Travel Cards
Best credit cards for earning travel rewards.
- Travel Cards
Avis Toll Nightmare: What Renters Should Do Now
A stolen Avis toll transponder reportedly triggered thousands in charges. Here’s how renters should protect themselves and what else changed this week.
- Travel Cards
Best Travel Credit Cards: How to Choose the Right One in 2026
Travel cards fall into a few clear types. Here's how to choose between flexible-points, airline, hotel, and premium cards based on how you actually travel.
Card reviews
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Your first travel rewards card Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card An almost unbeatable mix of flexible points, travel protections, and a low fee. Read review → -
Simple, flexible travel miles Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card The easiest travel card to use — flat 2x miles, transfer partners, and almost no learning curve. Read review → -
Premium travel, lounges, and credits The Platinum Card® from American Express A credit-heavy luxury travel card that pays off only if you actually use the perks. Read review → -
Premium travel with lounges + credits Chase Sapphire Reserve® A credit-stacked premium card that wins big if you actually use the lounges and credits. Read review → -
Easiest premium travel value Capital One Venture X Rewards The premium card whose credits basically erase the fee — lounges and 2x on everything. Read review → - 3x on six everyday categories, no fee Wells Fargo Autograph® Card A no-fee card with six uncapped 3x categories — rare value, and a points-card upgrade path. Read review →
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Broad 3x categories + transfer partners Citi Strata Premier® Card An underrated $95 travel card: 3x on the categories you actually use, plus strong transfer partners. Read review → -
Small-business owners who want premium points cheaply Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card If you've got a business — even a side hustle — this is the one card I'd tell you not to skip. Huge bonus, tiny fee, real points. Read review → -
Broad travel + dining earning with a modest fee American Express® Green Card The Amex nobody talks about — but its absurdly broad 3x travel and transit category quietly out-earns flashier cards for anyone always on the move. Read review → - Bank of America customers who can unlock the Preferred Rewards boost Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Credit Card A so-so travel card for most people that turns into one of America's best flat-rate cards if you keep big balances at Bank of America. Read review →
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High earning on hotels and airfare with transfer partners Wells Fargo Autograph Journey® Card The card that finally makes Wells Fargo a real travel player: 5x hotels, 4x airfare, and — at last — transfer partners, all for $95. Read review → - Frequent United flyers who want a free checked bag United℠ Explorer Card If you fly United even a few times a year, the free checked bag alone can pay for this card twice over. Read review →
- Southwest regulars chasing the Companion Pass Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card The real prize here isn't the perks — it's that every point you earn counts toward Southwest's Companion Pass. Read review →
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Hyatt fans who want outsized free-night value World of Hyatt Credit Card The annual free night usually outvalues the fee on its own — and Hyatt points are the most valuable hotel currency going. Read review → -
Marriott loyalists who want a free night and easy elite status Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card An annual free night plus 15 elite nights a year, all for $95 — the default card for anyone loyal to Marriott. Read review → -
IHG guests who want a free night plus fourth-night-free on awards IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card The anniversary free night plus the fourth-reward-night-free perk make this an easy keep for any IHG guest. Read review → -
Delta flyers who want a free checked bag Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card Like most airline cards, the free checked bag is the headline — if you fly Delta and check a bag, it pays for itself. Read review → -
Hilton regulars who want Gold status and credits Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card If you stay at Hilton even a handful of times a year, the $200 in annual credits plus Gold status make the $150 fee easy to swallow. Read review → -
Frequent Hilton resort-goers who want Diamond status Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card The resort and airline credits alone can exceed the $550 fee — and that's before the annual free night and automatic Diamond status. Read review → - Marriott loyalists who want Platinum status and an 85K free night Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card A pricey card that pays off big for Marriott loyalists: an 85,000-point free night, Platinum status, and a $300 dining credit. Read review →
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American Airlines flyers who want a free checked bag Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® Like the other airline cards, the free checked bag and preferred boarding make this an easy hold for anyone loyal to American. Read review → - Frequent-traveler business owners who want lounges + credits The Business Platinum Card® from American Express A heavy-fee, credit-loaded premium business card that pays off if you travel often and actually use the lounge access and credits. Read review →
- A simple, no-fee starter travel card Discover it® Miles Card A dead-simple no-fee travel card whose first-year match effectively doubles your rewards to 3% in year one. Read review →
- Frequent American flyers who want Admirals Club access Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® The only cobranded card with unlimited Admirals Club access — a near-must for frequent American flyers who value the lounges. Read review →