Allegiant World Mastercard Review

Full Review of Allegiant World Mastercard

Pros Explained

• Buy One, Get One Airfare with Qualifying Vacation Package Purchase: The primary cardholder can earn one round-trip companion airfare per purchased itinerary on Allegiant when they book a flight and a minimum four-night hotel stay or minimum seven-day rental car through myAllegiant Member Services. The cardholder must use their Allegiant World Mastercard and be a passenger on the itinerary, and both their airfare and their companion’s must be booked at the same time. Point redemptions are not valid for the buy one, get one free airfare.
• Bonus Points on Allegiant Purchases: You can earn 3 points per dollar spent on Allegiant purchases. This includes more than airfare. Hotel, car rental, and attraction purchases made through Allegiant also qualify. 
• One Free Drink on Allegiant Flights: Whenever you fly on Allegiant, show your Allegiant credit card to the flight attendant when ordering your first beverage and it will be free. Other credit cards tend to offer in-flight discounts on drinks and food, so this is a rare perk.
• Priority Boarding: Show your Allegiant credit card to the gate agent for complimentary priority boarding on Allegiant flights.

Cons Explained

• Annual Fee: This card comes with a $59 annual fee that is not waived in the first year. Unless you’re a frequent Allegiant customer or can take advantage of the buy one, get one airfare, the other benefits this card offers may not justify the annual fee.
• Few Redemption Options: Many rewards programs allow you to redeem your points in multiple ways even if they don’t all offer outstanding value. The myAllegiant Rewards program only lets you use your points to book airfare, hotels, rental cars, and attractions through Allegiant.com. You have no other redemption options and are restricted from booking hotel-only travel with your points.
• Poor Rewards Earning Rates on Non-Allegiant Purchases: Earning 3 points per dollar on Allegiant purchases is a nice benefit, but the other rewards earning categories are poor. You earn 2 points per dollar on dining purchases, which can easily be matched or exceeded by other rewards credit cards with no annual fee. There are no other bonus categories, so all other purchases earn just 1 point per dollar.

The Allegiant World Mastercard is for frequent Allegiant fliers who can take advantage of its benefits. The card doesn’t offer the best points earning opportunities, as both the bonus and points earning rates on purchases (except Allegiant purchases) are lower than similar rewards credit cards. 

You can use the points you earn only to book awards through Allegiant, so you need to fly Allegiant enough to at least redeem them all. The buy one, get one airfare with a vacation package purchase, priority boarding, and free beverage on Allegiant flights may justify the $59 annual fee for some travelers. 

Allegiant World Mastercard Bonus

This card currently offers 15,000 bonus points after you make $1,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account. The 15,000 points are worth $150 off your next Allegiant purchase, according to Allegiant. This is a relatively poor bonus for a card with an annual fee. Cards without annual fees currently offer higher bonuses, and with lower or similar spending requirements.

You are limited to 1 bonus offer per new account, and your account must be open with active charging privileges to receive the offer. Points may take up to six weeks after the close of your card's billing cycle to be credited to your account.

Rewards Earning Details

This card has three different points earning rates, depending on your purchases. You’ll earn 3 points per dollar spent on Allegiant purchases. This includes air, hotel, car rental, and attraction purchases made through Allegiant. You’ll also earn 2 points per dollar spent on dining and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.

There aren't any limits to the points you can earn, and your points don't expire. However, your points will be forfeited if your Allegiant World Mastercard account is closed for any reason. 

Rewards Redemption Details

You can redeem your points for flights, hotels, car rentals, and attractions when booking through Allegiant.There are no blackout dates, but you can’t use points for hotel-only bookings. You can use your points for up to the full purchase price, including taxes and fees. Points are valued at 1 cent each, based on Allegiant’s valuations.

Essentially, there are no minimum reward redemption requirements, as redemptions start at as little as 1 point. If you have enough points to cover the full itinerary, you won’t have an option to pay for it with a combination of cash and points. Instead, you must redeem points for the full cost of the award. If you have less than the number of points required for an award redemption, you must redeem your full point balance toward the award.

How to Maximize Your Rewards

You can maximize your earnings by putting as many purchases as possible on this card. However, a simple 2% cash-back card with no annual fee would provide the same or greater value for all your of spending other than Allegiant purchases and dining.

When it’s time to redeem your rewards, you can maximize their value by looking for the best deals on the itineraries you book through Allegiant. 

Allegiant World Mastercard's Outstanding Benefits

• Buy one, get one airfare with the purchase of a vacation package
• Priority boarding
• Trip cancellation, interruption, and delay coverage

Standard Benefits

• Auto rental collision damage waiver
• Extended warranty
• Price protection

Cardholder Experience

Bank of America issues the Allegiant World Mastercard. It scored 798 out of 1,000 in J.D. Power’s 2019 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study. That was slightly below the national issuer average of 806. 

To reach Bank of America's customer service team anytime, you can call the number on the back of your card or 800-732-9194. You can also monitor your account online or by using the Bank of America mobile app. 

The card also provides a free monthly FICO score from TransUnion, which you can use to monitor your credit.

Security Features

This card offers chip and PIN functionality when necessary. That can provide enhanced security and is useful when traveling overseas, where some terminals, kiosks and vending machines only accept cards with that technology. Otherwise, this card's security features are standard for the industry.

Fees to Watch Out For

The Allegiant World Mastercard has a $59 annual fee that, unlike some other credit cards, is not waived for the first year. It also comes with a variable penalty APR of up to 29.99% that may apply indefinitely to new purchases if you make a late payment. It does not charge any foreign transaction fees.

If you plan to take advantage of the introductory 0% APR on balance transfers for the first 12 statement closing dates, be aware that it only applies to transfers made in the first 60 days of opening your account and that there is a balance transfer fee of $10 or 3% of the amount of each transaction, whichever is greater. Some other cards charge no balance transfer fees for the first 60 days after an account is opened.

Our Verdict

Unless you frequently fly Allegiant airlines, this credit card likely won’t be a good fit for you. The points earning rates aren’t especially generous, and you can only use your points for Allegiant purchases. Plus there's that $59 annual fee.

If you do fly Allegiant regularly, the perks this card offers may more than justify the annual fee. The bonus of 15,000 points for spending $1,000 or more in the first 90 days is worth $150, and the buy one, get one airfare when you purchase a qualifying vacation package can result in decent savings. Add in priority boarding and a free beverage, and frequent Allegiant fliers could find enough value in the benefits to justify applying for this card.