Thread: Is US Airways credit card a ripoff?

Don't apply for a credit card from US Airways without seeing my review. Is it just a big ripoff for 2013? Some people have asked that, but it's not a ripoff (it actually has some very nice benefits). That being said, there are real drawbacks to be aware of too.

So is the US Airways MasterCard any better in 2013?

For starters, you should know that a different bank (Barclays) acquired a majority ownership stake in the U.S. Airways Dividend Miles card program from Bank of America a couple years back.

When Credit Card Forum reported this news on the blog, a record number of complaints from existing cardmembers were posted about high fees, unfair terms, difficult mileage redemption, and difficulty dealing with their customer service.

However in defense of Barclays (and in critique of BofA) despite the rocky transition of ownership, it sounds as if things are now back to normal. That flood of complaints has stopped.

Are the rewards really premier?
The official name of it is the US Airways Premier World MasterCard, but some people feel that the rewards don't quite live up to that label.

It gives 1 Dividend mile per dollar, with the exception purchases on the airline which earn double. Now this in and of itself is pretty typical of an airline credit card. But what isn’t typical is how the reward seat availability reportedly stacks up against the competition…



A graph using that same data was published in the Wall Street Journal about a year and a half ago. The data came from the consulting firm IdeaWorks, who made 6,720 booking inquiries to check the reward seat availability on 24 frequent flyer programs. They checked travel dates spanning a 5 month window for 20 top routes on each airline.

Dividend miles = last place?

This is a reason why some people skip paying the $89 annual fee for the US Airways credit card and instead, apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred and its promotion for up to $500 worth of free airfare. I hear from plenty of US Airways aficionados going that route, since they can spend the Sapphire’s rewards on any airline, without restrictions or blackout dates.

You will notice the marketing for the US Air MasterCard touts the benefit of getting award flights for 5,000 fewer miles (at 20,000 miles versus the typical 25,000). That is a major plus, but the question is, does having that perk outweigh the drawback of below-average availability for award seats?

And the other benefits?
This card does offer some fairly respectable benefits.

• Priority boarding. Unfortunately it’s not zone 1, but cardholders still get to board during zone 2. During check-in the first class line can also be used.
• 1 Club pass per year (valid for a one-day visit). Getting to use the lounge only once per year isn't ideal, but it's better than nothing.
• $99 companion ticket certificates. 2 of these are given per year, though black-out restrictions do apply with these. Please note you will still have to pay any applicable taxes/fees on the companion tickets.

What’s noticeably missing from the list – something that many people have voiced complaints about – is that there is no benefit for first-checked bags. As you know some major carriers like the Delta Airline's American Express give cardholders their first-checked bag for free. With the typical $25 charge each way per bag, that saves a traveling couple $100 per roundtrip. In my opinion, that’s one of the biggest reasons to get an airline-branded card so to see it missing from the Dividend Miles is a letdown.

Barclaycard also has a more basic version of the US Airways card for a $49 fee. The rewards are the same but it doesn’t include the zone 2 boarding, first class check in, or the one-day Club pass. There is a companion ticket (x1) per year and it costs $149 + taxes/fees if used. Its signup bonus is smaller too (last I checked it was 25k miles instead of the 40k with premier).

The rates and other fees?
Most credit cards have 3 or 4 interest rate tiers but there are only 2 with this:



As you see even the lowest tier listed on the application is still relatively high. I've seen comments posted by people who get stuck in that 24.99% tier and feel they deserve better. Here is one such example:



Obviously whether that allegation is accurate or not, there's no way to know without actually seeing their credit score and report. Regardless, remember if you don't carry a balance you won't pay interest. Simple as that.

If you travel internationally, an expense you need to be aware of is that both of these credit cards will charge you a 3% foreign transaction fee. During the last couple years a lot of the travel cards which are in similar price points (around $100) have dropped this fee, but US Airways is still changing it.

Is it the right choice for you in 2013?
The benefits (especially the companion airfare perk) will make sense for a lot of people. If you're one of them, then here is the sponsored promotion going on right now for the card.
On the other hand, if you prefer a travel card that does not restrict you to a specific airline, then I would highly recommend this sponsored offer from Capital One.

I had some issues with their card from the get go. Dividend miles weren't awarded, interest charged on 0% introductory offers, etc. Using their website customer service is a joke. Responses never address the issue at hand but instead merely restated policy as seen on the back of your statement. Calling them is an even bigger joke. Most times you end up with some giggling Filipino teenager who can barely speak English and has absolutely no interest in helping. Managers are never around and they won't transfer you to an American operator. Most responses are like "We are doing the process" or "Your concern is forwarded to the next level" This kind of BS. Stay away from the us airways credit card at all costs. I've been fighting them for 6 months and they still won't answer even the most basic of questions.

I opened my U.S. Airways account in January and I am still waiting for the two $99 companion certificates that is a yearly benefit. It is August now. I was told they were mailed to me in January, then in May, then again in June and again in July. They won't give you the certificate codes over the phone or e-mail, they *have* to mail them to you. What good is the benefit if they won't let you use it/won't give it to you. Otherwise I have no problems with the credit card.

Offer Ripoff! Up to 40,000 miles with balance transfer. I transferred $100.00 only to find out it has to be $10,000 and you will have to pay the 3% fee which comes out to $300.00. You also can't use one of the checks they send you if you happen to owe that much on another card and wanted the miles that bad. I never thought they could come up with something this low.

Barclays (USAir MasterCard) has started charging a 3% "currency conversion charge" on all charges made on the card outside of the USA EVEN THOUGH THE CHARGES ARE IN US-DOLLARS!

I live in Anguilla, and never have had these chargies levied by other credit card companies. I received an e-mail from the provider confirming this policy as follows:

"From: Juniper Customer Care [mailto:Correspondence@juniper.com]
Sent: Thursday, January 21, 2010 12:57 AM
To: johnnb@[EMAIL REMOVED BY MODERATOR].COM
Subject: RE:'Case=008-693-961' Other Account Related Inquiry

Dear John Bedford,

Thank you for contacting us regarding your US Airways MasterCard account. We do apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you; however, we can certainly address your concern.

Please be advised that for foreign country transactions, we will assess a fee that is 3% of the US dollar amount on any charge made outside of the United States. This fee is in addition to the Foreign Currency Conversion Fee that is charged by MasterCard/Visa.

Please note that the information about this fee was presented in the original offer you received, and is also included in your Terms and Conditions

We appreciate your business and look forward to servicing your financial needs. If you have any other questions, please reply to this e-mail.

Sincerely,

Ryan Jay De Leon
E-mail Relationship Manager

I have requested a copy of the referenced "terms and conditions", which I was unable to find on the MasterCard website.

Have other members of your forum had the same experience? I would like to be able to continue using USAir, the most convenient carrier to this part of the world. Do any of your members have any suggestions for other credit cards that credit USAir dividend miles?

John Bedford

I just thought I should give my opinion on the card. I also have an AMEX Platinum and the Marriott Rewards Visa Signature card. The AMEX Platinum gives me US Airways lounge access which the US Airways MasterCard does not ironically, besides the one time pass only for the named account holder. Prior to getting US Air Silver Preferred, I used the $200 airline allowance from AMEX Platinum for bags. The only benefits of the US Air MasterCard boil down to a 5000 mile discount on flights and the companion tickets. The waiving of the award fee and the 10,000 preferred miles conversion only happen at $25,000 annual spend. They didn't even charge an award fee prior to this card so that is not a real benefit. I'm fairly sure that US Airways has a good cut of the transaction fee judging by their pushing of the card.

Something they did not mention was the World MasterCard benefits which include car rental insurance and travel insurance. This is fairly common on many cards though and is secondary as is usually the case, so it is not worth jumping up for. The World MasterCard benefits on the website aren't ever updated so that is not that great.

I fly US Airways all the time since they serve all the NC regional airports pretty heavily with connecting flights to everywhere from Charlotte. The prices and award travel have not been that troublesome for me. In comparison other airlines almost always have higher prices. It is impossible to find a 25,000 mile reward from Delta. United is never that cheap either, and their rewards look higher than 25,000 too. If you live in NC and maybe Philadelphia which is becoming a bigger US Airways hub, then the card might be good for you. Otherwise it isn't that great. US Airways uses United as codeshare for almost all the flights in the Midwest and West, and the 5000 mile discount does not apply to codeshare flights. All flights must be US Airways or US Airways Express for the 5000 mile discount. I will probably switch to a travel rewards MasterCard when I don't have silver preferred with US Airways. For now, I want to earn as many miles as possible with them, and my other cards fill the gap.

The best card for US Airways is probably the AMEX platinum for the lounges and the $200 allowance for bags. The $450 annual fee for the AMEX is only really justified if you use the other benefits such as the other lounges and car rental programs. Unfortunately there is no way to convert points from any other card directly to US Airways. You can use points for tickets through AMEX Travel (actually Travelocity). The points are then worth 100 points = $1 which isn't that grand.

I actually haven't had any trouble with customer service and receiving my benefits and bonus miles. My only complaint is that they send you a paper copy of the companion certificates, which you have to keep. They don't track the paper copy and require you to send it in when you redeem the companion ticket. It is just a cheap way for them to get out of rewarding all those people who inevitably lose the paper copy.

If you don't need the other $250 worth of benefits from AMEX Platinum and you aren't flying frequently with US Air, then get one of the better travel rewards cards and use the points to cash for travel benefits.

No, don't cancel but also don't do a balance transfer. I say take the 30,000 miles then cancel before paying the second year, yearly fee. You should have no problem getting a R/T ticket or more with the 30,000 miles.

I am having the exact same issue with them. Three different customer service reps told me 3 different dates to expect the certificates and then the bank replied and said an even longer wait. I reported them to the Attorney General as consumer fraud. I said I was promised one thing and then been told several different 'excuses' for why they cannot provide what was promised.

Since the offer was made over the intercom on the airline, I have nothing in writing but I think everyone who has had this problem aught to report it to the AG's office in AZ where the US Airways office is and make sure that you check the boxes, "do you want us to report this to the US AG's office?" and "do you want US Airways to get a copy of your report".

I told them all the gory details, like how when I got all steamed up, I was asked, "do you want to speak to my supervisor?" and when I said "yes", they just hung up on me.

I have asked for my annual fee back and for the value of the two $99 companion fare certificates I was promised. I know that IF they ever sent them, they should be worth more than $99 but from everything I've read, they never arrive or are never honored for whatever reason they come up with that day.