Travel Reward Credit Cards
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to travel the world? Would it sound too good to be true if somebody told you that you could do so entirely for free? Not only is it possible, but it may be easier to pull off than you may think! We’re going to give you a breakdown of the best Traveler’s Rewards credit cards on the market to get you all set up for free trips abroad!
There are many cards to choose from for the first-time Travel Rewards earner. We suggest starting with a card with zero foreign transaction fees to make earning points as easy as possible, points that are easily transferred, and a low annual fee for the newbie. Our best pick is also our overall highest-rated Travel Rewards Card.
Our Highest-rated Travel Rewards Card: Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card has some of the most competitive point rewards offered on the market. A one-to-one point transfer to most major airline and hotel loyalty programs takes the guesswork out of building a point spending strategy for traveling. With current offers, this card can be obtained with up to 80,000 points with an annual fee of only $95! This makes for an added value of around $1,000! This is an excellent card for both the first-time Travel Rewards earner and the most seasoned veterans in the game!
Our Line Of Recommended Travel Rewards Cards
For the First Timer: Capital One Venture Rewards Card
There are no limits to how many miles you can earn with this card, and there are no exclusions for the types of purchases that earn them either! This makes The Capital One Venture card an ideal starter for anyone looking to have a single card to earn Travel Miles. You will earn 2 Venture Miles for every $1 spent, all day, every day. There are plenty of ways to redeem miles with Venture; vehicle rentals, flight miles, and vacation rentals are all on the list. Transfer points to accredited Venture Loyalty partners with ease for a 2:1.5 transfer ratio and a 2:1 ratio for others. It’s an ideal starter card for the inexperienced Travel Rewards earner with a $95 annual fee and a startup of up to 50,00 miles; it’s a perfect starter card for the inexperienced Travel Rewards earner!
For The Frequent Foreign Traveler: American Express Gold Card
The AmEx Gold card offers some of the most benefits balanced across all categories, making it an ideal card for general travel expenses. WIth AmEx Gold, you’ll earn 4x points on restaurants worldwide, food deliveries, takeout, and even on all shopping in U.S. supermarkets! You’ll also rack up 3x points on all flights and 1x points for ALL other purchases! AmEx Gold can also earn you $120 UberCash and $120 dining credit at participating locations. The annual fee is a bit higher than most at $250, but for any frequent traveler, this will more than pay for itself over time, especially considering you can start an account with up to 50,000 points!
Chase Sapphire Reserve Card
Sapphire Reserve has one of the highest annual fees for any of our Travel Rewards Cards at $550, but with this fee comes a higher level of rewards. This makes the Reserve card more ideal for the experienced Travel Rewards cardholder who often knows and plays the game. You’ll receive 3x points for all travel, dining, and takeout spending, free Priority Pass Membership for worldwide airport lounge access, premium benefits with Peloton and Lyft, in addition to $120 of DoorDash credit per year and $300 of annual Travel Credit in the form of reimbursement for travel expenses! Even with all of these benefits, you can still start with up to 60,000 points!
For The Business Owner:
If you own a business, then you are probably familiar with the benefits of keeping records of your expenses for tax purposes. Most of the time, it works best to keep all business expenses on file with a single card, and we suggest double-dipping on your benefits by choosing a card that has Travel Rewards! Here are our most recommended Travel Rewards Cards for the business owner abroad!
Ink Business Preferred Card by Chase
The Ink Preferred Card makes it easy to benefit personally from expenses accrued by your business. With 3x points for every dollar spent on the first $150,000 of travel, shipping, internet, cable, phone, and advertising (through social media and search engine) purchases, and 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases, you’ll be planning vacations in no time off of your business expenses! With an annual fee of only $95 and 100,000 points to start you off, you’ll be using Chase Ultimate Rewards to redeem your points for travel, cash back, gift cards, and experiences in a matter of short time!
The American Express Business Gold Card
With AmEx Business Gold, you’ll receive 4x points on the two places your business spends the most every month! You’ll still receive 1x points for every dollar spent on everything else, and you even get 25% of your points back on flights booked with the American Express Travel Membership Rewards program! In some cases, flights booked with this program include complimentary travel delay insurance, luggage insurance, and rental loss/damage insurance as well! With an annual fee of $295 and up to 70,000 points to start, AmEx Business Gold has what we would call a good balance between affordability and overall benefits. The one downside with AmEx is that it is not always accepted internationally, so keeping an eye on destinations for travel is essential with this card.
The American Express Business Platinum Card
The AmEx Business Platinum is very similar to the Gold but with a few steps up, of course. You’ll be eligible for up to 100,000 points to start the card, and the annual fee is going to be a high-end $595, but with plenty of excellent benefits, to be sure. For starters, enjoy status with Hilton and Marriott loyalty programs. All flights and hotels booked through the American Express Travel program will earn 5x points per dollar spent and 1x points per dollar spent on all other purchases. If your business requires a large amount of travel, you’ll enjoy having access to AmEx’s Global Lounge collection, Centurion Lounges, and Priority Pass.
Additionally, flights booked through the AmEx Travel program will put 35% of the points spent back into your account. Redeem points at one of the 22 partnered airlines or hotels for a high payoff with all the points you will receive with this card. Again, AmEx is not always accepted internationally, so pay close attention to the areas of the world you’d like to travel to and form a strategy to utilize this card to its fullest potential.
Our Best Cards for Airline Loyalty: Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard
Perfect for the traveler that prefers flying with American Airlines, points stretch further with the airline than other cards, and you will receive 1 mile per dollar spent on all purchases, 2 miles per dollar paid with gas stations, restaurants, and eligible American Airlines Purchases! The annual fee is only $99, and it’s even waived for the first 12 months with a bonus of 50,000 miles!
Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card
For the traveler that prefers traveling Southwest or travels mainly in the United States, you can earn triple points on dining, including takeout and eligible delivery services, with an additional double point bonus on all eligible Southwest purchases! You’ll still receive single points for every dollar spent on all other investments, and you even receive 6,000 bonus points every year, and your bags even get to fly free when traveling with the airline! The bonus miles for this card are only 40,000, but the annual fee is the same at $99.
Delta Skymiles Platinum Business Credit Card by American Express
This would be our top pick for overall best airline rewards, and it makes sense when considering the card comes with the highest annual fee of $250. A great perk of this card comes with an offer for up to 60,000 free miles to start. You’ll also receive triple points for all purchases made with Delta Airlines and purchases made directly with hotels, and an additional 1.5X miles per dollar spent on all purchases over $5,000, with a cap of 50,000 extra points. You’ll also receive priority for boarding on all flights with Delta, discounts on all in-flight purchases, as well as free first bag checking for all flights! Great overall card for the frequent traveler!
Our Best Cards For Getting Cashback: American Express Blue Cash Everyday Card
The simplicity of the benefits of this card makes it ideal for the cashback beginner! With this card, you will receive 10% cashback on all Amazon.com purchases for the first six months up to $150. You will also receive 3% cashback for all U.S. supermarket purchases for the first $6,000 per year, then 1% after that. You will also receive 2% cashback at all U.S. gas stations and eligible U.S. department stores, in addition to 1% cashback on ALL other purchases! With a refundable $100 deposit, we’d say this card is a steal!
Chase Freedom Unlimited Card
We would call this card the best overall cashback for the simple fact that you have the freedom to earn the cash back benefits with a high degree of flexibility. With Freedom Unlimited, you will receive 5% cash back on travel purchases through Chase, 3% on dine-in restaurant visits and drug stores, as well as an UNLIMITED 1.5% on ALL other purchases! You also have the added perks of having discounts with vendors like DoorDash and Lyft! Your deposit is a bit higher here at $200, but worry not, because this deposit is refundable as well!
We hope you found our guide to credit card rewards programs helpful, and we are glad we were able to help you figure out the best way to make your spending work for you! If you liked the information we have presented you with here, send some friends this way so we can spread the word!