Travel Rewards Credit Cards

How to Choose a Travel Credit Card

Looking for a new travel credit card?

You have our sympathy. There are simply WAY too many out there to choose from now.

So, how do you find the right card for you?

Narrow down your search dramatically by deciding what features matter the most to you.

Here is a list of the 5 travel credit cards you should not ignore. We'll go into detail about these in this article:

While the sign-up bonus, annual fee, and rewards structure are all important factors, there's one thing that's more important - your overall travel goal. You need a credit card that will give you rewards you can actually use. In other words, don't get a hotel card if you rarely stay in hotels.

Here are some questions to ask yourself when considering different cards:

• Do you want free flights and hotel rooms? If you want to earn award flights, the best cards to get are ones that allow you to transfer points to airline partners. If you're looking for free hotel rooms, hotel cards are a no brainer. An example of a hybrid card is the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express (a CreditDonkey partner), which earns points toward hotel rooms at Starwood properties and has a long list of airline transfer partners.

• Do you prefer a certain airline or hotel? A card that's co-branded with your preferred airline or hotel chain will usually give you extra perks.

  For example, Gold Delta SkyMiles lets you check your first bag free on every Delta flight.

• Are you willing to play the miles game? You can often reap the most value out of your points by transferring them to airline partners (such as with the Chase Sapphire Preferred). If you'd rather not deal with the airline miles transfer game, though, you might appreciate the simplicity of a card like the Barclaycard Arrival Plus.

Travel Credit Card Promotions for September 2017

We've put together an up-to-date list of the top credit card promotions out there for this month. Check it out and hopefully you'll be able to find the right card to suit your needs.

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Travel Card with a Sign-Up Bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred

• If you spend over $1,334 per month on your credit card, consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred. With the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you'll earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $625 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

• You'll earn 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases worldwide. Travel purchases include airfare, hotels, cruises, rental cars, and train tickets. Restaurants include fast food.

• Now here's our favorite part: You can transfer points at a 1:1 ratio to a leading frequent travel program such as United MileagePlus or Marriott Rewards.
  
  • Ultimate Rewards airline partners include: Southwest, British Airways, Korean Air, Virgin Atlantic, United, and Singapore Airlines
    
  • Ultimate Rewards hotel partners include Marriott, Hyatt, IHG, and the Ritz-Carlton

• There is an Introductory Annual Fee of $0 the first year, then $95.

This card is a good fit if you want a hot deal or you plan to transfer points to one of Chase's airline or hotel partners. Plus, travelers will appreciate the following benefits: $0 foreign transaction fees, wide-ranging Visa acceptance, primary auto rental collision damage waiver, trip cancellation/trip interruption insurance, trip delay reimbursement, and baggage delay insurance

So, is it really worth the $95 annual fee? Read our review of the Chase Sapphire Preferred before you apply to see why we think so.

Travel Card for Big Spenders: Barclaycard Arrival Plus

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  Barclaycard Arrival Plus offers 40,000 bonus miles if you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 90 days of opening your new credit card account. 40,000 bonus miles is enough to redeem for a $400 travel statement credit. This card earns 2x miles on all purchases. And when you redeem, you get 5% miles back to use toward your next redemption, every time you redeem. There is no foreign transaction fee. There is a $89 annual fee (waived for the first year).

  Plus, enjoy a 0% introductory APR for 12 months on balance transfers made within 45 days of account opening. After that, a variable APR will apply, 16.99%, 20.99% or 23.99%, based on your creditworthiness.

This card is a good fit if you want a travel rewards card that's simple to use. With this card, you don't have to deal with transferring miles to travel partners. Rewards are redeemed for statement credit toward travel-related expenses, including any airline, with no seat restrictions or blackout dates.

Travel Card for Ultra-Premium Travel Benefits: American Express Platinum

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• The Platinum Card from American Express, a CreditDonkey partner, offers 60,000 bonus points if you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first three months.

• With Global Lounge Collection, you get complimentary access to five airport lounge networks: Delta Sky Club, Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass Select, The International American Express Lounges, and Airspace Lounges.

  Enrollment is required for Priority Pass Select. When you enroll in Priority Pass Select, you can access over 950 participating airport lounges worldwide.

• You earn Membership Rewards points, which you can transfer to over a dozen frequent traveler programs.
  
  • Airline transfer partners include Delta, Hawaiian, and JetBlue.
    
  • Hotel transfer partners include Hilton, Best Western, and Starwood.

This card is a good fit if you travel frequently and want Platinum benefits such as Platinum Concierge Service and access to select airport lounges. Keep in mind, the travel-friendly benefits come at a price. There is a $550 annual fee and this is a charge card, not a credit card. In other words, you must pay off your balance every month.

Is the Platinum Card worth it? Read our Platinum Card review to help you decide.

Vacation Credit Cards

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The right travel card for you will depend on how much you spend per month:

• If you spend over $1,000/month:
  Capital One Venture offers a one-time bonus of 40,000 miles if you spend $3,000 on purchases within three months of account opening. 40,000 miles is equal to $400 in travel. This card earns 2x miles per dollar on all purchases. You can redeem miles toward travel purchases on any airline, hotel, or car rental. There are no foreign transaction fees. There is a $59 annual fee ($0 intro annual fee for the first year).

• If you spend over $334/month:
  Capital One VentureOne offers a one-time bonus of 20,000 miles if you spend $1,000 on purchases within three months of account opening. 20,000 miles is equal to $200 in travel. This card earns 1.25 miles per dollar on all purchases. You can redeem miles toward travel purchases on any airline, hotel, or car rental. There is a 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months. After that, a variable APR, currently 12.99% to 22.99%. There are no foreign transaction fees. There is no annual fee.

Travel Credit Cards with No Annual Fee

• If you are domestic traveler:
  Discover it Miles will match all the miles you've earned at the end of your first year. This offer is limited to new cardmembers only. This card earns 1.5x miles on all purchases and has no annual fee.

  Plus, Discover will pay you back for your in-flight WiFi fees, up to $30 a year, through an automatic statement credit.

• If you are a Bank of America customer:
  Bank of America Travel Rewards offers 20,000 online bonus points if you spend at least $1,000 on purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account. 20,000 points is worth a $200 statement credit toward travel purchases. This card earns 1.5 points per $1 spent on all purchases. You can redeem points for a statement credit to pay for flights, hotels, vacation packages, cruises, car rentals, or baggage fees. There are no foreign transaction fees. There is no annual fee.

Airline Credit Cards

• If you like to fly Delta:
  With a Gold Delta SkyMiles credit card from American Express, your first checked bag is free on every Delta flight. That is a potential savings of up to $200 a round trip for a family of four.

  Plus, you can get settled in sooner with Priority Boarding.

  And right now, if you spend $1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months on your new card, you'll earn 30,000 bonus miles. One-way award tickets for domestic travel within the continental US and to Alaska and Canada start at 10,000 miles (plus taxes and fees).

  To learn more, read our Delta credit card review.

• If you like to fly American Airlines:
  Citi AAdvantage offers 30,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® miles if you spend $1,000 on purchases within the first three months of opening your account. This card lets you enjoy preferred boarding on American Airline domestic flights. You also get the first checked bag free on domestic AA itineraries for you (and up to 4 companions traveling with you on the same reservation). There is a $95 annual fee (waived for the first 12 months).

  Plus, you can earn 10% of your redeemed AAdvantage® miles back (up to 10,000 miles each calendar year).

• If you spend over $10,000/year on airfare:
  Premier Rewards Gold Card lets you earn 25,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you use your new Card to make $2,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. This card earns 3X points for flights booked directly with airlines. 2X points at US restaurants, US gas stations, and at US supermarkets. 1X points on other purchases. There is a $195 annual fee ($0 introductory annual fee for the first year).

  This card includes benefits for travelers: There is no foreign transaction fee and a $100 airline fee credit to cover up to $100 a year in incidental air travel fees (such as baggage fees) at one selected qualifying airline. Terms Apply.

Hotel Credit Cards

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  Starwood Preferred Guest: Want to score free hotel stays? With the Starwood Preferred Guest credit card from American Express, spend $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months to earn 25,000 bonus Starpoints.

  Starpoints are good at over 1,300 hotels and resorts in over 100 countries. Starwood has 7 hotel categories, with the lowest level (category 1) costing 2,000-3,000 points/night, the mid-range (category 4) costing 10,000 points/night, and the highest level (category 7) costing 30,000-35,000 points/night. In other words, that 25,000 bonus can result in a free night stay at many Starwood properties.

  This hotel credit card is useful for flights too. You can transfer Starpoints into airline miles at Starwood airline transfer partners such as American Airlines and Delta. Plus, whenever you transfer 20,000 points to an airline transfer partner in a single transaction, you will receive 5,000 bonus points.

  SPG airline transfer partners include American Airlines, Delta, Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, British Airways, Aeromexico, Air Canada, Air France (Flying Blue), Emirates, Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific (Asia Miles), Virgin Atlantic, Avianca, Singapore Airlines, Korean Air, Etihad, Asiana Airlines, Air China, Alitalia, Air Berlin, Jet Airways, China Southern Airlines, Japan Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Thai Airways, Virgin Australia, Aegean Airlines, Miles and More, All Nippon Airways, and China Eastern.
  

  What could hold you back from this tempting offer? There is a $95 annual fee ($0 introductory annual fee for the first year). Read our Starwood Preferred Guest credit card review to help you decide if the fee would be worth it to you.

Business Travel

• If you want to earn points toward free hotel stays and flights:
  Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card offers 25,000 bonus Starpoints® if you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of opening your new card account. Earn points toward free nights at over 1,300 hotels and resorts in over 100 countries and free flights on over 150 airlines with SPG Flights. Some hotels and resorts may have mandatory service charges. There is no foreign transaction fee on international purchases. You can enroll for free unlimited Boingo Wi-Fi at more than a million Boingo hotspots worldwide. There is a $95 annual fee ($0 introductory annual fee for the first year). Terms Apply.

• If your business spends over $6,667/month:
  American Express Business Platinum offers up to 75,000 points. You earn 50,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $10,000 and an extra 25,000 points after you spend an additional $10,000 all on qualifying purchases within your first 3 months of Card Membership. Get 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com. Earn 1.5 points per dollar on each eligible purchase of $5,000 or more (up to 1 million additional points per year). Earn 1 point per dollar for qualifying purchases under $5,000. You can use Membership Rewards® Pay with Points for all or part of a flight with your selected qualifying airline, and you can get 35% of the points back (up to 500,000 bonus points per calendar year). There is a $450 annual fee.

  This card has premium benefits for travelers: The card includes access to the Global Lounge Collection, which gives you complimentary access to over 1,000 airport lounges worldwide. That includes Delta Sky Club, The Centurion lounge network, The International American Express lounges, Priority Pass Select lounges (enrollment required), and Airspace Lounge. In addition, you can enroll your card with Gogo to get 10 Gogo inflight internet passes annually. And you can enroll with Boingo for unlimited Wi-Fi at Boingo hotspots. Terms Apply.

  Related: How Much Are Membership Rewards Worth
  

Wait, There's More Than Just Travel Rewards to Consider

• International Travel: For overseas travelers, consider using a credit card with no foreign transaction fee to help save money while traveling abroad. Most credit cards have a foreign transaction fee of 3%, which applies to all purchases you make while overseas.

• Airline: If airfare is your biggest concern, look for an airline credit card to help you earn free flights. Several of these cards include great introductory deals such as bonus miles toward free flights or special perks such as free checked baggage.

• Hotel: To save on hotel expenses, consider applying for a hotel credit card promotion. Special offers may include bonus hotel points toward free hotel stays.

• Gas: A gas credit card can help stretch your budget. Read our guide to see how using credit cards can help drivers save money.

• Redeeming Points: Some travel rewards cards give you airline miles or hotel points with certain companies' frequent traveler programs, such as United MileagePlus or Hilton Honors. Other cards give you points that you can use only with the credit card issuer's reward program.

  Consider how you would like to book your reward travel: some cards require you to book through the card issuer's website while others have more flexible options. Be sure to review the card's terms and conditions to see whether it has blackout dates or other restrictions on redeeming points.

Terms and conditions apply.

Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. This site may be compensated through the Advertiser's affiliate programs.

Disclaimer: The information for the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card, Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card, Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite™ Mastercard®, Discover it® Miles, and Bank of America® Travel Rewards Credit Card has been collected independently by CreditDonkey. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Travel rewards credit cards not only help you save money on expenses, such as flights and hotel rooms, they also usually offers points (or miles) that can be redeemed toward other discounts or benefits. A travel-focused credit card might also provide additional benefits when it is used to pay for travel expenses.

The majority of travel rewards credit cards work like regular rewards cards, with cardholders earning a certain number of points for each dollar spent on purchases using the card. The difference is that cards focused on travel rewards usually offer bonuses, either when you use them to pay for travel-related expenses, or when you redeem points for travel savings. Some examples may include:

• Some cards let you earn double or even triple points or cash back for each dollar spent on airfare or gas, in addition to awarding bonus points when you sign up.

• Other possibilities include receiving credits to cover incidentals such as baggage fees, access to special lounges at airports, or concierge services to help trip planning.

• Some programs may require fewer points to redeem award flights or hotel stays, particularly if you book through the card issuer’s travel website.

A Focus on Business

Many credit cards aimed at businesspeople also emphasize travel rewards, as work-related travel remains common despite today’s challenging economy:

• You may be able to receive a discounted companion airplane ticket when purchasing one at a high enough fare rate.

• You may also be able to easily transfer points and miles between your credit card and particular frequent flyer programs.

• Other benefits can be perfect for business travelers, including reduction or elimination of foreign transaction fees and additional car rental insurance.

Corporate Tie-ins

Some cards bear the name of a travel-related company, such as an airline or hotel chain, and provide even better bonuses for purchases at that particular business. Potential perks include:

• Some cardholders may be able to take advantage of special benefits or avoid certain fees when booking with the selected airline or hotel chain, in addition to earning bonus points or miles.

• Blackout dates or other restrictions may not apply when booking with the appropriate card.

• Just remember to be aware that some of the benefits of these cards are only awarded at the particular company’s properties or flights.