Credit Cards and “Elite” Benefits

I received a credit card offer in today’s mail that made me feel the need to blog.  In exchange for an annual fee of $89 dollars, I am pre-approved for a US Airways Premier World MasterCard with “Dividend Miles Select.”  The signup bonus is 35,000 miles.  I won’t be applying as I haven’t flown US Airways in over 2 years.  I’m not mad at them, I just focus my flying and mileage earning on American and to a lesser extent, Delta.  I had not heard of Dividend Miles select, so I did read the offer pretty thoroughly.  “Select” privileges include:

• Award travel for 5,000 fewer miles
• Two companion tickets annually
• An Annual US Airways Club pass
• First Class check-in and Zone 2 boarding
• No annual mileage cap

I suppose this isn’t a bad deal for the person who flies just enough for flying to be annoying, but not quite reach elite status.  But the $89 dollar price point is troubling to me.  Why?  Most people can afford that, which makes me wonder if this doesn’t run the risk of making access to US Airways’ First Class check-in lines and Zone 2 boarding more like a carnival than the privilege that they are meant to be.

Personally, I think the Continental Presidential Plus World MasterCard from Chase is a much better model for providing an enhanced package of benefits to travelers.  Presidential Plus cardholders receive a Continental President’s Club membership, and Continental’s “Elite Access” privileges which include early boarding and priority baggage handling plus a whole host of other benefits.  With that much to offer, it’s no surprise that the annual fee is much higher than the US Airways card at $375 dollars per year.  But the annual fee also has another benefit, it likely serves as a deterrent to the card being obtained by huge masses of people and prevents the dilution of elite benefits for lower level elite fliers.  Access to First Class check-in lines and priority boarding are the 2 things I value most in elite status on any airline.  I think the Continental product does a much better job of protecting the elite benefits of those of us who can only attain low and mid level elite status.

Another card that offers a bit of access to certain privileges is the Delta Reserve Card from American Express.  In exchange for a  lofty $450 dollar annual fee, cardmembers receive access to Delta’s Sky Club on the day of flight.  A notable difference between this card and the Continental card is that those card holders receive an actual membership in the Continental President’s Club while Delta Reserve holders are merely granted access to Delta’s club, just like an Amex Platinum cardmember receives.  The card does have some other benefits including Medallion Qualifying Mile bonuses for reaching certain spending thresholds and priority for Medallion upgrades within your status level.  Personally, if I flew Delta enough to obtain more than Silver Medallion status, I’d likely carry this card, if for no other reason than the upgrade priority.

United also offers a handful of cards that offer access to varying levels of privileges.  Depending on the card, you can receive a Red Carpet Club membership, or my favorite, access to United’s Economy Plus section.  Some of the cards also offer elite qualifying mile bonuses for reaching certain spending thresholds.  You can read all about each of United’s card options here.

Those are the cards of the domestic mileage programs that offer access to enhanced benefits for travelers.  If you know of others, feel free to comment to the blog.  Each of these has its good and bad points, and if you fly one of these airlines regularly, you should at least consider one of these products.  That said, I think the Continental Presidential Plus MasterCard from Chase is the best of the bunch.  No way I’d be without one if I were a regular Continental flier.