The best travel credit cards to add to your wallet

Whether you already travel frequently or are planning your first vacation in a long time, you can likely benefit from having one or more travel credit cards.

These cards help you earn valuable rewards that you can redeem to make your travel less expensive, more comfortable or both. Some travel credit cards also offer benefits that can save money or help you travel better. Plus, most don't charge foreign transaction fees.

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card was one of the very first travel credit cards I applied for. Although I still have my Venture card, I've also added many other travel rewards cards — some of which I discuss below — to my wallet due to their diverse benefits and rewards.

Rewards I've earned from travel credit cards have let me enjoy premium cabin flights and luxury resorts for a fraction of the cost I would have paid without those points and miles. Points and miles also let me travel frequently while staying within my budget. In short, travel credit cards can be the key to traveling more and/or better.

The best travel credit cards

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees)
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
• The Platinum Card® from American Express
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
• The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (see rates and fees)
• Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
• Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
• American Express® Gold Card
• Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card

Comparing the best travel credit cards

Here are TPG's picks for the best travel credit cards.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

Welcome offer: Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.

Annual fee: $95.

Standout benefits: The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is the card I recommend most when speaking to travelers with good to excellent credit who are looking for a new travel credit card. The card doesn't offer benefits like lounge access or elite status, but it offers bonus points on spending in popular categories like dining, travel and online groceries.

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Plus, it offers excellent travel protections, including trip delay reimbursement and primary auto rental coverage. After my sister-in-law paid for collision insurance on a few car rentals — totaling more than the Sapphire Preferred's annual fee — my husband and I insisted she apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred and use it when renting cars instead of paying for the rental company's collision insurance.

But my favorite perk is the flexibility you can get when redeeming Chase Ultimate Rewards points. I often joke that my Ultimate Rewards points are simply waiting to become World of Hyatt points since I love transferring Chase points to Hyatt. You can get great value when booking award nights through World of Hyatt since the program still uses an award chart and Category 1 Hyatt hotels start at just 3,500 points per night.

But Chase Sapphire Preferred Card members can also transfer points to other partners or redeem points toward travel booked through Chase Travel at a rate of 1.25 cents each.

To learn more, read our Chase Sapphire Preferred Card review.

Apply here: Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Welcome offer: Earn 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening, plus receive a one-time $250 Capital One Travel credit to use in your first cardholder year.

Annual fee: $95.

Standout benefits: The primary benefit of the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is its simplicity for earning and redeeming. You'll earn at least 2 Capital One miles per dollar spent on purchases and can easily redeem miles for statement credits to offset recent travel purchases.

However, I prefer to transfer Capital One miles to Capital One transfer partners when I'm ready to book an award flight or hotel. For example, I transferred rewards to Avianca LifeMiles to book Lufthansa first class from Frankfurt to Mexico City last year. Additionally, I'm using Choice points — which I could have earned via transferring Capital One miles to Choice Privileges if I didn't already have enough in my account — to stay in Helsinki this April.

To learn more, check out our Capital One Venture card review and our guide on maximizing Capital One miles.

Learn more: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

The Platinum Card from American Express

Welcome offer: Earn 80,000 points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases within the first six months of cardmembership.

Annual fee: $695 (see rates and fees).

Standout benefits: The Amex Platinum is the ultimate consumer travel card. It offers broad lounge access through its global lounge collection, including Centurion Lounges and Delta Sky Clubs (up to 10 visits every Feb. 1 to Jan. 31). This lounge access — plus the card's many statement credits — provides enough value for my husband to keep this card in his wallet despite its hefty annual fee.

He gets up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection bookings through American Express Travel (The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two night stay). We've used this credit each year for stays at hotels a bit nicer than we typically frequent, such as The St. Regis Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and The Naka Island, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Phuket in Thailand. We use our monthly up to $20 digital entertainment statement credit for Disney+, our up to $50 biannual Saks statement credit for polo shirts and our monthly Uber Cash for rides or eats in the U.S. (up to $20 each month and a bonus $20 in December; your Amex Plat must be added to your Uber account and you can redeem with any Amex card).

But really, we keep the card to get him Centurion Lounge access, as we enjoy the food, drinks and workspace at these lounges.

Enrollment required for select benefits.

Check out our Amex Platinum Card review to learn more.

Apply here: The Platinum Card from American Express

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Welcome offer: Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.

Annual fee: $395.

Standout benefits: As a Capital One Venture X cardmember, I receive $300 in credits toward bookings made through Capital One Travel each account anniversary year. I usually use these credits when booking flights through Capital One Travel, especially since the site's price match and price drop protection features have come in handy on several bookings.

I also get 10,000 bonus miles every year, starting on my first account anniversary. The Capital One Travel credits and bonus miles provide me with more value each year than the card's $395 annual fee, so it's easy for me to justify paying the annual fee each time it posts to my account.

The Venture X offers several other perks I enjoy. For example, I love earning at least 2 miles per dollar spent on purchases, which makes the card my default everyday spending card. I also appreciate how the food and drink quality in the Capital One Lounge at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) has remained at a high level even as the lounge has become more crowded.

To learn more, read our Capital One Venture X card review.

Learn more: Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

The Business Platinum Card from American Express

Welcome offer: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $20,000 on eligible purchases in the first three months of cardmembership.

Annual fee: $695 (see rates and fees).

Standout benefits: Even though my husband has the Amex Platinum, I applied for The Business Platinum Card from American Express in 2019. I've kept the card ever since for its statement credits and lounge access. The lounge access benefit of this card became more important when Amex changed its Centurion Lounge guest policy in 2023, as since then, my husband and I have each used our own Platinum Cards to get into the lounge.

As for statement credits (many of which require enrollment), I've enjoyed the new up to $50 per quarter statement credit for eligible purchases made with Hilton properties using my card. I used my credit in the first quarter of 2025 for a stay at the Hampton by Hilton Munich City Center East and will use it in the second quarter at the Hilton Tallinn Park in Estonia. I joined the Hilton for Business program to get access to the $50 per quarter statement credits and have since found the program offers some compelling rates.

I don't use all the Amex Business Platinum Card's benefits. For example, I already have higher tiers of Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors status than the Gold status provided as a perk of my Amex Business Platinum Card. Unfortunately, my cell service provider (Google Fi) isn't eligible for the up to $10 per month in U.S. wireless telephone statement credits offered by the Amex Business Platinum, and my business doesn't use Adobe or Indeed (two other companies for which cardmembers can enjoy statement credits; up to $150 annually with Adobe and up to $90 quarterly with Indeed).

I also rarely put spending on my Amex Business Platinum Card. But even so, the card's effective annual fee is worth paying for the lounge access I receive since I use the up to $200 airline fee statement credit each calendar year for incidental fees with one airline (I choose American Airlines), the up to $50 per quarter Hilton Honors statement credits and the up to $199 each calendar year Clear Plus statement credit.

To learn more, read our Amex Business Platinum Card review.

Apply here: The Business Platinum Card from American Express

Ink Business Preferred Credit Card

Welcome offer: Earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first three months after account opening.

Annual fee: $95.

Standout benefits: The Ink Business Preferred Credit Card doesn't have flashy travel perks, but it offers 3 points per dollar spent on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases in select categories each account anniversary year. Travel is one of these categories, making the Ink Business Preferred my go-to travel credit card.

While many other travel credit cards offer bonus earnings on flights, hotels or when booking through their travel portal, the travel category on the Ink Business Preferred is broad. So, I can earn 3 points per dollar on wide-ranging travel expenses, including hotels, car rentals, travel agencies, toll roads, trains and buses.

Plus, I usually get great value when redeeming Chase Ultimate Rewards points. World of Hyatt is my most-used Ultimate Rewards transfer partner, but my husband and I recently transferred Ultimate Rewards to United Airlines to book a last-minute Aegean Airlines flight from Athens, Greece, to Tirana, Albania, for just 6,000 miles and $33 each.

To learn more, see our Ink Business Preferred card review.

Apply here: Ink Business Preferred Credit Card

Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card

Welcome offer: Earn 70,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in your first six months of cardmembership.

Annual fee: $650 (see rates and fees).

Standout benefits: I've never seriously considered applying for the Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card, but if I were a frequent Delta flyer striving for a specific Delta Medallion status tier, it would certainly be in my wallet.

Delta Reserve cardmembers get 2,500 Medallion Qualification Dollars each Medallion qualification year. Plus, cardmembers earn 1 MQD per $10 of purchases made with their Delta Reserve card in a calendar year. These two perks make it easier to earn and maintain Delta Medallion status.

Cardmembers also enjoy 15 complimentary visits each Medallion year to the Delta Sky Club when flying Delta and can also unlock unlimited Delta Sky Club access through the end of the next Medallion year after spending $75,000 on purchases with the Delta Reserve card during a calendar year. Plus, Delta Reserve cardmembers get four one-time guest passes each Medallion year.

Statement credits like the up to $240 Resy credit (for purchases at U.S. Resy-affiliated restaurants or other Resy purchases), the up to $120 ride-hailing credit (on U.S. ride-hailing purchases) and the up to $200 Delta Stays credit can also provide value. Enrollment required for select benefits.

The card offers many more perks, so check out our Delta Reserve Amex Card review to see if it's right for you.

Apply here: Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card

Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card

Welcome offer: Earn 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,000 on purchases in your first six months of cardmembership.

Annual fee: $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150 (see rates and fees).

Standout benefits: If you are paying checked bag fees or stressing about finding overhead bin space when flying Delta, the Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card can help. It offers Zone 5 priority boarding and a first bag free on Delta flights for you and up to eight other travelers in your reservation.

The card also offers various other benefits that provide value. For example, the TakeOff15 benefit means you'll automatically pay 15% fewer miles when redeeming for travel on Delta-operated flights. Plus, the card offers a $100 Delta Stays credit that gives you up to $100 back per year as a statement credit after you use your Delta Gold Amex to book prepaid hotels or vacation rentals through Delta Stays. In 2024, I used the Delta Stays credit from another Delta credit card for a $148 overnight stay in Male, Maldives, before heading to a private island resort.

If you fully use the Delta Stays credit each year, the annual fee on the Delta Gold Amex may be worth paying even if you only use a few of its other benefits occasionally. See our Delta Gold Amex Card review for more details.

Apply here: Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card

American Express Gold Card

Welcome offer: Earn 60,000 points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases within the first six months of cardmembership.

Annual fee: $325 (see rates and fees).

Standout benefits: The American Express Gold Card is popular with many consumers due to its food-focused benefits and earning rates.

On the earning side, Amex Gold Card members earn 4 points per dollar spent at restaurants worldwide (on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar) and on groceries at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar). These earning rates are difficult to beat, especially considering the caps on earning are relatively high for most consumers' spending patterns.

On the benefits side, Amex Gold Card members can enjoy up to $10 in Uber Cash for U.S. purchases each month (Amex Gold must be added to your Uber account and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $7 in Dunkin' statement credit each month (at U.S. Dunkin' locations), up to $10 in statement credit each month for purchases with Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com or Five Guys, and up to $100 in statement credits for U.S. Resy-affiliated and other eligible Resy purchases each calendar year.

I don't have the Amex Gold since I spend significant time outside the U.S. Although the Amex Gold can be useful for travelers, it becomes less useful if you spend so much time abroad that you can't get good value from the monthly statement credits (most of which you can only use within the U.S.).

Enrollment required for select benefits.

However, the card is popular for a reason, so read our Amex Gold Card review for more details.

Apply here: American Express Gold Card

Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card

Welcome offer: Earn a bonus of 20,000 miles once you spend $500 on purchases within three months from account opening.

Annual fee: $0.

Standout benefits: The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card lets you earn transferable rewards without paying an annual fee. You'll earn at least 1.25 miles per dollar spent on every purchase, which is impressive considering the card doesn't carry an annual fee.

The card offers a 0% introductory annual percentage rate for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers, with a 19.24% to 29.24% variable APR afterward. If you use this offer, be sure you'll be able to pay off your balance in full by the end of the introductory APR period. After all, the rewards you'll earn with this card won't be worthwhile if you pay interest and fees.

You can redeem miles you earn with your VentureOne card to cover recent travel purchases at a rate of 1 cent per mile. However, you'll likely get more value when you redeem miles by transferring them to select airline and hotel loyalty programs.

To learn more, see our Capital One VentureOne card review.

Learn more: Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card

What to consider when choosing a travel credit card

There's a lot to consider when picking a new travel credit card. Here are a few of the top aspects to consider.

Preferred rewards

Perhaps the most important aspect to consider when choosing a travel credit card is the rewards you'll earn. Most travel credit cards earn hotel points, airline miles or transferable rewards.

Whereas the best way to redeem hotel points and airline miles is usually with a specific program — for example, the best way to redeem Delta miles is for award flights booked through the Delta SkyMiles program — transferable rewards give you more flexibility. You can usually redeem flexible rewards at a fixed rate for statement credits or travel booking, but you can also transfer your rewards to select hotel and airline loyalty programs.

This ability to transfer rewards such as Amex Membership Rewards points, Capital One miles and Chase Ultimate Rewards points to other programs — often at a 1:1 ratio — lets me avoid devaluation in a specific program by waiting until I want to book a specific award flight or night before I transfer my points or miles.

Benefits

Another important aspect to consider when choosing a travel card is its benefits. For example, I renew my Amex Business Platinum Card each year not for the rewards I earn when making purchases with it but for the benefits it provides. In particular, I get a lot of value from the lounge access I enjoy as a benefit of my various travel cards.

Benefits can be particularly compelling with hotel credit cards, many of which offer elite status and a free night certificate each year when you renew. In many cases, the free night certificate can offer more value than the card's annual fee. Likewise, airline credit cards usually offer perks like a complimentary checked bag, earlier boarding and an elite status boost.

Welcome bonus

If you're going to apply for a new travel credit card, it's worth considering the welcome bonus. You could choose a card based on the currently available welcome bonuses. Or, you could wait to apply for a card when it's offering an elevated limited-time offer. You could also check CardMatch to see whether you're currently targeted for special offers.

Related: The best credit card welcome bonuses

Spending habits

Consider how well a travel credit card's bonus categories match your spending habits. Specifically, consider what types of purchases you'd be putting on the card if you were to apply. Also consider whether you'd be able to spend enough on the card within the first few months after you sign up to meet the minimum spending requirements for the welcome bonus.

Annual fee

Finally, you'll likely also want to consider the annual fee when choosing a travel credit card. Specifically, consider whether the earnings and benefits you'll get will provide more value than the cost of the annual fee. If you don't believe you'll get enough value from the benefits and earnings, then the card likely isn't a good fit for you.

How we chose the best travel credit cards

TPG chose the best travel credit cards based on several factors, including earning rates, benefits, welcome bonuses and the overall value we expect a consumer can obtain by having and using the card.

Check out our review methodology to learn more about how TPG chose cards to highlight in this article and similar articles.

Redemption options for travel credit cards

Your redemption options will depend on your specific travel credit card, but you should usually redeem hotel points for hotel stays and airline miles for award flights.

Transferable rewards like Chase Ultimate Rewards points have more redemption options. I highly recommend researching and understanding the different ways to redeem — and calculating the cents per point you'd get via each redemption method — before redeeming any rewards. But know that, in general, you'll want to redeem transferable rewards by transferring them to airline or hotel partners. Take a look at TPG's monthly valuations and aim to get at least our valuation in value when redeeming.

My go-to transfer partner for Chase Ultimate Rewards is World of Hyatt. I've transferred Chase points to Hyatt to book aspiration stays at Miraval Austin, Alila Kothaifaru Maldives and Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa.

But I've gotten high redemption rates even when redeeming Hyatt points for lower-category stays. For example, I booked five off-peak nights at the Category 1 Story Hotel Signalfabriken in Sweden, which cost $1,012 or 17,500 points, giving me a redemption rate of 5.78 cents per point. I also booked five peak nights at the Category 1 Hyatt Regency Cape Town, which cost $2,086 or 32,500 points, giving me a redemption rate of 6.42 cents per point.

In short, transferable points can let you travel better and/or with more comfort without paying more money.

Bottom line

Travel credit cards have let me unlock elite status, perks and award redemptions that otherwise wouldn't be possible. Consider what perks or rewards currency you want when deciding which travel credit card to apply for. Be sure to consider all your redemption options before you redeem, keeping TPG's valuations in mind to assess whether you're getting good value from your redemption.

Related: Why transferable points and miles are worth more than other rewards

For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Business Platinum Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta Reserve Amex Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta Gold Amex Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Gold Card, click here.