Myth: One must be a frequent flyer to earn miles
Fact: Everyone can earn miles by simply spending money on credit cards that offer miles

If you are new to point and miles, one of the first questions that will come to your mind is how to earn air miles. Most people (including me a few years ago) believe that the only way to earn airline miles is by travelling on a plane, however, this is not true. Not all of us are road warriors and the easiest way to earn miles is by spending on cards that offer miles. Lets take a look at these JPMiles Cards for Beginners.

Ajay and I keep multiple mileage earning cards and stack up a neat pile. Check how we earned over a million miles last year. One question that we get a lot, then, is which credit card to get if you’re starting into miles and points. From friends to family, everyone has asked us this question at some point in time.

Evidently, also, a lot of us want to earn JPMiles. A key thing to keep in mind is that JetPrivilege allows family members to pool in JPMiles. Then, given our own experience, it becomes a smart move to get more than one mileage earning credit card in the family.

The next question is why should I pay for a credit card? The answer to that is simple. The free credit cards earn you points which get valued at 5 to 20 paise and can’t take you much further than buying a revenue ticket with them. Or buy a toaster with those points. Forget earning JPMiles on the fast track. But for a modest amount of fees, you can get your money’s worth and more with these JetPrivilege/Jet Airways Credit Cards for starters.

To see how quickly the miles add up, I headed up to the Credit Card Portal of
JetPrivilege, where one can easily check out how the various credit cards issued in partnership with JetPrivilege or Jet Airways can mint you miles, and also apply for those credit cards.

I analysed the cards with a modest spend of INR 10,000 every month, however, based on your spending you can always adjust the slider and get a clue on how quickly can you come close to those redemption flights.

For example, I’m initiating my parents into miles and getting them to apply for ICICI’s Rubyx, HDFC Signature, HDFC’s Platinum and ICICI’s Sapphiro credit cards (all co-branded). Therefore, for a total fee of INR 7,250, we will have access to 4 free ticket codes. Plus, very soon grocery spends, shopping and other daily spends will soon start generating miles for the entire family.

Here are the 5 co-branded cards for beginners that will earn you JPMiles without the fee
burning a hole in your pocket.

1. Jet Airways ICICI Bank Coral AMEX Credit Card

For just INR 50 (plus taxes) per month, you can be welcome to the world of JPMiles. ICICI Bank is offering a 50% discount until December 31, 2017, on this credit card, so you get it for INR 600 fee for the first year.

Let’s assume you use this card to pay for your groceries, shopping, dining and cabs and spend INR 10,000 every month. At the end of the year, you’ll earn 3,600 JPMiles. Add up the welcome bonus of 2,500 JPMiles and there with 6,100 JPMiles you have enough for a redemption ticket between Mumbai-Goa, Mumbai-Udaipur, Delhi-Amritsar and Bangalore- Colombo sectors. That should be INR 4000 or more of value at current ticket prices. Apply Here.

2. JetPrivilege HDFC Bank Platinum Credit Card

With a fee less than INR 100 per month this credit gets you 1 assured free ticket every year just for signing up. Like Ajay showed here, the value of that ticket could easily go up to INR 7000 upwards.

This card also gives a welcome bonus of 3,000 JPMiles and 4 JPMiles per INR 150 spent. So, let’s assume you spend INR 10,000 every month on this credit card to pay for your day to day expenses. At the end of the year, you will have earned 6,200 JPMiles including the welcome bonus.

Combining the one-way free ticket code along with the JPMiles earned you will be able to get an economy return ticket on a number of sectors. Apply Here.

3. Jet Airways ICICI Bank Rubyx AMEX Credit Card

With a subsidised first year fee of INR 1,250, this is another card where JP is offering a 50% discount until December 31, 2017. This card comes with a one-way free ticket and a welcome bonus of 5,000 JPMiles and a higher mileage earning rate than the cards mentioned so far.

For the modest spend of INR 10,000 every month, you’ll end up with a free ticket code along with a total of 9,800 JPMiles at the end of 1 year. That’s brings you close to a redemption of an economy return ticket or a one-way business class ticket on sectors such as Mumbai – Goa, Delhi – Amritsar or Delhi – Udaipur. Apply Here.

4. HDFC Bank Signature Credit Card

If travel takes you outside India then, for an annual fee of INR 2,500 and taxes, this is a good card to consider. Not only does it give you a one-way free ticket but comes with a rich welcome bonus of 7,500 JPMiles. With an earning of 6 JPMiles for every INR 150 spent, a spend of INR 10,000 per month will earn you a total of 12,300 JPMiles in a year including welcome bonus. That is good to get you an economy return ticket on a lot of domestic sectors and Premiere on some.

The beauty of this card is also in the Priority Pass that comes along with this card and provides 5 free visits in over 1000 lounges worldwide.

This card also makes sense if you want to accelerate your run for JP elite status. Every INR 2 lakhs that you spend on this card gets you 1 tier point qualification towards JP status.

5. Jet Airways ICICI Bank Sapphiro AMEX Credit Card

Another card to consider in the beginner’s portfolio is the Jet Airways ICICI Bank Sapphiro credit card that is currently going at a 50% discount on the joining fees. It comes with a one-way free ticket and a generous bonus of 10,000 JPMiles, which is good enough to redeem an economy return ticket all by itself.

It also gets you 5 JPMiles credit for every INR 100 spent. An annual spend of INR 1,40,000 combines with the bonus will equal to 17,000 JPMiles. That’s a free economy return ticket on over 90% of Jet’s domestic sectors or a free return ticket from India to Kathmandu or Colombo.

Those are some of the cards I think you should consider for your family’s mileage earning. Given some of those are time-limited offers, maybe a good idea to apply now.

Which of these mileage earning cards you like and are getting in the family?