The miles and points we’ve collected from travel credit cards have easily saved us over $20,000+ in travel expenses, and they have enabled us to enjoy luxurious experiences like business class flights and luxury hotel stays that we otherwise wouldn’t have been able to afford.

We believe a good travel credit card (or a few) is a tool that all financially responsible travelers should be using. However, knowing which travel credit card(s) to apply for can be confusing.

Between restrictions like Chase’s 5/24 rule and some bonus offers only being available for a limited-time, it’s important to strategize the time and order in which you sign up for new credit cards. To help you prioritize your credit card sign-ups, we update this post every month to include what we believe are the top credit card offers on the market. Since we’re covering what we consider to be the best offers — not just limited time offers — some of the cards on this list may remain consistent from month to month.

If you still need help choosing a card after reading this post, we’d be more than happy to recommend a card (or two) for you! All you need to do is fill out this form.

Request a Free Credit Card Consultation

At a Glance

Detailed Reviews

1. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Current offer: 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $4,000 within the first three months, plus an additional 5,000 Ultimate Rewards points when you add an authorized user to the card who makes a purchase within the first three months.

Annual fee: $95

Why it’s great: This card consistently ranks in the top 3 best travel credit cards for it’s generous 60,000 point sign-up bonus and the flexibility with which you can use those points. After meeting the minimum spending requirement, you’ll receive 60,000 Ultimate Reward points which can be redeemed for $750 worth of free flights when booking through the Chase travel portal. Or, if you want to get even more value out of your points, you can transfer them to the following airlines: United, Singapore, British Airways, Korean, Southwest, or Virgin Atlantic. Plus, this card offers terrific travel protections for when things go wrong.

Other benefits worth mentioning:

• No foreign transaction fees
• 2x points on travel and dining purchases
• Trip cancellation insurance
• Travel accident insurance
• Car rental insurance
• Zero fraud liability

2. Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Current offer: 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $4,000 within the first three months.

Annual fee: $450

Why it’s great: The incredible travel rewards you’ll earn from this card more than make up for the high annual fee. To start, you’ll get a $300 travel credit every year that’s super easy to use. This basically brings the annual fee down to $150. Our favorite perk is the free Priority Pass membership that gets the card holder and up to 2 guests free access to over 1,000+ airline lounges around the world! If you’ve ever watched our Youtube videos, you know we put this benefit to use almost every time we travel. We would gladly pay $150 for this membership every year! Plus, when you have this card, your Chase Ultimate Reward points are worth more when redeemed through the Chase Travel Portal. The points are worth 1.5 cents each. So your 50,000 bonus points are worth $750 in free travel! You can also transfer your points at a 1:1 ratio to the following airlines: United, Singapore, British Airways, Korean, Southwest, and Virgin Atlantic.

*** Chase Bank only allows you to sign up for one Sapphire card, so you have to choose between the Sapphire Preferred (mentioned above) and the Sapphire Reserve (this card). For serious travelers who will benefit from the lounge access, $300 travel credit, and increased value of the Ultimate Reward points, I would highly recommend signing up for the Reserve (this card) over the Preferred.

Other benefits worth mentioning:

• No foreign transaction fees
• 3x points on travel and dining purchases
• $100 application credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre-check
• Lost luggage reimbursement
• Car rental insurance
• Travel accident insurance

3. The Platinum Card from American Express [Learn How to Apply]

Current offer: 60,000 Membership Rewards after spending $5,000 in the first three months.

Annual fee: $550

Why it’s great: The Platinum Card has the highest annual fee of any of the cards on this list, but it also offers some of the best benefits. Depending on your travel habits, this card could offer more value than other cards on this list. To start, you have the 60,000 point welcome bonus which is worth $600 in free travel when redeemed through the Membership Rewards travel portal. Alternatively, you can get way more value out of your points by transferring them to one of the following airlines: Delta, British Airways, Air Canada, Air France, Singapore, Etihad, and more.

If you use your Platinum Card strategically, you can get up to $400 in travel credits each year! It comes with a $200 airline fee credit (good for one airline that you choose at the beginning of the year), and a $200 Uber credit that gets reimbursed to your card in monthly increments of $15 (plus a $20 bonus in December).

Our favorite benefit of the Platinum Card is the lounge access. In addition to a free Priority Pass membership that will get you into over 1,000 airport lounges around the world, you also get access to American Express’s Centurion Lounges! These lounges are by far our favorite domestic airport lounges! The food is always incredible, and some of them even offer free massages!

Other benefits worth mentioning:

• Earn 5x points on flights booked with airlines or American Express Travel
• Earn 5x points on hotels booked on amextravel.com

4. American Express Green Card [Learn How to Apply]

Current offer: Through 1/15/20, you’ll get 35,000 Membership Rewards after spending $2,000 in the first three months, plus up to $100 in statement credits towards a purchase made directly with Away in your first three months.

Annual fee: $150

Why it’s great: This card was recently refreshed and is now on par with many premium cards, but with a lower annual fee. It doesn’t come with Priority Pass or Centurion lounge access, but you’ll get up to $100 LoungeBuddy statement credits each year, as well as up to $100 to spend on CLEAR expedited security each year.

Kara and I LOVE our Away Bigger Carry-On bags so it’s also great to see that the limited-time welcome offer includes an Away credit in addition to the points. Even better, you can save an additional $20 by using this link to make your purchase.

Other benefits worth mentioning:

• Earn 3x points on all travel, including general travel spending like public transit
• Earn 3x points on dining worldwide
• Trip delay coverage on round-trip flights starting 1/1/20
• No foreign transaction fees

5. British Airways Visa Signature Card

Current offer: 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening and additional 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $20,000 total on purchases within your first year from account opening. That totals to 100,000 Avios if you spend $20,000 on the card within the first year.

Annual fee: $95

Why it’s great: You can get a ton of value out of British Airways Avios if you learn how to strategically redeem them using British Airways’ distance based award chart. For example, if you wanted to fly from Nashville to Dallas on American Airlines (a Oneworld partner), you would only need to pay 9,000 Avios each way. So with the 100,000 Avios you’d earn from the sign-up bonus, you could fly from Nashville to Dallas 11 times!

Other benefits worth mentioning:

• No foreign transaction fees
• Earn a companion ticket after spending $30,000 in a calendar year
• 10% off British Airways flights starting in the US
• Lost luggage reimbursement
• Car rental insurance
• Travel accident insurance
• Trip cancelation insurance

6. United℠ Explorer Card

Current offer: For a limited time, you’ll get up to 65,000 bonus miles. You’ll get 40,000 bonus miles after spending $2,000 in the first three months, plus an additional 25,000 bonus miles after spending $10,000 total in the first six months.
Annual fee: $95 (waived the first year)
Why it’s great: United is ideal for booking flights with Star Alliance partner airlines like Lufthansa since it doesn’t pass on any fuel surcharges. The card also has some great benefits for a sub-$100 card.
Other benefits worth mentioning:

• $100 rebate on Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fees
• 2 one-time use United Club passes that entitle you to United Club lounge access
• Priority Boarding on United flights
• Your first checked bag is free on United flights when you use your card to pay for the flight

7. Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card [Learn How to Apply]

Current offer: 50,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 in the first three months.

Annual fee: $95 (waived the first year)

Why it’s great: If you want to keep your credit card strategy super simple but still save a ton of money on travel, this is the card for you. To start, you’ll earn a 50,000 point early spend bonus that is worth $500 in free travel. Moving forward, you’ll earn 2x points on every purchase without having to worry about bonus/rotating categories. When it comes time to redeeming your points, you can transfer them to any of Capital One’s 12 airline transfer partners. Your points will transfer to all 12 airlines at a 2:1.5 ratio. That means if you were to transfer your 50,000 point sign-up bonus to an airline you’d receive  37,500 airline miles which could increase the value your points depending on how you choose to redeem the miles. If you want to take the easy route, points can be redeemed for fixed-rate of 1 cent apiece toward any travel purchases made using your card.

Other benefits worth mentioning:

• $100 rebate on Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fees
• No foreign transaction fees
• Use your points on any airline
• Earn 10x points when you book your hotel on hotels.com/venture

8. Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card [Learn How to Apply]

Current offer: Get 125,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after spending $2,000 in the first three months.

Annual fee: $95

Why it’s great: The current sign-up bonus is quite generous for a mid-tier hotel credit card. You get automatic Hilton Gold status just for having this card so you’ll get to enjoy perks like free breakfast on all stays. You’ll also get a free weekend night that can be redeemed at any Hilton property around the world each calendar year you spend $15,000.

Other benefits worth mentioning:

• Priority Pass membership that is good for 10 free airport lounge visits
• No foreign transaction fees
• Earn 12x points for every $1 spent at Hilton properties
• Travel accident insurance
• Zero fraud liability

9. Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite™ Mastercard®

Visit our credit cards page to compare cards

Current offer: This card is offering 50,000 AAdvantage miles after spending $2,500 in the first three months.

Annual fee: $99 (waived the first year)

Why it’s great:  50,000 American Airlines miles is enough for two round trip tickets inside of the U.S.A. Once you meet the minimum spending requirement, you’ll almost have enough frequent flyer miles for a round-trip ticket to Europe (60,000)! Plus, the annual fee is waived for the first year which makes this an awesome opportunity to earn 50,000 AA miles for $0 in fees!

Other benefits worth mentioning:

• No foreign transaction fees
• Your first checked bag is free on domestic AA flights
• You get preferred boarding on AA flights

10. American Express Gold Card [Learn How to Apply]

Current offer: 35,000 Membership Rewards after spending $2,000 in the first three months.

Annual fee: $250

Why it’s great: The American Express Gold card is one of the most rewarding cards for restaurant and US supermarket spending. It also offers an annual airline fee credit and monthly dining credit that help recoup the annual fee.

Other benefits worth mentioning:

• Earn 4x points at restaurants worldwide and US supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year)
• Earn 3x points on flights booked with airlines or American Express Travel
• $100 annual airline fee credit
• $120 annual dining credit that gets reimbursed to your card in monthly increments of $10

That wraps up our review of the top 10 best personal travel credit card offers for this month. If you found this post useful, we’d be super grateful if you used our links to start your next credit card application!

Cheers,

Nate (and Kara)