Credit cards can save money on airfare if you take advantage of  sign up bonuses that will cover the entire round trip flight. Depending on where you plan to go, you might able to find a credit card with a sign up bonus that will cover your entire airfare.

Last week, I wrote an article about how to reserve a week of free luxury hotel stays with credit card sign up bonuses in Europe or anywhere else for that matter. Traveling to your destination could be free too. I’ve compiled a list of credit cards with sign up bonuses that can cover the cost of an international round trip flight departing from the US to Europe to help make it easier to decide which ones to apply for.

 

1 Free Round Trip Economy Flight to Europe

 

The US Airways® Premier World MasterCard® with a sign up bonus of 40,000 Miles

Bonus: 40,000 miles after first purchase

Annual fee: $89

Application Link: The US Airways® Premier World MasterCard®

The US Airways Premier MasterCard is still around even though US Airways is merging with American Airlines, but since the card may go away soon, it’s a good idea to take advantage of the 40,000 Dividend miles sign up bonus. Any unused US Airways Dividends will likely transfer to American Airlines AAdvantage program after the merger is complete.

Card Details:

• Earn 40,000 bonus miles after your first purchase and payment of the $89 annual fee*
• First checked bag FREE on eligible bags for you and up to four companions on domestic US Airways operated flights
• One companion certificate good for up to 2 guests to travel with you on a US Airways operated flight at $99 each, plus taxes and fees
• Priority boarding Zone 2 on US Airways operated flights
• Redeem miles for award travel on US Airways and American Airlines booked through usairways.com or US Airways Reservations
• Earn miles on every purchase with 2 miles for every $1 you spend on US Airways purchases and 1 mile for every $1 on purchases everywhere else
• Please see terms and conditions for complete details

The 40,000 sign up bonus miles offered by the US Airways Premier MasterCard is earned just after making the first purchase so the fact that there is no minimum spend requirement makes this a great and easy bonus to take advantage of. Plus with US Airways a round trip economy award between Jan.15 and Feb. 28, which is off-peak season, costs 35,000 miles.

 Link: US Airways Award Chart

 

The Premier Miles & More® World MasterCard® with a sign up bonus of 50,000 miles

Bonus: 20,000 miles after first purchase & 30,000 miles after spending $5,000 within 90 days

Annual fee: $79

Application Link: The Premier Miles & More® World MasterCard®

 

The Premier Miles and More MasterCard has a sign up bonus offer of 50,000 miles which is how much one round trip award ticket to Europe in economy costs.

Card Details:

• Earn 20,000 award miles after your first purchase or balance transfer
• Earn an additional 30,000 award miles when you spend $5,000 in purchases within the first 90 days of account opening
• Earn 2 award miles per $1 on ticket purchases directly from Miles & More integrated airline partners and 1 mile per $1 on all other purchases
• Cardholders receive a companion ticket after first use of the account and annually after each account anniversary
• No foreign transaction fees on purchases made outside the U.S.
• Redeem miles for flight awards and upgrades on Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, SWISS, Star Alliance member airlines and other partners
• $79 Annual Fee. Please see Terms and Conditions for complete details

In order to earn the sign up bonus, there is a minimum spend requirement of $5,000 and a $79 annual fee, but you can look at it as purchasing a round trip ticket to Europe for $79 plus tax. Lufthansa’s taxes and fees run for about $300, which is still a fair amount considering you would be spending about $1300 if you purchased your ticket with cash.

Link: Miles and More Award Chart

 

2 Free Round Trip Economy Awards

 

Citi Executive AAdvantage World Mastercard with a 100,000 mile sign up bonus + a $200 statement

Bonus: 100,000 miles + $200 in statement credits after spending $10,000 within three months

Annual fee: $450

Application Link: Citi Executive AAdvantage World Mastercard

The Citi Executive AAdvantage World Mastercard does have a 100,000 mile sign up bonus which can be redeemed on American Airlines or one of its many Oneworld partners, but it doesn’t come with a small spending requirement.

The sign up bonus for the Citi Executive card is $10,000 in three months, so unless you have big expenses coming up soon, this might not be the right card for you. Even with manufactured spending, this might be a bit hard to meet. There is also a $450 annual fee associated with the card.

Card Details:

• Apply now, get the card and earn 100,000 AAdvantage bonus miles after making $10,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of cardmembership. Also, earn up to $200 in statement credits — earn $1 in statement credits for each $1 spent on purchases within the first 12 months of cardmembership.
• Elevate the way you travel with these luxury benefits: Admirals Club membership (a membership value of up to $475)
• Earn 10,000 Elite Qualifying Miles after spending $40,000 in purchases each calendar year
• No foreign transaction fees on purchases
• Earn two AAdvantage miles per $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases, including US Airways codeshare flights booked on aa.com
• Priority Boarding and 25% savings on eligible in-flight purchases
• Your first eligible checked bag is free
• SmartChip technology
• Expert Concierge Service
• $450 Annual Fee

If the $10,000 minimum spend requirement hasn’t scared you off, then the 100,000 sign up bonus miles can get you two economy round trip awards to Europe during the off peak season or two round trip on economy to Europe during the peak season. Two round trip tickets to Europe can cost about $3,500 depending the season, so you essentially would be purchasing two tickets for $450.

Link: American Airline Award Chart

 

Last Words

Once you start earning airline miles and gain enough to book several flights or even an award on First Class, you should keep them organized and maintain a schedule of how many miles you have or how much more you need to redeem. Never take on more than you can realistically afford and always pay your statement balance off in full every month on time. If you pay late fees and interest fees, then you are not getting the full benefits of earning the credit card sign up bonus and it loses its value.