Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards 2026: Airline Credit Card Rewards Programs*

For the fourth year, we're pleased to present the winners of our annual Readers' Choice Awards. In a survey we conducted on Kiplinger.com in January and February, more than 4,200 readers rated the financial products and services they use in 13 categories, from credit cards and banks to brokers, wealth managers and annuity providers. The results here offer valuable insight into the everyday experiences that Kiplinger readers have with their financial providers.

Respondents made their judgments on such criteria as their interactions with customer service, the likelihood they would recommend the product or service to others, and their overall satisfaction with it. They also had the option to leave comments about their providers, and we have shared some of them here (remarks may be lightly edited for length and clarity).

For each category, we've listed an overall winner that earned the highest total score as well as other providers that earned above-average ratings for the various criteria that readers assessed. Our thanks to all of you who participated in the survey.

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Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards 2026: Airline Credit Card Rewards Programs

If you're a frequent flier, it can pay to have a credit card from your preferred airline. These cards may offer elevated loyalty status, free checked baggage, and extra miles on all flights you book.

We asked readers to rate their airline card based on the strength of customer service, whether they'd recommend the card to others and overall satisfaction.

OVERALL WINNER: Southwest Airlines Cards

Outstanding for:

Customer service
Most recommended
Overall satisfaction

Southwest's credit-card program is a three-time overall winner in the Readers' Choice Awards. "Strong benefits, especially if Southwest is your primary airline. Helps me get to A-list and Companion Pass status," one reader says.

Southwest offers three consumer credit cards linked to its Rapid Rewards loyalty program. Each card features different annual fees, bonuses and benefits, which become more plentiful as the fee rises.

The Rapid Rewards Plus card ($99 annual fee) gives you 3,000 points on your yearly cardmember anniversary. The Premier card ($149) has a 6,000-point anniversary bonus, and the Priority Card ($229) offers a 7,500-point anniversary bonus.

All three cards provide a free checked bag for you and up to eight other passengers on your reservation as well as 25% back on in-flight purchases.

Alaska Airlines Cards

Outstanding for:

Customer service
Most recommended
Overall satisfaction

Alaska Airlines has two consumer cards with excellent perks. The Atmos Rewards Ascent Visa Signature card has a $95 annual fee, and its benefits include an annual companion fare of $99 (plus tax and fees) each year you spend $6,000 or more on the card — a perk you "can’t beat," according to one reader — and a free checked bag for you and up to six passengers.

The Atlas Rewards Summit Visa Infinite card offsets its $395 annual fee with generous perks, including eight yearly visits to the airline's airport lounges and a statement credit of up to $120 every four years to pay for a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application.

Delta Air Lines Cards

Outstanding for:

Customer service
Most recommended
Overall satisfaction

Delta's program features four consumer credit cards issued by American Express: Delta SkyMiles Blue American Express Card, Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card. "My Delta rewards credit card always has my back. On the rare occasion it was necessary to change my reservation, I received prompt and accurate service," says one survey respondent.

The benefits vary among the cards, with Reserve providing the most extensive perks, including a companion certificate (allowing a second passenger to fly with you once per year on a round-trip flight within the U.S., Mexico, the Caribbean, or Central America, paying only taxes and fees), access to Amex’s Centurion airport lounges, and 15 annual visits to Delta Sky Club lounges." The benefits we get exceed the annual fee,” says a reader who uses the Reserve card. Rates and fees apply.

JetBlue Cards

Outstanding for:

Overall satisfaction

JetBlue offers a few credit cards issued by Barclays: the JetBlue Card, JetBlue Plus ($99) and JetBlue Premier ($499), with varying rewards rates and benefits.

All cardholders receive 50% off JetBlue in-flight purchases. If you have the Plus or Premier card, you also earn 5,000 bonus points each year on your cardmember anniversary, and you get a free checked bag on flights, among other perks.

Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards Categories

How Readers Chose the Winners

Kiplinger readers were invited to take the Readers' Choice Awards survey on Kiplinger.com between January 22 and February 19, 2026. The survey asked respondents to choose the financial product or service that they most frequently use in 13 categories: brokerage firms, wealth managers, IRA providers, cash-back credit cards, travel rewards credit cards, airline credit card rewards programs, national banks, internet banks, annuity providers, homeowners insurers, auto insurers, tax software and peer-to-peer payment services.

We asked readers to rate each provider they selected on a scale of one to 10 based on a few criteria. In many categories, readers rated the strength of customer service, how likely they would be to recommend the product or service to others, and how satisfied they are overall with the provider. In some categories, we included more nuanced criteria. With wealth management firms, we asked respondents to rate the trustworthiness of a firm's advisers and the quality of its financial advice and retirement-planning services. For IRA providers, respondents assessed the mix of investment choices available to them. For peer-to-peer payment apps and tax software, respondents evaluated ease of use, and for auto and home insurance companies, readers judged the competitiveness of rates and strength of the claims experience.

We calculated an average (mean) score for each criterion with each provider. We also calculated an overall mean score for all providers for each criterion we asked readers to judge. We compared individual provider mean scores with the overall mean, and the three highest-scoring providers that had a score above the overall mean won an "outstanding" accolade; in cases of a tie, more than three providers are named, and if fewer than three qualifying providers achieved an above-average score, only those providers are named "outstanding." In each category, providers are generally listed in descending order by the number of criteria for which they received the "outstanding" designation — so a product or company that is deemed "outstanding" in three areas, for example, is listed before a provider with one or two "outstanding" awards.

To choose an overall winner in each category, we added together the mean scores for each criterion rated for each product or service. The provider with the highest total score in each category took the prize for overall winner.

Because of a technical issue during 2026 survey data collection, some providers that readers evaluated in certain categories, marked with an asterisk, were ranked using patterns from 2025 consumer survey data.

Affected were three of 18 brokerage firms, six of 20 cash-back credit cards, two of 15 travel rewards credit cards, one of 13 airline credit card rewards programs, three of 33 banks, two of 14 annuity providers, and one of eight tax-software products. All other categories fully reflect 2026 data. All results represent actual Kiplinger reader feedback.

Sean is a veteran personal finance writer, with over 10 years of experience. He's written finance guides on insurance, savings, travel and more for CNET, Bankrate and GOBankingRates.