Amex Blue Sky vs. Discover Miles vs. Citi PremierPass

Last Tuesday my weekly credit post compared credit cards rewards: cash back vs. air miles. As promised, this week’s article looks in depth at what I feel are the best three no fee air travel rewards credit cards. It’s an airline rewards credit card smackdown!

“Kansai Airport After Sunset” by El Fotopakismo.

The fee-free contenders I have selected for this smackdown are the Citi® PremierPass(SM) Card, the Miles by Discover® Card, and Blue Sky from American Express.

Let’s take a quick look at each card.

Citi PremierPass

I actually got this card because I was attracted by the fact that even though the PremierPass only gives me 1% back on purchases, in ThankYou points, I also get 1 point for every 3 miles traveled on any airline.

Bonus Offers - The Citi PremierPass card offers 10,000 bonus points after $300 in purchases made within 3 months of account opening.

Balance Transfers - The Citi PremierPass offers a 0% APR on balance transfer for up to 12 months.

Regular APRS – The regular interest rate on the PremierPass card is 10.24% variable.

Discover Miles Card

The Miles by Discover® Card’s best feature is it gives you double miles on all travel and restaurant spending, up to $3,000 annually. You’ll earn 1 mile per dollar spent on travel and dining after that, as well as on all other transactions. Miles are redeemable for travel rewards or gift cards through over 80 merchants.

Bonus Offer - You can earn 12,000 bonus miles with your new card, but you earn 1,000 miles per month for twelve months. In order to earn the miles each month you must make a purchase on the card in that month’s billing cycle.

Regular APRs - Discover offers regular interest rates as low as 10.99% up to 18.99% depending on your credit score.

Balance Transfers - The Miles by Discover Card provides a 0% APR on balance transfers for six months. There is a fee of 3.0% for each balance transfer made under this offer, with a minimum of $10 and a maximum of $75.

Blue Sky from American Express

Blue Sky provides the most straightforward airline rewards program: earn one point for every dollar spent and redeem points for unrestricted travel on any airline, with no fees or blackout dates. You’ll earn unlimited points that never expire.

Bonus Offer - Blue Sky from American Express does not have a bonus offer.

Balance Transfers - Blue Sky from American Express has a 4.99% fixed life of balance transfer option. The fee for this offer is 3% of each balance transfer associated with this offer ($5 min./$99 max. per transfer).

Regular APR - Blue Sky offers regular interest rates as low as 10.99% up to 15.99%, depending on your credit score.

Verdict

Of the three no-fee credit cards, I think the Citi PremierPass earns a slight advantage in terms of the ability to earn miles through both purchases and flights on any airlines. That’s where the advantage ends, though, as the PremierPass rewards are in ThankYou points, which are not as valuable as Discover or Amex’s rewards points. The PremierPass also has no maximum on its balance transfer fee and points that expire if you do not make a purchase in three years.

The Citi PremierPass may also be the hardest of the three cards to qualify for, followed by Amex, and then Discover. This is reflected by their interest rates. If you do not have immaculate credit, you might consider the Miles card, which is still an excellent card, giving you double points on travel and dining purchases.

The Amex Blue Sky is a good credit card; I can’t find anything wrong with it. But it doesn’t have any features that really distinguish it. That surprised me, as I think the Amex Blue (for low APRs and balance transfers) and the Amex Blue Cash (for cash rewards) are some of the best overall credit cards out there.

I post to the credit category every Tuesday. Next week stop back to read: “Can You Pay for 100% of Your Gas With Credit Card Rewards”. Need a reminder? Subscribe to my RSS Feed.

Important: Care was taken to ensure that the terms of all credit offers, including APRs, mentioned in this article were accurate as of 3/19/2008. These terms are subject to change, and changes may not be immediately updated in this review. Consumers should carefully review the most current terms of any credit offer from the credit provider’s website before applying.