Best Travel Credit Cards of 2025

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Comparing the best travel credit cards of 2025

How do travel credit cards work?

Travel rewards credit cards earn points or miles you can redeem for travel purchases. Some offer a flat rate on general purchases, but many offer bonus rewards for typical travel purchases or everyday spending categories, like restaurants, gas or even groceries.

Earning points or miles is usually as easy as swiping your card, and some cards provide limited-time offers and sign-up bonuses to add more incentives. You can redeem points or miles for travel purchases, and some cards allow you to redeem rewards for gift cards or cash back, usually at a lower value.

Your redemption options will vary by card. Typical options include:

• Booking new travel, sometimes in a designated portal such as AmexTravel.com
• Cash back
• Gift cards
• Transferring points or miles to a travel partner
• Statement credit for past travel purchases

Travel credit cards may offer valuable cardholder benefits, such as lounge access, automatic status with an airline or hotel brand, and travel protections such as trip cancellation and interruption insurance and rental car coverage.

Types of travel cards

General travel credit cards

General travel or general-purpose credit cards aren’t tied to or co-branded with a particular airline or hotel. They are best for any traveler who values flexibility in earning and redeeming rewards.

A general travel credit card allows you to earn rewards on travel-related purchases and often in other popular categories such as groceries, gas and dining. You can redeem the points you earn for travel, statement credits, and other options, usually at a 1-cent-per-point value.

Rewards programs for general travel credit cards include:

• American Express Membership Rewards
• Chase Ultimate Rewards
• Capital One Travel
• Citi ThankYou Points

General travel cards may offer annual travel credits, airport lounge access, elite status, luxury hotel benefits and travel protections such as trip cancellation and interruption coverage.

Airline credit cards

Airline credit cards are co-branded cards associated with a particular airline. They’re a great fit for travelers who are frequent flyers of participating airlines and can take advantage of cardholder perks.

Like general travel cards, airline rewards cards allow you to earn rewards on a variety of purchases, but your redemption options are typically limited to airfare with the airline and its partners.

Airline credit cards may offer less flexibility and might have an annual fee, but can make your travel experience easier and save you a lot of money, even after you factor in the cost of an annual fee. Top airline credit card benefits include free checked bags, elite status fast track, priority boarding and in-flight discounts.

Hotel credit cards

Hotel credit cards are co-branded cards that earn points you can redeem for stays with a specific hotel chain. Like airline credit cards, hotel credit cards offer many brand-specific perks to reward loyalty. Some cards offer supersized rewards rates, typically for hotel-related purchases. These earning rates can make it easier to rack up points for future visits quickly.

In addition to the high earning potential, hotel travel cards may also come with free nights, room upgrades, and elite hotel status that can offer perks such as late checkout and free Wi-Fi.

Business travel credit cards

Business travel cards are a terrific option if you own a company or work as a freelancer and travel often for work. They can be co-branded or a general travel card. Business travel cards offer a competitive rewards structure similar to other travel cards, but you can typically earn bonus rewards in business categories, like purchasing software and office supplies. Not only can business travel cards help keep your work and personal expenses separate, but they can also help you cut down on business costs.

You might see bonus rewards on large purchases, fee-free employee cards, account management tools and travel and hotel perks from business travel cards.

Pros and cons of travel credit cards

Although travel credit card benefits and rewards offerings are enticing, it’s important to weigh the pros and cons of each card to determine if it’s the right fit for your travel and spending habits.

Who should get a travel credit card?

You should get a travel credit card if:

• You’re a frequent traveler and can benefit from the rewards and perks of a travel credit card.
• You’re loyal to particular airline and hotel brands.
• You want luxury travel perks, such as airport lounge access, priority boarding and room upgrades.

You shouldn’t get a travel credit card if:

• You prefer a low-maintenance card.
• You need flexible redemption options such as cash back.
• You’re prone to overspending and likely to carry a balance.

Calculating points and miles value

Choosing a card based solely on the number of miles or points you stand to earn can be a costly mistake. Redemption values can vary, so 1,000 miles with one card may not be worth the same as 1,000 miles with another.

For example, the Citi Strata Premier card has a sign-up bonus of 60,000 points after spending $4,000 in your first three months of account opening. With the Strata Premier card, most redemption options have a baseline value of 1 cent, so this offer can be worth at least $600. But based on Bankrate’s latest point valuations, we estimate that the right high-value transfer partner could boost your point value up to 1.9 cents on average. That could make your sign-up bonus worth an incredible $1,140.

Compare that to a card like the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card, which offers 5 Free Nights after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. With each night valued at up to 60,000 points (up to 300,000 points total) and since IHG Rewards are estimated to be worth 0.7 cents on average based on our points valuation, that comes out to a total value of $2,100 dollars for the full welcome offer.

How to compare travel credit cards

There are countless travel card options with varying redemption methods, rewards rates and annual fees. The key to finding a card that delivers value depends on finding the right mix of rewards and benefits that match your lifestyle and spending habits.

Find the right travel cards by asking yourself these questions:

• Are you an occasional or frequent traveler? Frequent travelers typically have an easier time taking advantage of the numerous perks found with a travel card. If you travel less frequently, then a cash back card may make sense.
• Are you loyal to a certain airline or hotel? If you’re a fan of a particular airline or hotel chain, you can enjoy specific benefits with that company’s co-branded travel card, like companion pass or annual hotel credits.
• What travel perks and protections matter most to you? Higher rewards status with hotels or airlines, access to airport lounges or automatic elite status are a few examples of travel perks a card might offer. Some cards offer travel protections such as trip cancellation and interruption insurance, lost baggage insurance and 24/7 global assistance.
• Which cards align with your spending habits? Choose a card that rewards your typical spending habits. Also, consider which card can save you the most with rewards redemptions.
• Does the card have sign-up bonuses and annual fees? A card’s welcome offer can boost your first year earnings. Cards with high annual fees often offer some of the best rewards and perks, but might not be worth it if you don’t get more out of it than you pay in fees.
• Do you need international acceptance? If you travel internationally, look for a card with broad international coverage and no foreign transaction fee.

How to maximize your travel credit card

Whether you’re planning a quick getaway or an extended trip, the rewards from a travel credit card can enhance your experience and save you money. Use these strategies to experience elevated travel with a travel credit card.

• Score a welcome offer with an affordable spending requirement.
• Take advantage of the card’s bonus rewards categories.
• Consider a travel card that earns transferable points.
• Take advantage of money-saving credit card benefits, such as free checked bags and airport lounge access.
• Pair complementary cards to earn bonus rewards on every purchase.
• Avoid foreign transaction fees.

Alternatives to travel credit cards

If you don’t want to commit to a travel card, but still want to earn travel rewards, then you have options.

• A cash back credit card lets you earn cash rewards, which you can often redeem for a statement credit to cover travel and other purchases.

• A card with a 0% intro APR might work better for people planning a large purchase. It can help you budget for a trip, as long as you can pay off the balance before the intro offer period ends.
• A no-annual-fee card that also carries no foreign transaction fees might suit infrequent travelers. With this type of card, you can still save on trips abroad without worrying about added fees or offsetting costs every year.

How we picked the best travel cards

Our editorial team and expert review board analyzed over 300 credit cards to identify the best rewards credit cards currently on the market. These factors and more inform our decisions on which cards can work the best for you.

• Rewards rate: Does the card offer a competitive rewards rate for the travel category? For general-purpose travel cards, this rate is generally between 1.25X to 2X rewards. For co-branded hotel or airline credit cards, we looked for a rate between 3X and 10X points on brand purchases, plus a competitive rate in other bonus categories.
• Welcome offer: Annual fee travel credit cards, in particular, may offer a welcome bonus valued between $500 to $900. We considered the value of the sign-up bonus, alongside the required spend to receive it, particularly for cards with higher annual fees.
• Additional travel perks: We considered whether the card offers additional travel benefits beyond base rewards. For instance, for airline credit cards, we looked for benefits such as priority boarding, a free checked bag, or lounge access. For hotel credit cards, we evaluated perks like upgrade opportunities for Wi-Fi and free hotel stays with a card anniversary. For premium travel credit cards, we also considered whether the card offered travel credits, travel insurance, and other benefits that justify a high annual fee.
• Rates and fees: Travel credit cards tend to carry annual fees and higher APRs than low-interest cards. However, we considered how a card’s APRs compared to the current credit card industry average and whether any fees could be avoided or offset by the card’s travel rewards and benefits.

All criteria used: We assessed rewards rates, rewards categories, sign-up bonus, point values, transfer partners, redemption options, redemption flexibility, annual fee, other rates and fees, travel credits, airport lounge access, travel accident insurance, lost luggage reimbursement, concierge service, and other travel benefits. We also considered the card’s travel portal functionality, credit requirements, customer service, and any events or other perks.

Our comparison service is compensated by our credit card company partners, which may affect product placement. This site does not include all credit card companies or all available credit card offers. Star ratings are based solely on our independent card scoring methodology and are not influenced by advertisers or card issuers. Learn more about our partners and how we make money.

More information on travel credit cards

For more information on all things travel cards, continue reading content from our credit card experts:

• Cash back vs. points
• Trip cancelation reimbursement by credit card
• No foreign transaction fee credit cards

About the Author

Jeanine Skowronski

Jeanine Skowronski is a credit card expert, analyst, and multimedia journalist with over 10 years of experience covering business and personal finance. She has previously served as the Head of Content at Policygenius, Executive Editor of Credit.com, Deputy Editor at American Banker, Staff Reporter at TheStreet and a columnist for Inc. Magazine.

About the Editor

Robert Thorpe

Robert Thorpe is an editor for CreditCards.com

About the Reviewer

Stephanie Zito

Stephanie Zito is a professional traveler, humanitarian and credit card points collector sharing savvy travel tips she has learned firsthand from more than 20 years of circling the globe as a backpacker, expat and premium traveler in more than 125 countries and all seven continents.