What’s the right credit card “strategy” for earning free travel?
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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. Which program to choose and which card within that program to choose will depend on your travel habits or travel aspirations:
Most Flexible, “Best All Around” 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:
First, Chase lets you redeem your Ultimate Rewards points for travel through its own travel portal OR you can transfer your points into desirable travel partner loyalty programs including Southwest, United, Hyatt, Marriott and more.
Also, if you hold the card_name or card_name, the points you earn get a “boost” in value when used through the Chase Travel℠ booking portal — a 25% boost with the card_name and a 50% boost with the card_name.
In addition, you can earn points from other Chase credit cards like the card_name and combine those points with the points from the card_name or card_name — and get that 25% or 50% boost on ALL the points!
Plus, what’s even better is the program’s flexibility — you can still opt to redeem Chase points for cash back at a penny-per-point rate, which is much better than the “cash out” rate from American Express or Capital One.
Here are the two Chase Sapphire Cards to consider:
card_name – Why We Like It: Good everyday rewards, yearly 10% points bonus, big new cardholder bonus opportunity, up to $50 yearly hotel credit, and a cornerstone of the “Chase Trifecta.”
EARN:
- 5 points per dollar spent on travel purchased through Chase Travel (excluding hotel purchases that qualify for the card’s $50 Annual Hotel Credit)
- 2x points on other travel purchases
- 3x points on dining, including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out
- 3x points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 3x points on select streaming services
- 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.
Hotel Credit: Earn up to $50 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays purchased through Chase Travel.
Chase Trifecta: Use the Chase Sapphire Preferred as the foundation of a larger strategy to obtain multiple Chase cards and combine points to redeem at a 25% premium through Chase’s travel booking site or to get access to…
Chase Travel Transfer Partners: Transfer points into the loyalty programs of major travel providers including United, Southwest, Hyatt, Marriott and more.
NEW CARDHOLDER BONUS OPPORTUNITY: bonus_miles_full
10% Rewards Bonus: Each account anniversary you’ll earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year. (For example, if you spend $20,000 on purchases, you’d earn 2,000 bonus points.)
Annual Fee: annual_fees.
card_name – Why We Like It: Despite a annual_fees 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, and good travel insurances.
In addition, when redeeming points, you’ll get a 50% boost in reward point value when booking through Chase Travel, and the ability to transfer points into the loyalty programs of heavy hitters including Southwest, United, Hyatt, JetBlue, Marriott, and a number of international airlines.
NEW CARDHOLDER BONUS OPPORTUNITY: bonus_miles_full
POINTS EARNING: In terms of everyday rewards, each year after you’ve exhausted the yearly $300 annual travel credit, you’ll earn 5 points per dollar on flights purchased through Chase Travel, 10x points on hotels and car rentals through Chase Travel, and 3x points on other travel.
Also, you’ll earn 3x points on dining right from the start, 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.
Easiest To Understand: Capital One Miles
Capital One has long emphasized simplicity in its credit cards. If you are new to travel credit cards, Capital One may be the easiest to immediately understand, both in terms of what you earn from your card purchases and how much your “miles” will be worth when redeemed.
With both the card_name and card_name, you’ll earn 2 miles per dollar on most purchases, with miles usually worth a penny each when redeemed for travel. (For example, 10,000 “miles” generally equals $100 of travel value.)
You do earn a bit more in miles when you book through the Capital One Travel booking portal. See card details below for more specifics.
Capital One’s simplicity may limit the “home run” redemptions (where points give you unexpectedly high value under certain circumstances). If you love to comb through travel deals or dissect airline alliances for “sweet spot” opportunities, you might find American Express or Chase cards more to your liking.
But if you want simplicity while still getting good value, Capital One could very well be for you.
Our favorite Capital One travel credit card:
card_name – Why We Like It: Offers the desirable features of more expensive travel cards, but the Capital One Venture X strips away the fluff to keep the annual fee reasonable.
That annual fee is annual_fees, but it’s not difficult to justify once you see the many places where you gain value from the card.
First, you can get up to $300 in travel credits each year when you book travel through the Capital One Travel platform.
And then you’ll get value from potential bonuses. There’s the Early Spend Bonus (bonus_miles_full.)
And then the Anniversary Miles Bonus that kicks in starting on your first anniversary of having the card — that’s 10,000 bonus miles (equal to $100 towards travel).
In terms of rewards on everyday purchases, earn unlimited 10 miles per dollar in purchases on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel, plus unlimited 2X miles on all other purchases.
And don’t forget airport lounge access through the Priority Pass network & the new Capital One Lounges, plus quite a bit more.
You might also consider:
card_name – If the Venture X has too high of an annual fee for you (even with the sweet credits), the OG Venture Rewards card still offers plenty at a more do-able annual_fees annual fee.
Earn unlimited 2 miles per dollar on every purchase (but 5 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel), and use those miles to pay for travel or even transfer them into the loyalty programs of Capital One travel partners.
Other perks include a credit toward your Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application (up to $100 when paid with the card), Hertz Five Star status, no foreign transaction fees on purchases outside of the United States and more.
EARLY SPEND BONUS: bonus_miles_full.
Best Luxury Travel Credit Cards: American Express
Frequent travelers often choose American Express because their cards offer more features to 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:
card_name – Why We Like It: The American Express Platinum offers rewards and perks galore for the frequent traveler who wouldn’t mind a little VIP treatment. Be sure to examine all those perks closely, because there’s a LOT there!
EARN:
- 5x points on flights booked directly with airlines or through American Express Travel (on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year)
- 5x points on prepaid hotels booked on AmexTravel.com
- 1x points on other purchases
NEW CARDHOLDER BONUS OPPORTUNITY: bonus_miles_full
THE GLOBAL LOUNGE COLLECTION: Probably the best, most extensive airport lounge network of all the luxury travel cards, with complimentary access to over 1,400 airport lounges across 140 countries, including American Express’ Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Club, Lufthansa Lounge, Priority Pass Select, and more.
BENEFITS AND CREDITS INCLUDE:
- $200 Uber Cash – Add your The Platinum Card to your Uber account, and you’ll automatically get $15 in Uber Cash each month (plus a bonus $20 in December), for a total of up to $200 per year. Use for Uber rides or Uber Eats in the U.S.; note that the monthly Cash does not roll over to the following month if you don’t use it all in a particular month.
- $200 Airline Fee Credit – Get up to $200 per year in statement credits after incidental fees are charged by your one selected, qualifying airline to your card.
- $200 Hotel Credit – Get up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection bookings when paid with the card.
- $189 CLEAR Plus Credit – Up to $189 per calendar year in credits when you pay for this airport security membership with your Platinum Card.
- More: TSA PreCheck or Global Entry Credit, Gold Elite Marriott Status, Gold Hilton Status, Car Rental Privileges, Trip Delay or Trip Cancellation Insurance, Digital Entertainment Credit, Walmart+ Credit, Saks Fifth Avenue Credit, Equinox Credit. (Check American Express site for full details.)
annual_fees annual fee. card_name American Express is a ProudMoney advertiser.
card_name – Why We Like It – The American Express Gold is great if you want travel rewards but you don’t necessarily have a lot of travel purchases. That’s because you can earn generous points in the Membership Rewards® program on everyday spending, and you can redeem those points for great travel experiences.
Now, with a annual_fees annual fee, you’ll also need to take advantage of some of the other card perks and credits to make this a truly great value:
EARN:
- 4x points at restaurants worldwide, plus 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.
BENEFITS AND CREDITS INCLUDE:
- $120 Uber Cash – Add your Gold Card to your Uber account, and you’ll automatically get $10 in Uber Cash each month, for a total of up to $120 per year. Use for Uber rides or Uber Eats in the U.S.; note that the monthly $10 does not roll over to the following month if you don’t use it all in a particular month.
- $120 Dining Credit – Enroll and earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the Gold Card at participating partners (including Grubhub, Cheesecake Factory, more). This can be an annual savings of up to $120; note that the monthly $10 doesn’t roll over if not completely used in a particular month.
New Cardholder Bonus Opportunity: bonus_miles_full card_name. American Express is a ProudMoney advertiser.
Airline/Hotel Credit Cards
If you often travel on a particular airline or stay at a specific hotel chain, you might also consider cards like:
card_name – No-annual-fee Hilton credit card offers generous points-earning opportunities, including:
- 7X points for eligible purchases at hotel and resorts in the Hilton portfolio
- 5X points on dining (in the U.S.)
- 5X points on groceries (at U.S. supermarkets)
- 5X points on gas at U.S. gas stations.
- 3X points for each dollar spent on other eligible purchases
New Cardholder Bonus Opportunity: bonus_miles_full
Also: complimentary Hilton Honors Silver Status, no foreign transaction fees, and more. card_name. American Express is a ProudMoney advertiser.
card_name – Southwest credit card offers:
- 2 points per dollar on Southwest flights booked with the card
- 2X points on local transit and commuting (including rideshare/Uber/Lyft)
- 2X points on Internet, cable, select streaming, and phone services
- 2X points at Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners
- 1X everywhere else.
New Cardholder Bonus Opportunity: bonus_miles_full (You’ll also get 3000 bonus points on your cardmember anniversary each year.)
Plus: 2 EarlyBird Check-In per year, 25% back on all inflight purchases, no foreign transaction fees. Annual fee: annual_fees
card_name – Why We Like It: The Delta SkyMiles Gold is maybe Delta’s most popular credit card because it offers generous rewards with a modest annual fee (annual_fees).
EARN:
- 2X Delta SkyMiles per dollar at restaurants, including takeout and delivery in the U.S.
- 2X miles at U.S. supermarkets
- 2X miles on purchases made directly with Delta
- 1X miles on all other eligible purchases.
Other Perks:
- $200 Delta Flight Credit toward future travel after you spend $10,000 in purchases on your card in a calendar year
- First Bag Checked Free on Delta flights.
- Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding on Delta flights
- Take 15% off anytime you book Award Travel with miles on Delta flights when using delta.com and the Fly Delta app. (Not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.)
Bonus Opportunity: bonus_miles_full card_name. American Express is a ProudMoney advertiser.
card_name – United Airlines’ flagship credit card offers all sorts of goodies:
- Priority Boarding
- First bag checked free
- Up to $100 as a statement credit for Global Entry, TSA Precheck® or NEXUS every 4 years as application fee reimbursement
- A strong welcome bonus opportunity for new cardholders (bonus_miles_full)
And, of course, the Everyday Rewards:
- 2 United MileagePlus miles per dollar on dining purchases charged to the card
- 2 miles per dollar on hotels when purchased directly from the hotel
- 2 miles per dollar on United purchases
- 1 mile per dollar on all other purchases.
annual_fees.
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Author: Adam Jusko
