Difference between revisions of "Best credit cards for travel spending"
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Revision as of 21:26, 11 October 2018
Make sure to read the tips and general advice in our Optimize Rewards by Using Different Cards for Different Purchases guide.
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Card suggestions
Most people are going to want at least one premium credit card (like the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Citi Prestige, or Amex Platinum card), in order to get free access to airport lounges and other valuable benefits. And most of these premium cards also offer great bonus reward rates on travel purchases, as well as free travel insurance when you use the card to pay for your tickets. Which Premium Reward Card is Right for You?
Whichever premium card you get, is likely to be your best option for travel spending, even if you are primarily getting the card just to earn its signup bonus.
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The Amex Platinum card has the highest reward rate on airfare purchases—but you might not want to use it to purchase your tickets. It earns 5x Membership Reward points, valued at 7.5 cents per dollar, on flights booked through Amex Travel. That’s at least 3 cents per dollar more than any other option. But, unlike other premium credit cards, Amex doesn’t provide free travel insurance. If you have both this card, and one of the cards that comes with travel insurance, you need to decide whether you’d rather have the extra rewards ($15 on a $500 ticket), or the travel insurance benefits you get from the other card (described in more detail below). For most trips, we choose the extra points; but if we think that there is a higher than normal chance of needing the insurance, we opt for a different card. If the tickets are particularly inexpensive, the value of the extra rewards are low, and the travel insurance benefits (from the other cards) are relatively more valuable. Of course, if you don't have another card that provides good bonus rewards, as well as travel insurance benefits, the Platinum card is clearly the best option. The Platinum Card also provides 5x Membership Reward points for pre-paid hotel bookings bought through Amex Travel. But, when you book this way, you won’t get any credit or benefits with the hotel’s loyalty program, and you often won’t get the best room rates. So, this is only a good option when you are staying at a non-chain hotel, the rates are pre-paid (but possibly cancellable), and Amex’s prices happen to be good. | |
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Most people should get the Chase Sapphire Reserve (or Ink Preferred) card, even if it is just for the bonus reward rates. Both cards earn 3x Ultimate Reward points, valued at 5.1 cents per dollar, on every type of travel purchase, including ground transportation and cruises; and provide some of the best travel insurance available from any credit card. The Sapphire Reserve card also offers the highest possible reward rate on restaurant spending. The Ink Preferred is a business card, and offers additional bonus rewards on some business categories. | |
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If you can deal with some extra complexity, the Wells Fargo "Combo" is your next best option, after the Sapphire Reserve. It earns 4.5% on travel, and without any annual fees. The trick is that you need to have two different Wells Fargo cards. And because you can only get one Wells Fargo card every 15 months, it will take some time to put this plan into action. The Wells Fargo Propel card earns 3x points on Travel (and Restaurants, Gas, and Streaming Services). Normally these points are only worth 1 cent each. But, if you also have the Wells Fargo Visa Signature card, you can redeem points at 1.5 cents each, for airfare purchases through the Wells Fargo portal. That works out to 4.5 cents per dollar, which is better than any card except the Sapphire Reserve. | |
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If you can’t get the Chase Sapphire Card, want to use your points on frequent flyer tickets, spend a significant amount of money on travel and entertainment, you should probably use the Citi Prestige card. It earns 3x ThankYou points, valued at 4.5 cents per dollar, on airfare and hotels; and provides the best travel insurance available from any credit card. The Citi Premier has similar benefits, but we think it is almost always worth paying what amounts to an extra $100 per year for the Prestige’s 4th night free access, lounge benefits, and better travel protection benefits. | |
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If you frequently travel on Amtrak, the Amtrak World card offer perhaps the best rewards on travel spending. It earns 2x Amtrak points on all travel purchases, which can then be redeemed for 5.8 cents on Amtrak travel. Points are extremely easy to redeem, and people who travel on Amtrak frequently enough to use up all the points they earn, are likely to prefer 2x Amtrak points to 3x ThankYou points, or even 3x Ultimate Reward points. | |
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The U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve card can be your best option if you don’t want to mess around with frequent flyer points, or you don’t travel enough to warrant getting a more expensive card. It earns 4.5 cents per dollar on all travel purchases (as well as on anything bought with a mobile wallet). There are a few no-annual-fee credit cards that offer good bonus rewards on travel, but for most people, thelimited lounge access, and other benefits you’ll get from the Altitude Reserve, make it worth paying what amounts to $75 per year. | |
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The Synovus Travel Rewards card is another good option (if you live in the Southeast). It earns 5x points, valued at 6 cents per dollar, on your first $5,000/year of travel purchases, and 3x points, valued at 3.6 cents per dollar, on one other category of your choice. $50 annual fee. To get this card, you’ll need to have an account with one of Synovus banks in the Southeast US. | |
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If you don't spend very much on travel, and don't want to mess around with the Wells Fargo combo, you may just want to get the Uber card. It earns 3% on travel purchases, which is less than most of the other options. |
Quick comparison
The point values used in the table below are estimates based on a typical traveler. They may need to be adjusted for your individual preferences and travel patterns. For example, if you highly value premium cabin award tickets and are willing and able to build up large point balances, Ultimate Rewards, Membership Rewards, and ThankYou points are much more valuable and you should earn as many of those types of points as you can. If you have trouble finding good frequent flyer redemptions, you might want to focus on cards that earn points that can be used more like cash. Deciding What Type of Points to Earn
The annual costs in the table below reflect the annual fee minus any travel credits. For travel credits that are harder to redeem, we value the credit at 50% of the maximum credit amount. We value the Amex Airlines Incidental Credit at only 25% of the maximum credit amount. If you are willing to do the work or are otherwise able to get full value from these credits, the effective annual fee can be considerably lower.
Some cards waive the annual fee for the first year. But the table focuses on what you would pay in the longer term.
| Value | Earns | Included Purchases | Includes Insurance | Annual Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amex Platinum Card | ||||
| 7.5% | 5x MR | Airfare and prepaid hotels booked through Amex | - | $350 |
| Synovus Travel* | ||||
| 6% | 5x | All travel (up to $5,000 per year) | - | $50 |
| Amtrak Credit Card | ||||
| 5.8% | 2x | All travel | - | $79 |
| Chase Sapphire Reserve | ||||
| 5.1% | 3x UR | All travel | Yes | $150 |
| Ink Preferred (Business card) | ||||
| 5.1% | 3x UR | All travel | Yes | $95 |
| Priceline Rewards card | ||||
| 5% | 5x | Prepaid hotels rooms at Priceline and Cruises | - | $0 |
| Wells Fargo Propel Card (with Wells Fargo Visa Signature) | ||||
| 4.5% | 3x GoFar | Flights, hotels, car rentals, transit, homestays | - | $0 |
| US Bank Altitude Reserve | ||||
| 4.5% | 3x | All travel | Yes | $75 |
| Amex Gold | ||||
| 4.5% | 3x MR | Airfare | - | $30-250 |
| Citi Prestige | ||||
| 4.5% | 3x TY | Airfare and hotels | Yes | $200† |
| Citi Premier | ||||
| 4.5% | 3x TY | Airfare and hotels | Yes | $95 |
| BOA Premium Rewards / BOA Travel Rewards | ||||
| 2-4.125% | 2-4.125x# | All travel | Yes | $45 |
| Amex Everyday Preferred (with 30 transaction bonus) | ||||
| 3.75% | 2.5 MR | Airfare and prepaid hotels booked through Amex | - | $95 |
| CNB Crystal Infinite | ||||
| 3.6% | 3x | Most Travel | Yes | $150 |
| Penfed Pathfinder (for account holders) | ||||
| 3.6% | 4x | All travel purchases | - | $0 |
| Chase Sapphire Preferred | ||||
| 3.4% | 2x UR | All travel | Yes | $95 |
| Hyatt Card | ||||
| 3.4% | 2x | Airfare and car rentals | Yes | $75 |
| Amex Everyday (with 20 transaction per month bonus) | ||||
| 3.3% | 2.2x MR | Airfare and prepaid hotels booked through Amex | - | $0 |
| Morgan Stanley‡ (for Morgan Stanley customers only) | ||||
| 3% | 2x MR | Airfare and car rentals | - | $0 |
| Uber | ||||
| 3% | 3% | Airfare, hotels, and vacation home rentals | - | $0 |
| AAA (available to anyone) | ||||
| 3% | 3% | All travel | - | $0 |
| Costco / Sam's Club | ||||
| 3% | 3% | All travel | Yes/- | $0 |
| Southwest Plus | ||||
| 2.8% | 2x miles | Southwest, plus hotels and car rentals | - | $69 |
* The Synovus card is only available to people that live within their territory in the Southeast.
† Citigold and Citi Priority customers save an extra $100 on the annual-fee.
‡ This card has a foreign transaction fees of 3%, making it a bad choice for booking foreign hotels and sometimes airfares.
# Cardholders with more than $20,000 in combined balances at BOA / Merrill Lynch earn bonus rewards, maxing out at 3.5 points on travel purchases with the Premium card, and 2.625 points with the Travel Rewards card. But, with both cards you'll earn a base rate of 3 points on purchases made through BOA's travel booking site. With the relationship bonus, this can be boosted as high as 4.125%.
Free travel insurance when you use your card
Many premium credit cards provide free travel insurance benefits when you use them to purchase travel. But, American Express lags in this category. While Amex provides some coverage for accidents and lost baggage, they don’t provide any free trip cancellation or delay coverage.
| Chase Premium ($450 AF) | Citi Premium ($450 AF) | Other Chase | Other Citibank | BOA Premium Rewards | Altitude Reserve |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Covers award flights | |||||
| Yes | Partial* | Yes | Partial* | ||
| Trip Cancellation & Interruption | |||||
| $10,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 ($10,000 Sapphire Preferred) |
$5,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 |
| Trip Delay (max. amount) | |||||
| $500 | $500 | $500 | $500 | $500 | $500 |
| Trip Delay (min. hours) | |||||
| 6 hours | 6 hours (after 7/28/18) | 12 hours | 12 hours | 12 hours | 6 hours |
| Baggage Delay (max. amount) | |||||
| $500 ($100/day) |
$500 ($100/day) |
$500 ($100/day) |
$100 | $500 ($100/day) |
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| Baggage Delay (min. hours) | |||||
| 6 hours | 6 hours (after 7/28/18) | 6 hours | 6 hours | 6 hours | |
| Lost / Damaged Bags (per passenger) | |||||
| $3,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 | Yes | $5,000 ($2,000/bag) |
| Travel Accident (Death and Dismemberment) | |||||
| $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $500,000 | $1,000,000 | Yes | $1,000,000 |
| Emergency Evacuation | |||||
| $100,000 | $100,000 | None | None | Yes | $10,000 |
| Emergency Medical | |||||
| $2,500 | None | None | None | ||
| Auto Rental Coverage | |||||
| Primary | Secondary | Primary* | Secondary | Secondayr | Secondary |
* For Sapphire Reserved and some other Chase cards. On Ink Preferred, rental must be for business purposes.
* Trip cancellation insurance for Citibank cards is limited to the fees paid, on award travel, eliminating most of the value from this benefit on frequent flyer tickets.
A few additional tips:
- The Amex Platinum card gives you emergency evacuation coverage, just by having the card. You don’t have to use it to buy your airfare. So, you can use it along with any other coverages.
- Trip cancellation coverage is usually the most important of these coverages, and there are significant differences in the conditions in which you are entitled to a claim. MileCards.com did a great comparison of Citibank and Chase’s coverage.
- Chase provides cancellation and interruption insurance even if you just pay part of the total costs (as with paying the fees on an award ticket). Citibank provides travel protections with partial payments, but cancellation and interruption is limited to the total amount paid.
- Citibank no longer provides trip delay benefits caused by missing a connection.
- Chase and Citibank only cover family members on the same itinerary as you, not other travelling companions. Check the fine print for other cards (if you are travelling with non-family-members).
When to use your hotel or airline card instead
If you have a hotel or airline branded credit card, it will earn bonus rewards when you make purchases from that hotel company or airline. However, you can usually still earn more valuable rewards from one of the cards above, (such as the Sapphire Reserve card, rather than the hotel or airline’s own card. You’ll also get more flexibility when redeeming your points, and often some additional travel protections.
- If you have the American Express Platinum card, it earns the highest rewards on airfare purchases. No airline card comes close.
- The Chase Sapphire Reserve, the Altitude Reserve, and the Citi Prestige or Premier cards, (almost) always earn higher rewards than the hotel’s or airline’s card. The only exceptions are the Hilton Aspire Credit Card, Hilton Surpass Credit Card, Hyatt Credit Card, Best Western Credit Card, JetBlue Plus Credit Card, and (probably) the Frontier Credit Card.
- If you are just using a general-purpose reward card that earns 2-2.5%, you’ll always get more valuable rewards by using the hotel or airline card instead. Just make sure that you are likely to have a good chance to redeem whatever points you earn with a given hotel or airline program—it is often easier to take advantage of general bank points (or cash back), than the points you might earn separate hotel or airline programs.
