What to know about airline credit cards can be important, because these kinds of cards come with far more features than just giving a cardholder the ability to charge for goods and services, generally speaking. Almost all of them offered by an airline through a traditional credit card issuer feature rewards and perks programs that can be out of this world, if they're used intelligently and with a fair amount of common sense

To begin with, airline credit cards offer their holders points good for travel and travel-related goods and services. This includes hotels, automobile rentals and even free airline tickets, if enough points (or miles) are accumulated. And with the airlines desperate to keep a minimal customer base, many of the best cards are coming with very reasonable introductory rates and terms nowadays.

When used smartly, airline credit cards can allow a frequent traveler to save money through usage of the card. For example, a typical airline card allows one to accumulate – and then redeem – miles or points currently good on over 250 existing airlines around the world. This is possible because almost any airline of any significance is now tied into one of several different airline alliances, meaning the interrelationships among airlines has never been stronger.

Having at least one airline card also can be a great way to continually generate frequent flier miles that are deposited directly in the card holder's frequent flier account at whatever airline has branded the card. As an example, imagine heading to an electronics store and purchasing a new flat-panel high-definition television. Most cards will take the amount spent on the TV and convert that into a commensurate number of miles. A 1500 dollar TV might generate 1500 miles, in other words.

Airline credit cards are also very effective at generating what the industry refers to as “travel rewards.” What this means is that every time the card is used, points are generated that will be good for not only the air travel itself but also for hotel stays, car rentals and even cruises, to name just a few of the rewards that such cards can generate.

Keep in mind that each such card comes with its own set of guidelines and rules. Some are directly tied to a specific airline and will have rules that a set up to directly benefit that airline and its travel partners, such as certain hotels and car rental agencies. Other cards aren't branded or tied specifically to any single airline or other travel entity, and these may be the better option for those travelers who want to be as flexible as possible.

Nowadays, even those giant Internet travel sites (they all advertise heavily on TV) offer their own branded credit card aimed at travel activities, so the list of issuers or affiliates out there offering one of these flexible credit cards is large and varied. Research them a bit beforehand, before deciding on any specific card to go with, though, as interest rates and guidelines for use can differ greatly.