Korean Air SKYPASS Visa Classic Credit Card Review

Who Is the SKYPASS Visa Classic Card Good For?

If you fly on Korean Air and use its loyalty program, SKYPASS, you’ll probably want one of the five co-branded credit cards offered to residents of the United States. And if you want to minimize your annual fee, but don’t want bare-bones benefits, the SKYPASS Visa Classic card is probably the right option for you.

These are the five Korean Air cards:

• SKYPASS Visa Signature card: $80 annual fee
• SKYPASS Classic card: $50 annual fee
• SkyBlue SKYPASS card: No annual fee
  
• SKYPASS Secured card: $50 annual fee
• SKYPASS Visa Signature Business card: $75 annual fee

The Classic card is one step below the Visa Signature card. It has a lower annual fee, and correspondingly fewer benefits. In general, it offers more than the SkyBlue, but less than the Visa Signature. For instance, the Classic card has a better earning scheme than the SkyBlue, as well as an annual bonus.

Korean Air also has a U.S.-based mile transfer partner, Chase Ultimate Rewards, so you can speed up your accrual of SKYPASS miles if you need to.

Sign-Up Bonus:

You’ll get 5,000 miles after your first purchase. The card also has a 1,000-mile anniversary bonus.

Miles Earned:

• 1 mile per dollar spent

What Do Your Miles Get You?

Korean Air flies to 129 cities in 46 countries and is a founding member of the SkyTeam. In addition to the 20 SkyTeam partners, Korean Air is also partners with Alaska Airlines, Emirates, Etihad, GOL, Hawaiian Airlines and Jet Airways.

Usage Perks:

• Annual miles bonus
• One stopover and one open jaw allowed per roundtrip
• One-way awards available on Korean Air
• Miles don’t expire for 10 years

Usage Quirks:

• Low sign-up bonus
• High cancellation and change fee of 10,000 miles
• Fuel surcharges on most award flights
• No one-way redemptions on partner airlines

How Far Do Your Miles Go?

Korean Air has many good redemption options. Here are some of the best deals:

• From 10,000 miles per domestic roundtrip in Korea
• 25,000 miles in economy and 45,000 in business between the U.S. and Hawaii or Mexico
• 50,000 miles in economy and 80,000 in business between the U.S. and Europe
• 60,000 miles in economy and 90,000 in business between the U.S. and Tahiti
• 50,000 miles in economy between the U.S. and South America

Additional Cardholder Benefits:

• Free FICO score
• Zero liability
• $250,000 in travel accident insurance
• Online purchase security
• EMV chip technology
• Auto rental collision damage waiver
• Warranty manager service