Every major airline company offers one or more credit cards with varying annual fees from zero dollars to a hefty amount. The benefits differ between each credit card and I am focusing only on the two benefits (priority boarding and free checked bags) in this review for the US based airline credit cards with annual fees (see the table below).
Airline Credit Card Benefits Comparison
| Airline credit cards with an annual fee | Priority Boarding | Free Checked Bags | Notes |
| American Airlines | For you and 4 guests on the same reservation. | First free checked bag for you and up to 4 guests on the same reservation on domestic flights. | No need to use the card to buy tickets to receive the free checked bag benefit. |
| Delta | For you and 8 guests on the same reservation. | First free checked bag for you and up to 8 guests on the same reservation on domestic flights. | No need to use the card to buy tickets to receive the free checked bag benefit. |
| United | For you and 1 guest on the same reservation. | First free checked bag for you and 1 guest on the same reservation for worldwide travel. | No need to use the card to buy tickets to receive the free checked bag benefit. |
| JetBlue | For you and 3 guests on the same reservation. | First free checked bag for you and up to 3 guests on the same reservation. | No need to use the card to buy tickets to receive the free checked bag benefit. |
| Alaska | For you and 6 guests on the same reservation. | First free checked bag for you and up to 6 guests on the same reservation. | Must use card to buy tickets to receive the free checked bag benefit. |
| Hawaiian Airlines | No priority boarding | 2 checked bags free for the primary cardholder | Must use card to buy tickets to receive the free checked bag benefit. |
| Southwest | Up to four priority boarding upgrades per year for free. | Two checked bags are free for all passengers | Must use card to buy tickets to receive the priority boarding benefit. |
A brief summary of the airline credit card benefits:
- In general, you should always use a transferable points earning credit card (e.g., Amex Platinum or Citi Premier) to book flights.
- All US airline credit cards with an annual fee will give you free priority boarding WITHOUT the need to pay for your ticket with their credit cards.
- Hawaiian Airlines DOES NOT offer free priority boarding whether you pay for tickets with their credit card or not.
- AA, United, Delta and JetBlue DO NOT require you to pay for your ticket with their airline credit cards to receive the first free checked bag.
- Alaska, Hawaiian and Southwest REQUIRE you to pay for your ticket with their airline credit cards to receive the first free checked bag.
- Only Hawaiian Airlines credit card will give you two free checked bags when you pay for the ticket with that card (NOT for the companions).
- It is important to associate your booking with your frequent flyer number to receive the benefits.
- It may take around 1-2 weeks for new airline credit card accounts to receive these benefits.
- Delta has the most generous number of guests (up to 8) allowed to have priority boarding and the first free checked bag.
- United only allows one guest to have priority boarding and the first free checked bag, but the benefit applies to worldwide travel on United flights (even for basic economy bookings).
Conclusion
All US-based airline credit cards with a minimum annual fee of $95 give travelers free priority boarding along with 1st free checked bag for 1-8 guests on the same reservation. You must remember to pay for your tickets with a credit card issued by Alaska, Hawaiian or Southwest to receive the free checked bag benefit.