Who Is the Sun Country Airlines® Visa Signature® Credit Card Good For?
Sun Country is a small, low-cost airline with less than 30 aircraft in its fleet. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth getting the Sun Country Airlines® Visa Signature® Credit Card, particularly if live near the carrier’s Minneapolis–Saint Paul hub or Dallas/Fort Worth focus city.
Sun Country serves 19 other domestic destinations too, including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Anchorage and Washington, D.C.
As the name implies, Sun Country focuses on holiday travel. Many of its routes are seasonal, and its 15 international destinations are all in popular resort areas in Mexico, Costa Rica and the Caribbean. It also offers charter flights to Cuba, but those tickets can’t be purchased with points.
One of the drawbacks of Sun Country’s limited network is that you’ll have to catch a connecting flight to most destinations if you don’t live in the carrier’s hub. That adds travel time and cost to most itineraries.
Sun Country has a unique feature not offered by its budget airline competitors: a first class cabin. Best of all, if you’re a member of the airline’s frequent flyer program, UFly, you can upgrade you ticket to first class with points. Also unlike some other low-cost carriers, economy seats come with free in-flight beverages, a free carry-on bag and free seat assignments.
With the Sun Country Visa, you’ll get an additional two points per dollar spent on Sun Country flights and vacation packages. Add that to the 10 points per dollar all UFly members get, and you’ll earn an impressive 12 points per dollar. You’ll also get a free checked bag on all Sun Country flights and four points per dollar spent on in-flight purchases.
Sign-Up Bonus
The card comes with a solid 40,000-point sign-up bonus after spending only $500 in the first three months. With the airline’s affordable pricing, those points can get you a round-trip economy flight to most places served by Sun Country.
You also get a 5,000-point bonus every year you spend at least $10,000 on the card.
Points Earned:
- Two points per dollar spent with Sun Country
- Four points for in-flight purchases
- One point for everything else
What Do Your Points Get You?
UFly is a revenue-based reward program, which means that award ticket prices are based on the cash value of the flight. The good news is that there are no blackout dates; if there’s a seat on the flight, you can buy it with points.
The bad news is that there aren’t any award sweet spots. You’re always going to get the same value for your points.
UFly has two benefits that give you more flexibility when using your points. The program allows you to pool points with up to nine other members, and you can pay for flights with a combination of points and cash.
In other words, if you don’t have quite enough points for a free ticket, you can make up the difference with cash or a quick transfer from a friend or family member. Many airlines require you to pay for the entire ticket with miles or points, and if they allow points transfers, it’s typically only available to family members.
Usage Perks:
- Cardholders earn 12 points per dollar for ticket purchases
- Free checked bag
- Points pooling allowed
- No blackout dates
- Fees and extra bags can be paid for with points
- Points plus cash awards available
- Points don’t expire with an active credit card
Usage Quirks:
- Awards booked within less than a week of travel are charged a 5,000-point fee
- Limited network of destinations and routes
- Award prices higher during peak times
- No airline partners
How Far Do Your Points Go?
There are two things you have to keep in mind when booking. First, awards booked less than a week out incur a 5,000-point fee. You don’t want to use your points for last minute flights.
Second, Sun Country charges more points for awards booked on peak dates.
You’ll be charged 110 points per dollar on standard days, but 130 on peak days. That translates to a value of .77 cents per point during peak times, and a slightly better rate of .91 cents per point during normal times. You’ll never get more than that for your UFly points.
For example, a one-way flight from Minneapolis–Saint Paul to Las Vegas on August 24 costs $123.10 in coach and $302.10 in first. That’s 13,541 points and 33,231 points, respectively.
Even though you can find that same flight for the same price in cash during the peak season in October, you’ll have to pay 2,462 more points to fly in economy, and an extra 6,042 points in first.
Additional Cardholder Benefits
- Purchase protection
- Free FICO credit score
- Visa Checkout
- Zero liability
- Extended warranty protection
- Travel and emergency assistance
- Auto rental collision damage waiver
- Roadside dispatch
- Lost luggage reimbursement