Flights can be expensive. Whether you travel regularly for business or pleasure or just take the occasional family holiday, don’t you wish you could save money or even earn free airline tickets? If you shop using frequent flyer credit cards, you just might!

Frequent flyer credit cards allow you to earn points that can be applied to a frequent flyer programme from an airline. You then redeem those points for discounts, free flights, merchandise, or other rewards available.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the benefits of frequent flyer credit cards.

4 Benefits of Frequent Flyer Credit Cards

Not sure if a frequent flyer card like the ANZ Frequent Flyer credit card is right for you? Consider some of these benefits.

1. You earn rewards for making purchases you would have made anyway. If you’re going to charge thousands of dollars worth of purchases and payments to your credit card each year anyway, why not get something in return? In this area, frequent flyer cards are much like any type of rewards credit card.

The key to making this benefit work for you is to choose a frequent flyer card where the rewards earned will have a higher dollar value than annual fees paid. In other words, you don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on annual fees if you’re a very light credit card user who will take a few years to earn enough frequent flyer points to actually redeem them for a flight.

2. You can earn travel-related rewards, even beyond flights. Frequent flyer cards often give you more choices for rewards than just savings on flights. So, for example, if your employer pays for those regular business flights, you might choose to use your frequent flyer points on new luggage if it’s an option with your frequent flyer card.

3. You get other travel-related perks. For example, most frequent flyer credit cards offer free international travel insurance when you book your trip using your credit card. Some also offer free insurance covering domestic travel and / or personal concierge services to help you book your hotel stays, entertainment when travelling, and more.

4. Get free or discounted frequent flyer programme memberships. Normally when you sign up for an airline’s frequent flyer programme, you pay a joining fee. While not all frequent flyer credit cards offer this, some have made arrangements with airlines that allow you to set up a new membership account for free (although it won’t apply if you’re already a member). These might be limited time offers, but they can save you money up front if you’re new to frequent flyer programmes. For example, the Earth Gold credit card arranged for joining fees to be waived for the Qantas frequent flyer programme for new cardholders applying by 30 June 2010.

If these benefits convince you that a frequent flyer card is right for you, visit that section of our site to compare frequent flyer credit cards and apply online today.