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We all love the idea of air miles credit cards. These credit cards allow us to earn mileage points for every flight that we take. The goal, of course, is to use those miles to get a free flight at some point in the future, allowing customers to effectively take an unplanned vacation. However, the majority of people who have an air miles credit card don*t actually ever end up getting this free vacation. That's usually because they don*t understand the two different types of air miles credit cards that exist and how one might be better than the other for their flying style.

Airline-Sponsored Credit Cards

The first kind of air miles credit card is the card which is sponsored by a specific airline. This means that you earn miles every time that you use that card to purchase a flight on that specific airline. This is great for people who are committed to flying on the same airline. It's also great for business travelers who work with companies that always fly to and from the same locations. However, airline-sponsored air miles credit cards hinder people who try to get the best deal on the flights that they take. That's because deals differ by airline at any given time so the one that works on your card may not be the one that's offering the best rate. This means that you have to choose between paying a higher rate now in order to get miles on your air miles credit card or paying the lower rate but not being able to get mileage points.

Bank-Sponsored Credit Cards

To resolve this dilemma, many people turn to bank-sponsored air miles credit cards. These credit cards are designed to offer more flexibility in choosing the airlines that you work with. Instead of being saddled to one airline, you are able to get the best deals on flights and let the mileage accumulate across different airlines (all on one card). This sounds ideal * and for some people it might be * but consumers should be aware that the benefits of bank-sponsored air miles credit cards are often not as extensive as those cards sponsored by an airline.

Choosing an Air Miles Credit Card

Because there are different types of air miles credit cards to choose from, it can be difficult to make a final decision. The first thing that you need to know is that a decision must be made. It defeats the purpose to have more than one air miles credit card because this causes your points to end up in separate places and your rewards to come in too slowly. After making a decision about whether to look at airline-sponsored or bank-sponsored air miles credit cards, you can start to look at more specific details of the cards that are offered. Interest rates, fees and the other things that are normally reviewed before completing any credit card application should be taken into consideration when choosing an air miles credit card. The decision can be difficult but it's worth taking the time to make it correctly.