BEST Travel Credit Cards 2021 | Travel with Points

Playing the credit card game may be time consuming, but it is SO worth it! I haven't paid for a flight in over eight years and use my points to pay for hotels that are a high dollar amount but low point redemption. Discover the 5 BEST travel credit cards & start earning your free trips!

I have no shame in admitting that I play the credit card game to the max in order to hoard points and travel for free. For many of my trips, I've paid for the airfare and hotel with points. It makes a huge difference when the only thing you're digging your wallet out for is meals and entertainment. 

My spreadsheets are dedicated to travel credit cards I have, cards I will open for Jake or myself in the future, and cards I am keeping my eye on for insane bonus offers for new applicants.

It’s a time-consuming task, but well worth it considering the numerous trips we have taken for FREE! I've stock pilled 100,000’s of points to be used for future travel by bringing my A game to credit card planning.

My first post dedicated to the travel credit card strategy will be my top 5 travel credit cards that I currently have in my wallet.

Chase Sapphire Reserve is the travel credit card I use most, earning 3 points per dollar on restaurants and travel and 1 point for everything else.  This is my fall back card. You'll see as you get further into this post that the other cards listed have very specific uses.

This is the card I use for everything else because it has the highest dollar value for it's points (2 cents a point). I also use this card for rental cars since it has the best rental car protection and travel purchases that I think I might need travel protection for.

The fee may seem high at $450 per year ($550 starting in 2021), but the benefits more than make up for the fee including: 

• 1:1 points transfers to 13 travel partners including Marriott, Hyatt, American Airlines, and United Airlines (one of the best point transfer programs available)
• $300 in travel credits per year
• Global Entry/TSA Precheck fee credit
• Airport Lounge Access with Priority Pass Select
• Travel coverage (baggage delay insurance, rental car insurance, roadside assistance, and more). This card by far has the best travel coverage protection.
• Purchase protection 
• Rental Car Privileges (like instant Executive Level status with National Rental Car)
• No foreign transaction fees

See this posts about the best Premium Travel Rewards Credit Cards

The sole reason I have the Citi Prestige Mastercard is for the 4^th night free benefit that you can use twice a year. This more than justifies the $495 fee per year. I primarily only use this card when paying for hotels for 4+ night stays (in order to receive the 4^th night free benefit), restaurants (5 points per dollar), and when I book things on Expedia (5 points per dollar).

This card earns 3 points per dollar on air travel and hotels (which typically includes travel booking websites like Expedia), 5 points for dining, airfare, and travel agencies (including websites like Expedia), 3 points for hotels and cruise lines, and 1 point for everything else.

Other benefits that made this card a win are:

• $250 in travel credits per year
• Airport Lounge Access with Priority Pass Select
• Global Entry/TSA Precheck fee credit
• Travel coverage (baggage delay insurance, rental car insurance, roadside assistance, and more)
• Purchase protection 
• No foreign transaction fees

If you travel often for business or pleasure it’s wise to pick a hotel brand to be loyal to in order to achieve status level that comes with perks. The wide footprint of Marriott with the SPG merger and the bonus sign-up offers for the credit card made this my hotel brand of choice.

I only use the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant when paying for Marriott hotel rooms earning 6 points per dollar. 3 points per dollar will be earned on flights and dining and 2 points everything else. This card is $450 per year, though the benefits make the fee worth it if you stay at Marriott brand hotels often.

• $300 in annual Marriott credits
• 1 free night award every year after your account anniversary for a 1 night stay at a property with a redemption level up to 50,000 points
• Automatic Gold status (current card offer includes Platinum Elite for 2021)
• Receive 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year to help reach your next status level
• $100 Marriott credit at Ritz and St. Regis hotels
• Car rental coverage and baggage insurance
• Airport Lounge Access with Priority Pass Select
• No foreign transaction fees
• Free premium internet access

Southwest Companion Pass (where a designated companion can fly with you free of airline charges for a year) has been titled the most lucrative credit card reward benefit by many. This perk saves us $1,000’s a year. If you live in a large Southwest hub and travel on Southwest several times a year, working to hit companion pass is worth the effort.

The yearly fee of the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Visa is $99 and earns 5 points per dollar spent on Southwest flights, 2 points per dollar spent on Southwest purchases and Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partner purchases, and 1 point on everything else. Other benefits include:

• 6,000 bonus points every card member anniversary
• No foreign transaction fees

*Future post coming soon featuring tips and tricks to earning Southwest Companion Pass 

You do have to be careful when you rotate (or churn) cards. You must do your research on what happens to your points if you cancel the card. Typically, if the card isn't worth the fee (i.e. I don't get an annual free hotel night of some other perk), I will cancel the card after 12.5 or 13 months. You risk having your points taken back if you cancel before 12 months. I like to stay on the save side and give myself a little cushion.

If you cancel a hotel or airline specific card (where you earn points directly in airline or hotel account), your points are usually safe. So if I opened the United Airlines credit card and earned the bonus points in my United Airlines account, my points are safe if I cancel the card after 12 months.

It's the credit cards that earn points in a portal that you can transfer to partners (like the Chase Sapphire Reserve or the Citi Prestige) that you have to worry about. For example, if I cancelled my Citi Prestige card, the points in my Citi Thank You Points portal would expire in 60 days. This is true even if I transferred those points to Delta Airlines or another travel partner. 

Churning cards can earn a massive amount of points. Just make sure you are diligent on making sure you understand the rules.