Travel credit cards make sense only if you actually travel 2+ times per year. Below that frequency, the annual fee + complexity outweighs the rewards.
Best all-around: Chase Sapphire Preferred ($95/year). 5x points on Chase Travel, 3x dining, 2x other travel. Sign-up bonus typically 60,000+ points (~$750 in travel). Best for first-time travel-card users.
Best premium: Chase Sapphire Reserve ($550/year). 10x Chase Travel, 5x flights, 3x dining + general travel. $300 annual travel credit reduces effective fee to $250. Worth it if you spend $10K+/year on travel.
Best for lounges: Amex Platinum ($695/year). Best lounge network (Centurion + Priority Pass + Delta Sky Club). $200 hotel credit, $200 airline credit, $200 Uber credit — but only if you actually use them. Effective fee can be $0 if you use every credit; $500+ if you don't.
Best for flat rewards: Capital One Venture X ($395/year). 2x on everything, 10x on hotels, $300 travel credit. Simpler than Chase/Amex. Best for "I don't want to think about categories" travelers.
Most-overlooked: Bilt Mastercard (no annual fee). Earns 1x on rent (only no-fee card to do this), 3x dining, 2x travel. Best for renters.
Cards to avoid:
- Airline-specific cards if you don't fly that airline 5+ times/year
- Hotel-specific cards if you stay there <10 nights/year
- Discover Miles (no transfer partners)
- Most retail co-brand cards (high APR, low value)
Foreign transaction fees: Any travel card you're considering MUST have 0% foreign transaction fees. Otherwise you're paying 3% on every international purchase — wipes out points value.
The transfer-partner advantage: Chase Ultimate Rewards transfers to 14 airlines + hotels at 1:1 ratio. This is what makes Chase points worth 1.5-2¢ each (vs the 1¢ baseline). Hyatt + Air France are the best Chase transfer partners.
Application timing: Apply for premium cards just before major travel (most sign-up bonuses require $4K-15K spend in 3 months). Pre-pay annual subscriptions to hit the spend.