10 Best Travel Credit Cards for Earning Perks and Saving Money on Your 2024 Vacation
Updated: Feb. 01, 2024
The best credit card for travel rewards will fit your lifestyle and budget. Here are our top picks for the cards that'll land you savings and perks.
Dreaming of your next getaway? If you’re like most people, planning a vacation means traveling on a budget. Often, that involves a lot of agile timing—determining the best time to book a hotel, hotel rewards programs or the best time to book a flight, for instance. But that’s not the only way to spend less on a trip. Certain credit cards can help you rack up miles and points toward free flights and hotel stays. But with all the promos and offers out there, you might wonder, What is the best credit card for travel rewards?
“There’s definitely not a one-size-fits-all answer,” says Matt Schulz, the chief credit analyst with LendingTree. “The best travel credit card for you is the one that fits your lifestyle, your spending habits and your goals.”
Travel credit cards vary widely in terms of costs, like their annual fee, interest rate and required minimum spend. They also offer benefits that range from priority boarding and free Wi-Fi to lounge access, concierge services and reimbursement for TSA PreCheck and Global Entry programs. It’s important to understand the benefits and the costs of each card so you can select the one that works the best with your lifestyle and budget. Even if you travel only once or twice a year, there’s probably a credit card for travel rewards that can help you get there more cheaply.
Get Reader’s Digest’s Read Up newsletter for more travel tips, humor, cleaning, tech and fun facts all week long.
Best overall
Chase Sapphire Preferred
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card ticks all the boxes, earning its spot as the overall best travel credit card. It offers a generous sign-up bonus (sometimes as high as 80,000 points if you catch a promo offer) and lots of ways to earn travel reward points, even when you’re just grabbing takeout and watching a movie. You can earn five times the points on travel booked through the Chase Travel Portal, three times the points on dining (including takeout and delivery services), three times the points on streaming services and one point per dollar on everything else. And all for a super-reasonable annual fee.
You’ll also get a slew of travel protections (think baggage delay and trip cancellation insurance, for starters), a $50 credit each year for any hotel stays and an annual anniversary bonus equal to 10% of your total charges for the previous 12 months. As an added bonus, you’ll get a free one-year DashPass from DoorDash.
Highlights:
- APR: 20.24% to 27.24%
- Annual fee: $95
- Sign-up bonus: Typically 60,000 points when you spend $4,000 in the first three months
- Required credit: Not disclosed
Best for beginners
Discover It Miles
Even the best travel reward credit cards can be complicated to use or redeem. But the Discover It Miles card keeps everything simple. Earn 1.5 miles for every dollar spent. Period.
It’s also super inexpensive to use. There’s no sign-up bonus, but at the end of the first year, Discover will match all the miles you’ve earned. So if you earn 50,000, Discover will add 50,000. You can redeem your miles for cash or as a statement credit for travel purchases; either way, they never expire, so you can book that quick getaway when it works for you.
Highlights:
- APR: 0% for the first 15 months, then 16.24% to 27.24%
- Annual fee: $0
- Sign-up bonus: None, but Discover will match the number of miles you earn in the first year
- Required credit: Not disclosed
Best for racking up miles quickly
Capital One Venture Rewards
You’ll get 75,000 miles right off the bat when you sign up for the Capital One Venture Rewards card and meet the minimum spending requirement. Then you’ll earn 5 miles for every dollar you spend on hotels and rental cars. (In case you’re curious, here’s the difference between hotels and motels.) Everything else earns you 2 miles per dollar. Sweetening the deal, the Venture Rewards card offers passes for two lounge visits per year and a credit of up to $100 for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry.
Highlights:
- APR: 20.24% to 28.24%
- Annual fee: $95
- Sign-up bonus: 75,000 miles when you spend $4,000 in the first three months
- Required credit: Excellent
Best for foodies
American Express Gold Card
If you want to be rewarded for dining out at restaurants, picking up takeout (or having someone else grab it for you) or even buying groceries, the American Express Gold Card is one of the best travel credit cards for you. The AmEx Gold offers four times the points at restaurants around the world, including takeout and delivery services in the United States. It also offers four times the points on supermarket purchases up to $25,000. You can even earn monthly $10 statement credits at places like Grubhub, Goldbelly, The Cheesecake Factory and more. You’ll get three times the points for flights booked through AmEx’s portal, and one point per dollar for everything else.
Highlights:
- APR: N/A
- Annual fee: $250
- Sign-up bonus: 60,000 points when you spend $4,000 in the first six months
- Required credit: Not disclosed
Best for no annual fee
Capital One VentureOne
As you compare the best credit cards with travel rewards, don’t get so hung up on the points that you overlook the annual fee. You won’t score miles as quickly with the Capital One VentureOne card as you would with other travel rewards cards. But earning five times the points on hotels and rental cars (when booked through Capital One’s portal) isn’t too shabby for a no-annual-fee travel credit card. Plus, you’ll earn 1.25 times the points on everything else.
Highlights:
- APR: 0% for the first 15 months, then 19.24% to 29.24%
- Annual fee: $0
- Sign-up points: 20,000 points when you spend $500 in the first three months
- Required credit: Excellent
Best for students
Bank of America Travel Rewards for Students
The Bank of America Travel Rewards for Students credit card helps young adults establish good credit while earning points that help them travel back home or join their families on cheap family vacations over school breaks. Given no annual fee, no foreign transaction fees and 18 months of zero interest, students won’t have to worry about getting in over their heads in credit card debt. And for every dollar they spend, they’ll earn 1.5 points, which they can redeem for a statement credit to pay for hotels, cruises, rental cars, flights and even baggage fees. They only have to spend $1,000 in the first 90 days to earn the sign-up bonus points.
Highlights:
- APR: 0% for the first 18 months, then 18.24% to 28.24%
- Annual fee: $0
- Sign-up bonus: 25,000 points when you spend $1,000 in the first 90 days
- Credit required: Not disclosed
Best for luxury travel
Capital One Venture X
This card offers so many perks that the $395 annual fee seems quite reasonable, especially when compared with other cards in its class that charge nearly double that amount. The Capital One Venture X not only gets you 10 times the points on hotels and rental cars, but it also earns you five times the points on flights (when these travel expenses are booked through the Capital One portal) and two times the points on everything else. Oh, and you’ll get another 10,000 points on your card anniversary.
On top of that, you get unlimited airport lounge access for you and a guest, Hertz President’s Circle Status and a six-month membership with The Cultivist, which provides you with free admission to hundreds of museums worldwide.
Highlights:
- APR: 21.24% to 28.24%
- Annual fee: $395
- Sign-up bonus: 75,000 miles when you spend $4,000 in the first three months
- Credit required: Excellent
Best low-interest
TD First Class Visa Signature
Plenty of cards offer no interest for an introductory period. The TD First Class Visa Signature goes one better by keeping the rate low (in relative terms) even after that. On top of that perk, you’ll get three times the miles on travel and dining purchases, and one mile for every dollar spent on everything else. So if you’re someone who doesn’t always pay off bills entirely each month, this might be the best credit card for travel rewards as far as your needs are concerned.
Highlights:
- APR: 0% for the first 12 months, then 17.49% after that
- Annual fee: $89, waived the first year
- Sign-up bonus: 25,000 miles when you spend $3,000 within the first six months
- Credit required: Not disclosed
Best airline card
Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express
If you’re loyal to one airline—maybe it’s your favorite budget airline, offers free in-flight Wi-Fi or checked bags, or is the predominant airline serving your region—you may do well using a credit card tied to that brand. Lucky for you if that brand is Delta, because the Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express card is currently offering 90,000 sign-on bonus points. You’ll also get three times the miles on Delta purchases or hotels, two times the miles on food (dining out, delivery or groceries) and one mile for every dollar you spend on everything else.
With this card, you’ll get your first bag checked for free and a statement credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry. You’ll also get one free round-trip companion pass each year that you have the card, which will more than make up for the annual fee.
Highlights:
- APR: 20.24% to 29.24%
- Annual fee: $250
- Sign-up bonus: 90,000 miles when you spend $4,000 in the first six months
- Credit required: Not disclosed
Best hotel card
IHG Rewards Premier
The best hotel-branded credit card largely depends on which hotel chain you prefer and whether that brand has a strong presence in your planned destinations. If you’re a fan of IHG brands—which include Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Candlewood Suites, Staybridge Suites, the boutiquey Kimpton line and the Iberostar Beachfront Resorts, among others—the IHG Rewards Premier is probably the best travel credit card for you to use to rack up hotel points and discover hidden gems along the way.
You’ll get 175,000 sign-on bonus points, plus up to 26 times the points for every stay at an IHG hotel. You’ll still get five times the points for other travel (including other hotel brands), as well as for gas station purchases and dining expenses. For everything else, you’ll earn three times the points. You’ll also have automatic Platinum Elite status at IHG hotels, plus a free night for every three-night stay.
Highlights:
- APR: 20.24% to 27.24%
- Annual fee: $95
- Sign-up bonus: 175,000 points when you spend $3,000 in the first three months
- Credit required: Not disclosed
FAQs about travel credit cards
You have more questions about credit cards with travel rewards. We have the answers below.
How do travel credit cards work?
When answering the question “What is the best credit card for travel rewards?” it’s important to understand that there are two kinds of travel credit cards. The first type of travel rewards card is tied directly to a specific airline or hotel brand, like the Delta and IHG cards listed above. You get the most points for using the card with that specific brand, and when you have enough points, you can redeem them with that brand for free flights or hotel stays, or sometimes for other products. It can be challenging, however, to rack up enough points to redeem unless you’re a very frequent traveler.
The second type of credit card with travel rewards is issued by a bank, like most other credit cards. These cards tend to be more flexible in terms of how you can earn points. For example, many reward points for dining and streaming services. Most partner with dozens of airlines, hotels, rental car companies and more, and they allow you to transfer your points to any of their partners, making it easier to travel for free. But to redeem or transfer your points, you typically need to log in to the card issuer’s web portal first.
Are points and miles the same thing?
More or less. The terminology just depends on the preference of the card issuer, says LendingTree’s Schulz.
Are all points worth the same amount?
Definitely not. “There can be a lot of difference among cards, hotels, airlines and other businesses in terms of the actual value of those points,” Schulz says.
A free flight might cost 40,000 miles on one airline but 85,000 on another; the same is true of hotel stays. “So 100,000 Marriott points probably doesn’t have the same dollar value as 100,000 Southwest points,” Schulz adds.
When do I get the sign-up points?
Every card has a minimum amount you must spend in the first several months of owning the card. You’ll get the bonus points once you’ve met that threshold. If your budget won’t allow you to comfortably meet that minimum spend, rethink whether the bonus points are worth it.
“The last thing you should do is spend yourself into debt to chase credit card rewards,” says Schulz.
When can I redeem my rewards?
Whenever you want to, as long as you still own the card. Just be sure you do it eventually, or you’re spending money on the annual fee (and possibly interest, if you don’t pay off your balance every month) for nothing.
That’s more common than you may think. A full 70% of travel cardholders have unredeemed points, miles or cash back, and 40% haven’t redeemed any points in the past year, according to a recent survey by LendingTree.
In other words, now’s the time to book that affordable beach vacation you’ve been talking about for ages.
Will I lose my points if I close the travel credit card?
It depends on who owns the points. If the card is a transferrable-points card issued by a bank, then the bank owns the points and you could risk losing them when you close it (so be sure to redeem them first). Typically, if the points are tied to a specific airline or hotel chain, you own the points, and you won’t lose them.
Is it better to get a card with no annual fee?
Not necessarily. “The perks you get generally will be better the more you are willing to spend in terms of an annual fee,” Schulz explains. “A lot of people, when they see a travel credit card with a $200 or $300 or $600 annual fee, automatically turn away, but … depending on your lifestyle or spending habits, you can absolutely, positively get well more in value than you pay in that annual fee.”
So, what is the best credit card for travel rewards? By now, you should have a clearer idea of the answer as it relates to your life. If you’re looking for even more ways to save on travel, check out these cheap spring break destinations and other cheap places to travel.
Sources:
- Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst with LendingTree
- LendingTree: “Nearly 7 in 10 Rewards Credit Cardholders Sitting on Unused Cash Back, Points or Miles”
Originally Published: February 13, 2023
