Our Top Travel Credit Cards: Unlocking Rewards for Your Next Adventure

Our Travel Credit Cards

We have several go-to credit cards that we use for travel. Some of these are to receive point rewards and others are for cash rewards. Since all the cards listed are only for US-based persons, they won’t necessarily apply to all readers. We have recently used point/miles rewards for flights during our 4-month nomadic test trip. A flight from Atlanta to Tbilisi, Georgia (one-way) for 30,000 miles plus about $200 per person. I could have done it for 22500 miles each, but I missed the promotion by a few hours. I will book it tomorrow I said, that delay cost me 15000 miles total.

Disclosure:
We will earn referral rewards for some of the links on this post.
Signup bonuses mentioned may not be current, click the links to see the current offers.
The opinions are completely based on our experiences and your mileage may vary. Pun Intended.

Cash Back

Until recently, our go-to credit card for travel was from Capital One. We have used it for over seven years and earn cash back for purchases. During our trip to Ukraine in 2021, it was one of the few cards that worked. See my post about the issues we ran into with our credit cards. Therefore, a backup plan is needed if you have a problem with the issuing or processing bank. It has no annual or foreign transaction fees.

We also have an REI credit card, which worked well for us. I have bought several backpacks and walking shoes from REI.  Some were free (or almost) with the rewards we get for using the card. I mainly use this card for REI purchases. You receive a $100 gift card after your first purchase outside REI and you get 5% on REI purchases and 1.5% on all others. In addition, you earn up to 10% in membership rewards for REI purchases. It has no annual or foreign transaction fees. So it is a win-win if you want cash rewards. The REI Membership is only $30 for life. We don’t use this credit card for travel except for a backup card in case of issues. They also offer extra rewards throughout the year. After reading what you get, I might need to use this card more.

Points/Miles Reward

We decided to get points/miles reward credit cards a few years ago. However, we hate paying annual fees, so we held off as long as possible. Since we have decided to become more nomadic (the reason for the nomadic test trip mentioned above), these credit cards will be much more beneficial and some even include free lounge passes.

The first points/miles travel reward card we got (since we started traveling more) was from Chase, it had a nice mile bonus if you spent a certain amount within the first 6 months. Also, it provided 2 lounge passes for free every year and had less than a $100 annual fee. Since we were planning a trip, we used it for all the pre-purchases of airfare, and several nights of lodging. However, this credit card was linked to an airline and not the one based in Atlanta where we live. Therefore, international flights with that airline would probably be through another domestic airport in the US. That was not a deal breaker as they had partners that did fly internationally from Atlanta and we could use the miles with them if needed. It has no foreign transaction fees.

Our newest points/miles travel reward credit card is also from Chase but is not tied to any specific airline. That is a great option as points can be transferred to several airline and hotel partners worldwide. It does have an annual fee of $95. However, there is a hefty signup bonus (120k points) if you spend a certain amount in the first 3 months. At the time of this post, they transfer 1:1 to airlines (as do many). Therefore, 120k points are 120k miles at an airline partner. It has no foreign transaction fees. I have called Chase twice for questions about my cards, and both were resolved within 5 minutes. One was due to us sending a payment to the wrong card by mistake, the other was to add this card to my existing profile.

Enough About Credit Cards, What About ATM Cards?

Well, I am glad I asked. As I mentioned in the Ukraine post, our ATM card caused a major headache. We are now with Schwab and have not had any issues so far. That is not to say it is a fool-proof plan, but it is one of the highly-rated US banks for many nomads or expats (based on comments in several travel groups we frequent). They refund ATM fees globally, which is a huge plus as we always get local currency at an ATM for miscellaneous expenses when cash is the only payment option. We do have a backup ATM card with another bank just in case.

Tips For Points/Miles Accrual

The credit cards we use most of the time offer 1-3x miles at restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, travel, etc. Therefore, I use specific cards at certain locations to maximize rewards. If a card offers 3x at grocery stores and another offers 1x, I use the 3x card. I apply the same theory to other categories. However, just be aware that some cards will not give you 3x points on booking.com. This usually happens if they are also a partner with booking.com in their travel portal (the travel portal might be run by one of the companies owned by booking.com). They may give you 3x on AirBnB though.

Those charges may appear as “Other Travel” and not “Lodging”, so you may only get 1x points. You need to test certain categories and merchants across different cards to see where you get the best rewards regardless of the listed categories in the credit card company’s rewards disclosure. Not all merchants will show up in the assumed category.

Can You Combine Rewards Programs?

A good way to earn points/miles with ease is by combining multiple rewards programs in a single purchase. Our local grocery store allows you to earn discounts on fuel based on the amount you spend with them. They also offer 2x-4x fuel rewards for gift card purchases for Amazon and other retailers. Therefore, I use a credit card with a 3x point/mileage reward for grocery stores to buy gift cards and groceries. A $100 gift card will get me 300 points/miles with the credit card company, plus 200-400 fuel rewards points (20-40 cents per gallon discount).

In the above scenario, anything (read tobacco, beer, and wine) in the grocery store would get you the 3x points/miles bonus on your credit card. However, we only buy gift cards for gifts or when we plan on making a purchase using the gift card. We typically have a few hundred dollars on our Amazon gift card balance for those 100% necessary spontaneous random purchases. This option is similar to paying for a flight with a non-airline-affiliated credit card, you will get both the credit card points and airline miles for the flight purchase. Those credit card points can then be transferred to an airline.

How Fast Can You Earn Points/Miles?

So far, since 2022 (about two years) we have earned over 650,000 points/miles with just two credit cards. A 120,000 bonus has just been credited from our newest card. These totals include signup bonuses of over 320,000 points/miles. That does not include the miles I have earned on airlines or rewards from combining programs. So it is fairly easy to earn miles if you learn how to maximize your purchases.

Don’t Make This Mistake

All these reward programs are great. However, the biggest mistake you can make is to carry a balance. The added interest and fees associated with holding a balance will wipe out any advantage the reward provides. So only charge what you can easily pay off in that billing cycle.

Travel Tip

Always have some cash available in at least two different banks in case you run into any issues as we did in Ukraine. Another good reason for a backup account is to minimize headaches if your card is damaged, lost, or stolen. You will have a backup plan to access funds if needed.