rewards cards that allow you to redeem points with multiple airlines

Many credit cards let you earn travel rewards. The ones I like best give you more flexibility in your choice of rewards. These cards allow you to accrue points then redeem them with multiple airlines, so you have more options when it comes time to cash in points or miles.

One of my favorite programs is American Express Membership Rewards with the Platinum Card. With Membership Rewards, you can pay for all or part of your tickets with points by booking through American Express Travel, so you can fly with almost any airline.

You can also pay with points when booking hotels, vacation packages and cruises.

You also have the option of transferring your points into your frequent-flier program with some airlines.

I have an American Express Platinum Card, and while the annual fee of $450 is not cheap, the benefits are worth it for me. You can get entrance into the airport clubs of American, Delta and US Airways, plus membership in Priority Pass, which offers entrance to more than 600 lounges worldwide.

The airport club memberships cost between $450 and $500 per club, so this benefit has a value of close to $1,500 for the three airline clubs.

You’ll also get a $200 annual credit for airline fees. You can also get a buy-one, get-one-free in business class on some international routes. Those fares are a big chunk of change, but can be well worth it for a business traveler who purchases business-class fares.

If you have a secondary card for a spouse, the spouse can also get free entrance into the American, Delta and US Airways airport clubs. The secondary card costs $175 per year, but membership for these three clubs would cost close to $2,500 for both of you.

American Express also offers other cards like the Green Card, which has a cheaper annual fee of $95 that is waived for the first year.

You still earn one point per dollar spent on most purchases, but you do not get all of the perks that come with the Platinum card. The two American Express cards mentioned above are charge cards, not credit cards, so they must be paid in full each month.

American Express was the pioneer on points that can be used with multiple airlines. Now other cards have come along with similar structures. Capital One, Chase Sapphire and BankAmericard Travel Rewards have lower annual fees and fewer perks. One nice thing about these four cards is that they don’t charge foreign transaction fees.

If you’ve got good credit, you can get the Capital One Venture Rewards card, which gives you two miles per dollar spent.

You can redeem miles for travel on any airline, miles don’t expire and you don’t have to worry about blackout dates. The annual fee is $59 and is waived for the first year. Visit capitalone.com.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card offers a very nice sign-up bonus of 40,000 points when you spend at least $3,000 in the first three months. This is worth about $500 in airfare. You earn two points per dollar spent on travel and dining and one point on other purchases. You’ll save 20 percent off travel when you redeem points for airfare, hotel, car rentals and cruises with the Chase Ultimate Rewards program.

You’ll also receive a 7 percent dividend at the end of the year. The annual fee is $95 and is waived for the first year. Visit creditcards.chase.com/sapphire.

BankAmericard Travel Rewards offers 1.5 points per dollar spent on everything, and it has no annual fee. You’ll earn a bonus of 10,000 points if you spend at least $500 in the first 90 days.

You can book travel however you choose, then visit the Travel Rewards website to redeem points for a statement credit on your account. You can even pay for your baggage fees. Visit bankofamerica.com/travelrewards.

What I like about these programs is that it can be much easier to get award travel. If you’ve ever tried to book a frequent-flier seat, it can be difficult to find seats for 25,000 points or miles and it could cost you 50,000 points or miles for a coach-class ticket.

With the programs above, you don’t have blackout dates, and if the airfare is available for $250, it won’t cost me more than 25,000 points.