If you’re a frequent flyer, you might want to consider applying for an airline credit card.

You can typically use the points or miles you earn with an airline credit card to book reward flights. This can be a great way to help pay for flights you take.

Many airline credit cards can also make your travel experience more comfortable with perks like free checked bags, priority boarding and discounts on in-flight food and drinks. And some premium airline credit cards go the extra mile by offering other valuable benefits like airport lounge access, companion tickets and complimentary first-class upgrades depending on availability.

But getting one of these cards might make you feel locked into traveling with one particular airline. If you prefer shopping around for the most affordable tickets or using your travel rewards for as many different expenses as you can find, you might be better off with another travel card that offers more flexible options.

Many airline credit cards also charge annual fees, but it’s possible to find ones that don’t. When weighing the cost of the annual fee, consider whether you’ll use enough of the card’s benefits or rewards to offset or exceed that dollar amount.

It can be difficult to get an airline credit card if you have bad credit. While there’s no guarantee you won’t qualify, we find that travel rewards cards typically have more strict application requirements than other kinds of personal credit cards.

If your credit needs work, we recommend starting with a secured credit card. These cards tend to be easier to qualify for because they require you to put down a security deposit, which serves as collateral in case you don’t repay the money you spend. Secured credit cards also give you a second chance to build credit by showing lenders you’re able to pay on time and maintain low balances.

There are also unsecured credit cards meant to help you build credit, if that seems like a better option for you.

If you’re shopping for an airline credit card on Credit Karma, you might want to look at your Credit Karma Approval Odds to get a better idea of whether you might qualify for a card. This feature can tell you whether you have an excellent, good, fair or poor chance of qualifying for different types of cards. These odds aren’t a 100% guarantee, but they provide some insight into how your application might end up.

Many airline rewards programs reward you with points or miles that you can use to book reward flights — but the value you get from those miles is likely to change every time you book a trip.

To figure out how much your points and miles are worth for any one redemption, all you have to do is divide the total price (in dollars) by the total number of miles you’d be charged for the same flight.

For example, if an airplane ticket costs $1,200 or 60,000 miles, your miles are worth 2 cents each.

You can also check out Credit Karma’s estimated point valuationsto get a better idea of how much your miles could be worth.

If you travel frequently on one airline, you might be interested in joining its frequent flyer program.

Most airlines let you join their frequent flyer programs for free. All you have to do is sign up on the airline’s website and provide basic information like your name, phone number, email and home address.

Generally, you’ll then be assigned a membership number. The next time you book a flight, the airline might ask you for that number as a way to track your flights and the benefits associated with your account. In some cases, you may be able to get credited for past flights that you took before signing up for the frequent flyer program.