Best Cards For Airfare Within Asia

American Airlines is part of OneWorld Alliance, meaning you can use AA Miles to book on 13 different world-class airlines. But which ones should you be looking at for Asia? Thankfully, you have a lot of options. There’s Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and Iberia. Not to mention the OneWorld affiliates throughout Asia, including Cathay Dragon, Finnair, JetStar and Iberia Express. So these might say “American Airline Miles,” but look beyond American for all the different airlines and loyalty programs that it encompasses.

Chase Sapphire should be on everyone's list of cards for pretty much everything. The main reason is the flexibility. Flying throughout Asia is no exception. They have so many transfer partners available with a high retained value. For example, United is one of the top transfer partners and is part of the Star Alliance. So you can book flights on Air China, ANA, EVA Air, Singapore Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines and Thai Air -- which happen to be the most popular Asian airlines. Another great option is to book flights directly through the Chase portal, where each point is worth 50% more. If you have a tight itinerary and know what days and to which particular countries you want to be traveling to, it’s a great time to check availability in the portal and see what kind of routes they’re offering.

ThankYou Points are a lot like Capital One miles. You can search and book tickets on Airasia, Cebu Pacific, Lion Air or Nok Air with your card and then use the points to pay off your bill. But, they’re also a lot like Ultimate Rewards, offering a whole list of awesome transfer partners. ThankYou Points can be transferred to Virgin Atlantic, Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines, EVA Air, Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways. All fly throughout Asia and offer great value when transferring points. So even though we normally throw a Chase card front and center when we’re talking about any kind of travel partners, we love this particular one for the flexibility and the ease of use.