Credit cards can be a fantastic financial tool when used properly but travel credit
cards are in a whole separate arena and can be much more confusing.
So today let's breakdown the top five best travel credit cards in 2022 that can help
you travel for free.
Alright let's jump right into it.
what is going on everyone I hope you're all having a fantastic day.
So the number five card on today's list is one that we haven't talked about a whole lot
on this channel but that would be the Citi premier card.
First of all it obviously has no foreign transaction fees which is a must for any travel credit
card and right now they're offering an 80,000 point signup bonus when you spend $4000 in
the first three months.
Now Citi says that that is redeemable for $800 in gift cards and that is true if you
redeem at 1 cent per point but as we'll talk about later in the video, that many points
is worth thousands of dollars if used properly.
with the premier card you're also going to earn three points per dollar at restaurants,
gas stations, supermarkets, as well as air travel and hotels plus one point per dollar
on all other purchases.
You also get a $100 annual hotel credit that can be used on any thank you points booking
over $500, access to a number of Citi transfer partners, and eight number of other benefits
that come with all city products.
I've never had a travel credit card from Citi however I have used their thank you points
system before which is just their version of credit card points and as you would expect
it works just like any other provider like American Express or Chase.
Sure there are some pretty decent point multipliers and at just $95 per year, the 80,000 point
signup bonus alone will pay for the first several years of this card.
Next up is probably the most popular travel credit card in the world but it is very expensive
which is why it's at #4 on today's list and that of course would be the American Express
platinum card.
Now I will rip the Band-Aid and tell you right out of the gate that this card is currently
$695 per year plus you have to pay an additional $175 per year if you want to add an authorized
user to this card well other products like the city premier don't charge you anything
for that.
The signup offers for these credit cards are constantly changing but at a bare minimum
you should be looking at a 100,000 point signup bonus when you spend a few $1000 in the first
six months.
That's pretty standard for the platinum card.
Now in terms of benefits the list is long so buckle up.
You’re looking at a $200 hotel credit that can be used on select hotel bookings with
American Express.
A $240 digital entertainment credit that you can use on a number of streaming services
that you’re probably already paying for and even a $155 Walmart plus credit to pay
for a Walmart plus monthly subscription.
Reading the entire list would literally take forever but you also get $200 from Uber eats
a $200 airline credit $300 for equinox and so many other discounts and rewards that a
lot of people refer to this as a coupon card.
Now in terms of point multipliers you’re looking at five points per dollar on all flights
booked with the airline or through American Express as well as five points per dollar
on all hotels booked with American Express and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.
You’re gonna get a free Clear membership a TSA pre-check or a global entry credit upgraded
status on Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy car rental loss damage insurance, and of course
lounge access including the incredible centurion lounges.
Again reading the entire list of benefits is entire video in itself which I have made
previously but needless to say if you know how to use this car properly, it will more
than pay for itself every single year.
Now whether or not it is worth $700 per year is totally dependent on your ability to use
this card but is someone who personally loves the American Express travel portal and their
many transfer partners, it doesn’t take a whole lot of effort to justify that high
annual fee but I realize it’s a reach for a lot of people which is why we’re putting
it at number four.
All right coming in at number three on today’s list is a product that I absolutely love and
that would be the capital one venture card.
I will mention it right out of the gate that there is a more premium version called the
venture X card which is one of my favorite credit cards at the moment and is actually
what I am personally using right now as I travel through Europe for the next few months
however the card has a pretty high annual fee and seeing that we just talked about a
card with a high in with you I figured we would bring things back down to normalcy but
if you like the sound of the venture card then you might wanna check out the venture
X as well.
With the standard venture card you are looking at two points per dollar on all of your purchases
and that’s pretty much it.
Capital One calls their points miles but don’t get confused they’re the exact same thing
and they're redeemable in the exact same way as regular points.
They do currently offer five points per dollar on hotels booked through capital One travel
however you’d be better off transferring your points to one of their transfer partners
so I’m not sure how frequently you’ll actually get that benefit but otherwise the
card is really simple and you don’t have to worry about juggling a ton of point multipliers
and all those different benefits it’s just two points on everything and that’s it.
They are also currently offering a 75,000 mile or point sign-up bonus when you spend
$4000 in the first three months of having this card and at a $95 annual fee those 75,000
points again will cover that cost for the first several years.
Obviously you’re gonna have no foreign transaction fees and they actually throw in a free global
entry or TSA pre-check credit valued at $100 which is actually really nice because usually
that only comes with much more expensive products.
Again the list of my new benefits is fairly long as is the case with pretty much every
travel credit card but these are standard things like rental collision damage waivers
travel accident insurance access to capital One lounges and other benefits that you would
expect with a travel credit card.
They also have the venture one card that has slightly reduced benefits but has no in your
theme so again depending on how much you’re looking to spend each year that might be Worth
checking out as well.
Alright now we are getting into the heavy hitters and coming in at number two would
be the first premium credit card that I ever got and that is the American Express Gold
card.
Some could argue that this isn’t technically a travel credit card because it isn’t going
to give you premium benefits like lounge access for example but that’s the case with a few
of the cards on today’s list and with the gold card you are still earning American Express
membership rewards points that you can then use to book travel or transfer to their many
transfer partners.
Speaking of those point multipliers you’re going to get four points per dollar on all
the restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery services, four points per dollar
on all US supermarkets up to $25,000 in purchases each year, three points on all flights booked
through the airline or through American Express and one point on all other purchases.
In terms of benefits you’re going to get a $120 Uber cash credit you can use for Uber
eats or the ride sharing platform as well as a $120 dining credit for select locations
like GrubHub cheesecake factory and a few others.
This is by far my favorite credit card for food finatics like myself because of that
four point multiplier on dining and on top of all of that usually you can get a pretty
great sign a bonus with this card as well.
At the moment it appears to be 60,000 points when you spend $3000 in the first three months
but again it is constantly changing and I’ve seen this go as high as 90,000 points or higher
for specific targeted offers and at $250 per year, it is a nice middle ground
between the many $95 with your options without going crazy for something like the AMEX platinum.
Like I said earlier the platinum card the Amex travel portal is fantastic and they have
a ton of travel partners and I can say personally after redeeming over 500,000 points through
their system, it is really easy to use and I have redeemed my points for countless first
class flights and hotels were completely free which again I’ll touch on briefly at the
end of the video.
Also the American Express Gold card is just really cool looking and of all of the premium
credit cards that I have currently, it is still by far my favorite in terms of looks…not
that matters at all.
Alright and lastly coming in a number one for the best travel credit cards in 2022 may
be a bit of a surprise at some of you but that would be the chase sapphire preferred
card.
As some of you already know the preferred card is the middle tier option from Chase
with them offering the free freedom flex and freedom unlimited as well as they’re more
premium and she Sapphire reserve the cost over $500 per year.
So again the Sapphire preferred is that nice middle ground coming in at $95 per year but
still offering some awesome points multipliers and access to the Chase travel portal.
Right now you’re looking at a 60,000 points bonus when you spent $4000 in the first three
months as well as five points per dollar on all purchases made through the chase ultimate
rewards system, two points per dollar on other travel purchases, three points per dollar
on all dining including takeout and delivery as well as grocery store purchases and streaming
services and then at one point per dollar on all other purchases.
One of my favorite benefits with this card right now is the 25% boost you get on your
points when you book travel through the chase ultimate rewards system so if you earned 100,000
points, you’d actually be able to read those for 125,000 points in value which could be
the difference between getting that free first class flight or not.
You also get the 25% boost with their new pay yourself back feature which basically
allows you to use your points towards purchases on your card but I’d be hesitant to do that
because you’re not getting the best value out of those points however a nice option
if you need to use it.
Similar to American Express, Chase has a ton of transfer partners so no worries there and
while you’re not going to get airport lounge access or any of the super high premium benefits
with the preferred card, am I opinion you’re getting 80% of the benefits of the Sapphire
reserve at a fraction of the cost.
So that was a lot of information and benefits and point multipliers throw it you in a quick
video but if you are brand new to the travel credit card space I highly recommend you learn
about how to actually use points before you jump in and get your first card.
I’ve made a number of videos and even some YouTube shorts on exactly how I redeem points
for the maximum value but some of the process in one sentence, I just use my credit card
for my regular every day purchases that I would already be making of course pay off
my card in full on time every time without fail and then I just take the points that
I earn from those purchases and transfer them to the many transfer partners that these major
credit card providers offer.
Yes you can book travel directly through the provider like Chase or American Express but
if you want to get the maximum value then I would always recommend transferring them
to an airline rewards program like one world, star alliance, or a specific airline like
Delta.
I know we can all feel a little bit overwhelming but I promise it is not nearly as complicated
as you think and you really can get insane travel accommodations and flights for completely
free with these points.
But those are just my top five travel credit cards in 2022 so i’d love to know what you
think of my list and what products you disagree with and feel should’ve been a higher on
the list.
Be sure to check out some of my favorite financial tools using the links below the like button
and of course thank you so much for your time I really do appreciate it so much take easy
and I’ll see you the next one!