Few opportunities to earn rewards
The biggest downside to the SKYPASS Visa Signature card is its narrow rewards program, which only offers bonus points on Korean Air flights. Cardholders earn just two points for every dollar spent on Korean airfare and one point per dollar spent on everything else.
The limited rewards aren’t unusual for an airline card. Many airline cards only offer bonus points on airfare. But it sharply narrows the card’s appeal. Because Korean Air only operates flights to a limited number of destinations, there aren’t many opportunities for you to earn bonus points – unless you travel to South Korea multiple times a year.
Limited destinations
You may also have a hard time booking a flight, since Korean Air operates just a small number of flights outside the United States. For example, the only U.S. cities served by Korean Air are Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Honolulu, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, the only Korean Airlines destinations reached directly from the U.S. are the South Korean cities Seoul and Busan.
On the plus side, Korean Airlines is a member of the SkyTeam Network, so you don’t have to spend rewards on another Korean Airlines flight. You can transfer miles to 19 other airlines, including Delta Air Lines, Air France, China Airlines, China Eastern, Alitalia, Vietnam Airlines, Aeroflot, AeroMexico, Air Europa, Czech Airlines, Kenya Airways and XiamenAir.
Above-average value for SKYPASS miles
SKYPASS miles are also worth more than the typical credit card mile, so you’ll need fewer miles to redeem points for a free flight. For example, the average credit card mile is only worth about a penny each. By contrast, SKYPASS miles are worth nearly a penny and a half. That extra fraction of a penny may not seem like much, but it can make a big difference in how many miles you need to pay for a flight.
The higher rewards value still won’t get you far, though, if you aren’t a heavy spender. We estimate that the typical SKYPASS cardholder who spends roughly $1,325 a month will still only collect around $250 worth of miles in a year – a fraction of the cost of a typical international ticket.
Stingy bonuses
The SKYPASS card’s limited bonuses won’t get you much further. New cardholders earn just 15,000 bonus miles – roughly worth about $210 – after their first purchase. Meanwhile, regular cardholders earn a yearly 2,000-mile bonus that’s only worth about $28. If you spend relatively heavily and use your card for all purchases, you may be able to purchase a free flight after your first year. But unless you travel to South Korea regularly, you may still have a hard time earning enough miles after that to justify the card’s $80 annual fee.
Few perks
For a card with such a high fee, the Korean Air SKYPASS Visa Signature card also offers relatively few perks. Cardholders are awarded two VIP Korean Air Lounge coupons every year, which you can use while waiting for your flight in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York or Honolulu. The card also offers standard credit card perks, such as travel accident insurance and car rental insurance. But it doesn’t offer any other benefits that might set the SKYPASS card apart from other cards.
Reasons to get it:
- You travel frequently to South Korea and want to get rewarded for those flights.
- You live near one of the airline’s North American destinations and so can get direct flights outside the United States.
- You only plan to use the card temporarily to help shave down the cost of an international ticket.
How to use it:
- To get the most out of this airline card, fly Korean Airlines any time you travel to South Korea and use your card to pay for airfare.
- Use your card as much as possible if you’re trying to build up miles for an international flight. Korean Air lets you redeem points for a one-way ticket. But it doesn’t let you use partial miles, so you have to wait until you have enough miles to redeem a full flight.
- Take advantage of the card’s SkyTeam partnership. You may be able to use miles for less expensive domestic flights or for an international vacation.
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