Travel credit cards provide loyalty rewards that can be redeemed to book flights, hotels and rental cars. Their value often fluctuates depending on how and when they’re redeemed.
Reward points earned through loyalty programs can be redeemed for cash or statement credits, transferred to airline and hotel loyalty programs or used to buy premium travel cards with benefits such as airport lounge access and valuable trip protection features – though these cards come with high annual fees.
Sign-up bonuses
The best travel credit cards offer significant initial rewards bonuses and ongoing points or miles earn rates, along with additional perks such as free checked bags and airport lounge access, zero liability for fraud, and car rental insurance coverage.
Selecting the ideal card depends on your spending habits and travel goals. If you want to quickly build up frequent flyer miles, a co-branded airline card with elite status tier or transfer partners could help quickly add them up; but be mindful that these cards typically charge higher annual fees; for something with more flexible rewards programs check out WalletHub’s top choices of best travel credit cards.
Perks
Some credit cards provide additional travel perks, including annual statement credits for flights or hotels and access to airport lounges; others even cover trip cancellations or rental car collisions as part of their insurance coverage policies – offering significant value over the life of the card.
Airline and hotel-specific credit cards often earn additional points or miles in their loyalty programs and may provide faster paths to elite status, including free checked bags or in-flight upgrades. They may also come equipped with other travel perks that make travel simpler – like having access to more seats.
Premium travel cards may come with high annual fees, but many offer generous rewards and perks that more than compensate for this expense – for instance, Amex Platinum provides many perks which help more than compensate for its $695 annual fee.
Flexibility
Some travel cards offer flexible approaches to earning and redeeming rewards points or miles. Certain cards provide increased reward rates when spending with specific airlines or hotel brands directly, offering faster access to elite status tiers; other cards allow multiple ways of earning and redeeming miles, including cash back or statement credits. In addition, some offer insurances and protections to protect both your trip expenses and expenses as well as travel. Finally, certain cards such as Mastercard or Visa may be more widely accepted internationally than American Express or Discover; this may be important if traveling overseas.
Rewards
The best travel credit cards offer a range of rewards that you can redeem against travel purchases, such as points or miles you can exchange for purchases related to travel. Many cards also allow users to transfer these rewards onto airline and hotel loyalty programs for maximum value.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card provides an attractive sign-up bonus and attractive annual perks, such as free nights and hotel booking credits through Chase; discounts from Lyft and DoorDash partners; as well as having a reasonable annual fee.
Capital One Quicksilver Secured Card can help rebuild or build credit. Its ease of use, competitive interest rate, and no annual fee make this an excellent solution for those seeking to improve or establish their score.
Annual fees
There are annual fees associated with some of the best travel credit cards, which should be taken into consideration before making your decision. Consider what its benefits (like rewards flexibility, trip protections and airport lounge access ) mean to you and whether they offset its annual fee.
Some travel cards, like Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, provide attractive perks at a low annual fee that enable cardholders to quickly build and redeem miles for trips at no cost. Benefits such as up to $100 every four years in credit toward TSA PreCheck/Global Entry fees; an annual $300 travel credit; and 10,000 bonus miles on account anniversary can help cardholders save for free trips!
Interest rates
Consider the interest rate when choosing a travel credit card. Many cards offer 0% rates for up to 12 months if your balance is paid by its due date each month, making these offers even more advantageous – just keep in mind that once these special rates expire your regular credit card APR will take effect.
Choose a credit card without foreign transaction fees to save up to 3% or more on currency exchange fees, according to WalletHub’s recent study – potentially offsetting its annual fee more than adequately.
