The best travel credit cards of 2019

I’m not a travel points hacker.

Some people love that stuff. I am not one of those people.

I want to get a few cards, have a few simple rules on when to use each, maximize my points with minimum effort, and get back to living my Rich Life. I have zero interest in trying to maximize every cent from any given point I earn.

So I’m not going to teach you how to point hack your way to 300 nights/year worth of free hotel rooms by using 38 different cards.

What I can promise you is that by the end of this post, you’ll have a simple rewards machine that racks up points for you while giving you a ton of perks. All without having to think about it.

It all comes down to picking the right 2-3 cards for you. You should pick one solid card in each of these categories:

General travel credit card
Airline credit card
Hotel credit card (optional)

Before we go any further, I assume you travel at least once per year or aspire to.

If you hate traveling, don’t get a travel credit card. All the points and perks are designed around folks that travel regularly. If you don’t travel, you’re better off getting a cash back credit card.

I’m also going to assume that you’ve already made the commitment to choose a travel rewards card over a cash back card. We go into detail on the difference between the two in our review of the best rewards credit card. Basically, get a travel rewards card if you want to maximize the value of your rewards program. And if you want to maximize simplicity, get a cash back card.

Travel credit cards do take a bit more effort, and in return you’ll get a ton of amazing perks while traveling.

Let’s start with the best travel cards and how we selected them.

The best travel cards

These are the best travel credit cards:

When selecting cards, we used these factors:

Bonus value

Just about every card offers a bonus of some kind. Some point hackers will cycle through cards quickly to rack up bonuses. If that’s how they want to spend their time, all the power to them.

It is NOT how I want to spend my time. I have more important things to do than chase credit card bonuses. For the cards that you sign up for, make sure to get the bonus. Then move on to more important things.

In the long term, the exact bonus is a minor benefit. I never choose a card based on the bonus. Also keep in mind that the values of each “point” are slightly different depending on the card. That means a card offering a 60,000-point sign-up bonus isn’t necessarily better than a card offering a 50,000 bonus. Don’t let it worry you that much.

Points system

Depending on the travel card, the points system either matters a lot or it’s a minor consideration.

For your general travel card that serves as the hub of your points machine, the majority of the value comes from the card’s point system. So pay very close attention. You want a points system that aligns with your spending so you get as many bonus points as possible.

For airline and hotel cards that are more about the perks, the point system is a smaller consideration.

Fees

To get a decent travel credit card, you’ll need to accept a $95 annual fee at least. You’ll easily make this up with value of the points.

The really nice perks don’t open up until the annual fee hits $450. All the “high roller” cards with amazing perks are in this range.

For travel cards, annual fees are standard. It’s the price we pay to get more points and sweet perks.

Make sure to get travel cards that don’t have foreign transaction fees. These fees will add 1-3% to the total cost of any traveling that you do. That’s ridiculous, since there are plenty of amazing travel cards that don’t have any foreign transaction fees. Don’t accept this fee on any card.

Perks

Perks are where the travel credit cards really shine. Especially at the higher tiers, the primary selling point is the extra perks you get.

Lounge access, free hotel nights, companion fares, Uber credits, the list goes on.

Perks are the main reason to consider multiple travel credit cards. And the perks are awesome enough that it’s worth getting 2-3 cards in order to stack a bunch of perks.

Convenience factors

For travel credit cards, there are two convenience factors to watch for:

Keep credit cards within the same bank as your other accounts when possible. Having several dozen bank logins gets to be a real pain. So if you’re trying to decide between two cards, choosing the card at the bank you already use keeps things simple.
Try to avoid getting only American Express cards. Some places don’t accept them, especially internationally. You want at least one solid Visa or Mastercard as a backup.

Each of these will depend on your specific circumstances.

Bank reputation

It’s no secret that we hate big banks at I Will Teach You to Be Rich, especially Bank of America and Wells Fargo. For decades, they have aggressively charged their customers ridiculous fees and have been involved in multiple scandals.

Their reputation is so bad that I didn’t even consider their cards.

Chase tends to be the exception. While it’s a big bank, it has a much better reputation than its peers. Some of our favorite cards are from Chase.

General travel credit cards

My main recommendation: start with one general travel credit card.

This will be your primary spending card that you rack up the most points on. Consider it the “hub” of your points systems. Most of your points will sit on this card until you’re ready to spend them.

I prioritize my “general” card for most of my spending so that I have as much flexibility as possible with my points. Maybe I want to blow hundreds of thousands of points on a stay at the St. Regis. Or maybe I want a specific first-class seat on a Cathay Pacific flight. I could also string together a few flights for an “around-the-world” trip.

Whatever the goal, I strongly prefer having a points program “hub” that allows me to transfer points into other programs so I have complete flexibility.

Before considering specific cards for airlines or hotels, get one all-purpose card.

Chase Sapphire Reserve

The best overall travel credit card

“Earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
Named “”Best Premium Travel Credit Card”” for 2018 by MONEY® Magazine
$300 Annual Travel Credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year
3X points on travel immediately after earning your $300 travel credit. 3X points on dining at restaurants & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases. $0 foreign transaction fees.
Get 50% more value when you redeem your points for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards. For example, 50,000 points are worth $750 toward travel
1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
Access to 1,000+ airport lounges worldwide after an easy, one-time enrollment in Priority Pass™ Select
Up to $100 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✓®

Go get this card. Seriously, it’s amazing.

If you’re looking for the single “best” travel credit card and don’t want to put any more thought into it, get this card and be done with it.

It has great points categories with 3X on all travel and restaurants, a travel statement credit, another credit for Global Entry or TSA Precheck, no foreign transaction fees, and one of the most flexible point transfer programs out there.

The major downside is the $450 annual fee. If you make over $100,000 per year, get the card. With the $300 travel credit, the annual fee is really just $150.

Also, keep an eye on the airline partners that are part of the Chase points program. They include British Airways, Flying Blue, JetBlue, Singapore Airlines, Southwest, United, Virgin Atlantic, Aer Lingus, and Iberia. The Chase travel portal lets you book flights on any airline, but those are the only miles programs that you can transfer your Chase points into. If you primarily fly Delta, it’s worth considering the American Express Platinum to make your point redemption on flights easier.

If the annual fee is a stretch for you, consider our next recommendation instead.

Chase Sapphire Preferred

The best travel card with an annual fee that’s less than $100

“Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
2X points on travel and dining at restaurants worldwide & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards. For example, 60,000 points are worth $750 toward travel”

The Sapphire Preferred is very similar to the Sapphire Reserve, with two main differences:

You’ll collect fewer points and won’t have as many perks
The annual fee is $95 instead of $450

2X points on all travel and restaurants is still amazing. Plus there’s no foreign transaction fees. And you still get access to the same flexible points program.

American Express Platinum

The best travel card for going all-out on perks

“Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after you use your new Card to make $5,000 in purchases in your first 3 months.
Enjoy Uber VIP status and free rides in the U.S. up to $15 each month, plus a bonus $20 in December. That can be up to $200 in annual Uber savings.
5X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel.
5X Membership Rewards points on prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com.
Enjoy access to the Global Lounge Collection, the only credit card airport lounge access program that includes proprietary lounge locations around the world.
Receive complimentary benefits with an average total value of $550 with Fine Hotels & Resorts. Learn More.
$200 Airline Fee Credit, up to $200 per calendar year in baggage fees and more at one qualifying airline.
Get up to $100 in statement credits annually for purchases at Saks Fifth Avenue on your Platinum Card®. Enrollment required.
$550 annual fee.
Terms Apply.”

If you want to be the VIP and maximize your perks, get the Amex Platinum.

You get Uber statement credits, airline statement credits, and 5X points on flights and hotels booked through American Express Travel. It also has access to the American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts program, which I use for room upgrades, late checkouts, and free spa treatments.

The standout perk is getting access to the Centurion and American Express airport lounges. They’re super nice. The downside is that they’re only in 18 airports. So if you happen to fly through one of these airports regularly, this alone makes the card worth it. It also gets you access to Delta lounges. While there is Lufthansa lounge access, it’s only from Munich and Frankfurt.

If I flew Delta as my primary airline, I’d get the American Express Platinum so I could easily transfer my American Express points to Delta miles and redeem them as international flights.

Airline travel cards

After you’ve gotten comfortable with your general travel credit card, it’s time to add a level to your points system.

A dedicated airline card gets you a bunch of perks not available on any other cards. A few of them are easily worth the cost of having an extra credit card.

I resisted this for years. I liked the simplicity of only having to manage a single card. After I finally got an airline card, I wish I had done it years earlier.

Every airline has a slightly different set of perks. Hopefully your primary airline gives you the perks that you care most about. For me, I love priority boarding and lounge access. The perks tend to include:

Free checked bags
Priority boarding
Companion fares (a second ticket on the same flight for a crazy low price)
Lounge access or discounts on lounge passes
Extra points when booking directly through the airline
Miles boosts or extra qualifying miles for program tiers

We won’t be using the airline card to maximize miles. Sure, we’ll get a few extra miles but that’s not our primary goal. Our goal is to get extra perks when we do fly.

How to pick the right airline credit card

Before we pick a card, we first need to pick our primary airline. I recommend committing to one of these three airlines as your primary airline:

United
Delta
American Airlines

Why only these three?

When managing airline miles, you also want an airline that’s part of one of the three major airline networks:

Star Alliance (United)
Oneworld (American Airlines)
SkyTeam (Delta)

Each network has a dozen or so different airline members. For networks within the same airline, it’s easy to book flights across the network and use your airline miles. Flights on partner airlines also usually accrue miles that end up on your main miles program.

Why does any of this matter?

When you want to redeem your miles, you’ll want to use them on international flights. Unless you absolutely need to, avoid spending miles on domestic flights. You’ll get more value from your points on international flights. Plus you get a sweet international trip out of the deal.

And if you’re flying internationally, your options will be confined to the airlines in the same network as your primary miles program. For example, I can’t easily use my United miles to book a ticket on a British Airways flight, since they’re part of different networks.

This is why I never considered the JetBlue or Southwest Airlines miles programs or their credit cards. I know folks who absolutely love both airlines, but not having international flight partners is a deal breaker for me.

Alaska Airlines is the major main exception to all this.

While they’re not part of any of the airline networks, they do have a lot of airlines that they’ve partnered with, like British Airways, Qantas, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, and more. So if there’s a specific airline you really want, check their partner list. It is possible they’ve put together a network themselves.

So how do we pick between United, Delta, and American Airlines?

Honestly, you won’t have much choice in the matter unless you happen to live next to a major airport with a ton of airlines.

Most airports have 1-2 dominant airlines.

I happen to live in Seattle, so United is my best choice out of the three.

Why should you prioritize the largest airline at your airport? I do it in order to get the most direct flights possible. I’ll do anything for a direct flight. To me, every extra layover is another chance for something to go horribly wrong.

Years ago, I was traveling between Denver, CO, and Richmond, VA, regularly on Delta. All my flights went through Cincinnati, one of the major hubs for Delta.

On two trips back-to-back, I got delayed overnight. The first was a massive blizzard that hit Denver, the second was a plane malfunction on the last flight of the night. I almost got stranded for the third time in a row when my first flight was delayed and I missed my connection. I sprinted through several terminals and outran several other passengers for the same flight, managing to grab the last seat on the last flight.

Since then, I only consider flights with the fewest connections possible.

That’s why I pick the airline with the most flights out of my home airport. If you want to use another, go for it. Just pick one airline to prioritize over all the others.

Once you pick your primary airline, then it’s time to pick your card. Each airline tends to have 2-3 credit card options. The higher the annual fee you accept, the more perks you’ll get.

Remember that we’re not using our airline credit card to optimize points. We’ll get a few extra points when booking our flights with that card, but that’ll pale in comparison to all the points our general travel card generates. We want the card that’ll give us the best perks.

If the annual fee is worth the perks for you, get the card.

Here are your options.

United Explorer Card

40,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open
$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95.
Earn 2 miles per $1 spent at restaurants and on hotel stays
Up to $100 Global Entry or TSA Pre® Fee Credit
25% back on United inflight purchases
Check your first bag for free (a savings of up to $120 per roundtrip) when you use your Card to purchase your ticket
Enjoy priority boarding privileges and visit the United Club℠ with 2 one-time passes each year for your anniversary
Earn 2 miles per $1 spent on purchases from United, and 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases

A solid entry-level perks card for United flyers.

You’ll get your first bag checked free, priority boarding, and 2 lounge passes per year. There’s also a Global Entry or TSA Precheck credit if your primary card doesn’t already have it.

I find that the 2 lounge passes per year is more than enough for most folks. While it’s nice to have lounge access at your home airport, it’s not a game changer since we control when we get to the airport for our first flight. We really need lounge access when getting stuck with 3+ hour layovers on bigger international trips. I did have to wait in Montreal for 8 hours when coming back to the U.S. from Brussels. I sure wish I had lounge access then.

Two passes to the United lounge is enough to cover most traveling for a year.

United MileagePlus Club Card

United Club℠ membership – up to a $550 value per year
Free first and second checked bags – a savings of up to $280 per roundtrip when you use your United MileagePlus® Club Card to purchase your ticket.
Enjoy Premier Access® travel services to ease your way through the airport with priority check-in, security screening (where available), boarding and baggage handling privileges.

Earn 2 miles per $1 spent on tickets purchased from United.
Earn 1.5 miles per $1 spent on all other purchases.
No foreign transaction fees

This is the “VIP” United card at a $450 annual fee. Overall, it’s very similar to its $95/year Explorer Card counterpart, with one major upgrade: full access to United lounges.

If you travel a lot and want a reliable lounge as a United traveler, get this card.

You’ll also get 2 free checked bags. If you regularly check luggage, you’ll quickly cover the cost of the card.

If the United lounge access and second bag check are worth $450/year to you, upgrade to this card. If not, stick with the Explorer Card.

Gold Delta SkyMiles

Earn 60,000 bonus miles after you use your new Card to make $2,000 in purchases within your first 3 months and a $50 Statement Credit after you make a Delta purchase with your new Card within your first 3 months.
Earn 2 miles for every dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta.
Earn one mile for every eligible dollar you spend on purchases.
Check your first bag free on Delta flights – that’s a savings of up to $240 per round trip for a family of four.
Settle into your seat sooner with Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding.
Enjoy a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95. Terms Apply.

A good entry-level Delta card at $95/year. You’ll get three main perks:

First checked bag free
Priority boarding
Delta Sky Club access for $29/person for you and up to 2 guests. While this isn’t as nice as the 2 free passes per year on the United card, it’s a great rate in a pinch. If you and your family get stranded, you’ll be able to hide out in the Delta lounge without handing over your first-born in payment

The perks aren’t epic but they include all the standard stuff at this tier. The card is definitely a great deal at $95/year.

Platinum Delta SkyMiles

This is the “in-betweener” card for Delta travelers at $195/year.

Earn 5,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) and 75,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months.
Plus, earn a $100 statement credit after you make a Delta purchase with your new Card within your first 3 months.
Earn 2 Miles per dollar spent on purchases made directly with Delta.
Earn 1 mile on every eligible dollar spent on purchases. Miles don’t expire.
Check your first bag for free and save up to $60 on a round trip Delta flight.
Find room for your carry-on and settle into your seat sooner with Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding.
Enjoy 20% savings on eligible in-flight purchases in the form of a statement credit with the American Express Delta Card.
$195 Annual Fee. Terms Apply.

It’s almost identical to the Gold Delta SkyMiles with the addition of an annual companion fare. In other words, someone can travel with you basically for free. You’ll have to pay taxes, the flight must be domestic, and you get your first companion fare after your first card renewal.

The vast majority of domestic flights exceed $100, so as long as you do one domestic trip per year with someone else, you’ll easily come out ahead on this card.

If you’re a Delta flyer and you’re planning on signing up with the Gold Delta SkyMiles card, you should get the Platinum Delta SkyMiles instead. It’s a better deal.

Delta Reserve Credit Card

Earn 5,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) and 75,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months.
Earn 2 miles per dollar spent on purchases made directly with Delta.
Earn 1 mile for every eligible dollar spent on purchases.
Enjoy a Domestic First Class, Delta Comfort+® or Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your card.
Enter Delta Sky Club® at no cost and bring up to two guests for an exclusive rate of $29 per person per visit.
Receive Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding on Delta flights; board early, stow your carry-on bag and settle in sooner.
Check your first bag free on Delta flights -that’s a savings of up to $240 per round trip for a family of four.
$450 Annual Fee. Terms Apply.

The “VIP” Delta card at $450/year.

This includes everything from the Platinum Delta SkyMiles, with a few extras:

Full Delta Sky Club access for you, $29/person for up to 2 guests
A miles boost when you spend $30,000 within any given calendar year. You’ll receive 15,000 bonus miles and 15,000 Medallion Qualification Miles
Upgrade priority

Like the other airline cards, the major advantage is full access to the airline’s lounge. If that’s worth the $450/year fee to you, get the card. If not, get the Platinum Delta SkyMiles card instead.

Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard

Earn 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after $2,500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent at gas stations
Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent at restaurants
Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases*
Earn a $100 American Airlines Flight Discount after you spend $20,000 or more in purchases during your cardmembership year and renew your card
No Foreign Transaction Fees
First checked bag is free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for you and up to four companions traveling with you on the same reservation
Enjoy preferred boarding on American Airlines flights
Receive 25% savings on inflight food and beverage purchases when you use your card on American Airlines flights

Pretty standard offering for American Airlines flyers. For a $95 annual fee, you’ll get the first checked bag for free, “preferred” boarding, 2X miles at gas stations and restaurants, and a flight discount.

The flight discount is pretty nice. As long as you average $1,700 per month in credit card spending, you’ll hit the $20,000 milestone each year. Then you’ll get a discount that more than covers your annual fee.

The 2X miles on restaurants and gas stations is nice too in case your general travel card doesn’t give 2X points or more on these spending categories.

Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard

Similar set of VIP perks as the other airlines for an annual fee of $450:

Earn 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $5,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
Admirals Club® membership for you and access for guests traveling with you
Complimentary Admirals Club® lounge access for authorized users
Earn 10,000 AAdvantage® Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) after you spend $40,000 in purchases within the year
No Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases
Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases and 1 AAdvantage® mile for every $1 spent on other purchases
First checked bag is free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for you and up to 8 companions traveling with you on the same reservation

Unfortunately, the Executive World Elite does lose a few perks that the Platinum Select World Elite has. The 2X miles at gas stations and restaurants along with the $125 flight discount aren’t available on this card. That’s lame. But that’s the cost of getting American Airlines lounge access.

Like the other airline cards, only get this card if lounge access is worth the $450 annual fee to you. Otherwise get the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard if American Airlines is your primary airline.

How to use your airline card

Since this is the second credit card that we have, we’ll want to follow a few simple rules to get the most out of it.

Set up a few monthly subscriptions on the card so there’s always active charges on the account. This will keep the bank from marking your account as inactive in case you go a long time without using it. A Netflix subscription is perfect.
Set up automatic payments. Since you won’t be using the card heavily, it’ll be easy to forget about it. The last thing we ever want is to miss a credit card payment. We’ll get screwed on fees and it’ll ruin our credit score for years. Automatic payments ensure that this won’t happen.
When booking a flight on your primary airline, use the card to book the flight. All the airline cards give more points when booking directly through them.

That’s it, you’ll now get great perks while flying.

Hotel travel cards

In general, I’m not a huge fan of hotel travel cards for one reason.

I almost never stay in the same hotel twice.

Even when I return to a city, I almost always try a different hotel. Or I grab an Airbnb that I’ve never used before.

When I travel, even for work, I love trying new things. New neighborhoods, new food, new everything. One of my favorite things is discovering something amazing that I never knew existed.

One of the ways that I get my “new” fix is by trying new hotels. Occasionally, I’ll find a hotel that completely blows my mind, like The Peninsula Beijing or 1 Hotel Central Park. In those cases, I love going back. But it doesn’t happen often.

Where airlines only have a few options and you don’t lose that much flexibility by prioritizing a single airline, you’ll lose a ton of flexibility by only staying in one hotel chain. And the hotels I tend to love are unique, small chains. I have no personal interest in staying at dozens of Marriotts across the world.

But maybe you’re in a different situation. Maybe you travel for business all the time and stay at the same hotels. Or maybe you prefer the consistency from staying at the same hotel chain.

In that case, you should have a hotel credit card.

The choice will be pretty simple too: get the card for the hotel chain that you want to use.

If you’re not sure or have flexibility, go with one of the Marriott Bonvoy cards. You get access to W, St. Regis, and The Ritz-Carlton hotels, which are all super nice. And it includes tons of perks. If I was going to get a hotel card myself, I’d get this one.

Marriott Bonvoy does have several different cards. There are two that you should focus on.

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card from Chase

For a $95 annual fee, you’ll get:

Earn 75,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
An additional Free Night Award (valued up to 35,000 points) every year after account anniversary.
Earn 6X Bonvoy points per $1 spent at over 6,900 participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels.
2X Bonvoy points for every $1 spent on all other purchases.
Automatic Silver Elite Status each account anniversary year
Path to Gold Status when you spend $35,000 on purchases each account year.
15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year.
No foreign transaction fees.
Earn unlimited Marriott Bonvoy points and get Free Night Stays faster.

The free night award is the most straightforward benefit on this card, and easily covers the $95 annual fee.

Otherwise, think of this card as a booster to climbing up the rewards tiers at Marriott. Here’s how many nights you need to spend in Marriott hotels per year to qualify for the different tiers:

Member = 0 nights
Silver Elite = 10 nights
Gold Elite = 25 nights
Platinum Elite = 50 nights
Titanium Elite = 75 nights
Ambassador Elite = 100 nights and $20,000 in annual spending

The higher you go up the tiers, the more perks you get. Everything from bonus points during your stay, faster internet, late checkout, welcome gifts, and room upgrades. The higher your tier, the more perks you get.

The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card starts you at Silver Elite status, which includes 10% bonus on points during your stay along with priority late checkout. And with the 15 Elite Night credits, you have a headstart on hitting the higher tiers that have increasingly better perks.

That makes it a lot easier to hit whichever status tier that you’re going for.

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express

For a $450 annual fee, you get these perks:

Earn 75,000 bonus Marriott Bonvoy points after you use your new Card to make $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
Enjoy up to $300 in statement credits each year of Card Membership for eligible purchases at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels.
Earn 6 Marriott Bonvoy points for each dollar of eligible purchases at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels. 3 points at U.S. restaurants and on flights booked directly with airlines. 2 points on all other eligible purchases.
Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card account anniversary. Award can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) at a participating hotel. Certain hotels have resort fees.
Enjoy unlimited airport lounge visits when you enroll in Priority Pass™ Select membership.
No Foreign Transaction Fees.
$450 annual fee.
Terms Apply.

With the statement credits, the annual fee comes down to $150.

To be honest, the whole point of hotel cards is to rack up perks. And you’ll already have a general travel card at this point anyway. So if you’re going to take the step to get a hotel card too, you should grab the premium cards with higher annual fees. As long as you use your statement credits and annual free nights, you’ll easily get your money back on this card.

Plus you get free Gold Elite Status, which unlocks a ton of perks.

If I was staying at Marriott hotels frequently, I’d get this card just for the Gold Status. That includes 25% bonus points during stays, room upgrades, and 2pm late checkout.

Getting Marriott Gold Elite Status for free is huge. If I stayed at Marriott hotels even a few times a year, I’d get this card.

Other hotel credit cards

If you want to use other hotel chains, these are the major options to consider.

Hilton Honors Aspire Card

Earn 150,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points with the Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express after you use your new Card to make $4,000 in eligible purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
Plus, enjoy a free Weekend Night Reward within your first year and every year after renewal.
Earn 14X Hilton Bonus Points when you make eligible purchases on your Card at participating hotels or resorts within the Hilton Portfolio.
Earn 7X Bonus Points for eligible purchases: on flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, on car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies & at U.S. restaurants.
Earn 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card.
Enjoy up to $250 in Hilton Resort Credits on your Card each anniversary year, when you stay at participating resorts within the Hilton portfolio.
Enjoy complimentary Diamond status with your Hilton Honors Aspire Card.
$450 annual fee.
Terms Apply.

This is the primo Hilton credit card.

It’s a fantastic deal for two reasons.

First, the $250 resort credit knocks the annual cost of this card down to $200. Then the free night per year easily takes care of the rest. As long as you stay at a Hilton hotel once per year, you basically get the card for free.

Second, you also get Diamond status, which is Hilton’s highest rewards tier. It’s the only card that gives status at the highest tier for any hotel membership program. You’ll get:

Free room upgrades
5th night free on reservations
Late checkout
Welcome gifts
Complimentary breakfast

In other words, getting the Hilton Honors Credit Card gets you all the perks that come with Diamond Status, and it’s basically free once you factor in the statement credit and free night.

If you enjoy Hilton hotels and want to load up on as many perks as possible without the least amount of effort, this is a fantastic way to do it. There’s no hotel status tier to manage. Just book your hotel and walk in like a baller. Then rack up points to splurge on Hilton properties around the world.

This card’s good enough that even I’m considering staying at more Hilton hotels.

The World of Hyatt Credit Card

Earn 25,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Plus, 25,000 Bonus Points after you spend $6,000 total within 6 months of account opening.
Free nights start at 5,000 points
Receive 1 free night at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort after your Cardmember anniversary
Earn an extra free night at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel if you spend $15,000 during your cardmember anniversary year
Get automatic World of Hyatt Elite status and 5 qualifying night credits every year as long as your account is open
Earn 2 qualifying night credits towards tier status everytime you spend $5,000 on your card
Earn 9 points total for Hyatt stays – 4 Bonus Points per $1 spent at Hyatt hotels & 5 Base Points per $1 you can earn as a World of Hyatt member
Earn 2 Bonus Points per $1 spent at restaurants, on airlines tickets purchased directly from the airlines, on local transit and commuting and on fitness club and gym memberships

Comparable hotel card to the other options. You’ll get a free night each year, free status in the middle of the hotel membership tiers, night credits to get higher tiers, and tons of bonus points when staying at Hyatt hotels.

There’s nothing that makes this card superior to the other hotel credit cards. But it’s a great option if you prefer Hyatt hotels.

The best travel credit cards of 2019 is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

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