Possibly the Best Airline Credit Card Offers Available

By Mike Grasso

It's new, it's hot, and it's all the buzz over in the Flyertalk and FatWallet forums. We're talking about British Airways Visa Signature Card from Chase - where you can earn 50,000 miles for using the card once, 100,000 for spending $2000 within 90 days. But, there are strings attached.

According to the offer, new BA Visa Signature cardholders will earn 50,000 British Airways miles upon first use of the card - enough for a free roundtrip ticket to Europe. Then earn another 50,000 miles when you spend atleast $2000 within 3 months of account opening - which scores you a second roundtrip ticket. Wowie wow!

And now the strings: As with most award ticket redemption's, the customer is responsible for paying all applicable taxes, fees and fuel surcharges. Unfortunately British Airways is notorious for being the "industry leader" in tagging these charges on. So be aware that your award ticket redemption may set you back up to $250 if flying British Airways. Also, British Airways offers limited service to/from the Bay Area, so availability for award seats, which are capacity controlled, may be slim pickins. Finally, keep in mind there is an annual fee on the card of $75.

But here's some good news: You can redeem BA miles on partner airlines, such as Japan, Qantas, and Cathay Pacific, from 50,000 miles. Or choose to use the miles for domestic trips on U.S.-based partners, American and Alaska from 25,000 miles, and the fees would likely be fairly insignificant compared to flying internationally. Something else to be all jazzed about: British Airways has a pretty robust search engine for searching award availability with partner airlines, which helps limit the need to contact the airline directly for bookings.

Overall, this offer impresses me, and may very well be one of the best deals out there. I just received my approval this week and will report back any difficulties. If you are interested in applying, do it soon as word has it the offer may be pulled by months-end.

Free Personalized Luggage Tags from KLM Airlines

For a limited time, Amsterdam-based KLM Airlines is offering U.S residents a pair of free luggage tags. Choose one of the free designs, or upload your own. Plus enter for a chance to win a pair of roundtrip airline tickets. This promo may end at any time, so order yours today.

Southwest Fliers: Register for Double Rapid Rewards Credit

Southwest Rapid Rewards members can now earn double credit for all flights between now and October 31, 2009. That means you earn 2 credits for each one way flight (4 if it's a roundtrip) to any city Southwest serves. Similar to other double credit offers offered by other airlines the past couple weeks, the promo is for new business/tickets - not for reservations made prior to the promotion start date. Click here to sign up.

Behind the Gossip Sweeps: Win a Trip to New York

Enter the Behind the Gossip Sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to New York for two.  Prize includes a 3/night stay in NYC in February 2009, hotel, airport transfers, 2 NYC dinners, a Nikon Coolpix camera, and a meet and greet with either Leighton Meester or Ed Westwick. Enter by December 31, 2008. 

Southwest Airlines Visa Free Flight Promo Continues

If you are looking for a new mileage earning credit card, and appreciate the first-use bonus that comes with, then the Southwest Airlines Visa from Chase may be just what you need.

Chase continues to offer this great credit card deal: Get approved for the Southwest Airlines Visa card and earn 16 rapid rewards credits after your first purchase, enough for a free round-trip ticket. Just pay the $59 annual fee. It's like paying $59 bucks to fly round trip any one of many destinations Southwest serves.

Although other airlines, such as United, offer huge first-use bonuses that often equate to a free flight after just a single card purchase, the ability to utilize those miles toward a free trip comes with many strings attached. If you use miles for a last minute flight, for example, United and American Airlines will charge a "close-in" fee. If you book a flight, then decide to cancel it, UA and AA will charge a "redeposit" fee to place the miles back in your account.

Southwest has neither fee. Using your Rapid Reward credits for a last minute flight, or making changes to an award ticket - even cancelling it all together, results in no fee. But, like the other airlines, Southwest award flights are now capacity controlled, meaning only a select number of seats are availed for free flights.