Upward Mobility

With so many airline-mileage credit cards available, how do cards for the biggest U.S. carriers rate?

Airline/Bank Rate Fee Miles*

Alaska Airlines/Seafirst MasterCard-Visa 17.9% $45 20,000

America West Flight Fund/Bank of America Visa 18.15% $45 20,000

American AAdvantage/Citibank MasterCard-Visa 17.6% $50 25,000

Continental OnePass/Marine Midland MasterCard-Visa 19.95% $55 25,000

Northwest/First Bank WorldPerks Visa 18% $55 20,000

United Mileage Plus/First Card Visa 9.9%** $60 25,000

USAir Frequent Flier/NationsBank Advantage Card Visa 17.94% $35 25,000

This article was originally published in the July 1996 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Upward Mobility.