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When planning our trip to California, I thought this would be a good topic.

Credit card rewards programs are all the rage these days. Consumers like them because they can savings, discounts, and rebates in areas where they frequently spend; banks and card companies like it because rewards programs can card use while reducing interchange fees; and retailers like it because they can create a more captive and loyal customer base. The popularity of rewards cards has spawned a wide range programs that can appeal to any interest. You can use a card that provides rebates at your favorite retailer, entertainment destination, or sporting event. Or you can simply take the more practical route and get a cash back rewards card. The options are truly limitless.

But one type of rewards program enjoys even more popularity than most others: airline rewards cards. If you have one such card, you can accumulate miles whenever you make a purchase. Furthermore, any trip you fly on that airline can earn you miles for the next flight you make. Since an airline trip is an expensive and infrequent proposition for the average person, consumers are quick to take advantage of this opportunity and are not hesitant to commit their loyalty to a single airline.

Airline rewards cards have been on my mind this week as I’ve worked to plan my family’s vacation to California. In the process, I’ve realized that we really should have an airline rewards card, as this would surely have decreased the cost of our flight. But I also realized that, although most rewards programs are pretty similar, some are far better than others when considering individual needs. Here are the questions I’ve asked myself while trying to determine which program is right for my family and me:

What Airports Can We Expect to Frequent?

Committing yourself to a travel rewards card means committing yourself to a particular airline. While most people don’t have strong preferences between airlines, each one has at least a slightly different repertoire of routes. Consider, then, where you live and where you plan to more frequently fly. What airlines have frequent flights out of your home airport? Which ones service your intended destinations? What is the frequency of such flights? These are all important questions to ask.

How Easily Can Miles Turn Into Tickets?

Accruing miles is not to difficult – or dissimilar – when comparing the practices of different airlines and different rewards programs. But even if there is a good deal of similarity in the way credit cards expenses are turned into miles, there is far more variation when it comes to the conversion of miles to actual tickets. Specifically, some airlines make it easy to buy a ticket with miles at any time of the year. Others, however, restrict mileage tickets to a certain number of days per month or a certain number of seats on a given flight. Make sure that you choose a program that doesn’t restrict your flexibility.

What Programs Are Compatible With Our Current Banking Accounts?

Enlisting for a program means getting a new credit card, and airlines make deals with banks so that a given bank can be the exclusive provider of their rewards plan. For consumers, this means that certain airlines are tied to certain banks, and vice versa. If you have a Chase Freedom card right now, for example, you may need to switch to a different bank altogether when enlisting in a travel rewards program. Consequently, people who don’t want to lose their current bank should restrict their search to airlines that have a deal with that company.

These are the main questions I have been considering as I embark upon my search for an airline rewards card. Such a card will surely provide my family with a few free flights in the future no matter which airline I ultimately choose, but for now it is important that I assess my family’s unique travel needs before making any decision.