Travel Credit Cards

Top 10 Credit Cards for Travel

By Breana Johnson

Are you looking for the perfect travel rewards card? The options can be overwhelming! There are so many different travel credit cards on the market, and no two are exactly alike. Fortunately for you, we’ve narrowed the list down to the best ten rewards card choices so that you can select the ideal card for your travel and spending habits. Your travel rewards credit card is just a click away!

 

  • Chase Travel Preferred for the Flexible Traveler
    Chase Travel Preferred is the highest value card from Chase. This card earns you two points for every travel and dining purchase and one point for everything else. You also get a 50,000 sign up bonus, and there are other incentives to add more points.
    Reward points are worth a lot! Each point can be redeemed for 1.25 cents worth of travel expenses. You can even transfer points to some hotels and airlines.
  • Chase Sapphire Reserve for the Frequent Flyer
    Although Chase Sapphire Reserve has a jaw-dropping annual fee of $450, this costs might be worth it to you if you spend a lot on travel. After all, it automatically includes $300 in travel credit!
    On this travel credit card, you will get 3 points for travel and dining purchases, plus one point for all other buys. Every point is worth 1.5 cents, and they are transferable to programs with many hotels and airlines. As an extra plus, your TSA Pre-Check and Global Entry fees can be reimbursed when you pay with this card.
  • Bank Americard for the Budget Traveler
    Want a rewards credit card without all the annual fees? Keep Bank Americard in your wallet! Not only to do you get to use this for no annual cost, but you will also get to skip the foreign transaction fee. This can save you a small fortune if you travel overseas frequently!
    This card offers 1.5 points for every $1 spent, and your points never expire. You can only earn points on travel purchases, unfortunately. However, you can get a 10% bonus on all purchases if you have a bank account with Bank of America!
  • American Express’ Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card for Starwood Loyalists
    Do you love staying in Sheraton, Westin, or Four Points hotels? Then this is the rewards card for you. This Starwood loyalty credit card can earn you some great deals on sweet dreams!
    You can earn up to 5 points for every dollar you spend at Starwood hotels, and you’ll get 2 points per dollar at Marriot. All other purchases earn you one point.
    You can use your points at Starwood or Marriot properties or redeem them to fly Delta and Emirates.
    A really nice perk of this card is that it comes with a free Boingo hotspot—no more using up your cell plan’s data when you’re on trips!
  • American Express Business Gold Rewards Card for Small Business Owners
    The American Express Business Gold Rewards Card gives you a whopping 3 points per dollar on a spending category of your choosing and 2 points per dollar on other categories. If you spend more than 100K in a given category, the reward drops to 1 point per dollar. Still, that’s a lot of money! Use this card for business expenses and watch your earnings soar.
  • Ink Business Preferred Credit Card for the Business Executive
    This travel rewards card is great for people who travel frequently on business. For the first $150,000 you spend on this credit card, you get three points for every dollar you spend on travel and certain business costs. This is in addition to 80,000 bonus points you get for spending your first five grand on the card!
    This card has good travel benefits, like a high airline miles redemption value, no foreign transaction fees and a low annual fee. It also offers a variety of great perks for business owners, such as cell phone insurance, rental car insurance, and free Ink Business Preferred cards for your employees.
  • American Express Platinum Card for the Globetrotter
    This travel rewards card has a very high annual fee at $550, but it also has an incredibly high value. You get 60,000 points for spending five thousand in your first three months, and your points’ value is multiplied by five when you book your flight through Amex Travel or directly through the airline. You can also get this value for hotels booked though Amex.
    In addition to this, you get $200 per year in Uber credit and rebates for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, and incidental airline fees! You also get a VIP pass with this card—it gives you access to various airline lounges.
  • Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card for the Southwest Loyalist
    With Southwest Airline’s travel reward card, you get two points for every dollar spent through Southwest. Add this to 60,000 points for your first $3,000 on the card and 6,000 points for your registration anniversary, plus another 1,500 Tier Qualifying Points for every $10,000 you spend! For only $99 per year, you’ll be racking up the points.
  • British Airways Visa Signature Card for The Pond Hopper
    If you fly British Airways frequently, than this Visa card can save you a lot of money. Earth three points for every dollar spent through British Airways and 1 point on other purchases. Spend over $30,000 in a year, and you get a free ticket for a travel buddy!
  • Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard for the Adventurous Traveler
    Most American credit cards have one major drawback: the lack of a pin number. While European credit cards usually have a PIN number, just like your debit card, Americans are used to handing over a signature to prove their identity.
    This might work at home, but there are many places around the world where you can’t find an ATM machine that works without a pin. Use the Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard, though, and you’ll be able to use either a signature or a pin number. Now, that’s the best of both worlds!
    This travel rewards card also has a variety of perks. First of all, you earn two airline miles for any purchase.
    Secondly, you get a 5% bonus on airline miles redeemed. So if you redeem 10,000 miles, you’ll get 500 miles added to your account automatically. You also get 1% statement credit back!
    You might want to plan on starting this card when you have a big purchase to make. If you spend $3,000 within 90 days, you get 50,000 bonus miles!

As you can see, there are many great travel rewards credit card options out there! Don’t settle for the first ad that comes in the mail. Choose one of the best travel rewards cards! Stick with any of the ten credit card options above, and you’ll be enjoying free flights and hotel stays in no time.