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Travel Credit Cards Keep me Traveling: Here are my Favorites!

ByLaken Hours
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Now, I want to make it known that I am NOT a “points and miles hacker,” I.E. someone who opens a credit card, gets the big bonus miles, uses them, opens another, refers to the partner, opens them a card, gets the bonus, repeat. This isn’t how I utilize travel credit cards to continue traveling, although that is a very common way people DO travel with credit card points!

I have TWO travel credit cards that I use regularly. The sole reason I have two instead of one, is because I prefer the way to redeem points better on one than the other, but I had already opened the first one. I do, however, still use both and both have their benefits!

travel credit cards

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How I use my Travel Credit Cards

I use my cards for EVERYTHING I CAN. Every bill that allows me to pay via credit card, I do. Every time I shop, buy gas, groceries, Christmas presents, book ANY travel expense, it goes onto my travel cards.

  • Anything that you are going to have to buy anyway should go onto a credit card rather than a debit card. You aren’t getting any perks by using a debit card!

The kicker is, you need to pay off anything you spend by the end of the month to avoid interest. It is no secret that credit cards have ridiculous interest rates. But you shouldn’t be spending more than you can afford to get more points anyway 😬

So keep it smart, pay for the things you HAVE to buy anyway on your credit card and watch the points add up!

Do the Points Actually Accumulate?

If you are skeptical of how effective the cards are then you have probably had a credit card with no annual fee and cash back rewards.

FYI: Cash back rewards RARELY have as big of payouts/rewards as those that have point rewards. AND credit cards with no annual fee usually accumulate points very slowly to where it feels like you aren’t getting enough rewards to pay for the Uber to the airport.

My Point Accumulations

Here are the points I have accumulated, on average, using these two cards.

  • For the initial bonus on these cards after spending x amount of dollars in the first three months, you get 75k miles which is $750 in fly miles. Thats a trip or a trip and a half to Europe, depending when and where you go.
    • But, I have two cards, so this happened twice. That is 2-3 trips to Europe.
    • Also, my husband has one of these, so he got a trip as well, plus I referred him so I got another half a trip to full trip to Europe (where are we now? 4-5 round trip flights to Europe?)
  • But, after the initial bonus, does the gift stop giving? I opened my cards around 2019. Here is what I have redeemed through ONE of my cards (that I use the most):
    • 2021: I redeemed a flight and a half to Europe at a total of about $1,100 using part of the bonus miles
    • 2022: I redeemed two flights to Spain at $350 a piece (total $700)
    • 2023: I redeemed $910 worth of flights to Amsterdam and had $450 left over
    • 2024: I redeemed $780 worth of flights and had $290 left over
    • Again, I have also redeemed smaller amounts of fly miles on my other card that I use less frequently- I typically use these points for shorter domestic flights.

How Much do you Have to Spend per Month for it to Be Worth It?

Okay, so I have redeemed a lot of fly miles in the past 4-5 years. Do I spend a billion dollars a month for it? No. I will admit, I do spend quite a bit on my credit cards monthly because I put EVERYTHING on them AND book all of my travel expenses on them. But honestly it doesn’t take spending $5,000 a month to accumulate these points.

For reference:

  • $2,200 monthly spending can get you approximately 52,800 miles or $528 worth of flights
    • In the month of November (as of the 24th, so I’m not even done), I have spent $1,446 on “normal” things. That would equal about $348 ish fly miles per year.
  • However, I also had 4 nights of hotels in Las Vegas, two flights to Austria and 5 nights of hotels in Austria that increase the total to $4,382.
    • I don’t always spend that much, obviously, but if you DO spend $4,000 a month you would accumulate about $972 worth of fly miles a year.
  • These monthly totals are based upon 2x miles on every purchase put on the card. So, if I booked that hotel through Capital One directly I would earn 5x miles on that purchase, which would obviously earn more points.
  • Capitol One has a sliding scale that will give you an approximation of how many reward points you would get per year based upon about how much you spend per month.

Travel Credit Cards I use

Now, there are a LOT of credit cards out there and it can be overwhelming to decide which cards to apply for. Yes, your credit has a role in which you choose as does your preference on how you would like to redeem your points.

The two credit cards I use are the Chase Sapphire and Capital One Venture cards. I chose these because:

  1. They accumulate 2x miles on ALL purchases (groceries, etc), 5x miles on hotels, rental cards, etc book through them
  2. No foreign transaction fees: You can use them all over the world without having to contact the companies or get charged
  3. They offer different travel benefits such as insurance on rental cards, lost luggage, etc

Both of these cards have a $95 annual fee, which ends up being worth it for me due to the increased point accumulation. Both have the same amount of bonus when $4,000 is spent in the first three months.

Chase Sapphire Preferred

Chase Sapphire Preferred is the first card I signed up for due to the good initial bonus and point accumulation.

Pros:

  1. Really good travel insurance coverage: They have rental car insurance, trip cancellation covered (up to $10,000 per traveler), lost or stolen luggage coverage (up to $3,000 to replace lost/stolen or damaged products) and will help cover hotels and other expenses due to delayed flights, etc.
    • When our “non refundable, basic economy” flight was cancelled on us in July, they didn’t ask questions. They simply called the airline to confirm our flight was cancelled and put the money and points back on my card.
  2. You get 25% more for your miles when you book through their portal. I.E. 60,000 points = $750 worth of fly miles

Cons:

  1. To redeem points, you HAVE to book through their travel portal. Though you do get more reward points (25%) for this, you can’t purchase flights or hotels through any site that you want.
    • OR, you have to transfer points to a specific airline. But, in good news, you typically get more miles when you transfer points to an airline.
  2. Does not cover TSA Pre-Check or Global Entry fees

Apply for Chase Sapphire Preferred

Capitol One Venture Card

I ultimately got the Capital One Venture card because the way to redeem points was more to my liking.

Pros:

  1. You can apply points to any travel purchase made on your card. I.E. If you book a $500 flight through American Airlines on your card and have $750 worth of miles, you can simply “cover the purchase” and apply $500 of your miles toward your flight.
  2. Covers $120 worth of TSA Pre-check or Global Entry fees. The money is automatically applied back to your card without having to do anything.
  3. They offer a “price drop” protection. Meaning if you “watch” a flight and they tell you to book and then the price drops later, they will give you the difference. However, this is only when booked through their portal, not other sites.

Cons:

  1. The trip protection is not as extensive/covering as that of Chase Sapphire coverage. Or, at least, Chase Sapphire lays out their coverage more transparently and tells you a dollar amount they are willing to cover, whereas Capital One is more vague about their coverage.

Apply for Capital One Venture

Disclosure

Credit cards do offer referral points when new people sign up under the referral links. The links above are referral links, and at no cost to you, if you sign up for a credit card using the links I will get reward miles.

However, I’ve taken the time to write this because:

  • a) Several people ask which cards I use and why
  • b) I legitimately couldn’t have taken some of my trips in recent years without the help of the fly miles from these credit cards

So, if I am going to take the time to write this and link to the cards I use, it might as well be a referral link so I can get paid to do so 🙃

**Also, know that if you have any other Chase Sapphire cards (current or within the last 48 months) or received a new member bonus from Capital One card in the last 48 months, you do not qualify for the above-mentioned bonuses.**

Upgraded Versions of These Travel Credit Cards

Since I have applied for my travel credit cards, they have added upgraded versions of both of these. I haven’t upgraded, but here is the gist of both upgrades.

Chase Sapphire Reserved

Pros:

  1. You increase from 25% to 50% more miles for your purchases.
    • I.E. 60,000 points goes from $750 worth of fly miles to $900 worth of fly miles
  2. The hotel credit of $50 with Chase Sapphire Preferred goes up to $300 of credit on any travel that is purchased through the travel category of the portal
  3. You now get airport lounge access
  4. Hotel and Car rental purchases increases from 5x miles to 10x miles
  5. All other travel purchases increase from 2x miles to 3x miles
  6. TSA Pre-Check and Global Entry are now covered

Cons:

  1. The annual fee goes from $95 to $550 dollars
    • Now, if you factor in the increase of $250 of travel credit as well as the extra 25% of reward miles you may likely come out ahead with the upgrade. I’ve heard that this is actually true for a lot of card holders

Apply for the Chase Sapphire Reserved

Capitol One Venture X

Pros:

  1. Increase from 5x miles to 10x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One
  2. 5x miles on flights booked through Capital One (no rewards on flights booked through Capital One with the Preferred card). Though, you do have to book with THEIR portal and not directly with the airline or other 3rd party site
  3. Receive a $300 annual credit to apply toward travel through Capital One
  4. 10,000 point ($100) bonus on every anniversary
  5. Access to Capital One Lounges (used to be included with the Venture One Preferred, but will no longer be as of January 2025)

Cons:

  1. Annual fee increases from $95 to $395
    • Again, once you factor in the travel credit, you end up paying the same amount. They essentially are going to reward you more for booking through their portal to earn 5x-10x the miles

In all honesty, after typing out the pros and cons I feel like I need to apply for the Capital One Venture X card now 😅

Apply for the Capital One Venture X

I am not a travel credit card guru like maybe those who do travel credit card hacking. I have just given you all of the information I have on the credit cards I use. However, here are a few that I have looked into in the past or may consider in the future.

Southwest Companion Pass

If you fly domestically (or to Mexico) a lot, Southwest Airlines has a credit card that will give you a companion pass after a certain amount of money has been spent.

Once you meet the requirements, you basically get a BOGO flight. You buy one flight, and your companion only has to pay the taxes on their flight!

I haven’t delved into the credit card, mostly because I just don’t fly domestically or to Mexico enough to achieve the requirements for the companion pass. BUT, if you do, this would be a great option! (especially for families)

Their cards:

  1. They have 3 tiers, ranging from $70, $90 and $150 annual fee
  2. The two higher of the three have no foreign transaction fees (so don’t go for the $70)
  3. To get the Companion pass, you need 135,000 points in one year (then you get the pass the next year). You get a 40,000 point bonus with the member bonus and 10,000 points per year toward the pass.

Apply for Southwest Credit Card

American Express

In the past, American Express was notorious for having foreign transaction fees when used abroad, so I steered clear of those when I was applying 4-5 years ago. However, since then, they have become way more travel friendly (I have learned while doing more extensive research for this 🙃)

There are two premium cards that are travel-friendly with no foreign transaction fees and good travel rewards.

  1. American Express Platinum
    • Right now, the welcome bonus is 125,000 points or $1,250 when you spend $8,000 in the first 6 months
    • $200 credit each year for on select hotels booked through AmexTravel
    • 5x miles on flights booked through any airline
    • 5x miles on hotels booked through AmexTravel
    • Free TSA Pre-check or Global Entry
    • Marriott and Hilton Gold status for room upgrades and more points
    • Upgrades when renting cars through Avis, Hertz or National
    • Lounge Access
    • Car rental, luggage, trip cancellation, trip delay insurance
    • Annual Fee: $695
  2. American Express Gold
    • Right now, the welcome bonus is 90,000 or $900 when you spend $6,000 or more in the first 6 months
    • You earn 3x miles on all flights booked through any airline
    • 2x miles on hotels booked through AmexTravel
    • Baggage and car rental insurance
    • Annual Fee: $325
    • (unlike Capital One, I don’t see a travel credit to help negate the annual fee, but the bonus is more)

American Express Opinion

I would say if you want to go the American Express route, the perks seem to really increase from the Gold to the Platinum. But for you to justify the annual fee, you will have to travel more than a time or two a year and if you don’t feel the need to live the luxury life in Hilton or Marriott, those perks may not help justify the annual fee either.

  • If you have your eyeballs on really luxurious stays and plan to travel a lot, the American Express Platinum could be worth it for you. It is also nice that you earn 5x points on flights even if you book directly through the airline.
  • However, I personally, wouldn’t choose the America Express Gold over either of the Capital One Venture X or Chase Sapphire Reserve cards which have similar annual fees, despite the bigger welcome bonus.

Apply for American Express

Travel Credit Cards Recap

That was a lot of information; I’m sorry 😅 But if you start googling “best travel credit cards,” most of the time the Capitol One Venture and the Chase Sapphire Preferred are at the top of those lists, especially if you are an intermittent traveler and not a frequent traveler. You have to really to travel more frequently for the upgrade to $400-$500 annual fees to be worth it.

Whichever card you choose, though, having a travel credit card can be a GAME CHANGER when trying to afford to travel!

Other Articles You May Be Interested in
First Time Traveling Internationally: A Beginner’s Ultimate Guide
How to Plan an International Trip: Logistics and More

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Laken is a traveler from Arkansas who explores the world around her 9-5 and is passionate about helping those with a full time job do the same. Her travel guides include PTO-friendly itineraries and how to travel on a budget.

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