Ease of Travel

Airlines frequent flyer miles are typically valued at around a penny per mile, so getting ten thousand frequent flyer miles is worth about a hundred bucks. It’s worth even more if you’re close to getting a free frequent flyer ticket and you really want to take that trip on the airline’s tab. That’s when a frequent flyer mileage card comes in incredibly handy. If you sign up for a Continental Airlines World MasterCard® from Chase, you get will get ten thousand OnePass miles at the cost of a $85 annual fee. Plus, you earn a mile for reach dollar you spend, so it’s basically 1% back.

These deals are great when you’re very close to getting a free ticket or when your miles are close to expiring. The annual fee would be high if you weren’t getting ten thousand free miles but you’re actually making $15 worth of free miles. Plus, if you’re eleven thousand miles away from a free flight… you just spend a thousand dollars on the card after you get it and you can fly for free.

They’re critical in any trip planning strategy. Usually a flight from a discount carrier across the country will run you around $300 (Southwest, if you book ahead of time) and if you look at some deluxe carriers like Continental, you’re talking $2000 for last minute arrangements.

Here’s some of the financial mumbo jumbo regarding the card: