Top Travel Rewards Credit Cards 2024
31 million Americans haven't changed credit cards in more than a decade
According to CreditCards.com, 31 million Americans haven't changed credit cards in more than a decade - and two thirds are still using their first credit card. If this describes you, you're missing out on a bonanza of free flights, complimentary travel incidentals, VIP benefits and perks big banks dole out to entice you to sign-up to their credit cards. The latest up-and-coming benefit; an annual travel incidental credit you can apply against any incidentals fees charged to your card.
Sign-up bonuses aren't as generous as they once were, but the sign-up incentives alone offered by the credit cards in the chart below add up to 28 free round-trip flights and a dozen free hotel stays. Every year, I earn a few free trips this way, and in the following video, I share how I did this to pull off a trip for taxes only:
FINDING THE BEST CARD FOR YOU
To quickly find which credit cards offer the best overall value to you:
- Choose 3 credit card travel benefits of most valuable to you.
- Narrow down which card in the grid below offers the best combination of those benefits. (Canadians: Click Here for a list of credit cards in Canada).
These lists focus on cards I feel provide best overall value based on their combined sign up bonus, perks offered, and annual fee. Due to space restrictions, insurance benefits are not in the chart. But you can review any card's insurance benefits by clicking 'APPLY' and reading the insurance benefits on their homepage:
All cited promotions are accurate as at the time of publication.
MAXIMIZE YOUR POINTS
You should also factor how many points your card earns for everyday purchases. Most cards offer bonus points for purchases made at certain stores in addition to bonus points (or point multipliers) for purchases at select restaurants, with certain travel operators and for gas.
Accelerate your Points Earnings:
1. Charge all everyday purchases to your card as long as you can pay your balance in full each month. Otherwise, any interest on open balances will erode the value of points earned.
2. Sign-up to 2 or more cards. I recommend traveling with 2 cards in separate places (especially when traveling alone) in case anything happens to your primary card.
3. Charge rent, tuition and income tax payments to your credit card by linking it to a Plastiq account.
To collect your sign-up bonus, you are usually required to first charge a pre-defined dollar value to your card within a set number of billing cycles. This is referred to as minimum spend, and the minimum spend requirement varies by card. Most cards that come with an annual fee require to to spend $3,000 within 3 months of activating your card. Prestige and business cards tend to offer more enticing sign-up bonuses, but they come with higher annual fees and higher minimum spend requirements.
AVOID FEES
Any credit card with generous benefits comes with an annual fee. Some cards waive this fee for your first year upon subscribing, but you might not know how to have this fee waived when it comes due for renewal on your card's anniversary:
1. Call your credit card company and ask to cancel your card.
2. To keep you from canceling, you will likely be offered points or to have your annual fee waived if you keep your account open.
Make this call every year before your card comes due for renewal - you'll be amazed how often it works!
Russell Hannon uses lean principles to travel at a fraction of the going rate. He has been featured on CNBC, FOX, America Tonight, CBS, CTV, CBC, the National Post and Around the World Travel TV. He is also the author of amazon.ca Budget Travel #1 Best Seller ‘Stop Dreaming Start Traveling: The Ultimate Guide to Traveling More & Spending Less’ available at Stop Dreaming Start Traveling.