5 Top Travel Credit Cards To Sign Up For

Would you like to get a free hotel night when you travel? What about a reimbursement for Global Entry? Or a complimentary Priority Pass to select lounge access at airports? 

All of these sound like incredible offers, right? No, this is not a scam. These are opportunities for how you can take full advantage of travel credit cards and the benefits of each. People always ask us which credit cards we use, so I thought it would be helpful to share the credit cards we have along with the benefits of each and examples of how we used each of them.

For more detailed tips, a great resource is The Points Guy who frequently shares reviews and best travel credit cards. 

Here are 5 Top Travel Credit Cards:

1. Hyatt

• 2 FREE nights at Hyatt hotels, worldwide, after you make $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months when you open an account
• 5,000 bonus points after you add an authorized user to your account and make a purchase as a card member 
• 1 FREE night every year during card anniversary at Category 1-4 hotels
• FREE Platinum Hyatt Gold Passport® status as long as your credit card account is open (a new program starting on March 1 to World of Hyatt) 
• Annual Fee: $75 

When we both signed up for the credit card, we were able to redeem 2 FREE nights each. We did two separate weekend trips to Colorado and Jamaica. 

Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort & Spa - loved this beautiful view of snow from our suite window below. We were able to stay here for a 3 day weekend and only had to pay for parking at the hotel. It was about $1,000 a night at this 5-star luxury hotel with breathtaking views. 

Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall - Jamaica me crazy for travel! This is an adult-only all-inclusive resort in Montego Bay and we enjoyed it for Memorial Day weekend in 2016. Using our 2 free hotel nights from the Hyatt credit card, we did not have to pay a dime for out hotel nights that would have been about $900 a night. We also had food included and stayed at the resort to maximize the full value of the rest and relaxation time. In addition to food and drinks, the resort also had activities like water spinning in their outdoor pool. 

 

2. IHG® Rewards Club Select 

• 60,000 bonus points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening
• 1 FREE night every year during card anniversary
• Platinum Elite Status with IHG® Rewards Club
• Annual Fee: $75  

InterContintenal Osaka - Now, we try to save our anniversary nights from these hotel cards for longer tips. Last year, we went to Japan for a week and all 5 out of 6 nights were FREE from our hotel credit cards. This luxe 5-star hotel was one of them and since we are IHG Spire members with platinum elite, they gave us a free upgrade to a suite that included a kitchen with a fridge, stove, laundry machine, scenic window view and so much space for a Japanese hotel room. 

 

3. Marriott® Rewards 

• 80,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening
• 1 FREE night every year during card anniversary at a Category 1–5 hotel 
• Elite Status
• Annual Fee: $85  

Koloa Landing, Autograph Collection - You can use 80,000 points for various hotels under Marriott. We were going to use it in Japan, but we found it a better bang for our buck to save it for our Hawaii trip in April this year. Look at this beautiful screenshot from the email confirmation of booking 2 hotel nights at Koloa Landing, Autograph Collection and paying the difference while we stay in Kauai.

 

4. Chase Sapphire Reserve

• 100,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening (it says 50k, but if you go in person to a Chase branch, they should still be able to honor it for you) 
• $300 annual travel credit where you will automatically receive statement credit as reimbursement for any travel purchases on the card including airfare, hotels, trains, and transportation charged on the card
• 3X Points for dining and travel related purchases
• Complimentary Airport Lounge Access with a free enrollment to Priority Pass™ Select giving you access to +1000 VIP lounges and unlimited travel companions to join you in the lounge even if they do not have Priority Pass
• FREE Global Entry receiving a $100 credit every 4 years to reimburse the application fee
• Annual Fee: $450

5. American Express Platinum Card®

• Airport Lounge Access to The Centurion® airport lounge network, International American Express lounges, Delta Sky Clubs®, and Airspace Lounges
• 5X Points on Flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel
• $200 Annual Airline Credit in statement credit to get reimbursed
• Starwood Preferred Guest Gold without meeting any stay requirements
• Marriott Gold Status can be matched when you link your Starwood to your Marriott since they acquired SPG
• Hilton HHonors™ Gold Status is also complimentary to enjoy benefits to +4,700 hotels and resorts within Hilton Portfolio
• By Invitation Only® experiences exclusive to AMEX Platinum Card Members
• FREE subscription to DEPARTURES magazine, a publication focused on travel, style, culture, and shopping.
• AMEX Offers & Benefits are another perk as they are never ending with offers in dining, travel, and shopping like
• Annual Fee: $450 

Which one do you plan to sign up for? Or which credit card do you have not listed in this post? There are many others out there, but these are the ones I have for now that I find worth the annual fee for what you are getting out of all the perks. Feel free to comment below with your thoughts on how to travel smartly with travel credit cards. Cheers!