Best Ten Travel Rewards Credit Cards – 2018

I’m sure that the fresh breathe of summer has aroused many of y’all that are just aching for a nice trip somewhere that isn’t an office. With such a saturated field of Travel suitable credit cards out there, I find it completely necessary to distinguish all top-tier travel rewards credit cards. So if it’s on this list, then it’s a card that we hold dearly in our hearts. Essentially, this top 10 will be our “Best Ten Travel Rewards Credit Cards of 2018” segment, whether you’re looking for airlines, hotels, or flexibility with your travel.

Ah, the Chase Sapphire Reserve℠ and it’s beauty in practicality. Such a benchmark in credit card standards unraveled in beautiful travel perks that just proves it’s validity in a lucrative 3X on travel and dining, $300 in annual travel credit, global entry/TSA Precheck worth up to $100, and an attractive 1.5+ cent a point value when redeemed towards Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal.

This card is absolute versatility for those that want rewards for travel, however at a $450 annual fee, this card is no card for the average spender. It is solely towards your spending pattern whether this card proves fully beneficial towards you.

Editor’s Note: Get your hands on the new  Chase Sapphire Reserve℠ and you can reward yourself with an attractive 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points Bonus when you make a spend of $4,000 or more within a given first three months of account opening.

Chase Sapphire Reserve℠ Card Summary:

• Learn More
• Maximum Bonus: 50,000 UR Points
• Spending Requirement: You must spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
• Annual Fee: $450, not waived for the first year
• Bonus Worth: The 50K points alone is worth $750 towards airfare/hotel.

The Platinum Card^® from American Express is perhaps the epitome of travel rewards with 5X Points for flights, travel and hotels booked directly on AmexTravel. Benefits include a monthly $15 in uber credit, $200 in airlines credit, the standard global entry/TSA PreCheck benefit, and access to Amex’s most premium of lounges.

Enjoy complimentary Hilton Gold status, SPG Gold Elite status and Marriott Gold Elite Status as well as the cherry on top: 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after you use your new Card to make $5,000 in purchases in your first 3 months. Note that there is a $550 annual fee attached, which inclines me to say that this card should only be for those that know how to maximize their rewards.

Platinum Card from American Express Summary:

• Apply Now
• Maximum Bonus: 60,000 Bonus Points
• Spending Requirement: Must spend $5,000 within 3 months of account opening.
• Annual Fee: $550
• Bonus Worth: The 60000 Bonus Points is worth about $1,080 depending on how much you value MR points.

If you’re a frequent business traveler, then the Ink Preferred Business Credit Card can prove to be rather beneficial towards you with a 3x points per dollar for the first $150,000 spent towards travel, telecommunications, shipping and advertising on social-media and search engines. This card also proves to have the most efficient cell phone insurance coverage plus primary auto rental coverage, employee cards at no additional cost and no foreign transaction fee. Points are worth 25% more when you redeem for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, pair with the Chase Sapphire Reserve for more rewards and flexibility with Ultimate Rewards.

Ink Preferred Business Credit Card Summary:

• Apply Now
• Maximum Bonus: 80,000 bonus points
• Spending Requirement: You must spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Annual Fee: $95
• Bonus Worth: When you redeem the 80K bonus points through Chase Ultimate Rewards, this bonus ends up being worth $1200 toward travel. But if you redeem the 80K bonus points for gift cards or statement credit, the bonus points are worth approximately $800.

Get 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com with a new Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN on top of $200 Airline Fee Credit, Airport Lounge Access Program, Concierge Service, no foreign transaction fees and 50% more points on business purchases of $5,000 or more^‡ and 35% Airline Bonus. If you’re more of a perks and amenities type of person, then this is the card for you. All with a $450 annual fee.

Editor’s Note: Earn 50,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $10,000 and an extra 25,000 points after you spend an additional $10,000 all on qualifying purchases within your first 3 months of Card Membership.

Business Platinum Card from American Express OPEN Summary:

• Learn More
• Maximum Bonus: 75,000 Membership Reward Points
• Spending Requirement:
  • $10,000 in purchases within 3 months of account opening and
  • Additional $10,000 purchases within 3 months
• Annual Fee: $450
• Additional Advice: Make sure you’ll fly frequently and spend enough to justify the high annual fee!

With a lower annual fee than it’s big bro – Sapphire Reserve, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is no laughing matter in terms of rewards. With 2X rewards on all travel purchases, 20% discounts on travel booking through Ultimate Rewards and a variety of travel partners, this card is still pretty lucrative, if not, one of the best travel credit cards in the market for all-around flexibility. Not only that, get get primary auto rental insurance, and no foreign transaction fees all with a minimum $95 annual fee, waived for the first year.

Editor’s Note: Sign up bonus of 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points with $4,000 minimum spend within the first 3 months of account opening

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Summary:

• Learn More
• Maximum Bonus: 50,000 bonus points + Additional 5,000 points
• Spending Requirement: You must spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, and add an authorized user (no annual fee) within the first 3 months and they make a purchase.
• Annual Fee: $0 introductory annual fee for the first year ($95 thereafter)
• Bonus Worth: The 50K points alone is worth $625 towards airfare/hotel.

Considering just how useful Avios points are, it should be a no-brainer that the Chase British Airways Visa Signature® Card would show up on our list. I mean, the fact that every calendar year that you make $30,000 in purchases on your card, you get a Travel Together Ticket good for two years. You’ll get 3 Avios for every $1 spent on British Airways purchases, no foreign transaction fee and a sign-up bonus that just utterly screams “Checkmate”. If you’re a big spender and frequent flyer with British Airways, then this should probably already be a staple card in your wallet rotation.

Chase British Airways Visa Signature Card Summary:

• Learn More
• Maximum Bonus: 50,000 bonus Avios + 25,000 or 50,000 bonus Avios
• Spending Requirement: You must spend $3,000 in the first 3 months after account opening for the 50,000 Bonus. Then $10,000 for the 25,000 bonus Avios or $20,000 for the 50,000 bonus Avios.
• Annual Fee: $95 annual fee
• Bonus Worth: Most roundtrip flights in the U.S cost at least $300 per ticket. Each round trip would cost your around 25,000 Avios.

Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card can be quite the reliable airlines rewards card for those of you that fly frequently with Delta. Essentially with this card, you’ll be earning 2 miles per $1 spent on Delta purchases. You get your first bag checked free on Delta flights, priority boarding, 20% savings on in-flight foods and entertainment and no foreign transaction fees attached.

Editor’s Note: You could earn yourself an attractive 30,000 Delta Sky Miles when you make $1,000 in spend within the first four months of the credit card activation period. You will earn $50 statement credit when you make your first Delta purchase.

Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card Summary:

• Learn More
• Maximum Bonus: 30,000 bonus Delta SkyMiles + $50 Statement Credit
• Spending Requirement: $3,000 in purchases and 1 Delta purchase within 4 months
• Annual Fee: $95 waived the first year
• Bonus Worth: $700

With a United MileagePlus® Explorer Card, you should expect to earn 2x miles on all tickets purchases from United with your first checked bag free, priority boarding, 2 United Club passes each year all for a Annual fee of $95 (not waived for the first year). Not only that, but the anniversary bonus is quite attractive for those of you frequent United flyers: Receive 10,000 bonus mile after you spend $25,000 on purchases on your Card each calendar year.

Editor’s Note: When you sign up for a  United MileagePlus® Explorer Card you can earn yourself a attractive 40,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account activation.

United MileagePlus Explorer Summary:

• Apply Now
• Maximum Bonus: 40,000 United Miles + $50 SC
• Spending Requirement:
  • Spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account activation
  • Make first purchase in the first 3 months of account activation
• Annual Fee: $95 is not waived the first year
• Bonus Worth: The 50,000 Bonus Points is worth $750 redeemed towards United Travel.

Yet another airlines credit card that may be worth mentioning is the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard.  Earn 10% of your redeemed AAdvantage miles back — up to 10,000 AAdvantage miles each calendar year, get your first eligible bag checked free for up to 4 travel companions, and get 2 AA miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines and US Airways purchase. Receive 25% savings on in-flight food and beverage purchases on American Airlines and US Airways flights. In addition to that, fly using fewer AAdvantage® miles with reduced mileage awards!

Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard Card Summary:

• Apply Now
• Maximum Bonus: 60,000 AAdvantage Bonus Miles
• Spending Requirement: You must spend $3,000 within 3 months of account opening.
• Annual Fee: $95 which is waived for the first year
• Bonus Worth: The 60,000 bonus points is worth about $750 in airfare or $600 in gift cards

The Business Gold Rewards Card® from American Express OPEN is perhaps one of the most flexible business card to date with your choice of 3x points in one of the 5 categories: Airfare purchased directly from airlines, U.S. purchases for advertising in select media, U.S. purchases at gas stations, U.S. purchases for shipping, U.S. computer hardware, software, and cloud computing purchases made directly from select providers.

With the 2X category being 1 of the 4 that you haven’t picked yet. Redeem points for everyday business expenses, to help with travel costs or to reward employees and entertain clients. From no foreign transaction fees to a $0 intro annual fee (then $175), this could definitely prove the edge on your travel!

Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN Summary:

• Apply Now
• Maximum Bonus: 50,000 Membership Rewards Bonus Points
• Spending Requirement: You must spend $5,000 in purchases on the Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
• Annual Fee: $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $175
• Bonus Worth: We estimate the 50,000 Membership Rewards points are worth $500 in gift cards.

Conclusion:

Now there’s plenty of cards out there that offer travel rewards, however, not very many of them offer you much to begin with. Hopefully with this list, you will be able to find the card that suits you. I recommend looking at all aspects of the card in terms of rewards structure, perks and benefits, protection and insurance, as well as the sign-up bonus on the cards. This archive will be provided to you as the “Best Ten Travel Rewards Credit Cards – 2018.” If you have any suggestions for this list, be sure to mention anything in the comment section, as always, we’d greatly appreciate it!  Find out which card is right for you by checking out our complete list of Credit Card Promotions today!