Best airline credit cards 2026, and the free bag maths for your airline

The best airline credit card is the entry-level card of the airline you already fly most, because its free checked bag can cover the annual fee in a single family trip. For Delta that is the SkyMiles Gold, for United the Explorer, for Southwest the Rapid Rewards Plus, for American the AAdvantage Platinum Select and for Alaska and Hawaiian the Atmos Rewards Ascent. The pricier cards add companion tickets and lounge visits, which only pay off if you fly that airline often. If you have no home airline, skip airline cards altogether. Every figure below was read on the issuer’s own card and terms pages on 27 and 28 September 2026.

The free bag maths

A free checked bag is waived for each eligible person on each one-way flight, which is why it adds up faster than any points. A family of four flying a round trip with one checked bag each would pay the first-bag fee eight times. With a Delta, Southwest, American or Alaska card covering the whole booking, all eight are waived. With the United Explorer, which covers only you and one companion, four are.

So the test is simple. Look up your airline’s current first-bag fee, multiply it by the number of bags the card would waive on the trips you take in a year, and compare the total with the annual fee. For a family that flies its home airline once or twice a year, the entry card often wins that sum. Bag fees change, so use the fee on your airline’s own site on the day you do the maths.

Best for Delta flyers

Start with the Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express: no fee in the first year, then $150, with a free first bag for up to nine people on your reservation. New in 2026, all three Delta cards also give the cardholder a free second bag on US domestic trips, though your companions get only the first. The Gold earns 2X on Delta, at restaurants and at US supermarkets, and adds a $200 Delta Flight Credit after $10,000 of spending in a year.

The Platinum ($350) adds a yearly round-trip companion ticket in Delta Main within the US and to Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America, where the companion pays taxes and fees of up to $80 on a domestic trip. The Reserve ($650) upgrades the companion ticket to include First and Premium Select and adds 15 Delta Sky Club visits a year. Delta’s welcome offers are “as high as” amounts, shown after you apply and running to 4 November 2026: up to 80,000 miles plus a $250 statement credit on the Gold after $3,000 in six months, and up to 90,000 miles plus $300 on the Platinum after $4,000. Offers can differ depending on where you apply.

Best for United flyers

The United Explorer costs nothing in the first year and $150 after that, and adds priority boarding and two United Club passes a year to the free bag. Its catch is the bag rule: only you and one companion, and only if you bought the ticket with the card. That makes it a better card for a couple than for a family. It earns 9x in total on United flights, counting MileagePlus base miles, and 2x on dining and hotels booked direct. The welcome offer on 27 September was up to 60,000 miles: 50,000 after $3,000 in three months and 10,000 for adding an authorized user.

The United Quest ($350) gives you and one companion the first and second bags free, $200 of United TravelBank cash every account year, and a 10,000-mile award discount each anniversary instead of a companion ticket. It has no lounge passes.

Best for Southwest flyers

The Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus is $99 and gives a free first bag to you and up to eight passengers on your reservation. The Southwest cards now reflect the airline’s assigned seating: the Plus includes a free Standard seat chosen within 48 hours of departure, and both cards board in Group 5. The Priority ($229) adds a Preferred seat at booking, unlimited Extra Legroom upgrades within 48 hours and 7,500 anniversary points. Neither card includes a companion certificate. Each gives a 10,000-point boost towards the Companion Pass every year, which is not the same as a free ticket. Welcome offers on 27 September: 50,000 points after $1,000 in three months on the Plus, 60,000 after $2,000 on the Priority.

Best for American Airlines flyers

The Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select waives its $99 fee for the first year and covers a free first bag for you and up to four companions, on domestic American itineraries. It earns 2X on American, at restaurants and at gas stations, and offered 50,000 miles after $2,500 in three months on 27 September, available only if you have not had its bonus in the past 48 months. The mid-tier card is now the Citi / AAdvantage Globe ($350): the bag covers up to eight companions, it gives four Admirals Club Globe Passes a year, and from the second card year a domestic main-cabin companion ticket for a $99 ticketing fee plus taxes.

Choosing between the two American cards? Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select vs Globe sets them side by side.

Best for Alaska and Hawaiian flyers

Alaska’s card is now the Atmos Rewards Ascent Visa Signature from Bank of America, $95 a year, and it covers both Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines. It gives a free checked bag to you and up to six guests when you pay for the flight with the card, and 3X on Alaska and Hawaiian purchases. Its famous $99 Companion Fare (plus taxes and fees from $23) now arrives each anniversary only after $6,000 of spending in the previous card year. The welcome offer on 27 September was 50,000 points plus a Companion Fare after $1,500 in 90 days.

When an airline card is the wrong choice

If you do not fly one airline most of the time, a general travel card beats any airline card. Airline miles are only easy to use on that airline and its partners, and several of the bag perks above stop at the US border. None of these five airlines flies to Kathmandu, so if your big trip is Nepal you will be flying a partner airline either way. That is where a card whose points transfer to many airlines is more flexible; see how credit card transfer partners work and the best travel credit cards by traveller type.

If lounge access is what you are really after, compare these cards with the options in the best credit cards for lounge access. And if you are applying mainly for the welcome offer, check the rules that decide whether you get the bonus first.

The rates, in case you carry a balance

None of these cards charges a foreign transaction fee, but all of them are expensive to borrow on. Purchase APRs on the issuers’ pages on 27 September 2026 were 19.74%–28.74% variable on the Delta Amex cards, 19.74%–28.24% on the United cards, 19.24%–27.74% on the Southwest cards, 19.74%–29.74% on the Citi AAdvantage cards and 19.49%–27.49% on the Atmos Ascent. A month of interest on a modest balance can cost more than a year of free bags saves.

Keep reading

Sources: American Express card pages and terms for the Delta SkyMiles Gold, Platinum and Reserve cards; Chase card pages and terms for the United Explorer, United Quest and Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus and Priority cards; Citi card pages for the AAdvantage Platinum Select and Globe; and Bank of America’s page for the Atmos Rewards Ascent Visa Signature, all read on 27 and 28 September 2026. We did not print bag fees because airlines change them; check your airline’s site. This is general information, not financial advice; card offers change, so confirm the current terms with the issuer before you apply. No card issuer pays us for placement on this page.