Airline credit cards are often pushed to the back burner in favor of cards with transferrable rewards currencies. After all, cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card not only provide flexibility when it comes to redeeming points, but they also tend to offer lucrative welcome bonuses as well. These cards allow holders to transfer points to various airline or hotel rewards programs, or even to redeem them for cash back.

So why would anyone get an airline credit card? Because they still have benefits that can make them worth applying for. Here are some of the pros and cons of the tool, plus other things to consider when you're trying to determine if airline credit cards are worth it.

Worthwhile benefits of airline credit cards

For all the potential negatives, airline credit cards have definite positive attributes and some advantages over cards earning transferrable rewards currencies.

Hefty welcome bonuses

For starters, airline credit cards sometimes offer big welcome bonuses that can give your frequent flyer account a nice boost. Here's the current offer on the AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 60,000 AAdvantage® bonus miles after making your first purchase and paying the $99 annual fee in full, both within the first 90 days. That’s a tempting offer if you want to give your AAdvantage miles balance a quick bump with an easy spending requirement.

Travel-specific perks

Airline credit cards also offer perks that flexible rewards programs don’t, like the ability to earn elite-qualifying miles with your airline of choice.

Head start on elite status

Delta and Southwest both have credit cards that allow you to inch your way closer to elite status via credit card spending.

Delta Air Lines

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card: Earn up to 60,000 Medallion Qualification Miles with status boost per year. After you spend $30,000 in purchases on your card in a calendar year, you can earn 15,000 MQMs up to four times per year.

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card: Earn up to 20,000 Medallion Qualification Miles with status boost per year. After you spend $25,000 in purchases on your card in a calendar year, you can earn 10,000 MQMs up to two times per year.