Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Review) makes a great first travel card.

It’s popular as an inexpensive and flexible way to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points, which can be transferred to a variety of travel loyalty programs. It has an excellent signup bonus which could be worth enough for a few trips, and it’s also known for being made out of metal.

To really maximize your point value you’ll need to transfer to a partner airline or hotel. That could give you upwards of 2 cents per point, which comes to a cash back equivalent of 4% on travel and dining.

With travel cards like these it generally pays to hold your points until you can redeem them at a good rate; otherwise you should just pay with your card as normal to earn more points.

• Point transfer: Transfer points at a 1:1 rate to leading airline and hotel frequent travel programs, like Marriott Bonvoy or United MileagePlus.
• 20,000-point referral bonus: Get 20,000 points for every friend you refer who applies for the card and is approved, up to 100,000 bonus points per year.
• $60 Peloton credit: Enroll to get up to $60 back for an eligible Peloton Digital or All-Access Membership (through 2021). No fitness equipment is required.
• DoorDash membership: A free membership (DashPass) for at least a year, which provides free delivery and reduced service fees on orders over $12
• Luxury Hotel Collection: Book eligible rooms to get perks like daily breakfast for two, complimentary WiFi, room upgrades, early check-in, late check-out, and unique gifts.
• Shop through Chase/Chase Offers: Earn more points by shopping at participating retailers with the Shop through Chase and Chase Offers marketplaces.
• Visa Signature Concierge: Call to speak with your Visa Signature Concierge, any time, day or night.
• Premium Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver: Get primary coverage on eligible rental vehicles so your premiums won’t go up after an accident.
• No foreign transaction fee
• Annual fee: $95

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Review) is the better (and more expensive) cousin of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Review).

It earns points at higher multiples for dining and travel, has a better redemption bonus, and comes with a variety of perks and services that can help you save money and access interesting experiences.

You’ll get a 50% point bonus when redeeming for travel expenses through the Ultimate Rewards portal, which would make your points worth 1.5 cents each. That’d give you a cash back equivalent of 4.5% on travel and dining purchases, which isn’t too bad.

But the best way to use Ultimate Rewards points is to transfer them to a partner airline or hotel loyalty program. That could give you 2 cents per point or potentially quite a bit more, depending on how you use them.

At 2 cents per point you’d be earning a cash back equivalent of 6% on travel and dining, which is pretty competitive with the best credit cards.

• $300 annual travel credit: You’ll get a $300 travel credit every year that will be automatically applied to any travel-related expenses you charge to your card.
• Priority Pass Select membership: Cardholders get complimentary Priority Pass Select membership, which provides access to over 1,000 airport lounges and restaurants worldwide. You must manually activate this benefit, and you’ll receive a Priority Pass Select member card in the mail.
• Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee credit: Every four years you’ll get up to a $100 credit towards the application fee for either Global Entry ($100) or TSA PreCheck ($85).
• Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection: The Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection provides some complimentary services and benefits at participating hotels and resorts.
• Elite hotel benefits at Relais & Châteaux: Cardholders get accelerated progress towards Club 5C member status with Relais & Châteaux luxury hotel and resort properties; just stay two nights at qualifying properties in a 12-month period. Club 5C status provides benefits like a VIP welcome, room upgrades, access to a unique experience at each property, and invitations to exclusive events. You must book using the Visa Infinite Concierge.
• $120 Peloton credit: Enroll to get up to $120 back for an eligible Peloton Digital or All-Access Membership (through 2021). No fitness equipment is required.
• Visa Infinite Concierge: Call 1-877-660-0905 for non-emergency help of all kinds, like making dinner reservations or finding good tickets to a show. You can also ask for travel recommendations, for flights, tourist attractions, the best shopping spots, restaurants, night clubs, etc. This benefit is probably most useful when visiting a new city.
• Special car rental privileges: You can access your special car rental privileges by logging in to Chase Ultimate Rewards and following the instructions to enroll. You’ll get perks at Avis, Silvercar, and National Car Rental like rental upgrades, discounts, and occasional promotional offers.
• Lyft Pink membership: One-year exclusive saving opportunities with Lyft Pink membership, providing 15% off rides, relaxed cancellation fees, priority dispatch at airports, and more
• DoorDash membership, $60 annual DoorDash credit: Chase will pay for a DoorDash subscription for two years (a DashPass). You’ll also get $60 in DoorDash credits in 2020, and $60 in 2021 (learn more about Chase DoorDash benefits).
• Shopping protections: Purchase Protection; Extended Warranty Protection; Return Protection
• Travel protections: Primary Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver; Roadside Assistance; Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance; Baggage Delay Insurance; Travel Accident Insurance; Trip Delay Reimbursement; Lost Luggage Reimbursement; Travel and Emergency Assistance; Emergency Evacuation & Transportation
• No foreign transaction fee
• Annual fee: $550

The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card (Review) is an excellent no-fee choice for general travel expenses, although hotels are its strong suit.

The Venture miles you earn with this card are typically worth 1 cent each, but Capital One recently introduced the ability to transfer your miles to a variety of airline partners.

Transfers could provide 2 cents per mile or more, which would give you a cash back equivalent of 2.5% for everything you buy.

Although this card’s base rewards are fairly small, it has valuable airline and hotel-related features that some travelers could find very useful.

• Mile transfer: Transfer miles to a variety of airline and hotel partners, at varying rates.
• Dining, sports, and music event access: Get access to exclusive culinary experiences, sports discounts and VIP packages, and concert tickets/perks.
• Capital One CreditWise: See your VantageScore 3.0 credit score, based on your TransUnion credit report, along with some information from that report.
• Shopping and travel protections (Visa Signature only): Auto Rental Insurance, Travel & Emergency Assistance, Warranty Manager Service, Travel Accident Insurance
• Purchase APR: 0% for 15 months, then 14.99% - 24.99% Variable
• No foreign transaction fee
• Annual fee: $0

When it comes to lounge access, there’s really no beating The Platinum Card® from American Express (Review) and its Global Lounge Collection.

There are quite a few cards offering the popular Priority Pass Select membership, but the Platinum card grants access to that along with a host of other lounge brands, including Delta Sky Clubs and Amex’s own exclusive Centurion lounges (enrollment required for lounge access).

It’s worth noting that the Platinum card’s Priority Pass Select membership excludes non-lounge experiences, though they’re still offered through competing premium cards, like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Review).

The business version of this card provides the same excellent lounge access, though some other card features are different: The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (Review).

Premium credit cards aren’t your only options for lounge access; check out the full marketplace of credit cards that provide airport lounge access.

Normal redemptions for flights will yield 1 cent per point, which is a poor way to use your rewards. It would be better to save up for point transfers, which could provide upwards of 2 cents per point.

At 2 cents per point you’d earn a cash back equivalent of 10% in the 5X categories. But those bonus categories are a bit limited compared to what you’ll get from some other premium travel cards, like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Review) or Citi Prestige® Card (Review).

• Global Lounge Collection: Enroll for complimentary access to Priority Pass, Centurion, American Express International, Delta Sky Club, Escape, Airspace, Lufthansa, and Plaza Premium Lounges.
• Up to $200 in annual Uber Cash: Add your Platinum card to the Uber App to get up to $15 in Uber Cash per month, plus a bonus $20 in December; U.S. Eats orders and rides only.
• $200 hotel credit: Get up to $200 in statement credits each year for prepaid hotels booked through The Hotel Collection and Fine Hotels & Resorts; must pay with the Platinum card.
• $300 Equinox credit: Pay with your Platinum card to get up to $300 in statement credits annually with Equinox (up to $25 per month), for Equinox All Access, Destination, E by Equinox, or Equinox+ membership fees.
• $240 digital entertainment credit: Pay with your Platinum card to get up to $240 in statement credits annually for digital entertainment (up to $20 per month), only for eligible purchases from Peacock, Audible, SiriusXM, and The New York Times.
• CLEAR credit: Up to $179 in statement credits annually for CLEAR biometric security, enough for a membership.
• Uber Eats Pass: Get unlimited $0 delivery fees and 5% off orders at eligible restaurants for 12 months; must enroll by 12/31/21. Taxes and service fees may apply and do not count toward the order minimum. Eats Pass will start auto-billing 12 months from enrollment, at then-current monthly rate. Learn more.
• Uber VIP status: Add your Platinum card to the Uber App to get Uber VIP status where available.
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit: A statement credit for the application fee of either Global Entry ($100 every four years) or TSA PreCheck ($85 once every four and a half years)
• Complimentary elite hotel statuses: Hilton Honors Gold status and Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status
• The Hotel Collection: A $100 hotel credit and room upgrades when available for every eligible two-night stay
• Fine Hotels & Resorts Program: Daily breakfast for two, room upgrades when available, amenities valued at $100, and more at eligible properties
• $100 annual Saks credit: Up to $100 in statement credits each year for Saks Fifth Avenue: $50 from January through June, and $50 from July through December
• Global Dining Access by Resy: Resy provides access to exclusive reservations and dining experiences.
• Point transfer: To a selection of airline and hotel loyalty programs
• Shopping and travel protections: Purchase Protection; Extended Warranty; Return Protection; Baggage Insurance Plan; Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance; Trip Delay Insurance; Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance
• No foreign transaction fee
  
• Annual fee: $695

Enrollment required for select benefits; terms and limitations apply.

The Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees)

Frequent travelers have had a long-lasting love affair with the Citi Prestige® Card (Review).

This card offer is unique for giving your fourth night free on hotel stays, a valuable perk that could help you save hundreds or even thousands of dollars per year, if you stay at high-end properties.

The Prestige used to be a powerhouse because you could use that benefit as often as you wanted, but now it’s capped at two uses per year.

This new limitation is a bit of a downer, but most people hopefully won’t mind too much as Citi stated that the average cardholder didn’t use that perk more than twice per year anyway.

ThankYou points are only worth 1 cent each when redeeming for past travel expenses, and so, like with many travel cards, the best way to use your rewards is a point transfer.

Citi has a variety of airline travel partners, but unfortunately there are no hotel partners. You’ll find some popular and some less-popular airlines, and point values could reach 2 cents per point or higher.

At 2 cents per point, you’d be earning a cash back equivalent of 10% in the 5X categories, and 6% in the 3X categories. That’s as good or better than what you’ll get from other top travel cards, like The Platinum Card® from American Express (Review) and Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Review).

• Point transfer: To a variety of frequent flyer programs, including Etihad Guest, JetBlue TrueBlue, and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
• Annual $250 travel credit: Good for airline tickets, hotel rooms, car rentals, and other travel expenses
• Complimentary 4^th Night Stay: Get your fourth night free when booking four nights in a row through ThankYou.com and paying with your card, ThankYou points, or a combination of both; capped at twice per year.
• Priority Pass Select membership: Access to a vast array of Priority Pass airport lounges and restaurants around the world
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit: A credit for the application fee of either Global Entry ($100) or TSA PreCheck ($85), once every five years
• Citi Prestige Concierge: Call for non-emergency help any time you need it.
• World Elite Car Rental Program: Elite memberships at Avis, Silvercar, and National
• No foreign transaction fee
• Annual fee: $495

• Global Lounge Collection: Complimentary access to Priority Pass, Centurion, American Express International, Delta Sky Club, Escape, Airspace, Lufthansa, and Plaza Premium Lounges
• Up to $200 in airline fee statement credits annually: Good for incidental costs like checked bags and inflight food, not tickets, at your selected airline
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit: A statement credit for the application fee of either Global Entry ($100 once every four years) or TSA PreCheck ($85 once every four-and-a-half years)
• Complimentary elite hotel statuses: Hilton Honors Gold status and Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status
• $400 Dell statement credit: Enroll to get up to $400 in annual statement credits for U.S. purchases with Dell: $200 from January through June, and $200 from July through December.
• $360 in annual statement credits for Indeed: Up to $90 in statement credits per quarter for all Indeed hiring and recruiting products and services
• Up to $150 in annual statement credits for Adobe: Annual credits for select Adobe products, including Adobe Creative Cloud and Acrobat Pro DC
• Up to $120 in annual statement credits for wireless services: Up to $10 per month, good for purchases of monthly wireless services made directly from U.S. wireless telephone providers
• The Hotel Collection: A $100 hotel credit and room upgrades when available for every eligible two-night stay
• Fine Hotels & Resorts Program: Daily breakfast for two, room upgrades when available, amenities valued at $100, and more at eligible properties
• Point transfer: To a selection of airline and hotel partners
• No foreign transaction fee
• Annual fee: $595 ($695 if application is received on or after 1/13/2022)

Enrollment required for select benefits; terms and limitations apply.

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees)

You can get a lot out of the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card if you’ll stay at Hilton properties several times per year. You’ll earn lots of points, and there are a variety of hotel credits and perks to make your stays less expensive and more enjoyable.

As you can see, there’s no shortage of points with this card. But Hilton points aren’t usually valued as highly as points with other hotel reward programs.

At a value of 0.4–1 cent per point, you’ll be earning a cash back equivalent of 13.6%–34% at Hilton properties, and 2.8%–7% in the three 7X categories.

See the best hotel credit cards here for more great options for different hotel brands.

• Hilton Honors Diamond status: Includes a 100% bonus on Base points earned, room upgrades to suites when available, executive lounge access, a 48-hour room guarantee, and more
• Annual free Weekend Night Award: One free night every year, and earn another free weekend night by spending $60,000 in a calendar year
• Annual $250 Hilton resort statement credit: Get up to $250 in Hilton Resort Credits on your Card each anniversary year, when you stay at participating resorts within the Hilton portfolio
• Annual $250 airline fee statement credit: For incidental fees only
• $100 Hilton on-property credit: Good for every eligible stay of two nights or more at Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts and Conrad Hotels & Resorts, valid for incidental fees only
• Priority Pass Select membership: Complimentary access to Priority Pass airport lounges (excludes non-lounge experiences)
• American Express Concierge: Call for help with select services, like buying event tickets, making dining and other reservations, and finding hard-to-find items.
• Shopping and travel protections: Purchase Protection; Extended Warranty; Return Protection; Baggage Insurance Plan; Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance; Trip Delay Insurance; Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance
• No foreign transaction fee
• Annual fee: $450

Enrollment required for select benefits; terms and limitations apply.

Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card (Rates & Fees)

The United Club℠ Infinite Card (Review) is the premier card for flying United, with perks like access to the United Club lounge, free first and second checked bags, and priority treatment at the airport.

See the best airline credit cards for more airline cards for different travel brands, or learn more about the other co-branded cards available from United.

• United Club membership: Complimentary membership to the United Club airport lounge, with free access for you and two guests
• Premier Access airport travel services: Includes priority check-in and security screening, and boarding/baggage handling privileges
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck fee credit: Get a $100 credit for the application fee of Global Entry, or $85 for TSA PreCheck, once every four years.
• Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection: Hotel perks like daily breakfast for two, complimentary WiFi, and room upgrades when available
• World of Hyatt Discoverist status: A 10% point bonus, room upgrades, and other benefits at Hyatt properties
• Hertz Gold Plus Rewards President’s Circle Elite Status: Get a 25% point bonus, upgrades, and exclusive offers at Hertz.
• Complimentary Premier Upgrades on United award flights: MileagePlus Premier members can get award ticket upgrades when available.
• Free first and second checked bags: For you and one traveling companion on United flights
• No foreign transaction fee
• Annual fee: $525

If you’ll be traveling outside the U.S., you’ll probably want a credit card or two with chip-and-PIN capability.

Most cards in the U.S. are only chip-and-Signature, and, although many checkout terminals in foreign countries accept both signature and PIN cards, some terminals only accept PIN cards (like some automated kiosks in Europe and other regions). So if you’re looking for the best credit cards for international travel it’s useful to have some chip-and-PIN cards in the mix.

A few U.S. credit card issuers offer chip-and-PIN cards (see a full list here), and out of those options it’d be tough to beat the Citi Prestige® Card (Review). Although this premium credit card is known for its fourth night free perk on hotel stays, its PIN capability will come in handy while traveling abroad.

If these bonus categories and benefits aren’t very appealing, check out the runners up for some other PIN cards with different features, including some cards without annual fees.

Your ThankYou points will be worth from 1 cent to potentially over 2 cents each, depending on how you redeem them. Point transfers will be your best option.

At a rate of 1–2 cents per point, you’d be earning a cash back equivalent of 5%–10% in the 5X categories, and 3%–6% in the 3X categories.

• Point transfer: To a variety of airline loyalty programs, including Etihad Guest, JetBlue TrueBlue, and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
• Annual $250 travel credit: Good for airline tickets, hotel rooms, car rentals, and other travel expenses
• Complimentary 4^th Night Stay: Get your fourth night free when booking four nights in a row through ThankYou.com and paying with your card, ThankYou points, or a combination of both; capped at twice per year.
• Complimentary Priority Pass Select membership: Access to a vast array of Priority Pass airport lounges and restaurants around the world
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit: A credit for the application fee of either Global Entry ($100) or TSA PreCheck ($85), once every five years
• Citi Prestige Concierge: Call for non-emergency help any time you need it.
• World Elite Car Rental Program: Elite memberships at Avis, Silvercar, and National
• No foreign transaction fee
• Annual fee: $495

Student travelers actually have several good options here, of travel cards designed for people with limited credit histories.

The Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards™ Credit Card for Students (Review) may be the best all-around student card for travel, but you’ll need to plan your travel spending a bit in advance to get the most out of it. That’s because this card allows you to choose your 3% bonus category each month, and you’ll need to set it to Travel for the appropriate time frame before making purchases.

With this flexible card you can adjust your bonus category each month to fit your expected spending. So if you’re going on a trip beginning at the end of a month, for example, you could use the Travel category to get 3% back on your airfare and hotels, and even a car rental. Then, when the new month begins, you can switch your category to Gas to help fuel your adventure.

• Bank of America Preferred Rewards: Eligible bank account holders get a 25%–75% bonus on rewards earned, depending on how much money is held in BofA bank accounts.
• Free credit score: Check your FICO Score 8 for free, based on your TransUnion credit report.
• Visa Platinum or Signature benefits: Depending on creditworthiness
• Purchase and Balance Transfer APR: 0% for 15 billing cycles, then 13.99%–23.99% Variable
• Foreign transaction fee: 3%
  
• Annual fee: $0