I use Alaska Airlines Visa as my backup to the Amex. They have been making some changes that devalue the benefits quite a bit... And I've found that Bank of America is a pain to deal with.

The nice thing is that you can redeem with a ton of airline partners: American Airlines, British Airways, Continental Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Horizon Air, KLM, Lan Chile, Northwest Airlines and QANTAS.

It's $75 a year for the platnium, double miles on Alaska purchases. You also get some goodies, the most meaningful of which is a $50 companion fare coupon, good for any published fare. 5,000 miles for signup, 2,000 anniversary bonus every year.

See http://www.bankofamerica.com/creditc...at&headerType= for more info.

-Robert