The miles and points we’ve collected from travel credit cards have easily saved us over $10,000+ 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 being available for only 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 want to share a post with you every month with 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.
Nate’s Note: Due to advertising restrictions, I am not allowed to link directly to any of these cards from this blog post. However, if you’d like to support our work, you can find the best offering of travel credit cards in the menu bar at the top of every page on our site or using the link below. If you use any of these links, we will receive a commission, and we’ll be super grateful for your support 🙂
1. Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite™ Mastercard®
Current offer: 60,000 AAdvantage miles after spending $3,000 in the first three months.
Annual fee: $99 (waived the first year)
Why it’s great: This card takes the top spot this month thanks to its increased sign-up bonus. 60,000 American Airlines miles is enough for a round-trip ticket from the U.S. to Europe or 2 round-trip flights inside the U.S. Plus, the annual fee is waived for the first year which makes this an awesome opportunity to earn 60,000 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
2. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Current offer: 50,000 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 (waived the first year)
Why it’s great: This card consistently ranks in the top 3 best travel credit cards for it’s generous 50,000 point sign-up bonus and the flexibility with which you can use those points. After meeting the minimum spending requirement you’ll receive 50,000 Ultimate Reward points which can be redeemed for $625 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, Virgin Atlantic.
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
3. 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. This basically brings the annual fee down $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, you’re 50,000 bonus points are worth $750 in free travel! Or you can transfer your points at a 1:1 ratio to the following airlines: United, Singapore, British Airways, Korean, Southwest, Virgin Atlantic.
*** Chase Bank only allows you to sign up for one Sapphire card. So you have to choose between the Sapphire Reserve and the Sapphire Preferred (mentioned above). 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 Precheck
- Lost luggage reimbursement
- Car rental insurance
- Travel accident insurance
4. United℠ Explorer Card
Current offer: (Limited time offer – no longer available) 40,000 bonus miles after spending $2,000 in the first three months, plus a $100 statement credit after your first purchase. Earn an additional 5,000 miles after adding an authorized user to your account who makes a purchase with your card in the first 3 months as a cardmember.
Annual fee: $95 (waived the first year)
Why it’s great: United is currently my favorite frequent flyer program because I’ve found they have the best award space availability. This means the points are easier to use, and you usually have more options. This card is a great way to earn 40,000 United miles quickly. This card would normally make my top 10 list, but it’s moved up to the top 5 thanks to the generous $100 statement credit they’re offering for a limited time!
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
5. Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card
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: This card earns a top 5 spot because of it’s ease of use. 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 welcome 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 redeem your points, it’s super simple. All you have to do is make a travel purchase using your card. Then, you have 90 days to log in to your account and erase that purchase using your points!
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
6. The Platinum Card® from American Express
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 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:
- $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
7. Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Credit Card
Current offer: 100,000 Marriott Rewards after spending $5,000 in the first three months.
Annual fee: $95
Why it’s great: This is one of Chase’s newest additions to their already awesome lineup of travel credit cards. Normally, when they release a new card, there’s a really good sign-up bonus that doesn’t stick around forever which is most likely the case for this card. The current sign-up bonus is 100,000 Marriott points!
Also, once SPG and Marriott merge their rewards programs in August, you’ll be able to transfer your Marriott points to many different airlines (including AA) at around a 2.24 to 1 point ratio. This would allow you to transfer the 100,000 point sign up bonus to AA and pad your balance by about 44,000 points. So, whether you want to earn hotel or airline miles, this could be a great card to add to your wallet.
Other benefits worth mentioning:
- Free award night every year of card membership (valued up to 35,000 points)
- No foreign transaction fees
- Earn 6x points per $1 spent at Marriott and SPG properties
- Automatic silver elite status
8. Hilton Honors Ascend Card from American Express
Current offer: 100,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after spending $3,000 in the first three months, plus earn a free weekend night award after your first anniversary of card membership. (Limited time offer – ends 6/27/2018)
Annual fee: $95
Why it’s great: A 100,000 point sign-up bonus is the best bonus we’ve seen on a Hilton card in a very long time. Plus, for a limited time, you get a free weekend night after your first year of card membership. This weekend night can be redeemed at any Hilton property around the world. So you could get a ton of value out of this perk if you’re strategic. Last but not least, you get automatic Hilton Gold status when signing up for this card!
Other benefits worth mentioning:
- No foreign transaction fees
- Earn 12x points for every $1 spent at Hilton properties
- Travel accident insurance
- Zero fraud liability
9. British Airways Visa Signature® Card
Current offer: 50,000 British Airways Avios after spending $3,000 within three months from the account opening. Plus, if you’re a big spender, you can earn an additional 25,000 points after spending $10,000 during your first year of card membership, and another 25,000 point bonus (for a total of 100,000) if you spend $20,000 in the first year of card membership.
Annual fee: $95
Why it’s great: You can get a ton of value out of British Airway Avios if you learn how to strategically redeem them using British Airway’s distance based award chart. For example, if you wanted to fly from Nashville to Dallas on American Airlines (a One World Partner), you would only need to pay 6,500 Avios each way. So with the 50,000 Avios you’d earn from the sign-up bonus, you could fly from Nashville to Dallas 7 times!
Other benefits worth mentioning:
- No foreign transaction fees
- Earn a companion ticket after spending $30,000 in a calendar year
- Lost luggage reimbursement
- Car rental insurance
- Travel accident insurance
- Trip cancelation insurance
10. Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
Current offer: 40,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards after spending $1,000 in the first three months.
Annual fee: $99
Why it’s great: You can usually redeem Rapid Reward points for ~1.5 cents each. So the sign-up bonus is worth approximately $600 in free Southwest flights! Now that Southwest is flying to international destinations, 40,000 points could be enough for a free round trip flight to another country!
Other benefits worth mentioning:
- Earn 6,000 Rapid Reward points every card membership anniversary
- No foreign transaction fees
- Your points never expire as long as you keep the card
- Lost luggage reimbursement
- Earn 2x points for every $1 spent with Southwest
That wraps up our review of the top 10 best personal travel credit card offers for the month of June. If you’re ready to start saving big on travel by using credit card rewards, click the button below to find the right travel credit card for you.
Next month, we’ll add a list of the best small business credit cards for all of the business owners reading this blog 🙂
Quick note on the One Sapphire Rule: You can still get both Sapphire cards if you double dip. If you are instantly approved for the first one you can put in an application the same day in an incognito window to get the second Sapphire card. There will also only be one hard pull on your credit report!
The 5/24 rule was mentioned but just to make sure it’s clear: Chase will deny any new applications if you have opened 5 personal credit cards in the last 24 months. For this reason, it’s always best to start with Chase cards.
Nate,
Using your approach, I have amassed 238K points on my Chase Sapphire Preferred, 60K Marriott Rewards Points, and 40K on United Mileage Plus Explorer. What is the best way to utilize these points for travel? We will likely be going to South Africa or Latin America over the winter. Not certain the best plan for these or airline (other than United).
Thanks,
Glenn
I wish you guys were Canadian and posting Canadian travel hacking tips. 🙁 However, I love the idea of this series and hope your American audience takes full advantage. I just got back from a 31 day, 7 country, 3 continent, mini-round the world trip which had (first class!) flights and hotels paid for in points. Travel hacking really can provide some amazing experiences you would not be able to afford otherwise!
I was debating upgrading my Amex to Platinum. Now I’m debating between that and getting the Chase Reserve. Thank you, I think… ???
I’m guessing these are USA based cards only?
Are there any cards you would recommend for repositioning/transatlantic cruises? My husband would like to take east and west bound cruises to Europe in 2021.
What makes the Citi card so much better than the Barclays Aviator Red which has a $.01 min spend and the same bonus?
So how many cards do you guys have in total? Do you swap them out after a while or you guys keep them all open?