Travel credit cards are a great way to travel for cheap or even free!
They make the same dollar that you spend in everyday life go further for you. When you use a travel credit card to buy your normal things like gas and groceries, you get bonus money that you can use on travel. If you want to get more into traveling you really should think about signing up for a travel credit card.
Disclaimer: This post about choosing a travel credit card is for general education only, read all my disclosures here. If you cannot pay off a credit card in full each month you should NOT sign up for a travel credit card. All the benefits that you earn will be much less than the charges you will pay.
Think of it this way: you could spend $100 on groceries and then another $100 on a flight, spending $200 in total. OR you could spend $100 on groceries and then you the points you earn on a flight so that it only costs you $50, spending $150 total!
This is just an example and the amount you earn back is different depending on what card you use. But the effect is the same. You get free money for the money you are going to spend anyways!!
An added bonus on all travel credit cards is that they give you tons of extra perks for free! Things like travel insurance, help finding tickets and extended warrenties. (My dad once dropped his GoPro in a lake a week after buying it and his credit card company sent him a new one, no questions asked!) Read more about the awesome perks you already have with your card that you probably don’t know about!!
In general, there are two main types of travel credit cards. Airline specific cards and general travel credit cards
Airline Specific Credit Cards
These are what people generally think of when they talk about travel credit cards. You get a card that earns points to a specific airline (Delta, United, South West, etc.).
Major benefits of this type of card include:
- You earn miles you can use towards flights but ALSO frequent flyer miles. This means that (for some cards) you can increase your status within the airline as you buy your everyday things. Increasing your status gets you better customer service and more upgrades.
- You get extra perks like free checked bags and priority boarding. AND are more likely to get free upgrades like first class!
- You usually earn even more bonus miles when booking a flight on that airline on the card.
What you might not like about airline specific cards:
- They are airline specific. So if you don’t find a flight for that airline (or its partners) you won’t be able to use your saved miles to get a flight. Or you might find a flight for another airline much cheaper.
- You kinda get locked into always flying that airline and partners, meaning your options for redeeming points and flying can be limited.
Is this the travel credit card you should choose?
If you are a fan of a specific airline and know that you will always want to fly with them, then you should definitely think about getting a card with that airline. You are often able to earn points/miles at a faster rate as you get bonus points for using the airline specific credit card with its matching airline. I have a friend that loves his South West card because they always have convenient flights from Denver to Chicago (where he goes a lot for work) and loves their customer service. He then uses the miles to fly with his family on vacation for free!
One thing to keep in mind is that you want to make sure that you can redeem the flights that you actually want to go on! Watch out for blackout dates and know the destinations that the airline (or partners) actually goes to. Some airlines are US specific, so you’ll never be able to redeem for an international flight.
Sometimes, the perks alone can be worth it. For example, if you always check a bag for each family member but get that for free with the card, it’s worth it! Even with a small family, you’ll save over $100 on one flight alone!
Here are some of the top Airline Specific travel credit cards you can choose.
Quick note: there are also Hotel Specific Credit Cards.
Each of the major hotel brands offers one. The pros and cons are similar to the airline specific cards. You get major perks with that hotel brand and earn points much faster when you are using the card to book their hotels. Read more here.
General Travel Credit Cards
These credit cards are not linked to a specific airline or hotel. You earn miles on everything that you buy and bonus miles on specific travel related purchases. For example, you might earn 2x points on rental cars or eating out. My card is running a promo right now where I get 10x points if I book my hotel on Hotels.com!
Benefits to this type of card:
- You can earn points in more flexible ways. Earn bonus points on ALL flights and hotels you book! (As well as other “travel expenses” like rental cars, eating out, toll roads, etc.)
- You can redeem in much more flexible ways! You don’t have to stick to any specific brand of airline, hotel or rental cars. You can book whatever you want! This means you can use your points for the cheapest flights you find (and hopefully save some for another trip!)
Cons to this type of card:
- You usually earn at a slower rate than if you were to book on the brand specific cards with their matching company.
- You won’t get all the airline and hotel perks that come with the specific cards because they support your loyalty to that company. These perks can be worth a lot of money in themselves.
Is this the travel credit card you should choose?
This is the card I have and the card I would recommend to most of my friends. Because when you’re looking for a good deal, you need to be flexible! If you are someone who is looking for the best deal you can find on your vacation then this card will help you take advantage of whatever deals may come your way.
It’s also worth noting that these cards also do come with so many perks in general that you will not feel like you are missing out on too much. Read about some of these perks that already come with travel credit cards for free.
It is especially good for people that do not travel a lot, and usually just go once or twice a year. If you don’t travel a lot, you probably can’t take full advantage of all the perks and bonus earning from using hotel and airline brands consistently.
Also good for people that use lots of different hotels and airlines and want to earn points on all of them!
This is the type of travel credit card best for most people ... these are the top 3 cards.
I’ve done EXTENSIVE research for you. I compared fees, benefits, how quickly you can collect points and how easily you can redeem them. These are the travel credit cards most consistently recommended travel credit cards to choose from, and are great starter cards for anyone!
Capital One Venture
Cost: free first year, $95/year after that
Perks: 50,000 points bonus if you spend $3000 in 3 months
- No foreign transaction fees (you can buy things fee free in any currency in the world)
2x points on EVERYTHING (not just travel expenses), so great for everyday spending - Bonus points during promos (currently 10x points at Hotels.com/venture)
- FLEXIBLE earning and redemption
- No redemption minimums
- Easy to use app for redemptions
- $100/friend you refer up to $500/year
- Free Global Entry or TSA precheck every four years (worth $100)
- Extended warranty on purchases on the card that doubles it up to a year
- Free replacement if you lose/break something purchased on the card within 90 days
- Free additional rental car insurance
- Free travel accident insurance
- Help getting tickets to events/exclusive restaurants
Overall impression: this is actually the card I have. It shines in the fact you collect points for all purchases and is ultra-flexible. You can redeem points with so many different airlines and in different ways it’s ok if you don’t always still to one hotel brand or airline. PLUS the yearly fee is low.
American Express Platinum
Cost: $550/year
Perks: 60,000 point bonus if you spend $5000 in 3 months
- No foreign transaction fee
- 5x points airlines/hotels booked through them (helps you accumulate points FAST)
- Can redeem for first class flights on more airlines
- Free lounge access to over 1100 lounges in 120 countries, this can value $100/visit and gets you free food, beds, and other great perks
- Free Global Entry or TSA Pre-check every 4 years
- VIP Uber free US rides up to $15/month bonus $20 in December
- $200/year to use for any airline fees, like baggage
- Travel insurance: (does not cover trip delays/cancelations; but does cover lost bags/travel accidents)
- Complimentary Hilton and Marrriott Gold Status (with perks like room upgrades, free wifi, and meals)
- Elite status at other high-end hotels (late check outs, free nights, meals, early check-in)
- Elite status at car rental companies
- Premium rental car insurance
- Free concierge to help you get exclusive access to restaurants/events (especially great to find booked out tickets)
$100 at Saks Fifth Ave each year - Free shipping on many online stores
- You can add authorized users to get same benefits (fee for platinum or free for gold status with less benefits)
- Extended warranty on purchases on the card that doubles it up to a year
- Free replacement if you lose/break something purchased on the card within 90 days
Overall impression: this card is for you if you want to use a lot of luxury perks and pay A LOT less for them. Yes, the yearly cost is high, but it more than pays for itself if you take advantage of all the add-ons and perks. If you won’t many perks, you still accumulate points quickly, but this card might not be for you because of the high yearly cost. It’s great because it also offers so many of the perks that hotel specific cards do!
Chase Sapphire Preferred
Cost: $95/year
Perks: 60,000 points when you spend $4000 in 3 months
- No foreign transaction fees
- 2x points on dining and travel
- Will cover fly delay expenses not usually covered by airlines like food or a hotel for the night up to $500 per ticket
- Baggage delay insurance up to $100/day for 5 days
- Trip cancellation/interruption (like weather or sickness) insurance up to $10,000 per person or $20,000 per trip for nonrefundable tickets, hotels, activities, etc.
- Extended warranty on purchases on the card that doubles it up to a year
- Free replacement if you lose/break something purchased on the card within 90 days
- Premium car rental insurance
- Can be redeemed for first class tickets
Overall impression: You accumulate points fast on travel and eating out expenses. They also have fantastic perks to help cover any trip issues you may have, all with a low yearly card fee. But they also have less perks than the other cards (like Global Entry/Pre-check credit and extended warranties).
Choosing a travel credit card can be really easy! Don’t stress out about it as much as I did. Many many travelers have multiple travel credit cards so that they can maximize their bonuses by using different cards in different situations. My mom has at least three travel credit cards that I know of and I know we will get more the more we travel. Read more about how to make the most out of whatever card you get!
Choose what you think is best for you and go with it!
Do you have a favorite card? What are you thinking about getting?
