How Much are Your Miles Worth? Use this Guide to Airline Frequent Flyer Miles
When the phone company was deregulated back in the 80s, pundits thought it would usher in a new age of competitiveness and consumer freedom. Instead, we got incomprehensibly complicated rate plans that were virtually impossible to compare directly. It's sort of like that with airline frequent flyer programs today -- except now we have the Internet to sort through the details and help us make smarter purchases.
NerdWallet recently earned a PhD in airline loyalty programs with a Frequent Flyer miles comparison chart.
Not only does it show you the relative value of miles programs (spoiler alert: Continental Airlines wins at 1.01 cents/mile, while US Airways brings up the rear with 0.46 cents/mile), but the winding chart also opines on baggage fees (JetBlue and Southwest: None) and the best airline credit cards.
According to the chart, Continental's Chase OnePass Plus Card is the most valuable one to own, with JetBlue bringing up the rear.
The chart is simply too big to reproduce here, so be sure to visit NerdWallet to see all the details.
