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The 7 best travel rewards credit cards

Travel cards are where the biggest rewards and the biggest annual fees both live. Here is how the leading cards compare, and the honest arithmetic on whether a premium card is worth carrying.

Last reviewed: · Reviewed by the TheSavvyAmericans editorial team

Important: Award programs are not contracts. Issuers and their airline and hotel partners can change earning rates, transfer ratios, award prices and benefits at any time, and points can be devalued without notice. Annual fees, statement credits and lounge policies also change, so verify current terms on the issuer's page. A travel card only makes sense if you clear the balance monthly; card interest will exceed the value of any points you earn.

Key takeaways

  • 1Transferable points (Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One miles) are more flexible than airline or hotel co-brand points, because you can move them to whichever partner has award space when you need it.
  • 2Our top pick is the Chase Sapphire Preferred: strong earning on travel and dining, a genuinely useful partner list, and a fee that stays within reach. Premium cards like the Amex Platinum and Venture X can beat it, but only if you use the credits.
  • 3A premium card is a subscription, not a reward. Work out which credits you will actually use, subtract them from the fee, and see what is left. Credits you have to remember monthly are worth less than credits that apply automatically.
  • 4Points are not money. Their value depends on how you redeem, they can be devalued by the program at any time, and they earn nothing while they sit. Earn them with a trip in mind rather than hoarding indefinitely.
Advertising disclosure: TheSavvyAmericans may receive compensation when you apply for or open a product through links on this page. This does not influence our editorial evaluations. Products are reviewed using a documented methodology. Learn how we make money.

The 7 best travel rewards credit cards

We compared travel cards on earning power for typical travel and dining spending, the quality and usefulness of their transfer partners, how much of the annual fee comes back as credits you will realistically use, and the travel protections attached. We do not publish fee amounts, rates or bonus values, because issuers change them frequently; verify current terms before applying.

Travel rewards credit cards compared at a glance
#ServiceBest forRatingRewards currencyAnnual fee tierLounge access
1Chase Sapphire Preferred CardBest overall travel card4.8 / 5Chase Ultimate RewardsMid (verify current)No
2Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit CardBest premium card for the money4.6 / 5Capital One milesPremium (verify current)Yes
3The Platinum Card from American ExpressBest for lounges and hotel status4.4 / 5Amex Membership RewardsPremium (verify current)Yes, extensive
4Chase Sapphire ReserveBest for frequent Chase travelers4.4 / 5Chase Ultimate RewardsPremium (verify current)Yes, Priority Pass
5Capital One Venture Rewards Credit CardBest for occasional travelers4.3 / 5Capital One milesMid (verify current)No
6American Express Gold CardBest for dining and groceries4.3 / 5Amex Membership RewardsMid (verify current)No
7Bilt MastercardBest for earning on rent4.0 / 5Bilt PointsNone (verify current)No
#1Rank
Editor's ChoiceBest overall travel card

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

4.8 / 5

The Sapphire Preferred remains the benchmark mid-tier travel card. It earns boosted Ultimate Rewards on travel and dining, transfers points one-to-one to a strong set of airline and hotel partners, adds a redemption boost through Chase Travel, and carries travel protections that no-fee cards do not offer.

Pros

  • Excellent one-to-one transfer partners
  • Boosted earning on travel and dining
  • Trip cancellation and primary rental car coverage (verify current)
  • Annual fee stays in reach for ordinary spenders

Cons

  • Carries an annual fee
  • No lounge access
  • Chase application restrictions can limit approval
Rewards currency
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Annual fee tier
Mid (verify current)
Lounge access
No
Foreign transaction fee
None (verify current)
Visit Chase

Official site opens in a new tab

#2Rank
Best premium valueBest premium card for the money

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

4.6 / 5

Venture X is the premium card that is easiest to justify. An annual travel credit and anniversary miles offset much of the fee automatically, lounge access is included, and the card still earns flat-rate miles on everything rather than making you chase categories.

Pros

  • Annual travel credit and anniversary miles offset the fee
  • Capital One Lounge and partner lounge access
  • Flat-rate miles on all spending
  • Authorized users at no extra cost (verify current)

Cons

  • High annual fee before credits
  • Travel credit is easiest to use through Capital One Travel
  • Lounge network is smaller than Amex Centurion
Rewards currency
Capital One miles
Annual fee tier
Premium (verify current)
Lounge access
Yes
Foreign transaction fee
None (verify current)
Visit Capital One

Official site opens in a new tab

#3Rank
Best perksBest for lounges and hotel status

The Platinum Card from American Express

4.4 / 5

The Platinum Card is the most perk-dense card in the U.S. market: the widest lounge access including Centurion Lounges, hotel elite status, Fine Hotels and Resorts benefits, and a long list of statement credits. It also has the highest fee, and the credits arrive in monthly and category-specific slices.

Pros

  • Best-in-class lounge access
  • Hotel elite status and booking benefits
  • Extensive statement credits (verify current)
  • Strong Membership Rewards transfer partners

Cons

  • Highest annual fee on this list
  • Credits are fragmented and easy to waste
  • Weak earning outside airfare and travel bookings
Rewards currency
Amex Membership Rewards
Annual fee tier
Premium (verify current)
Lounge access
Yes, extensive
Foreign transaction fee
None (verify current)
Visit American Express

Official site opens in a new tab

#4Rank
Best redemptionsBest for frequent Chase travelers

Chase Sapphire Reserve

4.4 / 5

The Reserve is the Sapphire Preferred with the dials turned up: a larger annual travel credit, Priority Pass lounge access, higher earning on travel booked through Chase and a better redemption rate on the Chase Travel portal. The fee is premium, and the case rests on how much you travel.

Pros

  • Annual travel credit applies automatically to travel purchases
  • Priority Pass lounge membership
  • Higher portal redemption value than Sapphire Preferred
  • Comprehensive travel insurance package

Cons

  • Premium annual fee
  • Only worth it above a meaningful travel volume
  • Chase application restrictions apply
Rewards currency
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Annual fee tier
Premium (verify current)
Lounge access
Yes, Priority Pass
Foreign transaction fee
None (verify current)
Visit Chase

Official site opens in a new tab

#5Rank
Best simple milesBest for occasional travelers

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

4.3 / 5

Venture earns a flat rate of miles on every purchase, which suits people who travel once or twice a year and do not want to think about categories. You can erase eligible travel purchases with miles or transfer them to partners, and there is a credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.

Pros

  • Flat-rate miles on everything
  • Miles can erase travel purchases or transfer to partners
  • Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit
  • No foreign transaction fee

Cons

  • Carries an annual fee
  • Fewer premium transfer partners than Chase or Amex
  • No lounge access
Rewards currency
Capital One miles
Annual fee tier
Mid (verify current)
Lounge access
No
Foreign transaction fee
None (verify current)
Visit Capital One

Official site opens in a new tab

#6Rank
Best earnerBest for dining and groceries

American Express Gold Card

4.3 / 5

The Gold Card is really a spending card with a travel currency attached. It earns heavily at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets in Membership Rewards points, and comes with dining and travel statement credits that can offset much of the fee if you use the specific merchants involved.

Pros

  • Top-tier earning at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets
  • Membership Rewards transfer partners
  • Statement credits can offset much of the fee (verify current)
  • No foreign transaction fee

Cons

  • Annual fee is mid to premium
  • Credits are tied to specific merchants and reset monthly
  • Weak earning outside its bonus categories
Rewards currency
Amex Membership Rewards
Annual fee tier
Mid (verify current)
Lounge access
No
Foreign transaction fee
None (verify current)
Visit American Express

Official site opens in a new tab

#7Rank
Best for rentersBest for earning on rent

Bilt Mastercard

4.0 / 5

Bilt is the rare card that lets renters earn transferable points on rent without a payment fee, which for most renters is the largest line item in the budget. There is no annual fee, and points transfer to a genuinely strong partner list. You have to use the card a minimum number of times each statement period to earn.

Pros

  • Earn transferable points on rent with no transaction fee
  • No annual fee
  • Strong airline and hotel transfer partners
  • Useful for renters with no other way to earn on housing

Cons

  • Requires a minimum number of transactions each period to earn
  • Rent earning is capped annually (verify current)
  • Program terms have changed more than once
Rewards currency
Bilt Points
Annual fee tier
None (verify current)
Lounge access
No
Foreign transaction fee
None (verify current)
Visit Bilt

Official site opens in a new tab

Ratings are TheSavvyAmericans editorial scores based on the criteria in the methodology section below, not user reviews or paid placements. Features and pricing change often, so confirm the current details on each provider’s official site before you sign up.

How we picked and scored these cards

We rank independently, and compensation does not set the order. Travel-card marketing is built around big headline numbers, so we score the things that survive a program devaluation: earning structure, the flexibility of the currency, and how much of the annual fee comes back without effort.

  • Currency flexibility: whether points transfer to multiple airline and hotel partners, or are locked to one program.
  • Earning on real spending: what the card pays on travel, dining and everything else, not just its best category.
  • Fee offsets: credits and benefits weighted by how easy they are to use, since a monthly credit you forget is worth close to nothing.
  • Travel protections: trip delay and cancellation coverage, baggage protection and rental-car coverage, and whether it is primary.
  • Access and acceptance: approval requirements, network acceptance abroad and foreign transaction fees.

Good to know: Ratings are our editorial assessments, not user reviews. We publish no fee amounts, earning rates or bonus values, because issuers revise them without notice. Confirm current terms on the issuer's application page.

Is a premium travel card worth the fee?

Premium cards are sold on the total value of their benefits, which is almost always a bigger number than anyone actually captures. The useful exercise is to ignore that number and build your own. List every credit and perk, cross out the ones you will not genuinely use, and value the rest at what you would have paid in cash rather than at face value. A dining credit at a restaurant you never visit is worth zero, no matter what the marketing says.

  1. 1Write down the annual fee.
  2. 2Add up only the credits that apply automatically to spending you already do, such as a broad travel credit.
  3. 3Add credits that require a specific merchant only if you already shop there. Discount anything that resets monthly, because those get missed.
  4. 4Value lounge access at what you would realistically pay, and only for the trips you actually take.
  5. 5If what remains after subtracting the fee is negative, a mid-tier card almost certainly serves you better.

Good to know: One thing the arithmetic misses: a premium card only earns its keep if you travel enough to use it. Two trips a year rarely justifies a top-tier fee, however good the lounge is.

Points, miles and the trap of hoarding

Transferable points are the most valuable travel currency because they keep your options open: you can move them to whichever partner has the award seat you need, when you need it. That flexibility is real, but it comes with an equally real risk. Points are a liability on the issuer's books, not an asset that earns interest on yours, and programs can raise award prices or change transfer ratios whenever they like.

  • Earn with a trip in mind. Points sitting idle for years tend to lose value quietly through devaluation.
  • Compare the transfer redemption against the plain cash price before booking. Sometimes cash plus a cash-back card genuinely wins.
  • Watch transfer timing: some partner transfers are instant, others take days, and transfers are almost never reversible.
  • Check award availability before you transfer, not after. Transferred points are stuck in that program.
  • Keep at least one card in a family open if you want to preserve the points earned by the no-fee cards in it.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best travel credit card for beginners?
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the usual answer, and for good reason: it earns transferable points on travel and dining, has a strong partner list, includes real travel protections, and its annual fee is modest enough that occasional travelers can justify it. If you would rather not think about categories at all, the Capital One Venture earns flat-rate miles on everything.
Are travel points better than cash back?
They can be worth more per dollar when redeemed for travel through a good transfer partner, but only if you actually do that. Points that get cashed out at base value are usually worth less than plain cash back, and they carry devaluation risk that cash does not. Be honest about which kind of redeemer you are.
Do travel credit cards have foreign transaction fees?
Most dedicated travel cards do not charge them, which is one of the clearest reasons to carry one abroad. Plenty of cash-back cards do charge a fee on foreign purchases, typically enough to wipe out the rewards on those transactions. Always confirm on the specific card's terms before a trip.
Should I get an airline card instead?
An airline or hotel co-brand card makes sense if you are loyal to one program and value its specific perks, such as free checked bags or an annual free night. If you are not loyal, a transferable-points card is usually the better choice, because it lets you decide which program to use after you see the award availability.

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