Travel Credit Cards

Discover which travel credit cards offer the best value across major airline and hotel brands as well as those that earn points that can be used with any travel partner. Learn when to use credit, when to use cash, and how to tell whether your travel credit card offers the best deal.

Frequently Asked Questions
  • Which is better for overseas travel—Visa or Mastercard?

    Visa and Mastercard are essentially the same in terms of merchant acceptance outside of the United States so neither has an advantage for foreign travelers. Visa and Mastercard have different country-specific policies regarding car rental while abroad so this can be important to understand prior to travel.

  • Are swipe fees higher for travel credit cards?

    Swipe, or merchant acceptance, fees do tend to be higher for travel cards. The reason major card networks charge merchants higher fees for these types of cards is because card usage and charge volume tends to be higher compared to non-rewards credit cards.

  • How do chip and signature cards work?

    All credit cards issued in the U.S. by Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover now have security chips and still typically require signatures at checkout with most merchants and can be inserted into point of sale terminals or the chip can be read by holding the card over the terminal reader.  Chip and signature cards still carry a magnetic strip on the back which can be swiped through point of sale terminals as well. They are different from cards outside of the U.S. which require a four-digit PIN to be entered at the point of sale.

  • Is it worth it to try to get credit card fees waived?

    Any credit card fee that the customer doesn’t feel is fair can be contested. Studies have shown that it is remarkably effective to simply call the customer service number of the card issuer to ask for a fee to be removed. Certain factors such as how long you’ve been a customer, if your account is in good standing and politeness can influence the level of success when asking for fee waiver or reduction.

Key Terms

Explore Travel Credit Cards

airline
Best Airline Credit Cards
Best-hotel-credit-cards-4801569
Best Hotel Credit Cards
Chase Sapphire Reserve
Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card Review
Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card Review
Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card Review
American Express Delta SkyMiles
Delta SkyMiles Blue Amex Credit Card Review
Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Credit Card Review
Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Credit Card Review
Spirit Airlines World Mastercard Review
Free Spirit Travel More World Elite Mastercard Review
Frontier
Frontier Airlines World Mastercard Review
AAAW
AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard Review
DSAE
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Card from American Express Review
Bank of America Travel Rewards
Bank of America Travel Rewards Credit Card Review
CPg
Citi Prestige Credit Card Review
HA
Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard Review
American Express Hilton Honors
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Credit Card Review
Disney
Disney Visa Card Review
AAA MileUp
Citi AAdvantage MileUp Credit Card Review
CFP
Carnival World Mastercard Review
AGR
Amtrak Guest Rewards World Mastercard Review
American Express Green Card Review
American Express Green Card Review
Discover It Miles
Discover it Miles Credit Card Review
HH AE
Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card Review
AWM
Allegiant World Mastercard Review
Expedia
Expedia Rewards Credit Card Review
BA
British Airways Visa Signature Credit Card Review 2023
HSBCWPM
HSBC Premier World Mastercard Credit Card Review
Choice P
Choice Privileges Visa Signature Card Review
AKLMWEM
Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard Review
American Airlines AAdvantage
Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard Review
HSBCPM
HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard Credit Card Review
DSAE
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card Review
Chase IHG Premier Rewards Club
IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card Review
Hawaiian Airlines Business Mastercard
Hawaiian Airlines Business Mastercard Review
DSAEG
Delta SkyMiles® Gold Card Review
SKAEBP
Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business Credit Card Review
DCPV
Disney Premier Visa Review
AE HH
Hilton Honors American Express Card Review
IPVS
Iberia Visa Signature Card Review 2023
CAAEW
Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard Review
AEBHH
Hilton Honors American Express Business Card Review
COSB
Capital One Spark Miles Review
BankofAmericaTravelRewardsStudentCreditCard
Bank of America Travel Rewards for Students Review
DSAEB
Delta Skymiles Reserve Business Card Review
SB
Capital One Spark Miles Select Review
DSGBAE
Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card Review
JetBlue
JetBlue Credit Card Review
SRRPVS
Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card Review
Southwest Rapid Rewards VISA
Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card Review
SW RR P
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card Review
Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card Review
Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card Review
Radisson Rewards Premier Visa Signature
Radisson Rewards Premier Visa Signature Card Review
United Explorer MileagePlus
United Explorer Card Review
SW
Sonesta World Mastercard Review
World of Hyatt VISA
World of Hyatt Credit Card Review
PRVS
Priceline VIP Rewards Visa Card Review
MileagePlus
United Club℠ Infinite Card Review
Jet+
JetBlue Plus Card Review
MMM
Lufthansa Miles & More World Elite Mastercard Review
USBA
U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve Visa Infinite Card Review
VISA Signature Wyndham Rewards
Wyndham Rewards Visa Review
RCVS
Royal Caribbean Visa Signature Review