If you’re looking for a travel credit card, one of the top card issuers to consider is Chase. The best Chase credit cards offer valuable travel perks and earn flexible Chase Ultimate Rewards® points. For brand loyalists, Chase also issues co-branded credit cards for airlines and hotels such as Marriott and United.
To help you choose the best Chase travel credit card for your situation, CNBC Select analyzed travel cards issued by Chase, weighing each card’s perks and costs (see our methodology for more information on how we choose the best Chase travel credit cards).
Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, and $50 annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more.
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.
21.49% – 28.49% variable on purchases and balance transfers
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
Who’s this for? The Chase Sapphire Preferred has a reasonable annual fee, a versatile rewards program and a generous welcome bonus. This makes it a beginner-friendly option if you’re looking for your first travel card.
Standout benefits: The Chase Sapphire Preferred card earns Ultimate Rewards points. You can redeem them for one cent each for things like cash back or gift cards. If you use Ultimate Rewards points to pay for travel you book through Chase Travel℠, the value bumps up to 1.25 cents per point. You can also transfer Chase points at a 1:1 ratio to over a dozen partner travel programs, including United MileagePlus, Southwest Rapid Rewards and World of Hyatt.
Enjoy 4.5% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services, 6.5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, our premier rewards program that lets you redeem rewards for cash back, travel, gift cards and more; and 3% cash back on all other purchases (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year). After your first year or $20,000 spent, enjoy 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.
INTRO OFFER: Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) – worth up to $300 cash back!
0% for the first 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers
Intro fee of either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater, on transfers made within 60 days of account opening. After that, either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
3% of each transaction in U.S. dollars
Member FDIC. Terms apply.
Earn 3X points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases in select categories each account anniversary year (travel; shipping purchases; internet, cable and phone services; and advertising purchases with social media sites and search engines), 1X point per $1 on all other purchases
Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
Who’s this for? The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is great if you’re a business owner who wants to earn flexible travel rewards thanks to its generous bonus spending categories.
Standout benefits: The Ink Business Preferred earns 3X points per $1 on the first $150,000 in combined purchases you spend each account anniversary year on shipping, advertising (social media and search engines), travel and internet, cable and phone services. That’s a large number of useful bonus categories for businesses that can help you amass a hoard of Chase Ultimate Rewards points quickly.
Earn 5X total points on flights and 10X total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3X points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases plus, 10X points on Lyft rides through March 2025
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.
Rewards totals incorporate the points earned from the welcome bonus
Who’s this for? The Chase Sapphire Reserve is ideal if you have a strong credit score and want premium perks like airport lounge access and built-in travel protections.
Standout benefits: With the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you’ll get an up to $300 annual travel credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card. This credit automatically applies to eligible travel purchases, from airfare and lodging to public transit and parking fees, so it’s incredibly easy to use. You can also enroll for unlimited access to 1,300+ Priority Pass™ airport lounges.
Earn up to 26 total points per $1 spent when you stay at IHG Hotels & Resorts, 5 points per $1 spent on purchases on travel, at gas stations, and restaurants, 3 points per $1 spent on all other purchases
Earn 140,000 Bonus Points
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
Rewards totals incorporate the points earned from the welcome bonus
Who’s this for? The IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card is a perfect fit if you frequent IHG hotels because of its brand-specific perks. However, it also provides enough value that even the occasional guest can benefit from having this hotel credit card.
Standout hotel benefits: For every account anniversary, you’ll receive a free night award valid at IHG hotels that cost up to 40,000 points. You can also top off this award if the night costs more than 40,000 points. If you want to book a room that costs 55,000 points, you could still use your award and pay the 15,000-point difference. This benefit alone can be valuable enough to justify paying the card’s annual fee.
Earn 3X points on Southwest® purchases, 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare; 2X points on internet, cable, and phone services; select streaming. 1X points on all other purchases
Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Who’s this for? If you love Southwest’s consumer-friendly policies such as free checked bags and no change or cancellation fees, you’ll appreciate the additional perks that come with the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card.
Standout benefits: Having the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card makes earning the Southwest Companion Pass easier because the points you earn (including the welcome bonus) count toward qualifying and you get a 10,000 qualifying-point boost every year. The Companion Pass is incredibly valuable because it allows you to bring a guest on any Southwest flight for the cost of taxes and fees.
It can be easy to justify paying the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card’s annual fee if you consider the value of the points you’ll earn and its ongoing benefits.
Rewards
Welcome bonus
Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Annual fee
$95
Notable perks
Many of the Sapphire Preferred’s benefits offer a fixed value that in total, more than offsets its annual fee. These perks include:
This card also has an extensive list of insurance benefits. Eligible purchases qualify for:
You’ll also have a range of redemption options for the rewards you earn. You can use Chase points to receive cash back at a rate of one cent per point and to pay for travel you book through Chase Travel℠ at a rate of 1.25 cents per point. If you want to unlock further value, the Sapphire Preferred also allows you to transfer Chase points to airline and hotel loyalty programs such as Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards, Air Canada Aeroplan, IHG One Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy and more.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited is a great card to pair with other Chase cards because it earns a minimum of 1.5% cash back on all purchases and has no annual fee.
Rewards
Welcome bonus
Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on all purchases up to $20,000 spent in the first year.
Annual fee
$0
Notable perks
When you open a new Freedom Unlimited account, you’ll receive a 0% intro APR for the first 15 months from account opening on new purchases and balance transfers. After that, a variable 20.49% to 29.24% APR applies. The intro balance transfer fee is 3% of the amount of each transfer with a $5 minimum (applies to transfers you make in the first 60 days of opening the account). Once the intro balance transfer fee expires, the fee increases to 5% of the amount you transfer or $5, whichever is greater.
You can also take advantage of the following built-in coverages:
The Freedom Unlimited is a cash-back card, but if you have another Chase card that allows points transfers, you can move your rewards to that card and transfer them. That makes this card a great partner with cards like:
Having the option to convert your rewards into airline miles or hotel points, gives you a wider range of options to maximize the value you receive.
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is a versatile business card with an unusually generous intro bonus offer.
Rewards
Welcome bonus
Earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first three months after account opening.
Annual fee
$95
Notable perks
There is no additional fee for adding employee cards and there are no foreign transaction fees. You and the employees you add to your account can take advantage of a range of insurance benefits, including:
The Ink Business Preferred earns Ultimate Rewards points, which you can redeem for cash back, travel gift cards and more. These points are worth one cent each for redemptions like cash back or gift cards. The value increases by 25% (1.25 cents per point) if you use your points to book and pay for travel through Chase Travel℠. With this card, you also have the option to transfer points to any Chase travel partner at a 1:1 ratio. These partners include Marriott Bonvoy, Emirates Skywards, Flying Blue (Air France/KLM) and more.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve has everything you should look for in a luxury travel card including generous statement credit benefits, airport lounge access and a robust list of shopping and travel protections.
Rewards
*After the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually
Welcome bonus
Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Annual fee
$550
Notable perks
The Sapphire Reserve has a significant $550 annual fee, but it also has lots of benefits that provide more than enough value to make the annual fee worth it. You can take advantage of:
If you’re fed up with paying extra to insure a trip or receive additional warranty coverage for big purchases, the Sapphire Reserve provides many of these benefits automatically. Eligible purchases are covered by:
The Sapphire Reserve gives you access to the same travel partners as other Chase cards, but it comes with an increased redemption value when you use points to pay for travel booked through Chase Travel℠. With these redemptions, your points are worth 50% more or 1.5 cents per point. Of course, it’s always possible you can receive a higher value per point by transferring your rewards to programs such as Air Canada Aeroplan or Flying Blue (Air France/KLM) and booking costly flights.
This card has no foreign transaction fees.
The IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card will make your next IHG stay more rewarding and comfortable because of its bonus points on IHG purchases and IHG Platinum elite status perk.
Rewards
Welcome bonus
Earn 140,000 points after spending $3,000 on the card in the first three months from account opening.
Annual fee
$99
Notable perks
If you value IHG One status, you’ll appreciate the automatic Platinum status you’ll receive just for having the card. You also have a path to earning IHG Diamond status after spending $40,000 on the card in a calendar year. On top of that, every year you keep the card you’ll receive a free night award valid for rooms that cost up to 40,000 points, and you can top off the award with extra points to book a more expensive room.
By having this card, you can indirectly boost the value of your IHG points because of its fourth-night free benefit. When you use points to book an IHG stay of at least four consecutive nights, the fourth night is free. There is no limit to how often you can use this benefit, so the savings can be massive.
The card also comes with statement credit offers and other perks, including:
It also has no foreign transaction fees and insurance benefits such as purchase protection and trip cancellation/interruption coverage.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card can help you fast-track your journey to earning Southwest A-List elite status.
Rewards
Welcome bonus
Earn 85,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Annual fee
$149
Notable perks
The Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority card has the highest annual fee of any Southwest consumer credit card but has the most valuable benefits. Every year, you’ll receive a $75 Southwest travel credit and 7,500 bonus points (worth roughly $97). If you can fully utilize both offers, you’ll more than offset this card’s annual fee.
Having a Southwest card is one of the best ways to fast-track your way to earning a Southwest Companion Pass. The points you earn from spending with this card and from its welcome offer both qualify toward earning a Companion Pass. You also receive a 10,000 qualifying-point boost every calendar year.
Earning Southwest status is also easier with this card. You will earn 1,500 tier qualifying points (TQPs) for every $5,000 you spend annually, and there is no limit on the number of TQPs you can earn. You can also take advantage of 25% back on inflight purchases and four upgraded boardings every year (when available).
This card comes with travel and purchase protections such as roadside dispatch, rental car damage waiver, purchase protection, extended warranty protection, lost luggage reimbursement, baggage delay insurance and travel accident insurance.
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Chase has several additional application restrictions, some of which are card-specific. The first rule typically applies to any Chase credit card you apply for and is known as the Chase 5/24 rule. The way it works is that you’re unlikely to be approved for a Chase card if you’ve opened five or more cards from any bank in the past 24 months.
There are also specific restrictions for these cards:
You aren’t eligible for a personal IHG One Rewards card if you currently have any personal IHG One Rewards card. You also aren’t eligible for a personal IHG One Rewards card if you’ve earned an intro bonus offer from any personal IHG One Rewards card in the previous 24 months.
The same limitation applies to the IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card. You aren’t eligible for an IHG One Rewards business card if you currently have and IHG One Rewards business card or if you’ve earned an intro bonus from and IHG One Rewards business card in the previous 24 months.
That said, if you open an IHG business card, you can still qualify for a personal IHG card and vice versa.
Chase currently issues three personal Southwest credit cards and two Southwest business credit cards. You can have one personal Southwest card and one business Southwest card at a time. However, you aren’t eligible for a new personal Southwest card if you currently have a personal Southwest card or have earned a new card member intro bonus from a Southwest personal card in the previous 24 months. The same rule applies to Southwest business cards, you aren’t eligible for a Southwest business card if you currently have one or have earned a Southwest business card intro bonus in the previous 24 months.
Both Chase and American Express issue Marriott Bonvoy co-branded credit cards. These hotel credit cards have complicated restrictions and waiting periods based on what cards you have, have had and when you earned previous Marriott Bonvoy card welcome bonuses. This makes it important to carefully review each card’s specific terms before applying because even having an Amex Marriott card could impact whether you’re eligible for a new cardmember bonus
If you want to apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve®, the rules are more restrictive compared to other Chase cards. If you currently have or have had any Sapphire card in the last 48 months, you aren’t eligible for any version of the Sapphire card.
It is possible to call and product change between the cards if you already have an account. So you could upgrade to the Sapphire Reserve to take advantage of its increased perks or downgrade to the Sapphire Preferred if you want to pay a smaller annual fee.
You won’t qualify for the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card or World of Hyatt Credit Card if you currently have that card or have earned a welcome bonus from that card in the past 24 months. However, having a personal Hyatt card won’t restrict you from opening a Hyatt Business card and vice versa.
Chase and United Airlines have partnered to issue several personal and business credit cards. The additional application guidelines are the same for all Chase United credit cards. For most United cards (personal or business), you aren’t eligible for a specific card product if you currently have that exact card or have earned an intro bonus from that card in the past 24 months.
One exception is the United Club℠ Infinite Card, which you won’t qualify for if you currently have any United Club card or if you have earned an intro bonus from any United Club card in the previous 24 months.
Find the best credit card for you by reviewing offers in our credit card marketplace or get personalized offers via CardMatch™.
Chase travel credit cards rank among the top credit cards for all sorts of travel. It issues several co-branded airline and hotel credit cards. Chase Ultimate Rewards points are also some of the most valuable and useful travel points you can earn.
However, you typically need a higher credit score to qualify for the best Chase travel cards. As valuable as the rewards may be, the miles and points you earn can be complicated to redeem to maximum value.
Whether a transaction falls under the travel category depends on how Visa and Mastercard classify that merchant. However, Chase lists a large range of category classifications as travel, including airlines, hotels, timeshares, car rental agencies, cruise lines, travel agencies, campgrounds, trains, buses, taxis, ferries, tolls, parking and discount travel sites.
Many Chase credit cards have travel insurance benefits including trip delay reimbursement, rental car coverage, trip cancellation/interruption insurance and more. However, the specific protections vary by card. Check your card’s benefits guide to confirm what specific coverages you have and the fine print.
You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to the following hotel loyalty programs: Marriott Bonvoy, IHG One Rewards and World of Hyatt. Chase also issues co-branded hotel credit cards for all three brands.
At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every credit card review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of credit card products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best Chase travel credit cards.
To determine which Chase travel credit cards offer the best value, CNBC Select analyzed Chase’s travel card offerings based on a range of features. We considered rewards (e.g., cash back, points and miles), annual fees, welcome bonuses, introductory and standard APR and balance transfer fees and foreign transaction fees. We also considered additional perks (e.g., ongoing travel or merchant statement credits), cardholder protections (e.g., purchase protection, $0 liability protection and travel insurance), the application process when available (e.g., is there a credit pull or required credit score) and how easy it is to redeem points (e.g., are rewards are tied to a specific brand; if transferable, to how many/which partners, can you redeem for straight cash back).
We also considered CNBC Select audience data when available, such as general demographics and engagement with our content and tools.
When choosing the best Chase travel cards, we focused on relevant features, such as cards that are widely accepted internationally and provide consumers with bonus rewards on travel spending. We prioritized additional perks that may be useful when traveling, such as travel protections and elite status benefits.
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Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.