I live in the Seattle area and have had the Alaska Airlines Visa for 5 years now and think it's worth the annual fee because they give you a $99 companion certificate to use. I can use this certificate to fly to Hawaii or Mexico which more than makes up for the fee. I used it for Mexico last year which saved me about $400 off the fare.

I think this is a great thread as I have this question too. I will probably always fly Alaska as long as I live here, but their award rates are going higher and higher. It costs me 40,000 miles just for a round trip for most flying days it seems to Minneapolis where I have a lot of family. So I am considering what credit card to use for my daily card. We have the Costco Amex which is nice because we always shop at Costco and you can only use AMEX there and the gas rebate is nice. We also have the Hawaiian Airlines Visa since we used to live in Hawaii but will be getting rid of that this year. We just got approved for the BA card and I like how it's 1.25 miles/$ and no Int'l fees, but not sure I want a $99 annual fee card as I'm not a big Int'l traveler.

Wondering if I should wait for a good SPG promo and get that for my daily purchases since it can offer hotel and 1.25 miles/$ with the 20,000 points transfer? I'm leaning that way... SPG for daily purchases, Alaska Visa where I can't use AMEX, and Costco AMEX for gas/Costco purchases.