Best Travel Credit Cards USA 2025

Planning your next trip? The Best Travel Credit Cards USA 2025 can help you maximize travel rewards and perks. These cards let you earn points or miles on everyday purchases, effectively bringing your next trip closer every time you use them. NerdWallet notes that “the best travel credit card… brings your next trip a little closer every time you use it,” by earning travel rewards on spending. Travel cards often come with lucrative sign-up bonuses, travel credits, and perks like airport lounge access and travel insurance. By choosing the right card, you can turn routine spending into free flights, hotels, and other travel experiences.

Travel credit cards let you accumulate points or miles on all purchases, effectively bringing your next trip closer while covering everyday expenses. Many travel cards also offer strong introductory bonuses, travel credits, and perks like airport lounge access or trip cancellation insurance. For example, premium cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and The Platinum Card® from American Express offer generous lounge access, annual travel credits, and built-in travel protections. In this guide, we review the top travel rewards cards, no-annual-fee options, airline and hotel cards, and tips to help you choose the best travel credit cards USA.

Key features of top travel credit cards include:

• Rewards points or miles: Earn bonus points on travel and everyday spending. (Some cards pay 2–5x points on travel/dining.)
• Sign-up bonuses: Many cards offer large welcome bonuses (e.g., 75,000 points after meeting initial spend). These bonuses alone can fund free flights or hotel stays best travel credit cards USA.
• No foreign transaction fees: Most travel cards waive foreign transaction fees, saving ~3% on overseas charges. This makes them ideal for international travel best travel credit cards USA.
• Travel perks & protections: Premium cards include perks like airport lounge access, annual travel credits, free TSA PreCheck/Global Entry, and trip cancellation/interruption insurance. For example, Chase Sapphire Reserve provides extensive travel insurance and lounge access, justifying its fee best travel credit cards USA.
• No-annual-fee options: Even without a yearly fee, you can earn travel rewards. Cards like Capital One VentureOne® and Bank of America® Travel Rewards earn points on all purchases with no annual fee best travel credit cards USA.

Top Travel Rewards Credit Cards

General-purpose travel credit cards reward a broad range of purchases and offer flexible redemption. Our research finds these among the best travel rewards cards in 2025:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: A popular all-around travel card. It earns bonus points on travel, dining, and streaming, plus a high 75,000-point sign-up bonus (worth ~$1,500 in travel) after $4,000 spend. Points are worth 25–50% more when redeemed through Chase Travel, or can transfer to airline/hotel partners. As Bankrate notes, this card has “solid travel perks and protections” and flexible Ultimate Rewards points best travel credit cards USA.
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: A flat-rate card that earns 2 miles per dollar (5x on hotels/experiences) on all purchases. Its simplicity is a selling point: no need to track categories. Venture miles transfer to many partners. It’s frequently recommended as a top choice for travelers thanks to its flat rewards and strong bonus. (See NerdWallet’s review for details.)
• American Express® Gold Card: Great for everyday spending. It earns 4 Membership Rewards points per dollar at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25k/year) and restaurants, and 3x on flights booked through Amex. It comes with dining and airline credits that offset the fee. AmEx Gold is best for diners who also want moderate travel rewards best travel credit cards USA.
• Wells Fargo Autograph® Card: A no-annual-fee card with a wide variety of bonus categories. It earns 3 points per dollar on travel, transit, gas, dining, and streaming, 2x on gas and transit, and 1x on everything else. As NerdWallet notes, “so much value…hard to believe there’s no annual fee”. This card is ideal for those who want rewards without paying a fee.
• U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card: Great for road trips. It earns 4 points per dollar on both travel and gas/EV charging, and 2x on groceries, dining, and streaming. With no annual fee, it’s a strong travel card for drivers and everyday expenses best travel credit cards USA.
• Chase Freedom Unlimited®: A flexible cash-back card that also rewards travel. It offers 1.5% cash back (1.5 points per dollar) on all purchases, plus bonus 5% cash back on travel booked through Chase Travel. Effectively, it can act as a travel card with cash back instead of points best travel credit cards USA.

No Annual Fee Travel Cards

If you prefer not to pay a yearly fee, there are still excellent travel cards available. These cards earn rewards on travel with $0 annual fee:

• Capital One VentureOne Rewards (Miles Boost): No fee and 1.25 miles per dollar on all purchases. It also offers a solid welcome bonus. NerdWallet highlights this card as a “solid card for starting out with travel rewards”. It’s great for beginners who want easy, flat-rate rewards best travel credit cards USA.
• Bank of America® Travel Rewards Credit Card: No annual fee and 1.5 points per dollar on all purchases (unlimited). Comes with a bonus (e.g. 25,000 points after $1k spend). It’s very flexible (points redeemable toward any travel expense) and has no foreign fees. Bankrate notes you “could earn hundreds of dollars in travel rewards” on everyday spending with this card, making it ideal for casual travelers best travel credit cards USA.
• Discover it® Miles: No annual fee and 1.5 miles per dollar on everything (effective 3x in year 1 due to the Miles Match). It has no foreign transaction fee and 0% intro APR. According to CompareCards, it offers “the most benefits, the best welcome offer, and an extremely high reward on all your everyday spending”. This card is good for new cardholders who want a big first-year boost best travel credit cards USA.
• Wells Fargo Autograph® Card: (Mentioned above) No annual fee and 3x points on travel, transit, gas, dining, streaming and 1x on everything else. It starts with a generous bonus and then earns in many categories best travel credit cards USA.

Each of these no-fee cards still lets you earn travel rewards without the burden of a yearly fee. They tend to have simpler rewards structures (flat rates or a few bonus categories).

Best Airline Credit Cards

For travelers loyal to a particular airline, a co-branded airline credit card can add valuable perks. Experts recommend choosing an airline card if you fly one carrier often. These cards typically offer bonus miles on purchases with that airline, plus extras like free checked bags or priority boarding. A top example:

• United℠ Explorer Card: This United Airlines card earns bonus miles on United purchases, dining, and hotels. More importantly, it offers a free first checked bag for you and a companion, priority boarding, and two United Club lounge passes each year. The Points Guy ranks this as the best airline card for United flyers. (If you fly Delta, there are similar Delta SkyMiles AmEx cards with analogous perks best travel credit cards USA.

Even if you don’t fly one airline exclusively, know that airline cards can yield big benefits for frequent flyers of that carrier. If you aren’t loyal to an airline, a general travel rewards card (like those above) may offer more flexibility.

Best Hotel Credit Cards

Hotel-branded cards can deliver extra points on hotel stays and perks like free night awards. One standout in 2025 is:

• Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card: This Marriott card has a $95 fee but is very rewarding for Marriott loyalists. It earns 6x points at Marriott hotels, plus a free night award every year (worth up to 35,000 points) on card renewal. As NerdWallet notes, that free award “can easily make up for its annual fee,” since Marriott has hotels at a wide range of price points. It also earns 2x on dining, travel and everyday purchases. For travelers who stay at Marriott properties, its annual free night and bonus rates make this one of the best hotel credit cards best travel credit cards USA.

Many other hotels have cards too (Hilton, World of Hyatt, etc.), each with its own perks. The Boundless card is a good example: use its free night at a vacation rental or premium Marriott to offset the fee. If you stay at multiple hotel chains, a flexible travel card might be better best travel credit cards USA.

Travel Cards with Perks & Insurance

Premium travel cards come with high annual fees but rich benefits and insurance, ideal for frequent travelers who value comfort and safety. Two top picks:

• Chase Sapphire Reserve®: With a high $550 fee, this card gives it back with perks. You get a $300 annual travel credit (offsetting most of the fee), Priority Pass airport lounge access, Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit, and robust travel insurance (trip cancellation/interruption up to $10k per person). Cardholders also earn 10x points on hotels/airline tickets booked via Chase Travel℠ and 5x on dining. NerdWallet reports cardholders “get bonus rewards on dining and travel, a fat bonus offer, annual credits, airport lounge access”, making it a top choice for luxury travel perks best travel credit cards USA.
• The Platinum Card® from American Express: This ultra-premium card has a $695 fee but provides hundreds of dollars in annual credits (airline fee credit, Uber credit, hotel credits, etc.), access to Centurion Lounges and many partner lounges worldwide, and elite status benefits. It earns 5x points on flights booked with airlines or through Amex Travel, and 5x on prepaid hotels on AmexTravel.com. While expensive, it’s unmatched for lounge access and concierge-style perks. If you travel in style and can use the credits, the Platinum Card delivers luxury value best travel credit cards USA.

Other premium cards include the Citi Prestige and Capital One Venture X (the latter gives 10x miles on portal bookings and lounge access), all offering robust insurance and elite benefits. As with any high-fee card, calculate whether the credits and perks you use exceed the fee best travel credit cards USA.

Cashback Travel Cards

Some cards effectively serve as travel cards by offering cash-back rewards that can be applied toward travel. For example, the Chase Freedom Unlimited® (no fee) provides 1.5% cash back on all spending, and it now earns 5% cash back on travel booked through Chase. This means you can redeem cash rewards for statement credits (or convert to 1.5× travel points if paired with a Sapphire card). Similarly, Citi Double Cash® gives 2% cash back on all purchases (1% when you buy, 1% when you pay), and those rewards can be transferred to travel partners if you also have a Citi travel card. While not traditional travel cards, these earn flexible rewards that can offset travel costs best travel credit cards USA.

Use these cards on everyday spending and then use the earned cash back to cover flights or hotels. Some cash-back cards even let you instantly redeem for travel via portals (like Discover it® shows travel deals). They are especially good if you don’t want to worry about travel categories or carrying a high-fee card best travel credit cards USA.

Travel Cards for Beginners & International Travel

If you’re new to travel cards or have fair credit, start simple: no-fee or easy-to-earn cards. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is often touted “for beginner travelers”, with a manageable $95 fee and high rewards on travel/dining. Even simpler, cards like the Bank of America® Travel Rewards (no fee, 1.5x points on everything) are perfect for novices. These cards let you earn rewards without complex category tracking best travel credit cards USA.

When traveling abroad, a no-foreign-fee card is essential. As CompareCards notes, cards like the BoA Travel Rewards “have no foreign transaction fee, which can save you up to 3% on international travel charges”. Capital One and most major travel cards also waive foreign fees, making them ideal for overseas use. Additionally, ensure your card is widely accepted internationally (Visa or Mastercard is safest) and has chip-and-PIN or chip-and-signature features best travel credit cards USA.

How to Choose the Best Travel Credit Card

Selecting the ideal travel credit card depends on your habits. According to experts, decide first if you want a branded card (for a specific airline or hotel) or a general travel card. If you have a favorite airline or hotel chain and travel frequently with them, a co-branded card yields extra perks (checked bags, free nights) for your loyalty. Otherwise, a general-purpose card (like Chase Sapphire or Capital One Venture) offers flexibility to redeem rewards on any travel best travel credit cards USA.

Match the card’s bonus categories to your spending. For example, Chase Sapphire cards give bonus points on dining and travel, so they suit foodies and travelers. If your spending is all over the map, flat-rate cards (Venture, Freedom Unlimited) might yield more. Consider the annual fee versus benefits: a higher-fee card can be worth it if you use its features. Bankrate points out that even though the Sapphire Reserve has a high fee, “frequent travelers should be able to wring enough value out of this card to more than make up for the best travel credit cards USA.

Check the sign-up bonus requirements (e.g. how much you must spend and how quickly). Also review the card’s rewards program: are points easy to redeem? Can you transfer to airlines/hotels? Lastly, look at extra perks like insurance. Many travel cards include travel protections: for instance, Chase Sapphire Preferred offers trip cancellation/interruption insurance up to $10,000 per person, and Chase Sapphire Reserve adds premium insurance. These can save you money and stress if plans change best travel credit cards USA.

In summary, weigh rewards, fees, and perks against how you travel. Use comparison tools or expert reviews (like NerdWallet or Bankrate) to find cards that align with your needs. Answering a few questions about your spending and travel style can help narrow the choices best travel credit cards USA.

Conclusion

The Best Travel Credit Cards USA of 2025 offer travelers a range of options, whether you value luxury perks, flexible rewards, or no-fee simplicity. Top cards – from Chase Sapphire Preferred and Capital One Venture X for general travel, to United Explorer or Marriott Bonvoy Boundless for airline/hotel loyalty – can significantly boost your travel budget through points and benefits. Remember to consider your own travel patterns: choose cards whose bonus categories match your spending and whose benefits you’ll actually use. Always pay off your balance in full to keep those rewards free of interest costs best travel credit cards USA.

By focusing on rewards rates, annual fees, and extra perks like insurance, you can select the card (or combo of cards) that best suits your needs. Use our guide as a starting point to compare and apply for travel cards with confidence. If this article helped you, please share it on social media or leave a comment below with your best travel credit cards USA.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the best travel credit card for beginners?
A: Experts often recommend the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card for new travelers because it has a reasonable $95 fee and earns versatile rewards on travel and dining. Its generous sign-up bonus and flexible point transfers make it a great starter card. For an even simpler option, cards like the Bank of America® Travel Rewards have no annual fee and earn 1.5 points per dollar on all purchases, which is ideal if you want easy rewards without managing bonus categories best travel credit cards USA.

Q: Which travel credit cards have no annual fee?
A: There are several no-fee travel cards that still earn solid rewards. The Capital One VentureOne® Rewards card has no fee and earns flat-rate miles on all spending. The Bank of America® Travel Rewards card has no fee, no foreign transaction fee, and earns 1.5 points on everything. The Discover it® Miles card also has no fee and effectively 3x miles in the first year. Additionally, the Wells Fargo Autograph® card earns bonus points on travel, dining, gas, and more with no annual fee. Each of these lets you earn travel rewards without paying a yearly charge.

Q: Do travel credit cards offer travel insurance?
A: Yes, many top travel cards include complimentary travel insurance and protections as part of their benefits. For example, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® includes trip cancellation/interruption insurance (up to $10,000 per person) and trip delay insurance. The Chase Sapphire Reserve® and AmEx Platinum go further, with extensive coverage for trip cancellations, lost baggage, rental cars, and more. Always check the benefits guide of each card, but in general, premium travel cards offer travel insurance that can save you money if your trip is canceled or disrupted best travel credit cards USA.

Q: What travel credit card is best for international travel?
A: For international use, focus on cards with no foreign transaction fees. Most travel rewards cards, including ones from Chase, Capital One, and AmEx, waive these fees. For instance, the Bank of America® Travel Rewards card charges no foreign fees, which can save ~3% on charges abroad. The Capital One Venture cards also have no foreign fees and chip-and-PIN technology, making them highly regarded for overseas travel. Always make sure your card is accepted internationally (Visa and Mastercard are best) and has chip security.

Q: What is the best travel rewards card with airline or hotel bonuses?
A: If you stick with one airline or hotel chain, co-branded cards can be rewarding. For airline loyalty, cards like the United℠ Explorer Card or Delta SkyMiles® Gold Amex give bonus miles and perks (free checked bags, priority boarding) with that carrier. NerdWallet highlights the United Explorer as a top airline card. For hotels, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® (free annual night award) or Hilton Honors cards can maximize point earnings on stays. Choose a branded card if you reach loyalty status with that company; otherwise a flexible travel card may earn more on diverse spending.

Q: How can I maximize travel rewards with credit cards?
A: Use travel cards for all your travel, dining, and bonus-category spending, and use a flat-rate or cashback card for everything else. Pay your balance in full to avoid interest. Consider pairing cards: for example, use a Chase Sapphire card (or Venture) for general travel and an airline card for a preferred airline. Look for category bonuses that match your spending. Redeem points carefully (e.g. 2 cents per point or more is ideal). And don’t forget to reap sign-up bonuses by meeting spending requirements. Following these strategies will help you get the most value from your travel credit cards.