When you are traveling many times a year whether by car or by air an airline, mile credit cards can be a better idea for you, than a frequent flyer card.

What you will want to do is find the airline mile credit cards that give you the best deals. Many not only give you deals on airline tickets but they also help you get free merchandise or travel packages. These are worth a closer look.

There are specific ways in which you can maximize your benefits when you use the card:

Airline tickets — this is the most obvious way to use the card. Usually they are loyal to one particular airline so make sure you pick one that belongs to the company that you fly with most of the time. They will give you the opportunity to use a wide range of services which are beyond what most frequent flyer programs will allow.

Hotel discounts — several airline miles credit cards will give you free stays because of your travel card but you might not know you could get discounts as well. Your travel awards card may have perks that are mentioned in the advertising material. It is a good idea to go over these in order to get your best deal. 

Meals out — you may find that your credit card company has partnered with restaurants that may have discounts. The best thing to do is look for a restaurant that will honor your card. Some of them will offer a gift card instead that you can use on your next visit.

Care rental discounts — you might not think about a car rental as being under a travel rewards card but this is a major part of the travel business. You can find discounts on car rentals with some of the airline mile credit cards which means you can save money all the way around.

How to take advantage of the best discounts

Once you have your card and know about all the features the next step is to start using the card. There are a couple of habits that will lead to the best discounts your card has to offer:

Travel points on purchases – since you already get points for every day purchases this is one way to start. However, most of these cards will give you a better discount when you use it for travel related expenses. This means that you should charge anything to do with your travel expenses including snacks that you purchase in the airline terminal or magazines you want to take with you. These habits will maximize your points.

Paying cash vs. using the credit card – whether it is a large or small purchase it is better to charge it when you can. If you pay the balance off before the end of the month, you will save interest. When you use the card for larger purchases it will boost your points. You can then accumulate your points and reap their benefits later.