If you’re looking for an airline or travel credit card, you may be under the impression that those cards are reserved for people with the highest credit scores.
But many lucrative airline and travel credit cards don’t require anywhere near a “perfect” credit score to qualify. However, it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact credit score requirements of a new card since issuers use different credit bureaus and criteria to determine eligibility.
The data listed below shows the credit score range required by major issuers for a particular card.
Know that some issuers also impose restrictions on the number of cards you can have or apply for. For example, Chase won’t approve you for a new Chase card if you’ve applied for more than five cards from any issuer in the past 24 months (known informally as the Chase 5/24 rule), and American Express limits the number of American Express cards you can carry to five.
Know also that issuers will also look at your income and current debt levels when reviewing your application to determine whether to approve you for a card.
| Credit Cards | Our Ratings | Recommended Credit Credit scores ranges may vary. Your individual chance at approval may vary due to factors such as creditors using a particular variation at their discretion | Rewards Rate | Welcome Offer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express*
|
Excellent | 1X - 2X points
| 10,000 points
10,000 Membership Rewards® points after you use your new Card to make $2,000 in purchases in your first 6 months
| ||
Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card from American Express*
|
Good / Excellent | 1X - 3X points
| 15,000 points
Earn 15,000 bonus points after you use your new card to make $2,000 in purchases in your first 6 months of account opening
| ||
American Express® Business Gold Card*
|
Good / Excellent | 1X - 4X points
| 100,000 points
Earn 100,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Gold Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.*
| ||
Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card*
|
Good / Excellent | 1X - 2X miles
| 80,000 miles
Earn 80,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
| ||
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card*
|
Good / Excellent | 2X - 6X points
| 185,000 points
Earn 185,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
| ||
The Platinum Card® from American Express*
|
Good / Excellent | 5X points
| 80,000 points
Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
|
| Credit Cards | Our Ratings | Recommended Credit Credit scores ranges may vary. Your individual chance at approval may vary due to factors such as creditors using a particular variation at their discretion | Rewards Rate | Welcome Offer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card*
|
Good / Excellent | 1.5X - 3X points
| 25,000 points
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
|
| Credit Cards | Our Ratings | Recommended Credit Credit scores ranges may vary. Your individual chance at approval may vary due to factors such as creditors using a particular variation at their discretion | Rewards Rate | Welcome Offer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
British Airways Visa Signature® Card*
Review Coming Soon
|
N/A | Good / Excellent | 1X - 5X Avios
| 100,000 Avios
75,000 Avios after you spend $5,000 within the first three months, plus 25,000 Avios after you spend $20,000 within the first 12 months
| Review Coming Soon |
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card*
|
Excellent | 1X - 5X points
| 60,000 points
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
| ||
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card*
|
Good / Excellent | 2X - 17X points
| 100,000 points
Earn a $150 statement credit after you make your first purchase in your first 12 months from account opening, plus earn 100,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.
| ||
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card*
|
Excellent | 2X - 3X points
| 50,000 points
Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
| ||
United℠ Explorer Card*
|
Good / Excellent | 1x - 2x miles
| 50,000 miles
Earn 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
|
| Credit Cards | Our Ratings | Recommended Credit Credit scores ranges may vary. Your individual chance at approval may vary due to factors such as creditors using a particular variation at their discretion | Rewards Rate | Welcome Offer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card*
|
Good / Excellent | 2X - 5X Miles
| 75,000 miles
75,000 Miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening, plus receive a one-time $250 Capital One Travel credit to use in your first cardholder year – that’s equal to $1,000 in travel
|
| Credit Cards | Our Ratings | Recommended Credit Credit scores ranges may vary. Your individual chance at approval may vary due to factors such as creditors using a particular variation at their discretion | Rewards Rate | Welcome Offer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Citi Strata Premier℠ Card*
|
Good / Excellent | 1X - 10X points
| 75,000 points
For a limited time, earn 75,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $750 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com.
| ||
Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®*
|
Good / Excellent | 1X point
Earn 1 Loyalty Point for every 1 eligible AAdvantage® mile earned from purchases
| 70,000 miles
Earn 70,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $7,000 within the first 3 months of account opening.
|
As expected, the combined average credit score for the cards mentioned above falls in the good-to-excellent range (670-850, according to FICO®). This isn’t a surprise since these cards are often targeted to the banks’ best customers, and people who travel a lot tend to be a bit more well off than average.
What stands out is the lower credit scores for many cards. The credit scores listed above show that you may not need a 700+ credit score to qualify for the best mile and travel credit cards. Some cards, like the Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card and the United℠ Explorer Card, offer wider acceptance beyond just “perfect” credit scores as issuers try to make rewards more accessible.
Credit card approval can also depend on your income or relationship with a bank, or even how many other rewards cards you’ve recently applied for.
If your credit score is below 700 and you’re looking to open a miles or travel credit card, keep a few things in mind:
Consider an airline-branded credit card.
It’s not clear why, but co-branded airline cards from the major airlines, including American, Delta, Southwest and United, tend to have some of the lowest typical credit scores approved. That means if you have just good or fair credit, you may have a better shot at getting approved for an airline card.
Consider checking prequalified offers.
See if you’re prequalified for a card before you apply. Many major travel rewards card issuers, including Capital One, Discover, Citi and American Express, have pre-qualification tools that allow you to see if you have a good chance of being approved before you fill out an application. Pre-qualification helps you shop around for the best card offers without hurting your credit score. While pre-qualification isn’t a guarantee of approval, it can help you narrow down your choices.
Review your credit report.
Before you apply for a credit card, review your credit report from all three bureaus so you can make sure everything that’s on there is correct. Credit card issuers can pull one or all three reports from the major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion). Applicant comments on CreditBoards.com show which credit bureaus the most reports were pulled from for each issuer:
Pay off your balance on time and in full each month.
Any earned miles aren’t worth the interest charges and late fees that you’ll incur if you carry a balance month to month or pay late.
Other than that, you shouldn’t be too afraid of rejection.
If you have a steady income, aren’t carrying a lot of other debt and a solid credit history, you could be eligible for that coveted miles or travel card.
To see rates & fees for American Express cards mentioned on this page, visit the links provided below:
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the benefits may be provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply
The information related to the Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express, Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card from American Express, British Airways Visa Signature® Card, Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card and Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® has been independently collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication. Terms apply.
The content above is not provided by any issuer. Any opinions expressed are those of LendingTree alone and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any issuer. The offers and/or promotions mentioned above may have changed, expired, or are no longer available. Check the issuer's website for more details.
