The best airline credit cards

Of the 12 airline cards in the catalogue — miles in one airline's program — Bank of America Atmos Rewards Ascent Visa Signature earns the most in a year once its fee is paid: about $378.

Ranked by what each card earns in a year once its annual fee is paid — every rate converted to dollars with a dated point valuation, spending caps honoured, and rotating categories not credited. Priced on an illustrative household spending $2,205 a month on a card — the assumption, in full. Credits and perks are not priced: they are worth their face value only if you would have spent that money anyway.

#	Card	Annual fee	A year, after the fee
1	Atmos Rewards Ascent Visa Signature Bank of America · most from Groceries	$95 a year	$378
2	AAdvantage Platinum Select Citi · most from Restaurants & Bars	$99 a year	$363
3	Delta SkyMiles Blue American Express · most from Restaurants & Bars	none	$361
4	United Gateway Chase · most from Groceries	none	$343
5	Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express · most from Groceries	$150 a year	$283
6	Rapid Rewards Plus Chase · most from Groceries	$99 a year	$275
7	Rapid Rewards Priority Chase · most from Groceries	$229 a year	$263
8	United Explorer Chase · most from Restaurants & Bars	$150 a year	$222
9	Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express · most from Groceries	$350 a year	$104
10	United Quest Chase · most from Restaurants & Bars	$350 a year	$32
11	AAdvantage Executive Citi · most from Groceries	$695 a year	−$311
12	Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express · most from Groceries	$650 a year	−$332

The best of them for each kind of spending

groceries: Rapid Rewards Priority — $2.60 per $100
dining out: AAdvantage Platinum Select — $2.90 per $100
gas: Atmos Rewards Ascent Visa Signature — $3.10 per $100
hotels: Delta SkyMiles Platinum — $3.60 per $100
streaming services: Atmos Rewards Ascent Visa Signature — $3.10 per $100
food delivery: AAdvantage Platinum Select — $2.90 per $100
Uber and Lyft: Atmos Rewards Ascent Visa Signature — $3.10 per $100
public transit: Atmos Rewards Ascent Visa Signature — $3.10 per $100
EV charging: Atmos Rewards Ascent Visa Signature — $3.10 per $100
parking and tolls: Atmos Rewards Ascent Visa Signature — $3.10 per $100
phone and internet bills: Atmos Rewards Ascent Visa Signature — $3.10 per $100

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