Maybe the answer to this question is simple or maybe there are multiple correct answers. I'm not sure. I was speaking with a friend who is based in Atlanta and they are expecting their first child. Both of their families are in Orange County, CA (SNA). They asked me what the best card for them would be so they could accrue miles to cut down the cost on trips between ATL-SNA or something in the area. SNA is the easiest for them. And the only carrier flying ATL-SNA nonstop is Delta. Although nonstop is not a prerequisite, it certainly helps when travelling with an infant. I don't have one, but I can imagine it does. They are on a pretty tight budget, aren't big spenders and would prefer to not have an annual fee.

My initial thought was the 30k Delta card, you get the 1st checked bag free and priority boarding (although I suppose you get that anyways if you are travelling with a child). However, the annual fee is $95. My next thought was the 25k Starwood card since you can transfer points to Delta and with Skymiles you can use cash and miles if you haven't accrued enough miles for a free trip. Plus, the $65 fee is pretty reasonable given the flexibility of the program. I also thought of an Amex Rewards card, but I think the Starwood or the Delta Gold would be the best options.

Am I missing something or would there be a better card with no annual fee? Or possibly a better airline to focus on?

how much will they charge per year?

I'm thinking $20k per year or so.

The best bit, depending on the number of trips per year they make to SNA, may be Delta Platinum Amex.

They get the sign up bonus and the companion cert.

If they can find L,U,T fares ATL-SNA they could use companion cert to cover the cost of 1 of the tickets.

Aside from that they would earn miles from spending of course.

As long as they did one paid trip to SNA per year the $150 fee is more than covered by the "free" fare ATL-SNA for one of the adults.

Foo

The free checked bag will pay for the 95 pretty quickly, i would say the delta card, the spg is only 30 less, if money is that tight that an annual fee is in the way i would get teh chase freedom card and just take the cash back.

Funny you should say the Chase Freedom card, that's what they have now and they just redeem the points for gift cards or whatever. I didn't even realize there was a companion ticket option with any of the Delta Amex cards. I just got my Amex gold this year, so I haven't received our companion cert. That's good to know, I was just about to cancel my Amex since the annual fee was coming up soon. I wonder if I could upgrade my gold to the platinum to get the free companion cert rather than the $99 cert that comes with the Gold card and get the signup bonus?

These are all good options so far. Thanks for your input.

Southwest might also be a decent option

YMMV

You would certainly get the cert but bonus miles maybe some for upgrading to Plat but probably not all 30k. Can always ask though!

If they're okay with one layover, how about getting both the personal and biz version of the Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards PREMIER Card - that'll give them 100,000 points. Have them charge $10,000 to the card between now and January 1, 2013 (but don't hit $10,000 before Jan 1!). They'll then get the companion certificate for a full two years and they'll only have to pay for 1 adult for all of their trips.

You could think to do the biz and personal premier card in the spouse's name two years from now to get another two years worth of free companion flying, but who knows if that'll still be around then.

Should also mention that the Southwest Premier biz and personal card both have a $99 annual fee (not waived for first year), but the bonus miles in the first year more than make up for it. Flying free for two years with the companion pass is gravy, and getting 6,000 points each year on your Cardmember Anniversary - that can be redeemed for a $100 Wanna Get Away? Fare - is the cherry on top. The 6,000 pts each anniversary cover the $99 fee and leave you with $1 profit each year you have this card.

I would go Southwest card over Delta. Delta has nonstops, but realistically your friends will rarely if ever find 25,000 miles r/t. Southwest r/t are currently capped at 19,200 miles because of the RR points to A+ credits to RR credits transfer option. And they probably can find a convenient onestop to Atlanta on SW.

Also, they should probably consider paying for the tickets, and using the miles in a more valuable way for later trips.