What is the Best Travel Miles Credit Card for Points?

Travel mile credit cards allow you to get more from your purchases by earning points that you can later redeem for airfare, hotel stay, and other related expenses. As much as you can use this to save for your future trips, some credit cards for travel miles only give meager points per transaction. But you can always choose one that gives lavish bonuses especially if you’re a constant traveler.

For many veteran travelers, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is a popular option. It can give as much as $600 in bonuses. But that’s not the only top choice for a credit card for travel miles. Here are more options that you can consider:

• Capital One Venture
• Chase Sapphire Preferred
• American Express Premier Rewards Gold
• Bank of America Travel Card
• Chase Sapphire Reserve

Let’s take a close look at each one…

Capital One Venture

So far, this is the best rewards card for travel. Anyone who is not loyal to a certain airline or hotel would definitely love the simplicity of this credit card. While I love Marriott’s Rewards Program, I’m definitely not married to staying at their properties on every trip!  You’re going to earn 2x miles for all the purchases you incur regardless of the category. You can redeem the points for any travel expenses but you just can’t transfer it to travel partners.

Some of the benefits of Capital One Venture travel miles card include:

• No foreign transaction fees deducted
• Upon signing up and spending your first $3,000 on the first three months, you’re going to be rewarded with 50,000 points. That’s equal to $500 based on the benchmark one-penny-for-every-point. Succeeding purchases will earn you two miles per dollar.
• Enjoy no blackout dates for your air travels
• You can book your flights and accommodation online on whatever airline and hotel that you want. This also covers car rentals.

Chase Sapphire Preferred

This Chase Sapphire credit card would give you 50,000 points after purchasing an amount of $4,000 in the first three months. That amount is equal to $625 if you use it through Chase’s travel portal or a plain $500 as a statement credit. It can worth more money if you wire it to partner companies of Chase including Hyatt, Southwest, and United. You have the option to patronize these companies or just go with your personal choice at the expense of a few hundred dollars.

Many refer to the Chase Sapphire Preferred as the best travel credit card. Here are more of its benefits:

• The $95 is waived on the first year after signing up and you’ll gain 2x points per dollar
• If you book using the Chase Ultimate Rewards, you’ll receive 25% more value.
• No foreign transaction fees and you can use the points to redeem car rental, airfare, hotels, and cruises.
• Enjoy 1:1 point if you avail the service of participating travel programs of Chase. This includes but not limited to AIR FRANCE KLM, British Airways Executive Club, Marriott Rewards, United MileagePlus, and more.

American Express Premier Rewards Gold

The Amex Premier Rewards card will give you a $100 Airline Fee Credit that you can get from incidental charges on a specific airline. You’ll also enjoy 3x points per dollar if you purchase your airline tickets from the airline itself. If you’re looking for flexibility and points that you can purchase more on airfare, the Amex card is best for you. You will even have a room upgrade benefit together with a $75 hotel credit upon your arrival.

 

The following are more perks of having the Amex Premier Rewards Gold:

• You receive times three points if you book your flights directly to the airline company. It also gives double points for supermarket, gas station, and restaurants in the U.S. Other expenses outside that would give you 1 point per dollar.
• It sends you 25,000 travel points after spending $2,000 on the first three months.
• They waive the annual fee for the first year

But here are some of Amex’s drawbacks:

• The annual fee is worth $195. Quite expensive compared to Chase and Capital One.
• The bonus points you get can only be used in select U.S. stores.

Bank of America Travel Card

The Bank of America Travel Rewards Card is for those who are looking for a simple way of earning travel miles sans the annual fee that most providers charge. It even comes with an EMV chip but it just can’t simply compare to the new travel miles credit card of the Bank of America.

If you already have an existing account on the bank, expect higher value. Those who have at least $50,000 in their name would enjoy reward rates of as much as 2.63%. It can increase up to 25% to 75% of bonuses if you have a Preferred Rewards card.

Here are some of its benefits:

• No annual and transaction fees
• No blackout dates and website restrictions
• You get 20,000 points after spending $1,000 during the first three months
• The EMV strip gives security during foreign transactions
• Lower initial spending threshold and credit score required
• You get 1.5 points per dollar on any purchase. It doesn’t expire.

Just one drawback:

If you’re a big spender and you don’t have an existing account in Bank of America, the other credit cards can offer bigger travel miles advantage.

Chase Sapphire Reserve

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is no doubt better than the Chase Preferred as it gives 50,000 points as a signing bonus. It could be worth more than $750 of travel expenses or more if you get to enjoy the 3x points on dining and travel purchases. It even comes with a $300 annual travel credit, Priority Pass Lounge Access, TSA PreCheck credit, and more.

The annual fee is a massive $450 per year but the perks you’ll enjoy offsets it. However, this is best for frequent travelers. The good thing about the Sapphire Reserve is you can use the points to any airline of your choice even if it is not an actual credit card.

It’s as useful as the Chase Sapphire Preferred but definitely with more perks tailored for the constant travelers.

These five credit cards are value-for-money choices if you want to save a great deal of money for travel and other expenses.