Airline credit card benefits come in all shapes and sizes. Some offer huge sign-up bonuses worth tens of thousands of miles. Others include airport lounge access. A few offer companion tickets that can save travelers hundreds or even thousands of dollars per year.
Of course, some airline credit card benefits are fairly standard these days. Those include earning bonus points or miles on airfare, free checked bags and priority boarding, among other perks. Some airline credit cards also offer discounts on inflight purchases, such as food and beverages, now that many carriers charge for these amenities, as well as onboard Wi-Fi.
Here is a rundown of the airline credit cards currently available to new applicants that provide discounts on inflight purchases and how much you can expect to save with each.
The best airline credit cards with inflight discounts
*The information for these cards has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Here is a breakdown of the inflight discount offered across the cobranded airline credit cards. For these credits and discounts to apply, you must be flying on the airline the card is issued from. For example, if you are flying on a United flight to receive the inflight discounts, you must use a United card.
Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines only has two cobranded credit cards — a personal one and a business one. Luckily, both offer discounts in the air and on the ground.
The Alaska Airlines Visa® credit card and the Alaska Airlines Visa® Business card offer 20% back on all food, beverages and Wi-Fi.
American Airlines
Thanks to partnerships with both Citibank and Barclays, American Airlines provides an impressive array of cobranded credit cards. All American cobranded cards offer 25% back on inflight food and drink purchases. The CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard is the only American credit card offering 25% savings on inflight Wi-Fi.
The information on the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
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Delta Air Lines
All the Delta SkyMiles credit cards (personal and business) offer the same 20% off inflight food and beverage purchases.
Hawaiian Airlines
Flying to paradise? You’ll need elite status with Hawaiian Airlines to enjoy its inflight savings perks. The Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard offers $10 dollar per day up to $100 per year credit on inflight entertainment, beverages and premium meals. This is only available for Pualani Platinum and Pualani Gold elite HawaiianMiles members.
Unfortunately, there are no inflight discounts on the business version of this card.
JetBlue Airways
JetBlue offers free Wi-Fi, so the discounts flyers can enjoy with their credit cards are largely for inflight meal purchases, and they’re the most generous savings out there. Both personal and business JetBlue cards offer the same 50% off inflight food and beverage purchases.
Southwest Airlines
Four of Southwest‘s five credit cards offer discounts on inflight purchases, including drinks and Wi-Fi. The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card and Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card offer 25% back as a statement credit on drinks and Wi-Fi.
The Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card offers up to 365 $8 dollar inflight Wi-Fi credits per year.
United Airlines
All cards in the United MileagePlus family (both consumer and business) offer 25% back as a statement credit on food, beverages and Wi-Fi purchases.
Other cards from different issuers
Cards like The Platinum Card® from American Express and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express card have airline credits for a specific airline of your choice, that can be used on inflight refreshments. Additionally, the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card has annual travel credits that can be used on various inflight purchases.
Bottom line
As airlines have stripped included amenities from the flight experience, cobranded credit cards have stepped into the breach to offer cardholders discounts on purchases including food, beverages and Wi-Fi. However, these benefits vary, not only from airline to airline but even from card to card within the same family of products. Before flying, review your card benefits and use the one that will earn you the deepest discount on the purchases you intend to make on board.
For rates and fees of the Gold Delta card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Platinum Delta card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta Reserve card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta Gold Business card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta Platinum Business card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta Reserve Business card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Business Platinum card, click here.
