NerdWallet’s Best Travel Credit Card Roundup, Spring 2012 Edition
Free flights, waived fees, knocking back drinks in exclusive lounges—the best travel credit cards are your key to adventure with swag. Gargantuan sign-up bonuses combined with generous ongoing rewards earn free trips fast. But which travel cards are truly, indisputably, unyieldingly the best, and which are impostors?
The key to selecting a travel credit card is finding a program optimized for your particular needs. Do you stay in luxury hotels? Do you travel internationally? Are you loyal to a specific airline? While there are plenty of credit cards that aim to provide a wide variety of general rewards, you may find a specially tailored card suits you best. We’ve simplified the selection process by choosing a handful of common categories and electing the best card for each. Check ‘em out!
Best rewards rate and signup bonus: the Capital One® VentureSM Rewards Credit Card
The very act of traveling entails exchanging the familiar for the unknown. Innumerable variables can alter the course and timeline of each small act of transit. You might not always be able rely on a particular airline or hotel chain to meet your travel needs. The Capital One® VentureSM Rewards Credit Card provides the versatility necessary to prepare for the unpredictable. Rewards, which accumulate at a flat 2% rate on across all purchases, can be redeemed at any airline, hotel or rental service without restrictions of blackout dates. The 10,000-point signing bonus is worth about a hundred bucks in travel—a nice little welcoming gift. Like all Capital One cards, the Venture does not charge a foreign transaction fee, a key feature for those planning to travel internationally. All things considered, we definitely consider the Venture worth the $59 annual fee (waived the first year, by the way).
Best hotel credit card: the Starwood American Express
For travelers who won’t settle for just any roadside motel, the Starwood American Express is your passport to sleeping in style. We consider the Starwood the best hotel credit card not because of the number of points you earn, but because of how much each point is worth. At first glance, the rewards program appears fairly typical, earning 2 to 5 points per dollar spent at Starwood hotels and1 point per dollar everywhere else. But whereas most rewards programs pass out points worth about a penny apiece, Starpoints average 2.3 cents each. The rewards rate effectively becomes 2.3%, and the 25,000-point sign-up bonus has an estimated worth of $575. But before you apply, consider two caveats. 1) Points only retain their full value if you redeem at Starwood hotels. And 2) The Starwood does charge a 2.7% foreign transaction fee. You might not want to make it your primary overseas card. But of course, if you’re traveling domestically, you need not worry about it.
Best general travel credit card: the Chase Sapphire Preferred
Much like the Venture, the Chase Sapphire Preferred will benefit travelers of any persuasion. The biggest draw may be its slightly ridiculous but totally awesome signing bonus. The bonus is 50,000 Ultimate rewards point, which, if redeemed for travel booked through Chase, is worth $625. Dining and travel earn rewards at a 2% rate, and all other purchases earn 1% back. One of the Sapphire’s more unique features is its annual rewards dividend. Every year, on the anniversary of your signing, you’ll receive a bonus sum equivalent to 7% your total points earned over the past 12 months. Taking into consideration the annual dividend and the fact that redeeming through Chase makes points worth 25% more, your rewards rate works out to about 1.28% on everyday purchases and 2.56% on travel. The Sapphire has no foreign transaction fee, but it does have a $95 (annual fee). Think about it this way, though: the signing bonus is big enough to pay the fee for the first 7 years!
Best travel perks: the American Express Platinum
Why would anyone pay a $450 annual fee to hold a credit card? Take a look at the American Express Platinum, and you’ll find out. Travelers frequent and fancy will discover a wide range benefits to ease the tedium of transit. First off, you receive an annual $200 credit to cover incidental charges (baggage fees, change fees, in-flight meals, etc.) on your airline of choice. The signing bonus is 25,000 points, worth $250 in travel expenses. You also get Priority Pass Select lounge membership (a $400 annual value) and a $100 credit to apply for the Global Entry program, which lets you breeze past customs lines. There is no no foreign transaction fee, and you get a 20% discount when using points to book travel through American Express. There are way too many perks to list them in totality here, so be sure to check out our full review for more details!
Best airline credit card: the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
A free flight with America’s most beloved airline is a fine reason to sign up for a card. The Southwest Airlines credit card offers 25,000 Rapid Rewards Points just for signing, which is enough for a domestic round trip. Typically, credit cards make you work for your signing bonus, asking you spend a certain amount of money in a certain amount of time. The Southwest, however, awards the bonus after you make a single purchase. It doesn’t matter what you buy—could be a bucket of falafel or bundle of vuvuzelas—a single swipe of the card will do it. Then, on every anniversary of your signing, you’ll receive a 3,000-point bonus sum. Valued at $50, the bonus nearly negates the $69 annual fee. Beyond these pleasant little prizes, you’ll earn 2 miles per dollar spent at Southwest and 1 mile per dollar everywhere else. Southwest doesn’t impose blackout dates, and you’re bags (up to 2 checked) fly free. We feel confident calling the Southwest the best US airline branded credit card to date.