There are three types of rewards credit cards: cash - back, generic travel and co-branded
airline and hotel cards.
Many
airline and hotel cards are, and you can earn extra points or miles.
If you're just getting started, a good place to begin is
airline and hotel cards.
If you're looking for a card that offers a diverse array of useful perks, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Citi Prestige and the Amex Platinum are probably your best bets, though
the airline and hotel cards on this list can be a good fit if you're loyal to those brands.
Here's a rundown on everything from rewards cards to co-branded
airline and hotel cards — along with a few tips for keeping rewards fresh:
Of course, there are co-branded
airline and hotel cards that you might want to devote your airfare spend to depending on how you value the miles / points in those programs.
This is different from
airline and hotel cards, where the miles are stored in your loyalty program and will not be lost if you cancel your co-branded travel card.
This is not true with co-branded
airline and hotel cards, but it is true of banks that operate their own rewards programs.
Since you really need to know what
airline and hotel cards are most valuable, here's a look at what I believe are some of the top
airline and hotel cards that you might want to look into before being excluded by the 5/24 rule.
Thus, if you really value a few of the Chase
airline and hotel cards you might be better off by not going for the Chase Trifecta or at least limiting yourself to only getting the Chase Sapphire Preferred and maybe just one of the Freedom / and or Ink.
Look for co-branded
airline and hotel cards or cards that are part of the American Express Membership Rewards program for these types of perks.
All of the major rewards cards use one of the major payment networks, including the Green, Gold and Platinum cards from Amex, Chase's Sapphire lineup and Citi's ThankYou cards, not to mention the Discover it cashback card lineup, co-branded
airline and hotel cards, U.S. Bank's FlexPerks cards, Bank of America's Travel Rewards cards, Capital One's Venture cards and many more.
American Express, like most major card issuers, offers a wide variety of reward credit cards — from cash back cards with no annual fees, to cards that earn extra points at grocery stores to co-branded
airline and hotel cards to upscale travel reward cards that cost $ 450 a year.
That doesn't mean you can't stick to your plan of applying for cards and meeting the sign up bonus through natural spending, but it does mean you should probably be focused primarily on cards you can cash out (not
airline and hotel cards).
Co-branded
airline and hotel cards will usually allow you to earn points or miles on general purchases and award bonus points when using it on purchases made from that specific airline or hotel brand.
Chase issues many of
the airline and hotel cards, but they have their own Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
There are three types of rewards credit cards: cash - back, generic travel and co-branded
airline and hotel cards.
While the top
airline and hotel cards can give you better sign - up bonuses, those often require you to spend thousands of dollars.
This is mostly relevant for co-branded
airline and hotel cards.
Airline and hotel cards had the highest concentration of cards with annual fees — 88 % and 89 % respectively.
There are three types: cash - back, generic travel, and co-branded
airline and hotel cards.
Airline and hotel cards had the highest concentration of cards with annual fees — 88 % and 89 % respectively.
While you could do a flexible travel rewards credit card and your favorite
airline and hotel card, you might not get the most value out of every dollar you spend.
Not exact matches
Hotel and vacation rentals are higher - margin businesses than selling flights, as
airline commissions have shriveled
and carriers try to drive more traffic to their own websites, where they also offer co-branded credit
cards and vacation packages.
The
card earns a whopping 5x points on airfare purchased directly through the
airline, as well as flights
and hotels reserved through AmEx Travel.
The
card earns Membership Rewards points, the currency in Amex's loyalty program, which can be exchanged for statement credits or cash back, used to book travel through Amex's travel website, or, to get the most value, transferred to any of 17
airline and three
hotel transfer partners (transferable points are among the best).
In addition to a shiny
card, the club hosts networking events in cities around the globe
and offers deals from
airlines and hotels like Virgin Atlantic
and St. Regis.
The US version of the
card has no foreign transaction fees
and earns 5x points on flights booked directly with the
airline and prepaid
hotels booked through Amex Travel, on top of a welcome offer of 60,000 points when you spend $ 5,000 in the first three months.
Out of these, four allow you to collect
airline miles, which you can redeem for airfare
and other
airline rewards, three are cobranded
hotel cards that offer
hotel nights in exchange for your points
and 21 are general rewards
cards that offer a wide variety of redemption options.
Tier two Ultimate Rewards
cards, such as Chase Sapphire Preferred ®
Card and Ink Business Preferred ℠ Credit
Card, allow you to transfer your points to a number of different
airline and hotel partners.
Partnerships are always changing, so look up the
airlines and hotels you can access before choosing any specific
card.
Cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Starwood Preferred Guest, and the Platinum Card from American Express each offer more flexibility than most airline or hotel branded c
Cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Starwood Preferred Guest,
and the Platinum
Card from American Express each offer more flexibility than most
airline or
hotel branded
cardscards.
However, if you have a tier two Chase
card, like the Chase Freedom Unlimited ®, your points can be transferred to a number of different
airline and hotel partners.
But your best bet with the Chase Sapphire Preferred
card will usually be to take advantage of Chase's 1:1 transfer ratio with its
hotel and airline transfer partners.
Those Membership Rewards points can be redeemed for statement credit, gift
cards,
and Uber credits, but you'll get the most value out of using them to book travel through amextravel.com or by transferring them to an
airline or
hotel partner:
* Note: In order to transfer Ultimate Rewards points to
airline and hotel partners, you must hold one of the starred
cards.
Besides credit
cards that offer points
and cash back credit
cards, there are co-branded credit
cards that give you extra points
and other perks for purchasing products offered by the retailer,
airline or the
hotel that sponsors your credit
card.
You're not restricted to one
airline or
hotel, as is the case with co-branded
cards,
and unlike with many
cards, there's no minimum amount required to redeem — so you can even use rewards to pay for a $ 5 cab ride.
This means your points can be redeemed for one cent each as cash back, but if you also have a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire
card, you also have the option to transfer your points to
airline and hotel partners.
Some
cards allow you to earn rewards toward a specific
hotel or
airline,
and other
cards earn rewards that can be used toward any travel expense.
This is one of our favorite credit
card reward programs, as it allows you to transfer your points to some great
airline and hotel loyalty programs.
Redeem Gold Points towards free nights at Carlson Rezidor
hotels, gift
cards, prepaid
cards, charitable initiatives, vacation savings,
and exchanges for
airline miles
Co-branded travel rewards
cards are linked to a particular
airline or
hotel brand,
and you're awarded loyalty points to redeem with that brand.
With the Chase
card, I have to book an expensive
airline or call to get a budget
airline,
hotel options are limited,
and I can't use Amtrak.
Editorial Note: The editorial content on this page is not provided by any bank, credit
card issuer,
airlines or
hotel chain,
and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
Citi ThankYou Premier vs Chase Sapphire Preferred: While these two credit
cards often compete for the same customer, one major area of difference is the
airline and hotel transfer partners if you are planning to transfer points to frequent flyer programs.
Co-branded
cards are linked to a specific
airline or
hotel brand
and you earn loyalty points to redeem with that brand.
While the United miles you earn can only be used to book flights with United
and other Star Alliance members, Chase Ultimate Rewards Points (earned with the Chase Sapphire Preferred ®
Card) can be transferred to 11 partnered programs, including both
hotel and airline brands.
American Express Gold
Card users can use their points to shop (both through online vendors
and Amazon), buy gift
cards, pay off a charge on your bill, book flights
and hotels, pay for Uber rides,
and transfer points for
airline frequent flyer miles or
hotel points.
While the most you'll get out of this
card is a 2.5 % rewards rate (compared to the 2.8 % -4.2 % max on the Asiana
card), you have the option to directly transfer your rewards points to other
airline and hotel programs.