We’ve studied the top travel card offers based on rewards and fees. Here are our picks for the best travel rewards credit cards of 2019.

Whether you travel for business or pleasure, you may as well make the most of it with a great travel rewards credit card. These cards can help cut up-front costs of travel, while earning you miles to use on future trips.

Elsewhere, we link you to the best airline miles cards, hotel rewards cards, and gas credit cards. You’ll find some overlap, but those cards tend to be a bit more specific. Here, we’ll focus on credit cards that give you excellent rewards that you can cash in with different airlines, cruise lines, hotel chains, and more.

Rewards cards like these give you flexibility for both earning points and spending them. Frequent travelers know just how valuable that is!

Credit Card	Best For
Chase Sapphire Preferred	Rewards-conscious travelers with great credit
Bank of America Premium Rewards®	Those who prefer a low annual fee
Capital One® Venture® Rewards	Easy-to-earn miles on all purchases
The Platinum Card® from American Express	People who travel often
Chase Ink Business Preferred	Business travelers with big expenses
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority	Southwest customers who also fly internationally
Marriott Bonvoy Bold	Those who like to stay in Marriott Hotels or drive more often than fly
Gold Delta SkyMiles®	Frequent fliers with Delta

1. Chase Sapphire Preferred

The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers more points for some categories – 2 points per $1 spent on travel and dining. Then, you’ll get 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.

• Bonus: Spend $4,000 in the first three months of account opening, and you’ll get 60,000 bonus points–that’s worth $750 towards travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
• Redemption: You can redeem points directly for statement credit on travel purchases. But you can also transfer your points on a 1:1 basis to other travel programs. So you could move your points over to your Hyatt Gold Passport or to your Marriott Rewards program, for instance. This could help you squeeze more value out of your miles.
• Fees: This card has a $95 annual fee. Balance transfers cost the greater of $5 or 5%, and there are no foreign transaction fees.

Best for: Rewards-conscious travelers with great credit. Since this card offers easy transferability, it’s a great way to add points to the rewards programs you already prefer.

2. Bank of America Premium Rewards®

The Bank of America Premium Rewards® credit card offers two points per dollar spent on travel and dining purchases along with 1.5 points per dollar spent on everything else.

• Bonus: New accounts receive a 50,000-point signup bonus worth $500 after spending $3,000 within the first 90 days of account ownership.
• Redemption: Points can be redeemed for cash back as a statement credit, deposit into eligible Bank of America® accounts, credit to eligible Merrill Edge® and Merrill Lynch® accounts, or gift cards or purchases at the Bank of America Travel Center.
• Travel Credit: Earn a $100 annual travel credit toward incidental airline fees + another $100 credit every four years for expedited airport screening.
• Fees: The annual fee is $95 and there are no foreign transaction fees.

Best for: Those who prefer a low annual fee. You can use the annual $100 statement credit to offset the reasonable $95 annual fee, so check out this card if you’re wary of annual fees.

Apply HERE or read our full Bank of America Premium Rewards® Review

3. Capital One^® Venture^® Rewards

This is another flexible, easy-to-use credit card option. With the Capital One® Venture® Rewards credit card, you’ll get 2 miles per $1 spent on any purchase. You can save up unlimited miles, and redeem them for flights, car rentals, hotel stays, cruises, and other travel-related expenses.

• Bonus: Spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of using this card, and you’ll get 50,000 bonus miles back – about $500 in travel expenses. This card also offers 10x points at hotels.com, valid through January 2020.
• Redemption: This is another card that allows you to redeem miles how you’d like. You can, for instance, save even more by purchasing your miles through a discount travel site. Then redeem the miles as a statement credit.
• Fees: This card has $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95. That’s not too bad for a card with these high-level, flexible rewards. You’ll also benefit from no foreign transaction fees.

Best for: Easy-to-earn miles on all purchases. If you don’t want to think about rotating or complicated bonus categories, this card’s flat rewards structure may be for you.

Click HERE to learn more about this card.

4. The Platinum Card® from American Express

The Platinum Card® from American Express is a very high rewards, very high fee credit card that quite possibly offers you the best rewards program of any card found today.  And it opens with a nice hefty bonus.

• Welcome offer: Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards points after you’ve spent $5,000 in the first three months of card ownership.  Also earn up to $200 in Uber rides each and every year.
• Rewards: You’ll earn 5x points on flights booked through AMEX or directly through the airline, 5x points on hotels booked through AMEX and single points per dollar spent on all other transactions. Also provided is up to a $200 airline fee credit, a refund of sorts for the baggage fees you pay annually. Last but not least, you’ll gain access into the AMEX Global Lounge collection; allowing you + two guests to relax in style before a flight.
• Fees: This is the unflattering side … a $550 annual fee applies.  There is no APR because this is a charge card (so it is expected that your balance be paid in full every month).

Best for: People who travel often. To out-earn that $550 annual fee for this card, you’ll need to travel a lot, and be able to pay off your balance in full each month. But if you meet those qualifications, this card does come with some serious perks.

Click HERE to learn more about this card.

5. Chase Ink Business Preferred

The Chase Ink Business Preferred is, as you might guess, geared towards business travelers. But if you’re a business owner or consultant and travel often for business or pleasure, you could get a lot from this card.

• Welcome offer: You can earn 80,000 bonus points when you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of owning this card.
• Rewards: Earn three points per dollar spent on the first $150,000 in combined purchases on travel; shipping; internet, cable and phone services; and advertising purchases with social media sites and search engines. Also earn an unlimited one point per dollar spent on all other purchases. Points are worth 25% more when you redeem them through Chase Unlimited Rewards.
• Fees: This card has a $95 annual fee and an 18.24% to 23.24% variable APR.

Best for: Business travelers with big expenses. You can make the most of this card if you travel frequently for your business or have other expenses that get you these serious bonus points.

Click HERE to learn more about this card.

Read More: Chase Ink Business Preferred Review

6. Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card

Southwest now has a selection of different Rapid Rewards credit cards available, and you might consider any of them if you’re a fan of this airline. But the Priority card comes with some additional perks, including $75 in Southwest travel credit each year, 4 upgraded boardings per year, and no foreign transaction fees. This card also lets you earn tier qualifying points towards A-list status.

• Welcome offer: New cardholders can get 40,000 bonus points when they spend $1,000 on purchases within three months of opening the card.
• Rewards: Two points per dollar spent on Southwest Airlines purchases and one point per dollar spent on everything else, plus 6,000 points every year on your Cardmember anniversary.
• Fees: This card has a $99 annual fee but no foreign transaction fees.

Best for: Southwest customers who also fly internationally. Many who fly Southwest may fly mainly within the U.S., but if you use Southwest for some of your flights but sometimes go overseas, you’ll benefit from this card’s lack of foreign transaction fees.

Click HERE to learn more about this card.

7. Marriott Bonvoy Bold

Want hotel-related rewards rather than airline-centered rewards? The Marriott Bonvoy Bold is a brand new card with no annual fee that lets you earn points with Marriott to get free stays more quickly.

• Welcome offer: You can get 50,000 bonus points when you spend $2,000 on purchases in your first three months of opening this account.
• Rewards: You can earn unlimited Marriott Bonvoy points at the rate of three points per dollar spent at Marriott Bonvoy hotels. You can also earn two points per dollar on other travel-related purchases and one point per dollar on all other purchases. Plus, you’ll get 15 elite night credits each calendar year, so you’ll qualify for Silver Elite status.
• Fees: This card has no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees.

Best for: Those who like to stay in Marriott Hotels or drive more often than fly. If you already prefer Marriott Hotels or could come to prefer them, this card is worth checking out. Maybe you spend on rental cars and hotels more often than airlines. In that case, you could earn some great points towards free stays with this card.

Click HERE to learn more about this card.

8. Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express

Delta offers a trio of credit cards specific to flying their airline and I believe the Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express to be the best.  In addition to a good rewards program and nice bonus, the perks offered for everyday travelers are top shelf.

• Welcome offer: New cardholders will earn 60,000 Bonus Miles after spending $2,000 in the first three months.
• Rewards: Two miles per dollar spent are earned on purchased made directly with Delta and single miles per dollar spent are earned on everything else.   The biggest reason to own this credit card is the baggage fee perks.  You can check your first bag for FREE for up to nine members in your reservation.  That means at $25 per bag, you stand to save $225 per flight on checked bags (if bringing 8 other people).  For a family of four, this means $100 saved on each and every flight.
• Fees: There is $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95.  There are no foreign transaction fees charged.

Best for: Frequent fliers with Delta. Having a Delta-branded AMEX is the only way to avoid baggage costs with this airline, so just having the card could save you big money if you often fly Delta.

Click HERE to learn more about this card.

Topics: Credit Cards

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