Best Star Alliance Credit Cards Of May 2024

If you’re not sure which Star Alliance carrier to fly in a given situation, it makes sense to earn points with a card that allows you the choice of where to transfer your points. The Chase Sapphire Reserve® card offers you the ability to transfer to not only Air Canada and United Airlines but also Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, opening up redemption possibilities across multiple major Star Alliance programs.

Chase Ultimate Rewards® transfer at a 1:1 ratio meaning that for 1,000 Ultimate Rewards points you transfer you’ll earn 1,000 miles in the corresponding airline. Stack that with the ability to earn bonus points while booking through Chase Travel℠ and restaurants and you’ve got a solid points earning card that should earn a place in your wallet.

Rewards: Earn 5 points per dollar on flights and 10 points per dollar on hotels and car rentals when purchasing travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3 points per dollar on other travel and dining and 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.

Welcome offer: Earn 75,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

Annual fee: $550

Other benefits and drawbacks: While the annual fee might seem steep, the benefits often outweigh the cost. Consider the annual $300 travel credit, applied automatically to the first $300 in travel related expenses charged to your card each year.

When booking through the Chase Travel portal, you’ll earn 5 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar on not only your Star Alliance flights but all flights, no matter the alliance (or lack thereof). If you need a hotel or rental car for your trip, you’ll earn 10 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar and receive a collision damage waiver for your rental car. Simply decline the car rental company’s protection and the Chase Sapphire Reserve will cover you. Protection is primary and covers up to $75,000 for rental cars in the U.S. and abroad.

This card also provided a suite of premium travel benefits to make your entire flight seamless from door to door. Airport lounge access, premium travel insurance for lost bags and delayed flights, Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit and no foreign transaction fees make this card a contender.

The United Quest℠ Card offers a strong mix of mileage earning, free checked bags and flight credits. If United Airlines is your main airline and you find yourself flying on them with any regularity, then consider the extra benefits offered here.

While you’ll be limiting yourself to earning United Airlines miles, the extra benefits offered could be a game changer and offer exceptional value.

Rewards: Earn 3 miles per dollar on United® purchases, 2 miles per dollar on dining, select streaming services and all other travel and 1 mile per dollar on all other purchases.

Welcome offer: Earn 60,000 bonus miles and 500 Premier qualifying points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.

Annual fee: $250

Other benefits and drawbacks: Each year that you take an award flight booked with your MileagePlus miles, you’ll get a 5,000 mile rebate, up to twice per anniversary year. If you are booking a paid ticket, you can earn a $125 United Airlines statement credit for purchases made on your card.

If you’re shooting for elite status, the United Quest Card offers you the chance to earn Premier Qualifying Points with your card spend. For every $500 you spend on the card, you’ll earn an additional 25 in PQP, up to 6,000 PQP each year.

The suite of United benefits rounds out with priority boarding, 25% back on in-flight purchases, premier upgrades on award tickets, two free checked bags and even special United Airlines and Chase events throughout the year.

Providing the strongest points earning for restaurants and grocery stores is the American Express® Gold Card (Terms apply, see rates & fees). While it may seem counterintuitive to think of a restaurant and grocery card as a Star Alliance card, the Membership Rewards you earn with the card transfer to Star Alliance partners Air Canada Aeroplan, Avianca Lifemiles and Singapore KrisFlyer.

Rewards: Earn 4 Membership Rewards® points per dollar at restaurants, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S., 4 Membership Rewards® points per dollar at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1 point per dollar), 3 Membership Rewards® points per dollar on flights booked directly with airlines or through American Express travel and 1 point per dollar on other eligible purchases.

Welcome offer: Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first 6 months of card membership.

Annual fee: $250

Other benefits and drawbacks: To help offset the annual fee of $250, you’ll earn $10 per month in Uber Eats credit and another $10 per month in dining credits at participating merchants. Uber Cash is loaded automatically to your card every month and the dining credit is applied as a statement credit after your purchase.

If you travel to or through Canada often, then consider the Aeroplan® Credit Card. While the card only earns miles with Aeroplan instead of a flexible currency, the benefits to those who fly with Air Canada are plentiful.

You’ll earn bonus points at grocery stores, dining out, food delivery and purchases made directly with Air Canada. You’ll also earn 500 points for every $2,000 you spend each month, up to a maximum of 1,500 points per month.

Rewards: Earn 3 points per dollar spent on dining, takeout and eligible delivery services, grocery stores and each dollar spent directly with Air Canada including vacations and cruises and 1 point per dollar for all other eligible purchases.

Welcome offer: Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening.

Annual fee: $95

Other benefits and drawbacks: If you’re looking for status with Air Canada, just holding the credit card gets you 25k elite status for the remainder of the calendar year in which you apply and the following calendar year. This grants you Star Alliance Silver status as well. If you spend $50,000 in a calendar year, you’ll be bumped up to 35k Elite status or the next highest level if you achieve that level naturally through your flying.

Other Air Canada perks include a free first bag for you and up to eight companions on a ticket, discounted award ticket pricing and a 10% bonus if you have another Chase credit card that earns Ultimate Rewards®. If you transfer at least 50,000 points you can get a 10% bonus, up to 25,000 points each year.

The flagship credit card in the American Express portfolio is The Platinum Card® from American Express (Terms apply, see rates & fees). It provides not only Membership Rewards to transfer to various Star Alliance partners but a full suite of travel related benefits that make your next Star Alliance flight easier and more relaxing than ever.

Just like its cousin the American Express Gold card, the Membership Rewards you earn with this card transfer to Star Alliance partners Air Canada Aeroplan, Avianca Lifemiles and Singapore KrisFlyer but it doesn’t have as robust of an earning structure.

If you’re flying on a Lufthansa flight you’ll get lounge access with your American Express Platinum card. All cardholders get access to the Lufthansa Business lounges with any ticket no matter the class of service, and you’ll get Senator lounge access when flying in Lufthansa business class. You’ll also have Centurion Lounge access and Priority Pass lounge access for entry in airports that don’t have a Lufthansa lounge.

Rewards: Earn 5 Membership Rewards Points per dollar for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel on up to $500,000 per calendar year, 5 points per dollar on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel and 1 point per dollar on other eligible purchases.

Welcome offer: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards Points after spending $8,000 on eligible purchases on the card in the first 6 months of card membership.

Annual fee: $695

Other benefits and drawbacks: The American Express Platinum Card comes jam packed with benefits that make this one of the premier travel credit cards in the market today. With over $1,500 in value baked in, you’re more than likely to find your annual fee pays for itself.

Travel benefits include a $200 annual hotel credit towards select prepaid hotel bookings, $200 in airline incidental credits and a $189 CLEAR® Plus credit to make flying through airport security a breeze.

Other non-travel benefits include a $240 annual digital entertainment credit, $155 annual Walmart+ credit for your online shopping, up to $200 in Uber and Uber Eats Cash annually and even a $50 Saks Fifth Avenue credit applied twice a year. With all these credits to help offset your spending throughout the year, it’s no wonder that the American Express Platinum card is in so many people’s wallets.

If you’re looking for a no annual fee credit card (see rates & fees) that earns strong rewards then the Bilt World Elite Mastercard®  should be on your radar. Notably, the Bilt Mastercard offers the opportunity to earn points on rent payments.

On the first of the month, on “rent day,” the card earns double rewards capped at 10,000 points per 1st of the month, and typically also some other surprise is in store for cardholders. You must use the card five times each statement period to earn points (rewards & benefits).

Rewards: Earn 1 point per dollar on rent payments without the transaction fee (on up to 100,000 points each calendar year), 3 points per dollar on dining, 2 points per dollar on travel (when booked through the Bilt Travel Portal or directly with an airline, hotel, car rental or cruise company), and 1 point per dollar on other purchases.

Welcome offer: This card does not offer a welcome bonus.

Annual fee: $0

Other benefits and drawbacks: Bilt Rewards transfers to Star Alliance partners Turkish Miles&Smiles, Air Canada Aeroplan and also United Airlines MileagePlus, offering an alternative to Chase Ultimate Rewards.

The Bilt Mastercard also earns 2 times the points with Lyft and 10 points per dollar at Bilt Dining restaurants in select cities.

Lastly, if something should happen to your cellphone while you’re on vacation, the Bilt Mastercard provides up to $800 in coverage (subject to a $25 deductible), assuming that you pay for your phone bill totally with your Bilt Mastercard.

If you’re a frequent flier of Lufthansa Airlines then the Miles & More® World Elite Mastercard®* offers a wide range of benefits that will make earning and redeeming your Miles and More points even easier. With the miles earned from this card you’ll be able to redeem on the airlines that use the Miles and More program such as Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, SWISS and other Star Alliance partners that partner with Lufthansa.

Rewards: Earn 2 award miles per dollar spent on ticket purchases directly from Miles & More integrated airline partners and 1 mile per dollar spent on all other purchases.

Welcome offer: Earn 50,000 award miles after spending $3,000 in purchases and paying the annual fee, both within the first 90 days.

Annual fee: $89

Other benefits and drawbacks: Reaching elite status is easier with the Miles and More credit card as once per year you can convert 5,000 to 25,000 miles to elite status miles at a rate of 5:1. 5,000 miles would equal 1,000 status miles and 25,000 miles would equal 5,000 miles making top tier elite status a little closer.

When flying with a friend or family member, your companion pass will get you farther. By calling the Lufthansa Miles and More service center you’ll be able to book an economy ticket on Lufthansa flights and the second passenger only needs to pay the taxes and fees.

Between a large welcome bonus and solid rewards back on spending, earning a large sum of points that transfer to Star Alliance partners is possible for many small business owners thanks to the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.

Points transfer at a 1:1 ratio to Star Alliance partners Air Canada, Singapore Airlines and United Airlines and also come with a large variety of travel insurance benefits such as trip interruption and trip cancellation coverage.

Rewards: Earn 3 points per dollar on the first $150,000 spent on travel and select business categories each account anniversary year and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.

Welcome offer: Earn 100,000 points after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

Annual fee: $95

Other benefits and drawbacks: You’ll need to be a small business owner to apply for this card as it is specifically designed for small business owners.

Employee cards don’t come with any extra cost for you or your business, meaning that the spending that your employees do on those cards will earn points for you to redeem on your favorite Star Alliance carriers.

Recently the American Express® Business Gold Card (Terms apply, see rates & fees) underwent a rebranding complete with new benefits and business credits designed to make it a rewarding option for your business.

You’ll earn 4 points per dollar in your top two spending categories every month, up to a total of $150,000 in spending each year. If you were to maximize this spending you could earn 600,000 points each year to transfer to Star Alliance airlines.

Rewards: Earn 4 Membership Rewards® points per dollar on the 2 select categories where a business spends the most each month (up to $150,000 combined purchases per calendar year), 3 points per dollar on flights and prepaid hotels booked on Amex Travel and 1 point per dollar is earned for other purchases.

Welcome offer: Earn 70,000 Membership Rewards® points after spending $10,000 on eligible purchases within the first 3 months of opening an account.

Annual fee: $375

Other benefits and drawbacks: American Express has three Star Alliance partners: Avianca, Air Canada and Singapore Airlines. While the card charges a high annual fee, it offers statement credits to offset this cost. You can get back up to $155 in credit for a Walmart+ membership (up to $12.95 a month. Subject to auto-renewal) and $240 in annual credits, $20 a month, for Grubhub, FedEx Office, and Office Supply stores.