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 | Welcome Offer | Rewards Rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express*
|
Excellent | 10,000 Membership Rewards® points after you use your new Card to make $2,000 in purchases in your first 6 months | 2x points at U.S. supermarkets, on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1x), and 1x points on other purchases | ||
Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card from American Express*
|
Good / Excellent | 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 | 3X points at U.S. supermarkets; 2X points at U.S. gas stations; 1X points on other purchases | ||
American Express® Business Gold Card*
|
Good / Excellent | 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.* | Get 4X Membership Rewards® points on the 2 eligible categories where your business spent the most each month on the first $150,000 in combined purchases each calendar year (then 1X thereafter). Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com using your Business Gold Card. Earn up to $20 in statement credits monthly after you use the Business Gold Card for eligible U.S. purchases at FedEx, Grubhub, and Office Supply Stores. This can be an annual savings of up to $240. Enrollment required. Terms apply. | ||
Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card*
|
Good / Excellent | Earn 50,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $2,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. | Earn 2X Miles on Delta purchases, at U.S. Supermarkets and at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S. Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases. | ||
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card*
|
Good / Excellent | Earn 95,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. | Earn 6X Marriott Bonvoy® points for each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®. Earn 3X Marriott Bonvoy® points at restaurants worldwide and on flights booked directly with airlines and 2X Marriott Bonvoy® points on all other eligible purchases made on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card. | ||
The Platinum Card® from American Express*
|
Good / Excellent | 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. | 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel. Terms apply. |
| 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 | Welcome Offer | Rewards Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card*
|
Good / Excellent | 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 | 1.5 points per $1 spent on all 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 | Welcome Offer | Rewards Rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
British Airways Visa Signature® Card*
Learn More
on Chase's secure site |
N/A | Good / Excellent | 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 | Earn 5 Avios for every $1 spent British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Iberia flight purchases within the first 12 months from account opening, thereafter earn 3 Avios. Earn 3 Avios for every $1 spent on hotel accommodations within the first 12 months from account opening, thereafter earn 2 Avios. Earn 1 Avios for every $1 spent on all other purchases |
Learn More
on Chase's secure site |
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card*
|
Excellent | Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. | Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more. | ||
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card*
|
Good / Excellent | Earn 3 Free Night Awards (each night valued up to 50,000 points) after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from your account opening. | Earn up to 17X total points at participating Marriott hotels. Earn 3X points on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases each year on grocery stores, gas stations, and dining. Earn 2X points on all other purchases. | ||
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card*
|
Excellent | Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. | Receive 6,000 anniversary points each year. Enjoy benefits including 3X points on Southwest® purchases, 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare, 2X points on internet, cable, and phone services; select streaming, 2 EarlyBird Check-In® each year, 10,000 Companion Pass® qualifying points boost each year, and more. | ||
United℠ Explorer Card*
|
Good / Excellent | Limited-time Offer: Earn 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. | 2x miles on United® purchases, dining, and hotel stays. 1x mile on all other 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 | Welcome Offer | Rewards Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card*
|
Good / Excellent | 75,000 Miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening | 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day; 5 Miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One 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 | Welcome Offer | Rewards Rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Citi Strata Premier℠ Card*
|
Good / Excellent | 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. | 10x on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked through CitiTravel.com. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Restaurants. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Supermarkets. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Gas and EV Charging Stations. Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on All Other Purchases $100 Annual Hotel Benefit: Once per calendar year, enjoy $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) when booked through CitiTravel.com. Benefit applied instantly at time of booking. Travel insurance protection: Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption (Common Carrier), Trip Delay, Lost or Damaged Luggage, MasterRental Coverage (Car Rental). | ||
Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®*
|
Good / Excellent | Earn 70,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $7,000 within the first 3 months of account opening. | Earn 1 Loyalty Point for every 1 eligible AAdvantage® mile earned from purchases |
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.
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, American Express® Business Gold Card, Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, The Platinum Card® from American Express, Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card, British Airways Visa Signature® Card, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card, United℠ Explorer Card, Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, Citi Strata Premier℠ Card and Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® has been 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.
