Top Travel Credit Cards for 2023
Using miles and points, you might easily avoid spending thousands of dollars on vacation and take advantage of abundant experiences like business class travel and stays in five-star hotels that you might not otherwise be able to afford. All sensible travelers ought to use a decent travel credit card—or several—as a tool. It can be difficult to decide which travel credit card to apply for.
By Kamilė
Published: Dec 22, 2022 • min read
It's vital to plan the timing and sequence of your credit card application because of limitations like Chase's 5/24 rule and the short duration of some bonus offers. Some of the cards on our list may not change from month to month because we're covering what we think are the most incredible bargains, not simply short-term deals.
Although credit cards can save you hundreds of dollars on travel, make sure you don't get played by hotel prices. Check for the best available hotel rate with Ratepunk (it's free).
#1 Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Current Offer: A total of 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months.
Annual Fee: $395
The yearly cost may appear pricey at first, but you get a $300 travel credit every year that is simple to utilize. Additionally, you'll receive 10,000 extra miles, worth $100 in free travel, on the anniversary of your credit card every year. So even without the other benefits, the annual charge is more than offset.
Additionally, this card entitles you to a free Priority Pass membership, which allows unlimited access to the 1,300+ Priority Pass lounges worldwide.
The 75,000 bonus miles you'll earn after spending the required amount are the best perk to last. For one penny per mile, users of Capital One Rewards can book travel or pay for a trip that has already been booked within the last 90 days. In other words, even going back in time, this card would pay $750 in travel expenses! Capital One miles can also be transferred at a rate of 2:1.5 to various airline programs, providing genuine choice when booking the finest reward tickets.
Other Benefits:
- No foreign transaction fees
- Receive up to $300 back annually as statement credits for bookings through Capital One Travel
- 10,000-mile anniversary bonus
- 10x miles on hotels and cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 5x miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel
- 2x miles on all other purchases
#2 American Express® Gold Card
Current Offer: 60,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $4,000 in the first six months
Annual Fee: $250
The American Express Gold card offers excellent earning opportunities, including 4x points on all restaurant, takeout, and delivery purchases made in the United States and 3x points on flight reservations.
Other Benefits:
- $120 in dining credits, $10 per month, after enrollment
- $120 Uber Cash: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account, and each month, automatically get $10 in Uber Cash for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S., totaling up to $120 per year.
- No foreign transaction fees
#3 Citi Premier® Card
Current Offer: Earn 80,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
Annual Fee: $95
This is a great beginner card for anyone searching for a straightforward, affordable way to start accumulating points. If you transfer the 80,000 points to travel partners like Emirates, Air France, KLM, JetBlue, or Virgin Atlantic, the value of the points increases to at least $800. Even better, you may earn three times as many points at restaurants, supermarkets, petrol stations, hotels, and airports (basically everything you usually spend on).
Other Benefits:
- $100 annual hotel savings benefit (on a single hotel stay of $500 or more booked through thankyou.com)
- Transfer points to 16 airline programs, from JetBlue to Virgin Atlantic
- No foreign transaction fees
#4 Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Current Offer: 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $4,000 within the first three months.
Annual Fee: $95
One of our favorite cards is the Chase Sapphire Preferred! Because they are flexible and can be used to book awards, Ultimate Reward points are worth something. For example, when booking travel through the Chase Travel Portal, each point is worth 1.25 cents more. So your 60,000 extra points can be used for a free trip worth $750! Additionally, you can transfer your points to United, Singapore, British Airways, Korean, Southwest, and Virgin Atlantic at a 1:1 ratio. Holders of the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card currently earn 5x Chase Ultimate Rewards points when they book travel through the program, 3x points when they dine out, including when eligible delivery services are used, 3x points when they shop for groceries online (but not at Target, Walmart, or wholesale clubs), 3x points when they stream content and 2x points for all other travel-related expenses.
Other Benefits:
- No foreign transaction fees
- $50 credit on Ultimate Rewards Hotels annually
- Discounts on DoorDash with a free DashPass subscription for one year (if activated by 12/31/24)
- Car rental insurance
- Travel accident insurance
#5 Hilton Honors American Express Card
Current Offer: Earn 80,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $1,000 in purchases on the Card in the first 3 months of Card Membership.
Annual Fee: $0
80,000 Hilton points are available with this $0 per year credit card, which is an amazing amount for something that is free. This card is a good choice for anyone wishing to enter the hotel loyalty game because it offers excellent earning rates on general spending categories and 6 points for every dollar spent at Hilton hotels (and you reap hundreds of dollars of value in the process).
Other Benefits:
- No foreign transaction fees
- Earn 7X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged directly with hotels and resorts within the Hilton portfolio.
- Complimentary Hilton Honors Silver status
- No annual fee
#6 IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card
Current Offer: 140,000 points after spending $3,000 within the first 3 months of card opening
Annual Fee: $99
When staying at IHG properties, cardholders can earn an incredible 26 points for every dollar spent, and after renewing their card each year, they are eligible for a free night reward (which alone makes this card pay for itself). With IHG's expansive global reach and alluring new IHG One Rewards program, this card has recently gained a lot of interest. Additionally, the 140,000 Bonus Points welcome bonus on a $99 card is beyond insane. If you haven't already, you could get interested in IHG hotels after viewing this deal.
Other Benefits:
- 5x points on travel, dining, and gas stations
- 3x on all other purchases
- Earn a $100 statement credit and 10,000 points after spending $20,000 in a calendar year
- Receive your fourth night free when booking IHG stays with points
#7 The Platinum Card® from American Express
Current Offer: 80,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $6,000 within the first six months.
Annual Fee: $695
The benefits provided by the American Express Platinum Card are among the best. The 80,000-point welcome bonus is excellent, and the $695 is entirely made up by spending credits (after spending $6,000 in the first six months). Additionally, this card will earn 5x the points on some hotel and travel transactions. Of course, membership to the American Express Global Lounge Collection, which includes entry to the Centurion Lounge, is our favorite perk of this card. These excellent advantages are subject to conditions and limitations.
Other Benefits:
- No foreign transaction fees
- Up to $200 statement credit for incidental airline fees after enrollment
- Up to $200 statement credit on select hotel spending (which requires a minimum two-night stay)
- Up to $240 digital spending credit for Peacock, Audible, SiriusXM, and The New York Times, after enrollment
- Up to $200 credit for Uber after enrollment.
- Up to $300 credit for Equinox spending after enrollment
- $189 credit for Clear® membership annually
- Global Entry spending credit, after enrollment
#8 The Bilt Mastercard®
Current Offer: None 😱
Annual Fee: $0
Don't let the lack of a sign-up bonus deter you from applying for this card; you may find that it gives just as much or even more value than cards with big sign-up bonuses. The only credit card that doesn't charge fees and lets you earn points just for paying your rent is Bilt. They also have some attractive starting pay rates, but on the first of every month, those rates are doubled, enabling you to get even more for your money. Did we also mention that they have several hotel and airline, transfer partners? It doesn't get much better for a credit card with no yearly charge than this.
Other Benefits:
- Earn 3x points on dining, 2x points on travel, and 1 point on everything else
- Double earning rates on the 1st of every month
- Earn up to 50,000 points per year for paying your rent
- Transfer to 14 different airlines and hotels
- Earn interest on your points
#9 Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®
Current Offer: Earn 50,000 American Airlines miles after spending $5,000 within the first 3 months of account opening.
Annual Fee: $450
For American Airlines' frequent passengers, this card offers a variety of significant advantages. The Admirals Club® membership you receive for free with this card is worth up to $650. This is a card you should get if you want a ton of miles, fantastic features, and limitless access to lounges.
Other Benefits:
- Priority Boarding on American Airlines flights
- Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® application fee credit up to $100 every 5 years
- Free checked bag on American Airlines flights
- Priority check-in and priority airport screening (where available)
- 25% savings on inflight food and beverage purchases on American Airlines flights
#10 Chase Sapphire Reserve
Current Offer: 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $4,000 within the first three months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
Annual Fee: $550
This card's outstanding travel benefits more than offset the hefty annual fee. The $300 yearly credit for the trip is one of the nicest benefits. The free Priority Pass membership that grants the cardholder and up to 2 guests free access to more than 1,000 airline lounges worldwide is our favorite benefit from this card. If you've ever watched one of our YouTube videos, you'll know that we virtually always use this perk when we fly. We would gladly pay $250 yearly for this service!
Other Benefits:
- No foreign transaction fees
- 3x points on travel (after the $300 travel credit is used) and dining purchases
- 10x points on Lyft rides (ending March 31, 2025)
- Discounts on DoorDash with a free DashPass subscription (Must be activated by December 31, 2024)
- Up to $100 application credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre-check
- Lost luggage reimbursement
- Car rental insurance
- Travel accident insurance
#11 JetBlue Plus Card
Current Offer: Earn 80,000 JetBlue points after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days of account opening
Annual Fee: $99
This card offers a ton of value for such a low annual cost. The 80,000 extra points' worth is over $1,300, making this a simple card to apply for. In addition, your yearly net cost is only $19 since you receive an extra 5,000 points for each year you keep the card. Of course, there would be several more advantages, and if all of that wasn't fantastic enough.
Other Benefits:
- Get 10% of your points back when you redeem them on JetBlue flights
- $100 annual statement credit toward JetBlue vacations packages
- Earn 6x points on purchases with JetBlue
- Earn 2x points on restaurants and grocery stores
- 50% savings on inflight food and beverage purchases on JetBlue flights
#12 Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Current Offer: A total of 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 in the first three months
Annual Fee: $95
For one penny per mile, users of Capital One Rewards can book travel or pay for a trip that has already been booked within the last 90 days. That implies that this card would even cover travel expenses from the past. In addition, Capital One miles can be transferred at a 1:1 ratio to various airline programs, giving you complete freedom when selecting the finest reward flights.
Other Benefits:
- $100 rebate on Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fees
- 2x the points on all spending
- No foreign transaction fees
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