Good morning all,

I'm brand new to the airline industry, fresh out of training and on reserves at a regional. I managed to go through college without having one, but I'm beginning to see the incentive, possibly even necessity for having a credit card in this job.

My question is what card works best for an Airline pilot? What are others using?

Thanks!

 

Not an airline pilot yet, but Discover has served us well. Consistent 1% cash back and quarterly 5% cash back on select categories.

Whatever the credit card you choose, it's a rotten way to borrow money. Great for convenience if you pay it off every month.

 

Discover is not bad but I stopped using mine after they jacked the interest rates through the roof back in 2009 or so when the laws changed. The cash-back is nice, but only if you pay it off monthly.

MC and Visa cards are issued by individual banks, so the terms vary depending on your credit-worthiness and the bank...some also offer cash-back programs. Start with your own bank and see what their program looks like.

Discover, MC, and Visa are accepted anywhere in the US. American Express, not so much anymore. If you're going overseas a lot you might be better off woth MC or Visa, although I think discover has foreign equivalents.

 

I doubt the OP will be doing a lot of international in the near future but on that topic:

I really see a lot of issues with credit card use internationally. There is so much variation from country to country as far as security measures, etc. On some receipts, I see the first four numbers of your CC **** and then the remaining numbers completely intact. Others do it the opposite with only the last four x'd out. Culturally, it appears that many local bar/restaurants, especially in Asia, are just willing to hang it out and blatantly attempt to rip you off (sometimes while you're still there). The convenience or extra 1% you might get back is just not worth it, IMO.

Most decent banks with a good security department are going to easily protect you but sometimes that can involve immediate closure of your existing account and re-issue of a new card. Not a great thing if you're on day 2 of a 12-day trip.

Bottom line for me: It's easier to transfer my per diem into a basic checking account I can access via ATM card. I pay cash for everything except hotel expenses I charge to my room. If that card gets compromised, all they have access to is maybe $1000. If you're careful about the ATMs you use, the chances of even that happening are pretty slim.

Just my .02

 

Regional pilots usually go to Canada and sometimes Mexico, I can't recall if my discover was readily accepted in either country. But I always carry a second CC (Visa) anyway.

Overseas, yes you have to careful with where you use a credit card. Hotel restaurant, probably OK. Back alley hole-in-the-wall, just pay cash. In some countries (third world, and lower-tier EU) retail/wait staff will almost assuredly rip off your card number.

I haven't any trouble using CC's in Canada, Germany, UK, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, or France. But I've had co-workers ripped off in Italy, Spain, Thailand, PI, Mexico, Egypt, etc. Just to give you an idea.

 

Not paying off a credit card monthly is the single fastest way to wind up in deep debt (apart from taking flight training of course) IMHO. We always make sure ours is paid off.

 

I typically pay them off, but every now and then I carry a balance for a few months...mainly because I'm too lazy to cash out investment equities. My discover went from 11% to 30% overnight so it was more the principle of the thing. USAA didn't jack rate. Actually I think discover may have gotten some sense and lowered their rates lately.

 

Get a visa. Get one with chip and pin technology. (Not Chip and signature) and get one with cash back. Also look for one that doesn't have a foreign transaction fee. Some charge 3% on top of each purchase. Capital one is a good card but doesn't have chip and pin technology yet.

Until you get the chip and pin tech. Block out the 3 numbers on the back, but commit them to memory first. When you hand over your card to a watress you lose control long enough for someone to copy the front and the back. A simple sticker over the back security number will make it obvious that someone tampered with it. At least you'd have a heads up.

 

I use ANA visa but if I were to need to get a new one, I would absolutely look for a card where (and i'm not even sure if it's possible or not) you can withdraw a safe amount of cash with it from an ATM in an emergency. Better planning can generally prevent you from ever needing to do that, but once I got caught in a situation where I needed to stay overnight at an FBO due to a flat with no cash, and the maximum that my card would let me withdraw was $20.00.

 

I think most credit cards allow you pull several hundred dollars using the PIN at an ATM. But again it's up to the issuing bank, has nothing to do with the brand of credit card.

Also, for any credit card, you can call the issuer and ask them increase your limit so they might be able to do that for the cash withdrawal limit as well.