The following offers may not be current. See our list of the best travel credit cards for the latest information.
The days are getting longer, and winter is finally over. With the first summer vacation approaching, you may be thinking of going on a vacation to the seaside or to a quiet time by a mountain lake.
As you start planning your summer trip, consider using credit card rewards and other offers to soften the price shock. Travel credit cards can earn you free flights or hotel stays, enhance your vacation experience with travel deals, and offer rewards to use toward future vacations.
With the summer travel season just around the corner, here are some of the best credit cards to consider. Before you apply, make sure the card’s annual fee and other features fit your spending habits.
How to choose a travel card that fits your budget
You’ll need to have enough breathing room to earn the card’s welcome bonus through normal spending over the next few months as you eye a vacation destination. Match the card to your spending habits – see if you regularly spend on purchases that the card offers rewards on, and don’t overspend just to get there.
Each of the above cards charges an annual fee. This can actually reduce your rewards or reduce the value of the welcome bonus, so you’ll need to take that into account. But the welcome bonus value of all of the above cards is more than enough to offset the annual fee, at least in the first year. Before you apply, see if you can earn enough rewards or use enough benefits to cover the fee.
For premium credit cards like the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card*, you might not feel the high annual fee is worth it unless you travel frequently. However, it does come with an annual travel credit of up to $300 when you book through Capital One Travel, which can help pay for some of your expenses as long as you can use it.
The American Express Gold Card also has a high annual fee, but has a good rewards rate and covers common purchases like restaurants and U.S. supermarkets. It also includes $120 in dining credits per year (up to $10 per month on your bill when you pay with the card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar, and select Shake Shack locations), plus up to $120 in Uber Cash per year (up to $10 per month) for Uber Eats or Uber rides in the U.S. when you add the Gold Card to your Uber account.
Another card that offers fewer points, but also a lower fee, is the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. The fee is $95, but the Sapphire Preferred’s increased rewards redemption rate shouldn’t be hard to make up for that.
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Certain American Express benefits and offers may require registration. Visit americanexpress.com for more information.
How to best get the welcome bonus
It is important not to let your welcome bonus pressure you into making purchases you would not otherwise make or expenses you cannot afford. Any unnecessary spending will reduce the value you receive from your welcome bonus.
Welcome bonuses can only be earned through everyday spending, otherwise your bonus will quickly be covered by interest.
If you don’t have to spend much to get your welcome bonus, you can use the bonus to help fund a large planned purchase, such as a family road trip or overseas vacation.
You’ll earn 4x points per dollar on U.S. supermarket purchases with the Gold Card (up to $25,000 in purchases per year, 1x thereafter), and 2x miles on all purchases with the Venture X, making these cards ideal for your essential spending.
You can budget ahead of time to see how much you need to spend in these categories to earn your bonus, and then make a plan for that. You can also see how much you’ll get back on these expenditures.
How to make the most of your travel card
There are a few ways to get the best ongoing value from your travel credit card. One way is to use it to pay for purchases that earn the most rewards — in this case, booking travel that earns more rewards through the respective credit card issuer’s travel portal.
Once you get your welcome bonus, spend it in the way that’s most valuable. For most of these cards, the easiest option is to use the bonus for travel through a travel portal. It usually guarantees a 1 cent value per point. But if you want to go a step further, your points may be worth more if you transfer them to travel partners and find deals.
For example, the Chase Sapphire Preferred has a 1:1 conversion rate, which means that 1 Chase Ultimate Reward point will always convert to at least 1 partner mile or point. You can then use those partner points to book flights or hotels directly through the company’s own loyalty program.
In some cases, you may find that an offer is worth more than 1 cent per point to you.
To find out how much your miles are worth, divide the cost of your flight or hotel by the number of miles required to redeem it. For example, if you transfer 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Iberia Airlines and use them to book a business-class flight to Spain that would otherwise cost $6,000 in cash, your points are actually worth 12 cents per point on that redemption.
You can see a complete list of Chase, American Express, and Capital One’s money transfer partners on each issuer’s website.
Credit Card Issuer Travel Portal
With the exception of Discover, most major credit card issuers offer a portal or platform for booking travel and redeeming rewards. Avid travelers may scoff at the idea of booking all their trips through one site instead of hunting around, but in some cases, doing so can be beneficial.
For example, the Venture X earns 10x miles on hotel and car rentals booked through Capital One Travel, while the Chase Sapphire Preferred earns 5x points on travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
The Sapphire Preferred also offers a 25% redemption bonus when you redeem Ultimate Rewards points for travel through the portal, but you won’t earn extra points on that booking. While you may find more value in transferring points to a partner airline and booking through its frequent flyer program, Chase Ultimate Rewards can be a good option for those who value simplicity or pay with cash and want extra rewards.
Amex Travel works similarly. You’ll get the most bang for your buck if you use American Express Membership Points to buy flights through the card issuer’s portal, or transfer points to one of its partners. You can also earn 3x points when you book flights through the portal with the American Express Gold Card, although the rates are the same for booking flights directly with the airline.
Bottom Line
If you’re planning on traveling somewhere, now’s the time to consider adding a travel credit card to your wallet. With summer just around the corner (and the weather getting hot), you’ll want plenty of time to earn a welcome bonus on a new card to help limit travel costs. Just make sure the card has lasting value after earning and using the welcome bonus, and that the card fits your budget in terms of rewards, annual benefits, and fees.
*All information about the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card was collected independently by CNET and has not been verified by the issuer.
The editorial content of this page is based solely on the objective, independent assessment of our authors and is not influenced by advertising or partnerships. It is not provided or commissioned by any third party. However, we may receive compensation when you click on links to products or services provided by our partners.
