Korean Air Skypass FAQ

So i've been doing some digging on a Credit Card with Skypass to earn a free ticket to Korea.  It took some time finding the information because some of the specifics are hidden and hard to find.  Here are some fats i was able to find and hopefully will help those of you looking into the same thing.

• You don't need a separate credit card that's affiliated to Korean Air Skypass program to earn miles (Such as US Bank's Signature Visa card).  You can get them at no cost by directly going to Korean Air's website and signing up.
•  There are obvious ups and downs to this.  If you only have a Skypass membership from KAL (Korean Air) then you can only accrue miles by purchasing airline tickets from KAL and their affiliate airlines/hotels.
• If you opt to get a credit card, such as Signature Visa, you will earn additional benefits - but at a cost of $80 annual membership fee.  Some of those highlights are:
• $100 off coupon for airline tickets each year
• 1 mile for every $1 spent
• 15,000 bonus miles added to account after first purchase
• 2,000 bonus miles added every year
• However, there are blackout dates
• Miles expire after 5 years (So if you can't earn 70,000 miles in 5 years - this is not a card for you)
• Even though you earn miles using your Visa credit card, mile redemption must be made from Koreanair.com's Skypass website.  It is your responsibility to make sure the miles listed matches what you've spent

•  So here was my big question.  How many miles must you accrue to earn a free round trip ticket from LAX to Seoul?  The answer is 70,000 miles.  Yes.. if you calculate that in 1 to 1 terms.. it's $70,000 you must spend before getting anything for free.  However there are some obvious facts to consider if you were getting a Signature Visa credit card and purchasing a ticket to Korea at full price:
• 15,000 bonus miles first year
• $100 off coupon
• 2 miles for every $1 for Korean Air ticket purchases (If the ticket fare is $1,000, that's 2,000 miles added)
• 12,000 miles from LAX to Seoul (credited directly to your Skypass account by Korean Air)

• After your first trip, you now have 29,000 miles on your Skypass account.  Yet, you would still need to spend another $31,000 or fly 2 more times to get a free ticket.
• If you plan on visiting Korea once a year - the $100 off coupon would cover the $80 annual fee - but keep in mind that the APR on these types of credit cards are high

In conclusion - is it better to have a Visa Signature Skypass Credit Card or just be a Skypass member?  It depends on how often you plan on flying Korean Air and it's affiliate airlines.   One thing i know for certain is that it's better to have a Skypass membership - since it's absolutely free.

Lastly there is a final option if you're considering getting a credit card. There are classic Visa cards that have no annual fee, but offer 1 mile for every $2 net purchases.