Finding the Right Credit Card No Matter How Much You Travel

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Finding the Right Credit Card, No Matter How Much You Travel

To rack up frequent-flier miles and loyalty points quickly and easily, you need the right credit cards. And now is a terrific time to sign up for one (or more), thanks to increased competition among issuers, resulting in some of the best offers in years.

“Every day we’re seeing higher sign-up bonuses,” said Brian Kelly, the founder of the points-and-miles advice site ThePointsGuy.com. “The first quarter of this year was huge. It’s going to continue to be pretty aggressive because the economy is up and people are spending.”

There is no perfect card for everyone. The card (or cards) you choose should be based on how often you travel, and your particular goals: Free checked bags? Free flights? Upgrades? Below, a primer to the best newcomers and evergreens.

For the Occasional Traveler

One new option Mr. Kelly likes is the Citi Double Cash Card. It offers 1 percent cash back on purchases and then an additional 1 percent cash back when you pay your bill in full or over time — but on time (a great incentive to be punctual). It’s not an airline credit card that earns miles, but it’s a smart choice for domestic-coach travelers who want to save for that next vacation.

“I’m the Points Guy, and I never thought I’d say cash would be smart,” Mr. Kelly said. But with airlines cutting their rewards programs and adding more hoops to jump through, cards that earn cash back are becoming the best option for the domestic coach traveler. “If you’re not getting 2 cents per mile from your airline card, get the cash-back card,” he said. “Why earn one mile per dollar when those miles can only be used on those airlines?” Cost: free. Details: Citi.com.

A nascent card for those who spend a lot on food and travel is Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard, which gives users two “miles” — which can be applied to all kinds of travel expenses, including air, cruises and hotels — per dollar on all purchases. You can use those miles to get statement credits: Redemptions start at 2,500 miles for $25 toward any travel purchases you make on the card (in the last 120 days).

This system essentially allows you to erase all or a portion of your travel expenses off your credit-card bill. Additionally, when you redeem your miles for travel-statement credits, you get 10 percent of those miles back to use toward your next redemption. There are no foreign transaction fees, and the card has chip capability (as opposed to the signing method used in the United States), which is ideal for traveling through Europe. And the sign-up bonus is excellent: Spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 90 days, and you’ll earn 40,000 miles. Cost: no fee for the first year; $89 a year thereafter. Details: Findmybarclaycard.com.

At the other end of the spectrum are cards that cost up to $450 a year, yet are packed with perks for frequent travelers.

“Citi Prestige is the new ‘It’ card, if you fly American and like lounge access,” Mr. Kelly said. Having an American Express Platinum card used to be the way to get into American Airlines Admirals Club airport lounges free, but no longer. Now it’s Citi Prestige. Just having the card gets you into those lounges as well as hundreds of other lounges through Priority Pass Select. With Prestige, you’ll also receive 3 points for each $1 you spend on air travel and hotels (other kinds of purchases earn 1 or 2 points per dollar). You can then transfer those points to your airline or hotel loyalty program. (You’ll receive 50,000 bonus points if you make $3,000 worth of purchases on the card in the first three months the account is open.)

Other cardholder benefits include a $250 air-travel credit, automatically applied to flight-related expenses charged to your card, including airline tickets and baggage fees. And cardholders will receive a $100 Global Entry application fee credit. Prestige has chip technology, too, and there are no foreign transaction fees. Cost: $450 a year. Details: Citi.com.

As appealing as some newcomers may be, American Express and Chase continue to be longtime favorites of miles and points aficionados because they offer great perks, as well as many options for transferring points. “Don’t put all your miles into one basket,” Mr. Kelly said. “Bank into a central pool and transfer.”

The No. 1 card he used in 2014, and the card he continues to take on his travels, is the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. Many frequent travelers opt for this because they earn double points on all travel and dining-out purchases (all other purchases earn one point per dollar). You can then transfer those points to major airline frequent-flier programs, including United, British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Virgin Atlantic, as well as loyalty programs from Amtrak, Hyatt, Marriott, IHG and the Ritz-Carlton.

So if you rack up 40,000 points on travel and dining purchases, for example, you can parlay that into 40,000 frequent-flier miles on United. In fact, you can do this swiftly thanks to the current sign-up bonus: If you spend $4,000 on the card within the first three months, you’ll receive 40,000 points (and you can get another 5,000 points on top of that if you add a no-fee authorized user to the card and make a purchase during the first three months). Cost: no fee for the first year; $95 year thereafter. Details: Creditcards.chase.com.

Another card in the wallets of many globe-trotters is American Express Platinum. It earns you only one point per dollar spent, but those points can be transferred to lots of different frequent-flier programs, and many travelers love the card just for its benefits.

Perks include Starwood Preferred Guest Gold status; Delta Sky Club and American Express Centurion Lounge access; Priority Pass Select membership (including access to lounges around the world); a $200 annual airline fee credit (which you can use toward expenses like baggage fees); perks at Fine Hotels and Resorts, such as upgrades and breakfast; a statement credit to cover the enrollment cost for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck; unlimited free Boingo Internet access; and a discounted ticket for a companion when purchasing an international business- or first-class ticket for yourself on one of more than two dozen airlines. Cost: $450. Details: Americanexpress.com.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Your Points, Perks and Bonuses StrategyThere are three main attributes to seek out in a travel-rewards card, according to Gary Leff, a co-founder of Milepoint.com, a website for frequent fliers, and the writer behind the miles-and-points blog View From the Wing.

The Sign-Up Bonus

Sometimes it’s worth getting a card for the sign-up bonus, which can be thousands of miles or points. You may not even want to keep the card past the first year, Mr. Leff said. Some of the best bonuses are targeted offers — a good reason to check your snail mail. For instance, earlier this year, some travelers were offered 100,000 rewards points as a sign-up bonus for the American Express Platinum Card after spending $3,000 in the first three months of card membership.

The Perks

Airline credit cards aren’t always the best way to earn miles, but they are often worth having for the perks alone, such as priority boarding, free checked bags and airport lounge access. So explore a card’s benefits and, if they’re worth paying the fee, sign up— just don’t make many purchases on the card.

The Points

The most valuable points are those that can be transferred to a variety of airline mileage programs, Mr. Leff said. So look for cards that allow you to do that while also earning points quickly.

The best cards, he said, combine elements of all of the above.

[v]

And I'll say that I am obsessed with my Citi Prestige -- I have already gotten $2379 of flights (not on American) this year from points redemptions, plus my $250 statement credit. Last year was $2048. Plus lots of other perks. So I think it is fair to say the annual fee ($350 in my case) is well worth it!

[lifeisinteresting]

Apr 25, 2015 16:44:55 GMT -5 pennypenny said:

Posting so I can find this later since I can't find the other CC post I want from a while ago.

Ditto

[MrsE]

Apr 25, 2015 20:41:55 GMT -5 lifeisinteresting said:

Apr 25, 2015 16:44:55 GMT -5 pennypenny said:

Posting so I can find this later since I can't find the other CC post I want from a while ago.

Ditto

Tritto

[Deleted]

I love my Barclaycard Arrival+. Got it in January and just used $800 in points to pay for most of our trip to CO in June.

[Deleted]

Thanks for posting. I was just thinking I need to find a new card with sign up bonus miles so that I can fly somewhere next year

I have had the Escape by Discover card for years. Not sure if it still has the same deal, but I get 2 points per dollar I spend an each 10k points results in a $100 travel credit. I love that it's so flexible - while I really appreciate the nearly free plane tickets I booked last week (using miles), it was a hassle to figure out times/dates that worked within the limited parameters they offer for using miles. I love that my Discover card allows me to use my points on ANYTHING travel related so I can pick my flights without any limits (other than cost, I guess!). The only problem for me at this point is that my average monthly CC bill is only around 1k or less (single person with limited income) so I just don't spend enough to earn enough miles.

[v]

Apr 27, 2015 7:28:08 GMT -5 @ameliapond said:

I love my Barclaycard Arrival+. Got it in January and just used $800 in points to pay for most of our trip to CO in June.

I loved mine until year 2 came around and they refused to waive the annual fee   And $89 wasn't worth it to me, when I get 2% back with no annual fee on other cards.  So I am now downgraded to the regular Barclay Arrival, which I never use because I get more than 1% back on all of my other cards.  Oh well. 

I read a rumor that the no-fee Arrival will get a chip + PIN later this year.  That will make me use it when I need a PIN.  But that's only a very small subset of the transactions I make during the small portion of any given year that I'm in Europe, so...

It is a fantastic card, though, during year 1.

[doobeedoo]

Apr 25, 2015 15:32:32 GMT -5 v said:

And I'll say that I am obsessed with my Citi Prestige -- I have already gotten $2379 of flights (not on American) this year from points redemptions, plus my $250 statement credit. Last year was $2048. Plus lots of other perks. So I think it is fair to say the annual fee ($350 in my case) is well worth it!

I may have to look into this. I travel a fair amount for work, travel at least once internationally as a family of 4 every year and we use our credit cards all.the.time.  I have the AMEX gold and it has done well so far, but I think there may be better options.  What are the fees for the Citi Prestige and do you know if there are fees to use abroad?

[v]

Apr 29, 2015 20:56:37 GMT -5 doobeedoo said:

Apr 25, 2015 15:32:32 GMT -5 v said:

And I'll say that I am obsessed with my Citi Prestige -- I have already gotten $2379 of flights (not on American) this year from points redemptions, plus my $250 statement credit. Last year was $2048. Plus lots of other perks. So I think it is fair to say the annual fee ($350 in my case) is well worth it!

I may have to look into this. I travel a fair amount for work, travel at least once internationally as a family of 4 every year and we use our credit cards all.the.time.  I have the AMEX gold and it has done well so far, but I think there may be better options.  What are the fees for the Citi Prestige and do you know if there are fees to use abroad?

Not sure what the fees are (I take it you mean APR and late fees and such?) -- I've never paid anything other than the annual fee.  There are no foreign transaction fees.

[keweenawlove]

Apr 27, 2015 7:28:08 GMT -5 @ameliapond said:

I love my Barclaycard Arrival+. Got it in January and just used $800 in points to pay for most of our trip to CO in June.

I'm so happy I was finally able to get this card. I had to wait until I moved out of Iowa because it wasn't available there. I hoping it will get me a free ticket to Belize this winter.

[EmilieMadison]

I LOVE my Barclay Arrival +. I've had it less than a year and I've already paid for 3 airline tickets. I love that I can use the points for anything, but that if I use them for travel I get 10% of the points back.

[doobeedoo]

Apr 30, 2015 5:41:19 GMT -5 v said:

Apr 29, 2015 20:56:37 GMT -5 doobeedoo said:

I may have to look into this. I travel a fair amount for work, travel at least once internationally as a family of 4 every year and we use our credit cards all.the.time.  I have the AMEX gold and it has done well so far, but I think there may be better options.  What are the fees for the Citi Prestige and do you know if there are fees to use abroad?

Not sure what the fees are (I take it you mean APR and late fees and such?) -- I've never paid anything other than the annual fee.  There are no foreign transaction fees.

Thanks, yeah I meant the annual fee.  I know the Amex is kinda pricey and often wonder if there's a better value out there.  I have mostly stayed with Amex for the customer service, which has been top notch.  And how often can you say that?

[v]

Apr 30, 2015 19:37:47 GMT -5 doobeedoo said:

Apr 30, 2015 5:41:19 GMT -5 v said:

Not sure what the fees are (I take it you mean APR and late fees and such?) -- I've never paid anything other than the annual fee.  There are no foreign transaction fees.

Thanks, yeah I meant the annual fee.  I know the Amex is kinda pricey and often wonder if there's a better value out there.  I have mostly stayed with Amex for the customer service, which has been top notch.  And how often can you say that?

The annual fee for the Citi Prestige is $450 ($350 if you have certain banking relationships with Citi).  You get $250 of free airfare though so as soon as you buy a plane ticket, you'll have gotten much of your fee back.  Also, if you're going to stay 4 nights in a row at a hotel, you get one night free -- any hotel, as many times a year as you want.  That can be very valuable.

(Amex also has an airline credit, but I think it can only be used towards things like baggage fees and seat upgrades -- not airfare -- and you have to pick one airline to use it on, so it isn't as flexible).

There are also things like free Global Entry ($100 value) and sign up points bonuses that can make these cards more worth it in the first year.  I hesitated to pay such a large annual fee, but it has paid for itself many times over.