Last week a reader emailed this question:

Q: For earning airline miles, which credit card is best?

A: Airline cards just aren’t what they used to be. Here’s what you need to know about most of them today:

Annual fee vs. how much you spend
The truth is that for many people, paying a high annual fee just won’t make sense. For example, if you only spend a few hundred dollars per month, then a big chunk of those rewards you earn over the course of the year will just being going to balance out the cost of the annual fee you paid. Unfortunately, almost every airline miles credit card charges an annual fee, making them illogical for small spenders.

The airlines your miles can be used for
The problem with cards branded for a specific airline is that the miles are usually only good for their flights. But what happens if they don’t offer a flight to your destination, or even if they do, it’s an indirect flight with multiple layovers? So when you’re asking yourself what is the best credit card for miles, you need to also consider how often you fly on a given airline.

How many miles you earn on spending
Even though most cards only give one mile per dollar spent, their value is more than the typical credit card point that’s worth only a penny. When you can use 25,000 airline miles to buy a round-trip flight, obviously you are getting more bang for your buck. So this is one big advantage that these types of cards offer.

What is the best credit card for earning airline miles?
Your best bet is to go with a credit card not affiliated with a specific airline. That way you have the flexibility to book whatever flight is most convenient. Furthermore, you want a card that gives more than 1 mile per dollar.

Here are our my sponsored recommendations:

For no annual fee:
The Blue Sky gives rewards that are worth 33% more than the typical 1% card. Check out our American Express Blue Sky review to learn more.

For an annual fee (but waived the first year):
This is by far the most generous rewards program for air travel. Don’t believe me? Well, read this Citi ThankYou Premier review for proof (special link for a generous bonus in there too)

For more options:
Check out the top 10 travel credit cards to see what else is out there!