits.
• How much money do you typically spend? One of the best ways to earn credit card rewards is to take advantage of sign-up bonuses. These bonuses often have minimum spend requirements, which could mean spending thousands of dollars over the course of a few months. Determine whether you can spend enough with everyday purchases to qualify for a sign-up bonus.
• What benefits do you want? Consider the benefits that come with each card. Some cards have premium travel perks, such as airport lounge access and travel credits. You also might look for complimentary hotel elite status or free checked bags on flights.

Methodology

We chose these credit cards based on whether or not they could potentially help an individual earn elite status with an airline. For specific airlines, we only included cards that are co-branded with the applicable airline. For general travel cards, we included cards typically thought of as some of the best travel credit cards available. These best travel cards can help someone earn elite status with an airline or multiple airlines.

FAQs

Bottom line

Earning elite status isn’t for everyone, but it can offer some helpful benefits if it makes sense for you. If deciding whether earning elite status could be the right move for you, consider how often you travel and what benefits you might be able to earn. Then calculate how much time, effort, and money you’d have to invest to achieve elite status.

If it doesn’t end up making sense for your situation, no worries. But the right credit card could still be useful for a variety of travelers. To find one that could be the perfect fit, check out our picks for the best travel credit cards.

Easy-to-Earn Unlimited Rewards

Bank of America^® Travel Rewards credit card

Benefits

Card Details

• Earn 25,000 online bonus points after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening - that can be a $250 statement credit toward travel purchases
• Earn 1.5 points per $1 spent on all purchases
• Longer intro APR on qualifying purchases and balance transfers
• No foreign transaction fees
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• Earn unlimited 1.5 points per $1 spent on all purchases, with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees and your points don't expire as long as your account remains open.
• 25,000 online bonus points after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening - that can be a $250 statement credit toward travel purchases.
• Use your card to book your trip how and where you want - you're not limited to specific websites with blackout dates or restrictions.
• Redeem points for a statement credit to pay for travel or dining purchases, such as flights, hotel stays, car and vacation rentals, baggage fees, and also at restaurants including takeout.
• 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for purchases, and for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days. After the Intro APR offer ends, a Variable APR that’s currently 18.24% - 28.24% will apply. A 3% Intro balance transfer fee will apply for the first 60 days your account is open. After the Intro balance transfer fee offer ends, the fee for future balance transfers is 4%.
• If you're a Bank of America Preferred Rewards® member, you can earn 25%-75% more points on every purchase. That means instead of earning an unlimited 1.5 points for every $1, you could earn 1.87-2.62 points for every $1 you spend on purchases.
• Contactless Cards - The security of a chip card, with the convenience of a tap.
• This online only offer may not be available if you leave this page or if you visit a Bank of America financial center. You can take advantage of this offer when you apply now.

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Intro Offer

Earn 25,000 online bonus points after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening - that can be a $250 statement credit toward travel purchases

Annual Fee

$0

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Why we like it

• The Bank of America^® Travel Rewards credit card is great for individuals who enjoy earning rewards and traveling.

• Cardholders will enjoy the flexibility to redeem points with no blackout dates and receive a statement credit to pay for travel and dining purchases.

• Earn 1.5X points on all purchases everywhere, every time.

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