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Best Travel Credit Cards [2025]

There's no shortage of travel cards to choose from, but the following travel credit cards offer more annual value and ways to earn rewards than most on the market, which is why we've scored them higher than others in our research.

Updated Sept. 23, 2025
Fact check checkmark icon Fact checked

When you make travel plans, having the right credit card in your wallet is just as important as booking excursions and making dinner reservations. No matter where your adventures lead you, these credit cards can make the difference between earning next to nothing on your purchases and cashing in on major savings in the form of travel rewards. 

Plus, many of the best travel credit cards include benefits like travel insurance for added peace of mind and the option to transfer your rewards earnings for more flexible redemptions.

So, what are you waiting for? Here are the top travel credit cards we recommend from Capital One, Chase, Bank of America, Citi, and more issuers.

How we evaluate products

Best travel credit cards of 2025


New Offer
Financebuzz awards badge
2025 award winner Best Overall Travel Credit Card
4.9
info

on Chase’s website

Welcome Bonus
75,000 info
Points
Rewards Rate
1X - 5X info
Points
Annual Fee
$95
Why We Like It
  • Popular travel card with perks like up to $50 in statement credits each account anniversary for hotel stays booked through Chase Travel℠ , bonus points each account anniversary equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year, and valuable travel protections

  • Amazing welcome offer valued at up to $1,125 when redeemed via Chase Travel℠, where points are worth up to 1.5x more

  • Solid rewards rate on travel, dining, select streaming services, and online groceries

on Chase’s website

Recommended Credit info
Good to Excellent (670 - 850)
Card Details

Financebuzz awards badge
2025 award winner Best Premium Travel Credit Card
4.9
info

on Capital One’s website

Welcome Bonus
75,000 info
Miles
Rewards Rate
2X - 10X info
Miles
Annual Fee
$395
Why We Like It
  • Premium travel benefits like access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide and hard-to-get restaurant reservations in major cities across the country

  • Yearly perks such as a $300 annual credit for bookings through Capital One Travel and 10,000 bonus miles every year

  • Access to premium benefits when booking through Capital One Travel, including room upgrades, late checkout, and more when available

on Capital One’s website

Recommended Credit info
Excellent (740 - 850)
Card Details

Excellent for easy travel rewards redemption
4.4
info

on Bank of America’s website

Welcome Bonus
25,000 info
Points
Rewards Rate
1.5X - 3X info
Points
Annual Fee
$0
Why We Like It
  • Simple, flat-rate rewards with up to 75% Bank of America Preferred Rewards® bonus potential.

  • Lengthy intro APR offer for purchases and qualifying balance transfers, helpful for covering large purchases or paying down high-interest debt.

  • No annual or foreign transaction fee.

on Bank of America’s website

Recommended Credit info
Good to Excellent (670 - 850)
Card Details

Financebuzz awards badge
2025 award winner Best for Simple Travel Rewards
4.7
info

on Capital One’s website

Welcome Bonus
75,000 Miles info
Rewards Rate
2X - 5X info
Miles
Annual Fee
$95
Why We Like It
  • Generous welcome offer worth up to $750 towards travel

  • Excellent reward rate on everyday purchases with no cap

  • Up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®

on Capital One’s website

Recommended Credit info
Good to Excellent (670 - 850)
Card Details

Financebuzz awards badge
2025 award winner Best No-Annual-Fee Travel Credit Card
4.4
info

on Wells Fargo’s website

Welcome Bonus
20,000 info
Bonus Points
Rewards Rate
1X - 3X info
Points
Annual Fee
$0
Why We Like It
  • High unlimited reward rate on common spending categories with no cap

  • Flexible reward redemption, including statement credits, gift cards, and transfers to select travel partners

  • No annual or foreign transaction fee

on Wells Fargo’s website

Recommended Credit info
Good to Excellent (670 - 850)
Card Details

Limited-Time Offer
Excellent for travel + intro purchase and balance transfer perks
4.0
info

on Capital One’s website

Welcome Bonus
20,000 Bonus Miles + $100 Capital One Travel credit info
Rewards Rate
1.25X - 5X info
Miles
Annual Fee
$0
Why We Like It
  • 🚨 LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Enjoy a $100 credit to use on Capital One Travel during your first cardholder year. Plus, earn a 20,000 miles bonus once you spend $500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening. That's worth an additional $300 towards travel!

  • Long intro APR period to help fund your next purchase or tackle debt

  • Earn unlimited travel rewards and get access to great prices on thousands of flights, hotels, and more through Capital One Travel - all with no annual fee.

on Capital One’s website

Recommended Credit info
Good to Excellent (670 - 850)
Card Details

Financebuzz awards badge
2025 award winner Best for Lounge Access
5.0
info

on Chase’s website

Welcome Bonus
125,000 bonus points info
Rewards Rate
1X - 8X info
Points
Annual Fee
$795
Why We Like It
  • Premium perks like up to $300 in annual travel credits, complimentary Priority Pass Select membership, and comprehensive travel protections

  • Impressive welcome offer valued at at least $1,250 when redeemed via Chase Travel℠

  • Ability to transfer points to popular travel partners, including United, Southwest Airlines, and JetBlue loyalty programs

on Chase’s website

Recommended Credit info
Excellent (740 - 850)
Card Details

Financebuzz awards badge
2025 award winner Best for Food Delivery
4.8
info
Welcome Bonus
100,000 info
Points
Rewards Rate
1X - 4X info
points
Annual Fee
$325
Why We Like It
  • Perfect for foodies thanks to its robust rewards for dining out and U.S. supermarket purchases.

  • Numerous potential statement credits at select U.S. restaurants and dining services (enrollment required).

  • Offers great travel rewards and benefits with no foreign transaction fee.

Recommended Credit
Good to Excellent
Card Details

Financebuzz awards badge
2025 award winner Best for Luxury Travel
4.9
info
Welcome Bonus
175,000 info
Points
Rewards Rate
1X - 5X info
points
Annual Fee
$895
Why We Like It
  • Exclusive travel perks like access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection and elite status with Marriott Bonvy and Hilton Honors (enrollment required).

  • Hundreds of dollars in annual credits (enrollment required for select benefits) that could help you offset the annual fee.

  • Extensive travel protections and premium purchase and return protections.

Recommended Credit
Good to Excellent
Card Details

Limited-Time Offer
Excellent for travel and restaurant rewards
4.8
info

on Citi’s website

Welcome Bonus
80,000 info
Points
Rewards Rate
1.5X - 12X info
Points
Annual Fee
$595
Why We Like It
  • High rewards without committing to one chain or loyalty program: Earn 12x points on hotels booked through cititravel.com + up to a $300 annual hotel benefit when booking stays of 2 nights or more.

  • Perfect for American Airlines travelers: 1:1 point transfers to American Airlines, up to $200 Annual Splurge credit (on your choice of up to 2 eligible brands including American Airlines, exclusions apply), and 4 American Airlines Admirals Club® passes each calendar year.

  • Luxury perks at a lower annual fee than comparable travel cards: Includes access to 1,500+ worldwide lounges with Priority Pass™ Select + other benefits like up to $120 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck every four years.

on Citi’s website

Recommended Credit info
Good to Excellent (670 - 850)
Card Details

Financebuzz awards badge
2025 award winner Best Overall Business Credit Card
5.0
info

on Capital One’s website

Welcome Bonus
150,000 info
Miles
Rewards Rate
2X - 10X info
Miles
Annual Fee
$395
Why We Like It
  • Unlimited flat-rate rewards on every purchase, plus elevated reward rate on select travel booked through Capital One's travel booking site

  • Yearly perks like 10,000 bonus miles every year and an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One's travel booking site

  • Premium travel perks, including up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® and access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide

on Capital One’s website

Recommended Credit info
Excellent (740 - 850)
Card Details

Most of these travel cards come with basics such as travel insurance1 and other protections, and some also come with premium perks that will make your next trip more luxurious. We've narrowed down the options to the best cards out there, so you can rest assured you're making a good choice when you pick from our favorites.

How to compare travel credit cards

No travel credit card's going to be right for everyone, as it depends on your travel preferences and spending habits. Find the right credit card for you by considering the following factors.

Editor's note
In general, travel credit cards require at least a good credit score. Card issuers tend to consider other creditworthiness factors as well, but checking your credit score is an easy way to help determine your eligibility.

Annual fees

Travel credit cards tend to have an annual fee, and sometimes the fee can range into the hundreds of dollars. To justify paying an annual fee, you have to consider all the rewards and benefits of a card and whether you would receive value from those rewards.

If you're a frequent traveler, you might pay a high annual fee to have extensive airport lounge access or elite status with an airline or hotel chain. But if you don't travel a lot or are a beginner to points and miles, a card with a lower annual fee or no fee might make more sense.

Note that a reasonable annual fee tends to be lower than $100. Many premium travel cards have annual fees of $300 or more.

Rewards rates

Consider how different cards earn rewards if you want to use them for everyday purchases. For example, do you spend a lot on dining? It could make sense to choose a card that earns bonus points or miles on food. Or maybe you spend more money on flights or hotels? A card that earns some of its best rates on these categories would be better.

Make sure the bonus categories on the card you choose line up with the categories in which you do the most spending.

If you don't want to worry about earning in specific categories, consider a card with a simple rewards rate. That could look like a basic flat rate of 2X miles or something similar on all eligible purchases, making it easy to earn elevated rewards no matter the category.

How to redeem rewards

Consider not just how you'll earn rewards but also how you'll redeem them.

Will you be using your rewards only to book travel, or do you want the option for cash back too? (Note that travel credit cards don't generally make the best cash back cards.)

Some cards align more closely with specific airlines and hotel brands than others. It's also helpful to consider how much you like using a credit card rewards portal (Capital One Travel, Chase Travel℠, etc.).

Welcome bonuses

You can't ignore the value you can receive from a generous welcome bonus. In some cases, the points or miles you earn from a bonus offer could easily offset an annual fee for a few years. And that's without considering how much additional value you might receive from card benefits and earning rewards on everyday spending.

Perks and benefits

Perks and benefits are a huge reason many of us apply for a travel credit card.

In addition to how frequently you can take advantage of perks that come with travel credit cards, consider which ones you value most. If you're a frequent flyer, you may value complimentary access to airport lounges, priority boarding, TSA PreCheck® or Global Entry reimbursement, or free checked bags most.

But if you travel less frequently, you might get more out of a free DoorDash Dashpass membership, bonus points on takeout, or Uber Cash.

From calendar-year credits to concierge services, there are loads of available perks and benefits to choose from across a variety of travel credit cards. Note that an annual-fee travel credit card would likely have more benefits and luxury travel perks than a no-annual-fee card. But the best travel card for you is the one that has perks that align with your spending habits and lifestyle.

Some cards may also provide non-travel benefits, like a 0% introductory APR offer on balance transfers or purchases for a certain amount of time. For example, the first 12 months or billing cycles of card membership. If you have big purchases planned, this might make one card more desirable. These sorts of offers are more common on cash back credit cards than on travel cards, though.

Travel protections

Many travel credit cards provide different types of travel insurance or protection. This could include car rental insurance, travel accident insurance, or trip cancellation or interruption insurance. In some cases, you might also receive access to trip delay reimbursement and lost luggage reimbursement.

These are the types of card benefits that you hope you don't have to use, but could be very handy if you find yourself in an applicable situation.

Transfer partners

Many travel rewards card issuers offer the option to transfer your miles or points to a variety of travel partners in the airline and hotel industries. This allows you to potentially gain more value from your rewards than you would be able to otherwise.

For instance, 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points would normally be worth $500, at the platform's typical 1-cent valuation ($500 / 50,000 = $0.01), but you can transfer those points to one of Chase's Ultimate Rewards transfer partners to potentially maximize their value. Points transfer to the issuer's airline and hotel transfer partners at a 1:1 ratio, but how much they're worth from there depends on the partner. World of Hyatt is generally considered to be the partner with the best value, according to travel experts. While award charts vary, you might see redemption values of well over three cents per point through this loyalty program. Other notable hotel partners include IHG Rewards Club and Marriott Bonvoy, and some airline partners include United MileagePlus® and Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards®.

Editor's note
Transferring credit card points or miles to travel partners won't always give you the most bang for your buck. Make sure you do the math beforehand, comparing the points required to book a flight or hotel with the dollar value, to see if it makes sense to transfer. You can't transfer points back to your credit card.

Foreign transaction fees

We don't typically consider any credit card that charges a foreign transaction fee to be a "travel credit card." This is because you shouldn't have to worry about paying around 3% of a purchase on any transactions you make abroad.

Most travel credit cards have no foreign transaction fees, but it's something to keep in mind. This isn't a big deal if you only travel within the U.S., though international travelers should read over the terms and fees of their card agreements to check for foreign transaction fees.

International acceptance

Where do you typically travel? If you like to travel outside the country and around the world, and you might end up just about anywhere, you need a credit card that's accepted internationally. Most countries worldwide accept Visa and Mastercard credit cards. You might discover that American Express or other payment networks, on the other hand, are less widely accepted globally.

Pro tip
As a general rule of thumb, the more "touristy" a destination, the more likely it is that most credit card networks will be accepted. The more remote or less popular with travelers, the more likely you are to (potentially) run into issues with worldwide acceptance.

Types of travel credit cards

As you dig deeper into the details of credit cards, you might discover that there are many different types of travel credit cards. It could get confusing as you compare travel protections, interest rates, and spending categories. Or if you're wondering whether to use a Mastercard, Visa, or American Express credit card.

But while these are all important considerations, we've simplified travel credit cards into three easy categories: airline cards, hotel cards, and flexible currency cards.

Airline miles credit cards

Airline miles credit cards make sense if you frequently use the same airline for your travels.

These types of co-branded airline cards earn miles with a specific airline's frequent flyer program. For example, a Southwest credit card would earn Rapid Rewards points, while a Delta credit card would earn Delta SkyMiles.

The miles you earn with these cards can typically be redeemed for flights with the applicable airline and potentially partner airlines as well. You might also be able to use miles for other redemptions, but it varies by loyalty program.

Many airline credit cards also provide additional benefits, such as free checked baggage, priority boarding, and airport lounge access. Check out our list of the best airline credit cards.

Hotel points credit cards

Hotel points credit cards make sense if you frequently stay at the same hotel chain on your travels.

These types of credit cards earn points with specific hotel loyalty programs. For example, a Hilton Honors card would earn Hilton points, while a Marriott Bonvoy credit card would earn Marriott Bonvoy points.

The points you earn with these cards can typically be redeemed for hotel stays with the applicable hotel chain. You might also have other redemption options available, including experiences, flights, and car rentals.

Many hotel credit cards provide additional benefits, such as elite status, free night awards, and airport lounge access. Learn more with our list of the best hotel credit cards.

Flexible points credit cards

Flexible points credit cards make sense if you want flexibility with how you can use your rewards.

These types of credit cards earn flexible points, which can typically be redeemed for flights, hotel stays, car rentals, cruises, and more. Some flexible rewards currencies include Chase Ultimate Rewards points, American Express Membership Rewards points, and Capital One miles.

All three of these rewards programs have online travel portals where you can make a number of travel-related bookings, similar to Expedia or Priceline. These programs also allow you to transfer your rewards to travel partners, which opens up more redemption options. Examples of travel partners include United, Southwest, Hyatt, Hilton, British Airways, and more.

The benefits on these cards can vary a great deal, but some of the popular options might provide travel credit, elite status with different loyalty programs, and airport lounge access. You also might find some unique benefits on certain cards. As an example, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card offers a statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.

FAQs

How does a travel card work?

A travel credit card allows you to earn points or miles you can use for travel costs. Essentially, you'll get a percentage of all your qualifying purchases back in rewards, which you can then use to fund more travel. Use your points for things like free nights at hotels or a free flight to your dream destination.

How much is a point or mile worth on travel credit cards?

The value of a point typically depends on how you redeem it. For example, points on travel credit cards are usually worth more when used toward travel than for gift cards or merchandise. As a general rule, a point is worth roughly 1 cent if you're redeeming for cash back.

How many miles do you need for a free flight?

That depends on your itinerary, your choice of cabin class, and the airline. As an example, you'll need at least 5,000 miles for a free flight on Alaska Airlines and at least 7,500 miles for a free flight on American Airlines. An international trip could require hundreds of thousands of miles, depending on where and when you're flying. Check out the number of points you'll need to get a free flight with the top U.S.-based airline

What credit score do you need to get approved for a travel rewards credit card?

While credit score requirements will vary across different card issuers and travel cards, in most cases, you'll likely need a good to excellent credit score to get approved for a travel rewards credit card.

Travel advice from credit card experts

A travel credit card is a great tool to keep in your wallet. To give further insight on red flags to look out for when shopping for a travel card and tips for beginners, we asked a panel of experts for their advice.

Are there any red flags to look out for when browsing for starter travel cards to apply for?


Can beginners ever "skip" entry travel cards and immediately apply for higher tier cards with more benefits?

Learn insider secrets from the experts so you can travel for next to nothing with credit card points and miles.

Great for Flexible Travel Rewards
4.9
info

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Current Offer

Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

Annual Fee

$95

Rewards Rate

5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠; 3X points on dining, select streaming services, and online groceries; 2X points on all other travel purchases, and 1X points on all other purchases

Benefits and Drawbacks
Card Details