10xTravel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. This site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. All values of Membership Rewards are assigned based on the assumption, experience and opinions of the 10xTravel team and represent an estimate and not an actual value of points. Estimated value is not a fixed value and may not be the typical value enjoyed by card members.
If you’re a small business owner who enjoys traveling or often purchases travel for your employees, then you should definitely consider having an airline co-branded credit card for your business. These credit cards are specially designed to help business owners earn valuable rewards points that can be redeemed for travel, as well as providing special perks when flying with their favorite airlines.
In this article, we’re going to look at some of the common features of airline co-branded business credit cards, discuss the differences between them and help you determine which airline business credit card is the best choice for you.
Features of Airline Co-Branded Business Credit Cards
Airline co-branded credit cards are issued by a bank, such as Chase or American Express, and co-branded with a specific airline. For example, the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card is issued by Chase and co-branded with Southwest Airlines.
Banks offer certain airline co-branded credit cards specifically for businesses. These business credit cards allow cardholders to earn spending bonuses on their business expenses, receive airline-related perks and access capital quickly.
Typically, airline co-branded business credit cards will offer an elevated spending bonus for purchases made with the airline. High-end cards also tend to come with perks such as:
- Airport lounge access
- Complimentary flight upgrades
- Progress toward airline elite status
- Free checked bags
- Priority airport services
- Rebates for in-flight purchases
These are just a few examples of the airline-related perks that you and your employees can access with an airline co-branded business credit card.
Is an Airline Co-Branded Business Credit Card Right for You?
First of all, only small business owners are eligible for a business credit card of any kind. If travel plays an important part in your business, then it’s definitely worth looking into an airline co-branded business credit card. In particular, if you and your employees tend to fly with one airline, then you could earn plenty of airline miles by booking flights with that airline using its co-branded credit cards. Additionally, some airline co-branded credit cards allow you to gift airline miles to employees, which can help motivate your workforce and boost company morale.
The Best Airline Co-Branded Business Credit Cards
Now that you understand the potential benefits of airline co-branded business credit cards for your company, let’s look at some of the best options currently available.
The card that’s right for your company will depend heavily on which airline you prefer to fly with. For instance, if you and your organization fly exclusively with American Airlines, then you’re going to want to get an American Airlines co-branded credit card.
Below, we’ll compare some of the best airline business credit cards based on their spending bonuses, perks and other features.
United℠ Business Card
One of the airline business credit cards that offers the most bang for your buck is the United℠ Business Card. This card charges a relatively low annual fee of $150 and offers a range of excellent statement credits that can be worth hundreds of dollars if used effectively. Plus, this card also offers excellent spending bonuses, particularly on travel purchased with United Airlines.
The following table includes all of the most notable features of the United℠ Business Card:
| Card name | United℠ Business Card |
| Annual fee | $150 |
| Spending bonuses |
|
| Other notable perks |
|
As you can see, the United℠ Business Card offers plenty of valuable travel perks for a relatively modest annual fee. If you use the card’s statement credits and perks to the full, you can offset the $150 annual fee many times over. Plus, this card also offers good spending bonuses in non-travel categories, such as dining and office supplies, making it easy to rack up miles whether you’re traveling or just going about your normal routine.
Finally, the United℠ Business Card offers a welcome bonus for new cardmembers who spend a certain amount on their card in the first three months after account opening. You can also receive an additional bonus for adding an employee card within the same period.
Earn up to 110,000
bonus miles
and 2,000 PQP after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open plus earn 10,000 bonus miles when you add an employee card in the first 3 months your account is open.
Annual Fee: $150
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
Another airline business credit card that offers a variety of valuable travel benefits is the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card. While this card has a relatively high annual fee of $650, it may be worth considering if you or members of your organization fly with Delta often.
This card automatically offers 15 complimentary visits to Delta Sky Club lounges annually, which is great value in itself. Plus, you’ll also get an annual companion certificate for a U.S., Caribbean or Central American flight, which essentially gets you free airfare for a companion on one of these routes (taxes and fees may apply).
There are plenty of other benefits that come with the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card. The following table includes the most notable features of this card:
| Card name | Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card |
| Annual fee | $650 |
| Spending bonuses |
|
| Other notable perks |
|
This card’s most valuable perks are undoubtedly the complimentary visits to Delta Sky Club, Centurion Lounge access and the annual companion pass. These benefits alone can easily offset the card’s annual fee. For context, an individual Delta Sky Club membership is worth $695.
The Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card also offers a sizable welcome bonus for new cardmembers who spend a certain amount on their card within the first six months after account opening.
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
Limited Time Offer: Earn 125,000
Bonus Miles
after spending $15,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 7/15/26.
Annual Fee:
$650
Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card
Another lucrative airline co-branded business credit card is the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card. This Chase-issued card has an annual fee of $299 and offers solid spending bonuses on Southwest purchases as well as in everyday categories such as gas stations, restaurants and local transit.
This card can also help you achieve Southwest Rapid Rewards elite status quicker, as well as receive special perks when flying with Southwest, including free checked bags and space-available upgrades.
The following table includes the most notable features of the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card:
| Card name | Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card |
| Annual fee | $299 |
| Spending bonuses |
|
| Other notable perks |
|
It’s also worth noting that the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Card offers a generous Rapid Rewards-point welcome bonus to new cardholders who spend a certain amount on their card within the first three months from account opening.
While the benefits offered by this card aren’t quite as impressive as those offered by the United Business Card or Delta Reserve Business Card, if Southwest Airlines is the airline that you fly with most frequently, then this card could be the best option for your business. Plus, with the annual bonus points, excellent spending bonuses and complimentary upgrades to extra legroom seats, you can easily offset this card’s $299 annual fee.
Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card
Earn 80,000
points
after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee: $299
Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard®
While there are several American Airlines co-branded credit cards (all of which are issued by Citi), there’s only one American Airlines business credit card available. While the Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard® doesn’t offer a robust suite of premium benefits like the other cards mentioned in this article, it’s still the best card for your organization if you primarily fly with American Airlines, and it offers some decent benefits at a low annual fee.
The following table includes the most notable benefits of the Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard®:
| Card name | Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard® |
| Annual fee | $0 for the first year, then $99 |
| Spending bonuses |
|
| Other notable perks |
|
With a low recurring annual fee of just $99, this card offers solid spending bonuses on travel as well as common business expense categories such as telecommunications and gas. Plus, the ability to earn a companion certificate after spending just $30,000 in a cardmember year is a valuable benefit, despite the $99 fee to redeem it. The AAdvantage Business Card also offers a welcome bonus to new cardmembers who spend a certain amount on their card within the first four months after account opening.
Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard®
Earn 65,000
American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles
after spending $4,000 in purchases within the first 4 months of account opening.
Annual Fee: $99, waived for the first 12 months
The Bottom Line
When deciding whether one of the airline co-branded credit cards in this article might be a good addition to your business, you should first consider how often you and your employees fly. If air travel isn’t a significant part of your business, then you’re probably better off with a general rewards credit card (such as the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card or The Business Platinum Card® from American Express).
If you and your employees fly frequently, consider which airline you fly with the most. While the United Business Card might offer the best value proposition of any card in this article, we wouldn’t recommend signing up for it if you exclusively fly with American Airlines, for example.
Overall, these airline co-branded business credit cards can help you rack up frequent flyer rewards through your everyday business spending, allowing you to save for award travel. Then, it’s up to you whether you want to spend those airline miles on employee incentives, necessary business travel or a well-deserved vacation for yourself.
New to the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the best card to start with.
With a bonus of 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. , 5x points on travel booked through the Chase TravelSM Portal and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!
and 2,000 PQP after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open plus earn 10,000 bonus miles when you add an employee card in the first 3 months your account is open.
Annual Fee: $150
after spending $15,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 7/15/26.
Annual Fee:
$650
after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee: $299
after spending $4,000 in purchases within the first 4 months of account opening.
Annual Fee: $99, waived for the first 12 months
Editors Note: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
10xTravel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. This site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. All values of Membership Rewards are assigned based on the assumption, experience and opinions of the 10xTravel team and represent an estimate and not an actual value of points. Estimated value is not a fixed value and may not be the typical value enjoyed by card members.
Editors Note: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
bonus cash back
after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 4 months from account opening
miles
once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel
bonus points
after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Membership Rewards® Points
after you spend $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
