Skypass Credit Cards

U.S. Bank Credit Cards, Airline Credit Cards

The Korean Airlines SkyPass card is one of the least interesting airline credit cards. The signup bonus is lower than normal and it doesn't come with much in the way of benefits. It might be interesting for someone who frequently flies on Korean Airlines and needs the boost to get or renew their Morning Calm Club status.

Jump to

Korean Airlines Card Options
Intro to Korean Skypass Points
Signup Bonus
Notable Benefits
Bonus Categories
Getting Rid of the Card

Signature. This is the normal version of the card, which is the primary focus of this guide. $95 fee. Skypass Webpage. Signup Bonus Chart.
Business. The business version has the same benefits as the Signature version and often has the same signup bonus as well. Skypass Webpage.
Select Signature. The $450 annual fee premium version includes a $200 travel credit (per cardholder year) that you can use to pay for any travel purchase, dropping the effective annual fee to $250. With a combination of a standard signup bonus and lackluster additional benefits, most people won't be particularly interested in this version. Skypass Webpage. Signup Bonus Chart.
No-annual-fee version. The no-annual-fee version of the card normally offers a 5,000 point signup bonus and nothing in the way of notable benefits. Skypass Webpage.

Introduction to Korean Skypass Points

You can use your Korean Airlines points on Delta Airlines, any other SkyTeam airline, and any of Korean Airlines other airline partners. Some notable partners include Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Emirates, Hawaiian Airlines, and Etihad.
Korean Airlines' award chart has some great bargains. For example, you can fly round trip to Hawaii, Mexico, the US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico for only 25,000 miles; or fly to Europe round trip in business class for only 80,000 miles.

Collecting the Signup Bonus

The normal signup bonus is not that great. The typical signup bonus is 30,000 miles..
You may be able to earn the signup bonuses from both the personal and business version of the card. If you have any kind of side business, you are entitled to apply for business cards. If so, you can earn the signups from either or both versions. Unlock Extra Reward Points with Business Credit Cards.

Notable Benefits

A $50 discount coupon, every year, when you renew your card.
Two KAL Lounge passes, every year.
Miles from the credit card can help earn Morning Calm Club status. Up to 20,000 credit card miles can count towards the 50,000 miles it requires to qualify. Once qualified, you can use up to 10,000 credit card miles to reach the 30,000 miles it takes to re-qualify.
2,000 annual bonus miles.
Access to the Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection. As with all Visa Signature cards, you'll get access to Visa's luxury hotel program. Whenever you book one of the 900+ participating hotels, you'll receive a set of valuable benefits, including free breakfast, late check-out, and a $25 food and beverage credit. The Visa program has slightly weaker benefits than the other luxury hotel programs, but includes a larger number of more affordable hotel options and a best price guarantee. Take Advantage of Luxury Hotel Programs for Valuable Extra Perks.
Access to Visa Signature Offers. Your card entitles you to a set of special offers available from Visa.

Additional benefits with Select card

The $450 annual fee "Select" version includes the following additional benefits in addition to its $200 travel credit.

10,000 annual bonus miles (with a $35,000 spend requirement). Ignoring the annual fee, it probably still isn't worth using this card for $35,000 worth of spending just to get an extra 10,000 miles.
$100 annual discount coupon. Good only for Korean Air round trip tickets that travel between the US and Korea.
Double miles on travel purchases. But 2 Korean miles isn't as valuable as what you can earn from a credit card that offers good bonus rewards on travel purchases. Best Credit Cards for Travel Spending.
2 in-flight duty free $25 coupons per year. Each coupon must be used for at least $50 worth of purchases.
$100 TSA fee credit. Every 4 years, you can receive an automatic reimbursement of your Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee (up to $100).

Bonus Categories

You are usually better off making your Korean Airlines purchases with a card that earns a high reward rate on all your airfare purchases. 2x Korean Airlines miles are more valuable than what you'd earn from most general-purpose reward cards, but not as good as what you'd earn from a card that offers high bonus rewards on airfare purchases (and you won't get any travel insurance coverage). However, Korean Airline miles can be very valuable and are hard to earn otherwise.Best Credit Cards for Travel Spending.
There are better options for your hotel and gas purchases. 2x Korean Airlines miles are more valuable than what you would get from a good general-purpose reward card, but you can earn even more valuable rewards with other cards. Best Credit Cards for Gas Spending.
You don't want to use these cards for your everyday spending. You'll earn higher rewards from a good general-purpose reward card. Get a Great General Purpose Reward Card and Use It for All of Your Spending.

Getting Rid of the Card

You can cancel without worrying about losing your Korean Airlines miles. Once you earn them, they are treated like any other miles in your Skypass account.
Rather than cancelling the Signature or Select Signature Card, you may want to downgrade it to the no-annual-fee version. It has no annual fee, preserves some minor benefits, and makes it easy to convert back to one of the more valuable versions should you change your mind.
You can wait to cancel or downgrade the card until after the annual fee shows up on your statement. As long as you cancel within 30 days of being charged the annual fee, U.S. Bank will refund it. After 30 days, we think you'll still be able to get a prorated refund if you convert to the no-annual-fee version. The business version can't be downgraded.
You might be able to receive a retention offer to keep your card. It could be enough to make it worthwhile to keep the card.

Send comments or suggestions to editor@travelstrategies.com or leave a comment below.

blog comments powered by Disqus

Navigation menu