How to Earn Points and Miles for Free Travel
Read moreTravel Rewards Credit Cards
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We dive into fine print of 110 travel credit cards to help you estimate how much value in rewards you can get for the 1st year with a card. We consider annual fees, sign-up bonus offer, rewards for spending, spending categories and rotating categories for some banks.
5 cards found
The Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express
This card earns Starpoints that can be transferred to AAdvantage Miles (AAdvantage) with 1:1 ratio Other transfer options
2-6 AAdvantage Miles per $1
$95
waived first year
75k points
worth 75k AAdvantage Miles
147,000 miles
- Card Details
- Earn 75,000 Bonus Points after you use your new Card to make $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
- $0 intro annual fee for the first 12 months, then $95.
- Use your Card and earn 6 Starpoints® for every dollar spent on eligible purchases at participating SPG® and Marriott Rewards® hotels.
- Earn 2 Starpoint for all other eligible purchases.
- Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card account anniversary. Award can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 35,000 points) at a participating hotel. Select hotels have resort fees.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Receive complimentary Silver Elite status with your Card. Earn Gold Elite status after spending $30,000 or more in eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year.
- Receive free in-room, premium Internet access while staying at participating SPG® and Marriott Rewards ® hotels.
- Pros
- Generous signup bonus
- High rate of rewards
- No foreign transaction fees
- Cons
- Has annual fee
- Good to excellent credit score required
Our Take
Whatever aspects of The Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express you might consider, the only one that really matters is the incredible value of Starpoints®. Earning two of them per dollar is one of the best travel card offers that ever existed.
Starwood Preferred Guest® Luxury Card
This card earns Starpoints that can be transferred to AAdvantage Miles (AAdvantage) with 1:1 ratio Other transfer options
2-6 AAdvantage Miles per $1
$450
75k points
worth 75k AAdvantage Miles
147,000 miles
- Card Details
- Earn 75,000 Bonus Points after you use your new Card to make $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
- Earn 6X points on eligible purchases at participating SPG® and Marriott Rewards® hotels.
- Earn 3X points at U.S. restaurants and on flights booked directly with airlines.
- Earn 2X points on all other eligible purchases.
- Enjoy up to $300 in statement credits each year of Card Membership for eligible purchases at participating SPG® or Marriott Rewards® hotels.
- Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card account anniversary. Award can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 50,000 points) at a participating hotel. Terms apply.
- Enjoy complimentary Gold Elite status with your Card. Earn Platinum Elite status after making $75,000 in eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year.
- No foreign transaction fees.
- Redeem points for free nights at over 6,500 participating SPG® and Marriott Rewards® hotels across 29 brands. Plus, redeem points for flights or car rentals with Air+Car, or transfer your points for travel program rewards with over 40 airline partners.
- Pros
- Generous signup bonus
- 6X points per $1 spent on hotels
- 0% purchase intro APR
- No foreign transaction fee
- Cons
- High annual fee
AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®
This card earns AAdvantage Miles (AAdvantage program by American Airlines)
1-2 miles per $1
$95
50k miles
86,000 miles
- Card Details
- Earn 50,000 bonus miles after making your first purchase in the first 90 days and paying the annual fee.
- Earn 2X miles on eligible American Airlines purchases, and 1X miles on all other purchases. Terms Apply.
- Get 10% of your redeemed miles back. Note, 10,000 miles maximum per calendar year.
- Earn $3,000 Elite Qualifying Dollars after spending $25,000 on purchases each calendar year.
- First checked bag free. Terms Apply.
- Preferred boarding for the primary cardmember and up to 4 companions on your reservation when traveling on domestic itineraries operated by American Airlines.
- No foreign transaction fees.
- Receive 25% inflight savings on food and beverages.
- 0% intro APR for the first 15 billing cycles following each balance transfer that posts to your account within 45 days of account opening.
- Pros
- Sign-up bonus
- High rate of rewards
- 10% of your redeemed miles back
- No foreign transaction fees
- 0% intro APR for the first 15 billing cycles following each balance transfer that posts to your account within 45 days of account opening
- Cons
- Has annual fee
Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite™ Mastercard®
This card earns AAdvantage Miles (AAdvantage program by American Airlines)
1-2 miles per $1
$99
waived first year
50k miles
86,000 miles
- Card Details
- Earn 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after making $2,500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.
- Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on American Airlines purchases. Earn 1 AAdvantage® mile for every $1 spent on other purchases.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- First checked bag is free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for you and up to four companions traveling with you on the same reservation.
- Fly to great destinations on American Airlines operated flights and save your AAdvantage® miles for another trip. Terms Apply.
- Receive a 25% savings on eligible inflight food and beverage purchases.
- Enjoy preferred boarding on American Airlines domestic flights.
- Travel & Purchase protection.
- Citi® Cards with Apple Pay®.
- Pros
- Sign-up bonus
- Double miles
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- First checked bag is free
- Preferred boarding
- Cons
- Annual fee is waived for the first 12 months, then $95
Citi® / AAdvantage® Gold World Elite™ Mastercard®
This card earns AAdvantage Miles (AAdvantage program by American Airlines)
1 mile per $1
$50
waived first year
25k miles
61,000 miles
- Card Details
- 25,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after $750 spent on purchases within the first 3 months, that's enough for a round trip domestic MileSAAver® award (plus government fees of $5.60 per one-way trip).
- 1 AAdvantage® mile for every $1 spent on purchases.
- Receive a 25% savings on eligible in–flight food and beverage purchases when you use your card.
- No blackout dates on award travel on American Airlines and American Eagle® carriers.
- $0 Annual Fee for the first 12 months, thereafter $50.
- Redeem your AAdvantage® miles for a domestic round–trip flight award on American Airlines and American Eagle® carriers for as little as 25,000 AAdvantage® miles.
- Citi® Cards with Apple Pay®.
- Travel & Purchase protection.
- Pros
- Sign-up bonus
- 1 AAdvantage® mile for every $1 spent on purchases
- Travel & Purchase protection
- Cons
- Has annual fee