
Most people looking for travel credit cards gravitate toward cards with flexible rewards — programs like Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, and Capital One’s Venture miles program. Which program to choose and which card within that program to choose will depend on your travel habits or travel aspirations:
Best Luxury Travel Credit Cards: American Express
Frequent travelers often choose American Express because their cards offer more features that make travel easier. However, those features come at a higher price (as luxury often does), so you’ll want to think about your travel plans and card spending patterns before jumping in. The two best American Express cards for travel:

The Platinum Card® from American Express – If there is one travel credit card that is most associated with “prestige” or “luxury”, this is it. Rewards and perks galore including 5X points on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel (on up to $500,000 of these purchases per calendar year), 5X points on prepaid hotels booked on AmexTravel.com, probably the best, most extensive airport lounge network of all the luxury travel cards (The Global Lounge Collection), strong travel insurances/protections, and a wealth of potential credits on airline and hotel purchases as well as certain purchases from Uber, Clear, Saks Fifth Avenue, Equinox and more.
Points can be redeemed for travel booked at AmexTravel.com or you can transfer Membership Rewards points into the loyalty programs of American Express travel partners including Delta, Hilton, Marriott, as well as a number of international airlines and other partners. (You can use your points in other ways, too, if you choose.)
NEW CARDHOLDER BONUS OPPORTUNITY: Earn 100,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. $695 annual fee. See Rates & Fees. Terms Apply. American Express is a ProudMoney advertiser.

American Express® Gold Card – If you aspire to travel more (but maybe don’t spend a lot on travel now), you might prefer this American Express card with a lower $250 annual fee and more points-earning opportunities on “everyday living” purchases. You can earn: 4X points at restaurants worldwide (including takeout and delivery in the U.S.), 4X points on groceries at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 in purchases per year), 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com, 1X points on other eligible purchases.
Points can be redeemed for travel booked at AmexTravel.com or you can transfer Membership Rewards points into the loyalty programs of American Express travel partners including Delta, Hilton, Marriott, as well as a number of international airlines and other partners. (You can use your points in other ways, too, if you choose.)
Potential Credits To Consider Include: Up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (add the Card to your Uber account to get $10 in Uber Cash each month for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S.) and an up to $120 Dining Credit annually (up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar and select Shake Shack locations. Enrollment required.).
New Cardholder Bonus Opportunity: Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $4,000 within the first 6 months. See Rates & Fees. Terms Apply. American Express is a ProudMoney advertiser.
Most Flexible Travel Credit Cards: Chase / Chase Ultimate Rewards
Chase’s Ultimate Rewards program gives you the most flexibility as a cardholder when it comes to redeeming the points you receive, and the right combination of Chase cards can really supercharge your rewards earning and spending power. Here’s how:
- Chase lets you redeem your Ultimate Rewards points for travel through its own Ultimate Rewards travel portal, where you can book your airfare, hotel, rental car, etc., all in one place OR you can transfer your points into desirable travel partner loyalty programs including Southwest, United, Hyatt, Marriott and more. Even better, if you decide you don’t want to use points for travel, you can still redeem them for cash back at a penny-per-point rate, which is much better than the “cash out” rate from American Express or Capital One.
- If you hold the Chase Sapphire Preferred® or Chase Sapphire Reserve®, the points you earn get a “boost” in value when used through Chase’s Ultimate Rewards booking portal. Specifically, you’ll get a 25% boost with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® and a 50% boost with the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. IN ADDITION, you can hold other Chase credit cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Chase Freedom Unlimited® and combine the points you earn from those cards with the points from the Chase Sapphire Preferred® or Chase Sapphire Reserve® — and still get that 25% or 50% boost on the points that came from the other cards. So what, you say? Well, in the case of the Chase Freedom Flex℠ and its 5% rotating reward categories, the 5 points per dollar you earn could increase in value by another 25% or 50%, meaning that 5% could equal 6.25% (at a 25% boost) or even 7.5% (at a 50% boost) when combined with a Sapphire card and used through the Chase travel booking portal.
Here are the two Chase Sapphire Cards to consider:

Chase Sapphire Preferred® – This $95 annual fee card recently beefed up its rewards (including 3 points per dollar on dining purchases and 5x/10x on most travel when booked through Chase’s travel portal), making it attractive as an everyday credit card. But, as noted above, it’s maybe even more attractive as the foundation to a larger strategy of obtaining multiple Chase cards and combining points to redeem at a 25% premium through Chase’s travel booking site or to get access to Chase travel transfer partners including United, Southwest, Hyatt, Marriott and more.
NEW CARDHOLDER BONUS OPPORTUNITY: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. (Worth $750 in travel when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.)

Chase Sapphire Reserve® – Why We Like It: Despite a $550 annual fee, a frequent traveler can often find the value to justify that fee, including yearly travel reimbursements of up to $300, airport lounge access, good travel insurances, a 50% boost in reward point value when booking travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, and a great list of travel transfer partners, allowing you to transfer points into the loyalty programs of Southwest, United, Hyatt, JetBlue, Marriott, and a number of international airlines. NEW CARDHOLDER BONUS OPPORTUNITY: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, which is worth $900 toward travel if you redeem through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® travel portal!
In terms of everyday rewards, you’ll earn 5 points per dollar on flights and 10x points on hotels and car rentals purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, and 3x points on other travel. (Note that points aren’t earned on purchases toward the yearly $300 travel credit.) Also, you’ll earn 3x points on dining, including restaurants, eligible delivery services, and takeout (and earn 10x if dining reserved through Chase Dining), and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.
! And if you choose a Chase Sapphire card, remember you may want to increase your earning/redeeming power with the Chase Freedom Flex℠ and/or the Chase Freedom Unlimited®.
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