Earn 5X points on Chase Travel? purchases, 3X points on dining, online grocery purchases, and select streaming services, and 1X points on other purchases.
The best travel cards let users earn points or miles for each dollar they spend, yet each offers different benefits. With that in mind, it’s crucial to pick a credit card that earns the type of rewards you really want with a selection of perks you can actually use.
Before you start planning your next trip, it’s smart to pick up a credit card that rewards you for all your travel and non-travel purchases so you can begin racking up points or miles for your next expedition. Read on to learn which travel rewards credit cards we recommend and how they could work in your favor.
Earn 5X points on Chase Travel? purchases, 3X points on dining, online grocery purchases, and select streaming services, and 1X points on other purchases.
Earn 5X miles per dollar on hotel stays, vacation rentals or rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 2X miles on all other purchases.
More Card Info
The massive sign-up offer and generous, flexible rewards make this card a great option for casual travelers.
Enjoy 6.5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel?, 4.5% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services, and 3% on all other purchases (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year). After your first year or $20,000 spent, enjoy 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel?, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.
Earn 4X Membership Rewards? points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X. Earn 4 points per dollar at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1 point per dollar), 3 points per dollar on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com, and 1 point per dollar on other eligible purchases
More Card Info
If you like to dine out frequently, the $200+ worth of dining-related annual statement credits can easily help justify the yearly fee.
Earn 5X Membership Rewards? points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel (on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year), 5X points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel, and 1X points on other eligible purchases.
More Card Info
This is quite a spectacular card with incredibly valuable benefits, but the annual fee is objectively very high.
Earn 10X points on hotels and car rentals booked through Chase Travel? immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually, 10X points on Chase Dining purchases, 5X points on flights booked through Chase Travel, 3X points on non-Chase travel and dining, and 1X points on all non-bonus spending.
Earn 5 Membership Rewards? points per dollar on flights and prepaid hotels through American Express Travel and 1 point per dollar on other eligible purchases. Earn 1.5 points per dollar on eligible business expenses and purchases of $5,000+ (up to $2 million per calendar year). Purchases eligible for multiple additional point bonuses will only receive the highest eligible bonus.
More Card Info
The annual fee certainly has a shock factor but for the premium business traveler, this card’s luxury perks could make it well worth it.
Earn 10X miles on hotel and rental car purchases made through Capital One Travel, 5X miles on airfare and vacation rentals purchased through the portal, and 2X miles per dollar spent on all other purchases.
More Card Info
With a lower annual fee than some premium cards and extremely valuable benefits, this card can easily be worth the annual fee for the frequent traveler.
Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases in select categories each anniversary year, and earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases.
A travel credit card is a specific reward credit card that lets you earn points, miles, or other travel rewards on eligible purchases.
Many of these cards also have specific perks like elite status with airline or hotel loyalty programs, annual travel credits, tier-qualifying bonus miles, airport security benefits, airport lounge membership, and more.
Travel reward cards tend to fall into two categories: general and co-branded.
These give more flexible rewards. They let you redeem points or miles toward flights, hotel bookings, rental cars, and even cash back. This freedom allows you to book with different airlines or hotels if you aren’t loyal to a particular chain.
These let you earn points or miles that can be redeemed towards brand-specific rewards. If you’re loyal to a specific airline or hotel chain, they can reward you well for staying with them.
There are quite a few types, and they all work differently. Before you choose one for your wallet, understand the different options and how credit cards work.
Flexible travel rewards credit cards typically let users redeem their rewards in several ways. For example, you may be able to use your points directly for travel bookings through a portal or for fixed-value travel statement credits. However, many cards let users transfer their points to select airline and hotel partners.
Transferable rewards include Capital One Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards?, and American Express Membership Rewards.
Some credit cards let you earn rewards as points, miles, or cash back. These cards often have a fixed value when redeemed, but some may have different values based on redemption type. For example, you may be able to redeem 1 point for 1.5 cents if you use it towards travel but may only be able to redeem 1 point for 1 cent when turned into cash back.
Airline-branded cards let users earn airline miles with a specific frequent flyer program, like Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines. In some cases, users also get airline perks just for being a cardholder, such as:
Hotel-branded cards offer hotel-specific benefits such as elite hotel status or annual hotel credits you can use. When you use a hotel co-branded credit card for spending, you’ll earn hotel loyalty points and may qualify for some pretty neat perks like:
Business travel cards can be helpful for people who tend to travel for work and want to keep their personal and business expenses on separate accounts. These tend to be similar to their consumer card counterparts but may have different earning categories, annual fees, and travel perks.
When you earn travel rewards with a credit card, how they work depends on the type of points or miles you’ve accrued. Either way, you’ll likely get the most “bang for your buck” by redeeming your earnings for travel.
Airline miles can be used to book free flights or upgrades to a premium cabin, whereas hotel points can be used for free hotel stays, vacation packages, or room upgrades. Instead of buying trips through comparison sites, some cards reward you with extra points when you buy flights through their travel portals which you can redeem later for other trips.
With flexible points, you get more options than miles-based cards. These cards may allow you to redeem your rewards for travel through a portal, transfers to airline and hotel partners, merchandise, gift cards, and more.
Although the value of travel points varies based on the specific card and the value of transfer partners, these are the average estimated values of travel points with top rewards programs:
Rewards program | Approximate value | Estimated value of 20k points/miles |
---|---|---|
American Express Membership Rewards | 1.1 cents/point | $220 |
Capital One Rewards | 1.0 cents/point | $200 |
Chase Ultimate Rewards | 1.4 cents/point | $280 |
Citi ThankYou Points | 1.2 cents/point | $240 |
The top issuers?have their own cardholder-exclusive “travel portals” for members to redeem points. Some even incentivize this process by offering extra points, bonus miles, or perks if you book travel directly through their portal.
For booking flights, this is often a great option as it allows you to rack up extra points or miles. For hotel bookings, unless you have a hotel-branded card, it can be a bit riskier as they often don’t allow you to use elite-status benefits or credits through the portal.
Although the incentive to earn extra points by booking through a portal can be very enticing, check on other booking sites to see if you’re getting the best deal. Some cards give extra points for booking directly with airlines rather than exclusively through a portal, allowing flexibility in finding deals.
Travel reward cards can provide benefits that other rewards cards may not. Avid travelers can likely take advantage of many of these perks.
Note that benefits vary based on the card, but these are a few of the perks you may get:
A travel card can benefit anyone who travels even semi-frequently, with some low or no-annual-fee cards still offering elevated rewards on travel purchases.
If you fall into one or more of the three categories below and don’t already have a travel credit card, you should consider applying for one soon.
If you travel frequently for your business, it can get expensive quickly. A business travel card can help you recoup some of those expenses, keep your business and personal expenses separate, and sometimes give you extra perks like airport lounge access to help make your travels more enjoyable.
If you go on trips frequently, a travel credit card can provide perks like TSA PreCheck, airport lounge access, no foreign transaction fees, and upgraded rewards-earning rates on travel purchases.
If you value luxury benefits like exclusive airport lounge access, travel insurance, rental car insurance, high-value statement credits, and hotel room upgrades, a travel credit card can be tremendously useful.
Before you choose a credit card, you’ll want to consider some factors to help you compare your options.
Foreign transaction fees and international acceptance: Opt for a no-foreign-fee card if you often travel abroad or plan to. Additionally, some cards aren’t as widely accepted overseas, like Discover and American Express cards.
If you frequently travel internationally, you may want to consider a Chase or Capital One card since they are Visa or Mastercard branded, both widely accepted outside the U.S.
Most premium, top-of-the-line cards also come with pricey annual fees. To maximize your rewards, here are a few tips:
Travel reward credit cards are often worth it even if you don’t take trips very often. Depending on how much value you can get out of a card, the annual fee of a premium card may or may not be worth it, so consider your spending habits before choosing a card.
Luckily for the average spender, some cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred? Card and Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card only charge a $95 annual fee while still offering valuable benefits, making them ideal beginner travel cards.
? ? ? ? ?
For rates and fees of the American Express? Gold Card, please visit this page.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card? from American Express, please visit this page.
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card? from American Express, please visit this page.
Travel credit cards are typically worth the annual fee for people who travel often and can take advantage of travel credits and other perks. To decide if an annual fee is worth paying, spend the time it takes to add up the value of each of the cardholder benefits you’ll receive.
The number of miles you’ll need for a free flight varies depending on the frequent flyer program you’re using. As an example, free flights with the American AAdvantage program start at 7,500 miles.
Travel credit cards often offer bonus miles on travel purchases and other types of spending. However, you’ll always earn a base rate of points or miles on all other purchases.
The best travel card varies based on your specific traveling habits, but our top pick is the Chase Sapphire Preferred? Card, with its flexible rewards and generous benefits for a low annual fee.
The best card for earning miles is dependent on what airline you choose to fly with, but for general miles-earning, we recommend the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.
Many credit cards are good for traveling internationally. The main things to look for are that the card has no foreign transaction fees and high acceptance ratings where you’re going. We recommend considering the Chase Sapphire Preferred? Card or the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card for international travel.
* Opinions expressed here are those of the LA Times Compare Cards Team and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser or entities included within this content. See our editorial policy for more details.
All products or services are presented in this content without warranty. The information, including card details such as rates and fees, is accurate at the time of publish. Please visit each bank's website directly for the most current information.