Travel credit cards often earn loyalty points and miles on purchases, which you can redeem for airline tickets, hotel stays and even statement credits to cover travel-related expenses.
Some travel cards provide added perks like airport lounge access and Global Entry or TSA Precheck application reimbursement; the value of which may easily cover annual fees charged by various cards.
Credit Cards for Traveling
Travel credit cards provide rewards in the form of points or miles on purchases made, often related to travel expenditure such as airfare, hotel stays and car rentals. Some cards even provide special benefits like airport lounge access, trip insurance and primary rental car coverage.
Travel cards typically fall into two categories: co-branded cards and general travel cards. Co-branded cards carry the name of an airline or hotel brand and may offer exclusive perks that cannot be found on general travel cards.
Many travel cards offer lucrative sign-up bonuses in exchange for meeting certain spending requirements within the first few months, which can help maximize the value of travel rewards. But according to NerdWallet research, frequent travelers tend to realize greater overall value from cash-back cards that pay a flat rate and feature bonus categories for dining, groceries and gas purchases.
Benefits of a Credit Card for Traveling
Travel cards provide immense value through initial rewards bonuses and ongoing point accumulation on airfare, hotels and car rentals. Cardholders may redeem points for statement credits to offset travel purchases; and some cards allow cardholders to transfer earned points into loyalty programs offered by airlines and hotels to unlock even more redemption options.
Selecting the ideal travel credit card depends on your unique needs and goals. While certain cards offer co-branded benefits from particular airlines or hotel chains, others provide rewards on airfare, hotels and car rentals regardless of brand affiliations.
If you want more flexibility with your redemption options, look for a card that lets you redeem rewards in different forms – cash back, gift cards or merchandise would all make good choices. And for airport lounge access purposes, consider cards offering complimentary lounge access or fee credits towards global entry or TSA PreCheck applications.
Benefits of a Cash Back Credit Card
Cash back credit cards offer you a specific percentage of purchases back as cash rewards, which cardholders can use towards items like gift cards and travel-related expenses.
Tierered cash-back cards typically offer higher cash back rates on certain categories such as travel, dining, gas/groceries/department stores purchases than others and may feature rotating bonus categories that change every quarter.
These cards often do not charge an annual fee, making them an excellent way to build credit and reap its benefits, such as special event access, zero fraud liability protection and rental car coverage.
However, cash back credit cards can provide an incentive to overspend and carry a balance beyond what’s necessary, nullifying their benefits in terms of rewards. Therefore, it’s crucial that users use them responsibly in order to avoid incurring interest charges.
Benefits of a Rewards Credit Card
Rewards credit cards provide cash back, points or miles on every purchase you make that can be redeemed for merchandise, gift cards and travel expenses. Some cards also provide low-interest introductory periods that make payments easier – these may also earn loyalty status with airlines, hotels and retailers, leading to extra perks!
Miles-earning credit cards are typically co-branded with airlines and allow users to redeem points earned for flights, seat upgrades and other travel purchases. Some cards also provide bonus earnings in specific categories like dining or grocery spending – so selecting the appropriate rewards card depends on where your spending priorities lie; there may be minimum spending requirements and limits on the cash or points you can earn; plus some may impose balance transfer and foreign transaction fees as well.
