5 BEST Travel Credit Cards

I have no shame in admitting that I play the credit card game and play it to the max in order to hoard points and travel for free. I haven’t paid for flight in over 6 years and have stock pilled 100,000’s of points to be used for future travel. My spreadsheets are dedicated to travel credit cards I have, cards I will open for Jake or me 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! My first post dedicated to the credit card game 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.  I use this card for all dining and travel expensives (excluding when I need to use the cards below for specific hotel brands or Southwest flights– see below). The fee may seem high at $450 per year, but the benefits more than make up for the fee including: 

• 1:1 points transfers to 13 travel partners including Marriott, American Airlines, and United Airlines
• $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)
• Purchase protection 
• Rental Car Privileges (like instant Executive Level status with National Rental Car)
• No foreign transaction fees

The sole reason I have the Citi Prestige Mastercard is for the 4^th night free benefit (which more than justifies the $450 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). This card earns 3 points per dollar on air travel and hotels and 2 points per dollar on dining and entertainment, 1 point for everything else. Other benefits that made this card a win are:

• $250 in air 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

*Citi recently changed to only being able to use the 4th night free benefit two times a year.

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 recent SPG merger and the bonus sign-up offers for the credit card made this my hotel brand of choice. I only use the Marriott Rewards Premier Visa when paying for Marriott and SPG hotel rooms earning 6 points per dollar. 2 points per dollar will be earned on everything else.

• 1 free night award every year after your account anniversary for a 1 night stay at a property with a redemption level up to 35,000 points
• Automatic Silver status
• Receive 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year to help earn Gold status
• 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 2 points per dollar spent on Southwest purchases and Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partner purchases. 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 

95% of the time I have a random credit card in my wallet that I will use purely to earn the sign-up bonus. I will only do this when cards are offering higher than average sign-up bonuses. I stay on top of offers by frequently visiting thepointsguy.com and looking at their “Top Cards” section or their articles titled “The Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards of XXXX year”. Once I hit the required spend amount to earn the bonus I will go back to using the four cards listed above or look for my next "bonus" sign-up card.