Asiana Visa Platinum and Classic Credit Cards Review

Who Are the Asiana Visa Cards From Bank of America Good For?

Asiana Airlines, a major South Korean carrier, offers two personal Visa cards to residents of the United States: the Asiana Visa Classic and the Asiana Visa Platinum. Anyone who flies to Asia and Korea on a regular basis would benefit from the ability to earn some extra Asiana miles via credit card spending.

The airline is a member of the Star Alliance, and it flies to a total of 14 domestic and 90 international destinations, making it a useful carrier to have miles with. It’s also earned a number of accolades and awards over the years for its innovations and excellent service.

Bank of America also offers an Asiana Visa Signature Credit Card, which has slightly better benefits than the Asiana Visa cards, but also a higher annual fee. You can apply for more than on of the Asiana cards, so you could earn multiple sign-up bonuses and quickly boost your miles balance.

Some benefits differ between the two Visa cards. For example, Visa Platinum holders get a $100 annual rebate on Asiana ticket purchases, while the Visa Classic members get a $50 rebate.

Asiana Visa Platinum:

Asiana Visa Classic:

Sign-Up Bonus:

The Platinum card comes with a 5,000-mile sign-up bonus, and the Classic has a 3,000-mile bonus. You’ll get the miles after making your first purchase.

Miles Earned:

The Classic card earns one mile per dollar spent on all purchases. The Platinum card, though, also offers two miles per dollar spent with Asiana.

What Do Your Miles Get You?

Asiana Club, the airline’s frequent flyer program, offers members access to flights on Asiana and the 28 Star Alliance members. The carrier is also partners with Qatar and Etihad Airways. That coverage makes it easy to find an award flight with Asiana miles to almost any place in the world.

Usage Perks:

• Miles expire after 10 years
• Cancellation fee is only 3,000 miles or $30
• The Family Plan allows miles pooling with up to five family members
• Excellent redemption rates for Round-the-World award tickets

Usage Quirks:

• Low sign-up bonus
• Fuel surcharges on award flights
  
• Foreign transaction fees
  

How Far Do Your Miles Go?

A domestic round-trip flight in Korea costs only 10,000 miles in the low season, and flights between the U.S. and Asia begin at only 70,000 miles.

You can use Star Alliance member airlines to fly to Europe for only 50,000 miles, which is 10,000 miles cheaper than the rates offered by all major U.S. airlines.

Additional Cardholder Benefits:

• $0 liability guarantee
• Extended warranty and retail protection coverage
• Overdraft protection
• Emergency assistance service and emergency roadside assistance
• Car rental loss and damage insurance
• Concierge service
• Identity theft recovery
• Chip technology
• Visa Hotel Savings Program
• Visa Business Partner Program
• Travel insurance up to $1,000,000