CNBC’s best travel rewards credit cards of 2022

Travel credit cards are some of the most rewarding cards on the market. Besides valuable cash-back, points or miles incentives, they may also offer a range of perks that can make your travels more comfortable and save you money.

Some travel card features are nearly standard across the board: no foreign transaction fees, travel insurance and various travel credits. More premium cards take things up a notch by offering lounge access and credits for expedited airport security.

To help you choose the best travel rewards card for your needs, CNBC Select analyzed dozens of popular travel cards using an average American’s annual spending budget and dug into each card’s perks and drawbacks to find the best of the best based on your consumer habits. (See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best cards.)

Who’s this for? The American Express® Gold Card is a smart choice for consumers who love travel and dining out due to its generous rewards rates. While the card comes with a $250 annual fee (see rates and fees), it offers a number of luxury rewards that help offset the cost.

Standout benefits: One big perk for travelers to take advantage of is the statement credits. Cardholders get up to $120 in annual dining credit to cover restaurant charges ($10 per month at Seamless, Grubhub and other participating restaurants; enrollment is required) and $100 in hotel credits when they book rooms through The Hotel Collection with American Express Travel. There are also special travel perks, such as room upgrades at specific hotels and special travel discounts and amenities for those who enroll with The Travel Collection by Travel Leaders Group at no extra cost.

American Express Membership Rewards® points value varies depending on how cardholders redeem them, but the most rewarding option is to transfer them to Amex’s various airline and hotel partners.

Who’s this for? The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card offers no shortage of travel benefits. It’s especially valuable for those who want a straightforward way of earning rewards without having to juggle many bonus categories.

Standout benefits: Travelers going overseas can take advantage of no foreign transaction fees. Cardholders also get a credit of up to $100 to cover Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® membership, Complimentary Hertz President Circle* status and two complimentary visits per year to Capital One Lounges or 100+ Plaza Premium Lounges through the Partner Lounge Network. As an added plus, you can use your Venture Rewards card to get access to exclusive sporting and music events, plus premiere culinary experiences, including the New York City Wine and Food Festival and the iHeartRadio Music Festival.

*Upon enrollment, accessible through the Capital One website or mobile app, eligible cardholders will remain at upgraded status level through December 31, 2024. Please note, enrolling through the normal Hertz Gold Plus Rewards enrollment process (e.g. at Hertz.com) will not automatically detect a cardholder as being eligible for the program and cardholders will not be automatically upgraded to the applicable status tier. Additional terms apply.

Miles can be redeemed for flights, hotels, rental cars and other parts of your trip through Capital One Travel, or you can use them to offset recent travel purchases at a fixed value of 1 cent per point. Alternatively, you can transfer them to any of Capital One’s hotel and airline partners to get even more value from your rewards.

Who’s this for? The Chase Sapphire Preferred has a loyal following among travelers looking for a travel-centric rewards program and a robust suite of perks. What makes this card shine the most is its generous welcome bonus offer.

Standout benefits: This card comes with a number of helpful benefits, such as a $50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit, no foreign transaction fees, primary rental car insurance, trip cancellation and interruption insurance and baggage and trip delay insurance. Sapphire Preferred card members can also benefit from a 10% points boost on each card anniversary and complimentary DashPass membership for a minimum of one year through Dec. 31, 2024.

Chase has over a dozen airline and hotel partners cardholders can transfer their points to. Otherwise, points are worth 1.25 cents each through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® travel portal or 1 cent per point when redeemed for gift cards or cash back.

Who’s this for? The Chase Sapphire Reserve is enormously popular among frequent travelers for its luxe perks, including comprehensive travel protections, and a strong rewards program. While this card comes with a substantial annual fee of $550, the many statement credits help to offset the costs.

Standout benefits: To start, this card provides an annual $300 travel credit, which can cover everything from airfare and hotels to parking and tolls. Cardholders can also get a statement credit of up to $100 (every four years) to help cover Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS application fees as well as enroll in Priority Pass Select, which gives them access to more than 1,400 airport lounges worldwide with free amenities, such as Wi-Fi, snacks and beverages.

Other benefits include discounts and memberships with Instacart+, DoorDash, and GoPuff; elite-like benefits when booking hotels through The Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection; trip interruption/cancellation coverage; primary rental car coverage; lost luggage reimbursement; and trip delay reimbursement. Cardmembers traveling internationally also don’t need to worry about foreign transaction fees.

Each point is worth 1 cent when redeemed for cash and gift cards. However, the value of points increases to 1.5 cents apiece when redeemed for travel on Chase Ultimate Rewards. Transferring points to Chase’s airline and hotel partners is also an option.

Who’s this for? The Platinum Card® from American Express is for road warriors who want to make their travels more comfortable. It grants access to more airport lounges than any other card on the market and is loaded with lots of other travel and lifestyle benefits that help justify its high annual fee; (see rates an fees).

Standout benefits: Cardholders can enjoy a long list of benefits, including:

• Worldwide airport lounge access, including Delta SkyClubs and Amex Centurion Lounges
• Up to $200 annual hotel credit
• Up to $200 annual airline fee credit
• Up to $300 annual Equinox credit
• Up to $100 annual Saks Fifth Avenue credit
• Up to $189 credit to enroll in CLEAR®
• Up to $240 annual digital entertainment credit
• Up to $155 annual Walmart+ credit
• Up to $200 annual Uber credit
• Up to $100 fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
• Automatic hotel elite status with Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy
• Access to the Fine Hotels + Resorts program, providing benefits such as room upgrades, late check-out, early check-in, complimentary breakfast for two and a $100 hotel credit (based on availability)
• Comprehensive travel insurance
• Cell phone protection
• Terms apply.

Who’s this for? The Discover it Miles card comes with a generous rewards program — all for zero annual fee — that makes it a standout among travel cards.

Standout benefits: Discover offers a welcome bonus that’s hard to beat: It will do a mile-for-mile match of all miles earned the first year (for new card members in their first year only). If you rack up 35,000 miles within the first 12 months, Discover will match you with 35,000 miles. That’s a total of 70,000 miles or $700 toward travel. (Based on our calculations, the average card user will earn around 32,777 miles in the first year.) Plus, the card has no foreign transaction fees.

There are no blackout dates when you pay for travel purchases using your rewards. And, you can easily redeem miles as a statement credit for travel, restaurant or gas station purchases, as well as a deposit to your bank account.

Who’s this for? The Bank of America Travel Rewards for Students is a great choice for students who plan on studying abroad or traveling during breaks. The rewards program is geared toward travel, and cardholders earn 1.5 points per dollar spent on all purchases.

Standout benefits: There are no foreign transaction fees, making it an ideal card for students studying abroad. This card also comes with a longer-than-average special financing offer of no interest for 18 billing cycles (then 18.24% to 28.24% variable APR). A full year of no interest is a great way for you to pay off new purchases over time, without incurring interest charges, though we recommend you pay off your balance on time and in full each month.

You must be 18 or older and enrolled in school (college, vocational or trade school) to qualify for this card.

Cardholders can redeem rewards as a statement credit to cover the cost of travel and dining purchases — a simple way to reduce the cost of taking a spring break vacation or buying a plane ticket home.

If you travel often and pay for purchases with cash or debit, you’re missing out on rewards and perks that can make travel more affordable. It can be in your best interest to get a credit card that awards high rewards rates on airfare, hotels, rideshares and other common travel expenses.

Using one of the travel cards mentioned above can earn you more than $2,000 in rewards over five years, which can help you offset the cost of past travel expenses or an upcoming vacation.

If you’re interested in submitting a travel credit card application, keep in mind that card issuers usually require you to have good credit or excellent credit (scores above 670). Therefore, it’s key to check your credit score before applying for a travel card.

Once you know your credit score and can check if you prequalify for a travel card, choose the best card for your needs and apply.

There is a variety of travel credit cards available, from general to airline– and hotel-specific, and all the choices can make it hard to settle on one. In order to choose the best card for your needs, you should consider several factors. Here are some tips on how to choose a credit card.

Consider whether you’re willing to pay an annual fee. Some travel cards have steep annual fees over $500, which can be worthwhile, but not for everyone. Make sure you do the math to see if an annual fee travel card is for you.

Another key factor to consider is the type of travel you do most. If you travel within the U.S., then it doesn’t really matter if a card charges foreign transaction fees. But if you’re off to Mexico or Spain, then it’s important to have a no foreign transaction fee card.

Rewards should also play a part in your decision. Do some research to determine which card offers a rewards program more geared toward your spending habits. If you dine out a lot when you travel, consider the American Express Gold Card with 4X points on dining at restaurants. But if you want a competitive rewards rate on all sorts of purchases, the Discover it Miles has no annual fee and unlimited 1.5X miles on every dollar of every purchase.

You can compare card benefits side by side to see if one card rates better than another. The Chase Sapphire Reserve, for example, offers complimentary lounge access, while the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card offers cardholders a fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.

If you’re having trouble narrowing down the best travel card for you, it can be helpful to compare credit cards. You should first list the benefits you’re looking for and any deal breakers, such as an annual fee. Then consider cards that have those benefits.

For instance, if you want both travel and dining rewards, the Amex Gold Card is a better choice than the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card since the rewards rate is 4X versus 2X.

But if you don’t want to pay a high annual fee, the Venture Card is only $95 compared to the $250 you’ll pay for a Gold Card. (See rates and fees.)

In order to make the most of your travel card, you should familiarize yourself with the various credit card benefits and fees. Take note of any annual fees, foreign transaction fees and the APR associated with your account. Also consider the rewards rates and added perks, such as annual statement credits.

Once you’re familiar with the terms of your card, you can start optimizing them. That may include setting reminders to use the annual $300 travel credit provided by the Chase Sapphire Reserve or submitting a Global Entry application with the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card to take advantage of the up to $100 credit.

If you have multiple credit cards, you might want to have a plan for the best time to use each card. Let’s say you have the Discover it Miles and American Express Gold Card. Use the Amex Gold Card for dining expenses at restaurants to earn 4X points, then use the Discover card for all your other purchases to earn unlimited 1.5X miles.

Travel credit cards aren’t for everyone. If you travel infrequently, you should consider alternative credit card options, such as cards with dining, grocery or gas rewards. There are cards that can provide up to 6% back in those categories, allowing foodies, meal-preppers and commuters to benefit.

Beyond rewards, you might benefit from a card that offers a 0% APR period. Some cards offer no interest for a year or more on new purchases and balance transfers, such as the Citi Simplicity® Card. The card has 0% intro APR for 21 months on balance transfers from the date of first transfer, plus 0% intro APR for 12 months on purchases from date of account opening (after, 18.49% – 29.24% variable APR; balance transfers must be completed within four months of account opening.) There is an introductory balance transfer fee of 3% or $5, whichever is greater for transfers completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5). When used responsibly, these cards can help you get out of debt without high interest charges.

To determine which cards will put the most money back in your pocket, CNBC Select evaluated dozens of popular travel credit cards offered by major banks, financial companies and credit unions that allow anyone to join. We compared each card on a range of features, including travel rewards (points and miles), annual fee, welcome bonus, introductory and standard APR, one-time perks, annual perks, redemption rates, as well as factors such as required credit and customer reviews when available.

Select teamed up with location intelligence firm Esri. The company’s data development team provided the most up-to-date and comprehensive consumer spending data based on the 2019 Consumer Expenditure Surveys from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. You can read more about their methodology here.

Esri’s data team created a sample annual budget of approximately $22,126 in retail spending. The budget includes six main categories: groceries ($5,174), gas ($2,218), dining out ($3,675), travel ($2,244), utilities ($4,862) and general purchases ($3,953). General purchases include items such as housekeeping supplies, clothing, personal care products, prescription drugs and vitamins, and other vehicle expenses.

We then estimated how much the average consumer would redeem over the course of a year, two years and five years, assuming they would attempt to maximize their rewards potential by earning all welcome bonuses offered and using the card for all applicable purchases. All rewards total estimations are net the annual fee and assume that you are paying your credit card balance on time and in full each month so as not to incur interest charges.

It’s important to note the value of a point or mile varies from card to card and based on how you redeem them. When we calculated the estimated returns, we assumed that cardholders are redeeming points/miles for a typical maximum value of 1 cent per point or mile. (Extreme optimizers might be able to achieve more value.)

Our final picks are weighted heavily toward the highest five-year returns, since it’s generally wise to hold onto a credit card for years. This method also avoids giving an unfair advantage to cards with large welcome bonuses.

While the five-year estimates we’ve included are derived from a budget similar to the average American’s spending, you may earn a higher or lower return depending on your travel habits.

For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.

For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.

For rates and fees of the Discover it® Miles, click here.

Information about the Bank of America® Travel Rewards for Students has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.