After analyzing over 140 airline credit card offers, we've hand selected these 10 best credit cards for airline travel. The Chase Sapphire Preferred tops our list of all-purpose cards due to its handsome sign-up bonus and versatile rewards earning. For carrier-specific airline credit cards, we like the Gold Delta SkyMiles card from American Express. Although it is not a pure co-branded "airline" card per se, the Chase Sapphire Preferred offers so much value in travel rewards that we felt compelled to include it here.

The CSP offers a very competitive rewards rate of 2X on all types of travel - airfare, hotels, and even taxis. Additionally, you'll have access to the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal where you can redeem points for 1.25x their nominal value. 625 when redeemed using the portal. In many ways, the fact that the CSP is not tied to one specific airline is a point in its favor - it means you can take advantage of its flexible redemption options at any airline you want.

95 annual fee is also waived for your first year. Delta owns three of the cards on our “best-of” list, and the first one we’ll review is the Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express. One of the best perks of having a Delta co-branded card is to waive the Medallion Qualification Dollar (MQD) requirement for Delta elite status. This means that you don’t have to spend a certain amount on Delta flights to reach the next tiers of elite status.

The Gold Delta SkyMiles credit card will net you 2 miles per eligible dollar on all airfare bought directly from the airline. In addition, this card gives you bonus spending categories, in which you will earn 1 mile for every eligible dollar spent on other purchases. If you plan to do a lot of everyday spending with this card, this is your best bet for a card within the Delta family. 195 annual fee is waived the first year.

Travelers concerned about remaining loyal to a single airline often worry that there will be too few opportunities to book award flights. Southwest Airlines puts that issue to rest by offering one of the most flexible point-redemption options in the industry. Southwest uses a revenue-based, fixed-value redemption system in which the number of points you need to redeem for your ticket is proportional to the cash value of that ticket.

You’ll also be able to choose between using cash or using points for every ticket you book with the airline. The Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus airline card allows you to earn 2 points per dollar spent with Southwest, and 1 point per dollar on any other purchase. 69 annual fee. In addition, the points you earn from spending on this card count toward earning the Southwest Companion Pass, which is easily one of the most valuable benefits available from any airline.

Do keep in mind that the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus charges a 3 percent transaction fee on all foreign purchases, so this is not the best card to use overseas. Also, Southwest does not partner with any other carriers, so your Rapid Rewards points will only be redeemable through this airline. As with the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus card, this Southwest Airlines card opens up your mileage options with one of the most flexible point-redemption options in the industry.

The Rapid Rewards Premier card has a generous initial bonus, currently 40,000 points, plus 3,000 bonus points after that each year on the anniversary of opening the card. 1,000 on the card in the first three months after opening the account. The Premier card earns 2 points for every dollar spent with Southwest, and 1 point on all other purchases. 99 annual fee, applied to your first billing statement. United Airlines offers many significant perks for loyal cardholders. First, United is a member of the Star Alliance, which offers a variety of redemption opportunities with the airline’s international partner carriers.

In addition, cardholders can access “hidden” additional award space on United flights, which expands your options for redeeming those hard-earned miles. 75 value. You’ll also hold priority boarding privileges, and receive two United Club passes each year on your sign-up anniversary date. The MileagePlus Explorer card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, so this is a card you can use fee-free anywhere in the world. 95, this card is a no-brainer if you regularly fly United Airlines, particularly to Asia or Europe. The Blue Delta SkyMiles credit card is the baby of the Delta SkyMiles credit card family.

You’ll earn 1 mile per dollar on every other eligible purchase, and there is no annual fee on this credit card so it’s a great option to keep in your wallet long-term. The Blue Delta SkyMiles card also gets you 20 percent off eligible in-flight Delta purchases such as food and drink, awarded as a statement credit. Alaska Airlines offers a vast range of partner airlines as well as a very reasonable awards redemption chart, making this airline and its co-branded credit card a great investment.