Miles credit cards are payment cards that let cardholders earn airline miles or travel points whenever they make a transaction. These miles are tied to a frequent flyer program and can be redeemed for flights, upgrades, and other travel perks.

These credit cards are particularly attractive to frequent flyers as they turn existing spending on flights, hotels, or even everyday purchases, into rewards. Over time, this can translate into significant savings in the form of free or discounted flights, or travel insurance, as well as perks like seat upgrades, priority boarding, and airport lounge access.

In Switzerland, travelers have several strong options, with the most competitive offerings coming from Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS), and card issuers Cornèrcard, Viseca, and American Express. These provide generous mile rewards, flexible redemption opportunities, comprehensive insurance coverage, and premium travel benefits.

SWISS Miles & More Platinum Credit Card Duo

The SWISS Miles & More Platinum Credit Card Duo, comprising the SWISS Miles & More American Express Platinum card and the SWISS Miles & More World Mastercard Platinum card, is recognized by Moneyland.ch as among the best airline miles credit card offers available to Swiss residents. It allows cardholders to earn up to 2.4 miles for every CHF 2 spent with the American Express Platinum, and up to one mile for purchases made with the Visa Platinum or Mastercard Platinum.

Cardholders can exchange up to 25,000 of their award miles for valuable Points and Qualifying Points once per calendar year. They’ll receive 20 Points/20 Qualifying Points in return for 5,000 award miles.

The cards offer a number of benefits, including a welcome bonus of 10,000 award miles, no expired miles, first class check-in on any SWISS flight with a SWISS flight number and aircraft, a SIXT Platinum membership with upgrades, discounts of up to 15% on car rentals and 20% on limousine services, a four-hour mobility guarantee in case of breakdown, and additional rewards with SIXT+ and SIXT ride.

The cards also offer extensive insurance coverage, including transport accident protection up to CHF 1 million, foreign travel medical cover up to CHF 10,000, search and rescue costs up to CHF 60,000, trip cancellation and curtailment up to CHF 15,000, rental car loss or damage waiver up to CHF 80,000, travel inconvenience cover for delays and lost baggage, and purchase protection up to CHF 2,000.

Additional features include American Express Selects and Mastercard Priceless Cities offers, support for Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Google Pay, installment payment options, 3-D Secure protection, global cash withdrawal, 24/7 customer service, and card replacement within 48 hours.

The annual fee is CHF 700, the maximum spending limit is CHF 80,000 per month.

SWISS Miles & More Gold Credit Card Duo

The SWISS Miles & More Gold Credit Card Duo is another compelling option for Swiss residents, offering many of the same features as the Platinum tier but at a lower annual fee. It awards up to 2 award miles for every CHF 2 spent on the American Express Gold, and 0.8 miles for purchases made with the Visa Gold or World Mastercard Gold, in addition to a welcome bonus is 5,000 miles.

Like the Platinum tier, miles never expire as long as the card is used for at least one eligible purchase per month after the first month, and the miles-to-points exchange program is the same in terms of rate and frequency.

Travel insurance includes transport accident cover up to CHF 700,000, search and rescue up to CHF 60,000, travel inconvenience coverage for delays or baggage issues, and shopping insurance up to CHF 750. The cards also include SIXT Gold membership, discounts, and perks, installment payment options, 3-D Secure protection, contactless payments, global cash withdrawals, 24/7 customer service, and card replacement within 48 hours.

The annual fee is CHF 220, with a maximum monthly spending limit of CHF 30,000

Cornèrcard Miles & More Gold Combo Offer

The Cornèrcard Miles & More Gold Combo Offer is another attractive option for Swiss travelers. The combo combines a Cornèrcard Gold and a free Diners Club card, and offers up to one award mile per CHF 1 spent with the Diners Club card and one mile per CHF 2 spent with the Cornèrcard Gold. Additional annual spend bonuses are awarded at thresholds of CHF 10,000 (1,000 miles), CHF 20,000 (3,000 miles), and CHF 30,000 (5,000 miles).

The welcome bonus is 10,000 miles, and miles never expire if the card is used at least once per month for an eligible purchase after three months of membership.

Benefits include comprehensive travel, purchase, and legal protection insurance, access to over 1,500 airport lounges via Priority Pass at CHF 30 per visit (with five free visits after CHF 7,500 annual spend), and Hertz rental discounts of up to 15% in Switzerland and 10% abroad. Features include installment payment options, discounts and raffles, and 3-D Secure. Additional services, such as extended warranty and payment protection, can be activated through the iCornèr app.

The annual fee for the Cornèrcard Miles & More Gold Combo is CHF 220, with a maximum spending limit of CHF 90,000 per month.

Cornèrcard Miles & More Classic Combo Offer

Cornèrcard Miles & More Classic Combo Offer is the lower tier version of the Cornèrcard Miles & More Gold Combo Offer, comprising a Cornèrcard Classic and a free Diners Club card. The Diners Club card earns one mile per CHF 1 spent, while the Cornèrcard Classic card earns one mile per CHF 2 spent.

Annual spend bonuses are smaller than the Gold version, with 750 miles awarded for CHF 10,000 spent, 1,500 miles for CHF 20,000, and 2,500 miles for CHF 30,000. The welcome bonus is also smaller at 5,000 miles.

Like the Gold version, miles never expire with monthly card use after three months, and the card shares many of the same travel, purchase, and legal protections as the Gold tier and includes installment payment options.

The annual fee is CHF 140, with a maximum monthly spending limit of CHF 10,000.

American Express Platinum Card

In addition to partnerships with airlines such as SWISS, American Express also offers a standalone Platinum Card designed for frequent flyers in Switzerland.

The metal American Express Platinum Card offers Membership Rewards points on every purchase, which can be redeemed for products, services, or converted to airline miles with popular programs. These programs include SWISS Miles & More, British Airways Executive Club, Flying Blue, Etihad Guest, and SkyTeam partners.

Furthermore, the International Airline Program offers up to 20% discounts on flights with premium airlines including Emirates, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, SWISS, and Lufthansa Group carriers, in addition to preferential terms and conditions on Economy, Business and First Class bookings.

New cardholders receive 45,000 Membership Rewards points, a CHF 100 SWISS voucher, CHF 200 annual SIXT ride credit, up to CHF 160 dining credit at Gault et Millau restaurants, free access to over 1,400 airport lounges worldwide, comprehensive insurance coverage, and access to the Travel & Lifestyle Service.

The minimum annual income requirement for the American Express Platinum Card is CHF 120,000. The plan costs CHF 450 for the first year and CHF 900 thereafter.

Flying Blue World Mastercard

The Flying Blue World Mastercard, issued by Swiss payment card company Viseca, allows cardholders to earn up to 1.5 Flying Blue Miles (KLM, Air France, Kenya Airways) for every CHF 2 spent, with miles remaining valid as long as the card is used at least once a month.

Annual spend bonuses are awarded at CHF 30,000 (4,000 miles), CHF 60,000 (7,000 miles), and CHF 90,000 (9,000 miles) thresholds. In addition, loyalty bonuses of 2,000 miles are given each year upon card renewal.

The card includes comprehensive travel insurance covering trip cancellation, trip interruption, medical emergencies, transport accidents, search and rescue, luggage issues, and rental car excess waivers.

Trip cancellation and interruption are covered up to CHF 20,000 per event, medical travel assistance up to CHF 250,000 per medical event, return or repatriation costs up to CHF 250,000, luggage insurance up to CHF 5,000 per event, and rental car damage waiver up to CHF 10,000 per event. Shopping protections include extended warranty, purchase protection, price protection, and ticket insurance.

Additional features include cyber services, 24-hour assistance, global acceptance, contactless payments, installment payment options, and discounts with Hertz.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on images by user10860774 and kwangmoop via Freepik