10 Best Travel Credit Cards of March 2026

Standout benefits: This card offers many helpful benefits, including up to $50 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays through Chase Travel^SM, primary rental car insurance (except for New York state residents), trip cancellation and interruption insurance and baggage and trip delay insurance. You can also benefit from a 10% points bonus on each card anniversary (based on the previous year’s spending) and no foreign transaction fees.

Standout benefits: You can easily get over $400 in value annually through the card’s various dining and rideshare-focused statement credits. The points you earn can be transferred to a long list of airline and hotel partners.

Standout benefits: Travelers overseas can take advantage of no foreign transaction fees and get a credit of up to $120 toward a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® membership. Capital One miles can be transferred to 20 airline and hotel loyalty programs.

Standout benefits: This card typically earns cash back as Citi ThankYou® Points and has access to a variety of Citi’s transfer partners, including American Airlines. Although the transfer ratios are lower than what you get with other premium Citi credit cards, this is a rare benefit to have with a no-annual-fee credit card.

Standout benefits: The card is rewarding for a variety of travel spending, including 10% cash back when you book eligible hotels and rental cars through the Credit One Bank travel site and 5% cash back on eligible dining, gas and travel.

Standout benefits: Authorized users receive a complimentary Priority Pass Select membership, granting them and up to two guests unlimited visits to 1,500+ airport lounges worldwide. Cardholders can add an authorized user for just $75, less than what many other premium credit cards charge.

Standout benefits: You can earn more than $3,500 in value each year by taking advantage of credits for hotels, airline fees, CLEAR+ Membership, Uber, Resy, digital entertainment, Equinox, Lululemon, Saks, Oura Ring and Walmart+. You can also enroll to receive hotel elite status with Hilton Honors, The Leading Hotels of the World and Marriott Bonvoy.

Standout benefits: This card provides over $2,000 in annual value from credits for travel, hotels, dining, DoorDash, Apple TV+, StubHub, Peloton and Lyft. Cardholders can also get a statement credit of up to $120 (every four years) to help cover Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS application fees. Further, enroll in Priority Pass™ Select and receive airport lounge access.

Standout benefits: Quickly rack up rewards on travel spending with Wells Fargo Autograph Journey by transfering Wells Fargo points to airline and hotel travel partners, including Choice Privileges, Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways Executive Club and Air France/KLM Flying Blue.

Standout benefits: The Wells Fargo Autograph offers a generous intro APR on purchases, no foreign transaction fees, cell phone coverage (subject to a $25 deductible), roadside assistance, travel and emergency assistance and rental car damage and theft coverage (secondary in the U.S.).

**For rates and fees of the American Express Platinum Card®, click here.

Airline credit cards

Co-branded hotel airline credit cards earn frequent flyer miles with that airline’s loyalty program.If you have a Delta card, you’ll earn Delta SkyMiles and if you have a Southwest credit card, you’ll earn Southwest Rapid Rewards points. Miles and points can be redeemed for flights with that carrier and its partner airlines. There may be other redemption options, such as rental cars or hotels.

Depending on the card, you may receive free checked bags, priority boarding and other travel benefits. Many airline cards also give you a path to earning elite status, sometimes without flying.

Hotel credit cards

A hotel credit card is a good option to earn free nights and elite status with your preferred hotel chain. These cards earn hotel points with that hotel chain and you can use those points to book rooms at any hotel under that loyalty program’s umbrella.

Hotel cards often come with automatic elite status and may earn bonus elite night credit for spending or give you other opportunities to spend your way to top-tier status. Luxury hotel cards may even offer statement credits and free nights every year you keep the card.

Flexible travel rewards credit cards

If you like to keep your travel options open and aren’t extremely loyal to one airline or hotel, then a travel credit card that earns flexible rewards makes sense. These cards range from no-annual-fee travel cards to premium credit cards with top-tier benefits.

What makes this type of travel card so special is the redemption options. This type of card typically allows you to redeem the points or miles you earn for a fixed rate (normally one cent per point or mile) for things such as statement credits, gift cards or travel, but in general, the best way to make the most of your flexible travel rewards is to transfer them to partner travel loyalty programs.

Each flexible travel rewards program has different partners, and by using the best deals your card offers, you can multiply the value of your points by booking premium-cabin award flights to international destinations.

There are a variety of travel credit cards available, from general to airline- and hotel-specific, and all the choices can make it hard to settle on one. Here are some tips for choosing the best credit card for your needs.

Consider annual fees

Consider whether you’re willing to pay an annual fee. Some travel cards have steep annual fees of over $800, which can be worthwhile, but not for everyone. Do the math to see if an annual fee travel card is for you.

Choose the right rewards program

Before you sign up for a travel credit card, consider how you’ll use it and how you can best optimize its rewards program, especially if you’re paying a steep annual fee. It’s also important to make sure you can pay off your balance on time and in full each month because many of these cards have high interest rates.

Travel credit card rewards programs operate on a simple premise — make purchases with your card and earn rewards you can use for travel. How you can use these rewards — and how many miles or points you earn — depends on the card and rewards program.

Business travel credit cards

Travel credit cards for businesses are available to anyone with a qualifying commercial venture, including a full-time business, side hustle or independent contractor gig. They offer higher returns where businesses are more likely to spend the most, including office supplies, advertising and shipping.

They may also offer discounts or statement credits for business services, such as QuickBooks or FreshBooks.

No-annual-fee travel credit cards

If you’re new to travel rewards, a no-fee card is a great way to start. There are even no-annual-fee travel cards that allow you to transfer points, such as the Wells Fargo Autograph® Card and Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card.

Mid-tier travel credit cards

Mid-tier travel cards are the most popular type and typically have annual fees of $150 or less, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. You’ll get a mix of good reward rates, valuable welcome bonuses and solid ongoing benefits.

At this level of card, you’re also more likely to get travel and purchase protection.

Premium travel credit cards

Premium credit cards can have annual fees north of $800, but are loaded with statement credits and luxury perks like airport lounge access. The travel insurance available with a premium card usually has higher coverage limits or reimburses up to a higher limit.

You’ll also earn more rewards for spending, although, for certain categories, lower-tier cards can sometimes be more lucrative.

The options for using your travel rewards vary depending on the rewards. However, you’re typically able to redeem points or miles for:

Redeeming rewards is as easy as logging into your account. The important thing to understand is that their value depends on what you redeem them and the value of each redemption varies by program. You’ll usually receive a maximum of one cent per point for gift cards and cash back redemptions. (Using points for merchandise or Amazon purchases typically yields the lowest value.)

Transferable points usually give you the most bang for your buck, especially when you take advantage of airline partnerships. By transferring points to the right partner, you can use them for international business- and first-class flights that usually cost thousands of dollars.

Once you’re familiar with what your card offers, you can maximize the perks. That may include setting reminders to use the annual $300 travel credit provided by the Chase Sapphire Reserve or submitting a Global Entry application with the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card to take advantage of the up to $120 credit. Other cards have credits that you can earn monthly or semi-annually and will require you to stay on top of them to maximize the perks.

Certain travel cards offer cash back redemptions, which can be valuable. But you’ll get the most out of your points and miles when you use them for travel.

Paying for your trip with a travel credit card is a good idea even if you’re not redeeming points or miles: You’ll often earn bonus rewards and enjoy trip delay reimbursement, rental car insurance and other benefits.

We compared each card on a range of features, including rewards (e.g., cash back, points and miles), annual fees, welcome bonuses, introductory and standard APR, balance transfer fees and foreign transaction fees.

When choosing the best cards, we focused on those with travel-centered rewards and benefits, including flexible travel programs that let you redeem rewards for travel and transfer rewards to travel programs. We paid special attention to cards with travel perks, such as travel insurance, elite status benefits or airport lounge access.  

We considered additional perks (e.g., ongoing travel or merchant statement credits), cardholder protections, the application process and how easy it is to redeem points.
 
We also considered CNBC Select audience data when available, such as general demographics and engagement with our content and tools.