Credit Cards
If you plan on traveling at all, you should look into getting a credit card with travel benefits. Travel credit cards are a great way to maximize your spendings and to save on travel. We have saved thousands of dollars on airfare just by paying for day-to-day expenses on our cards and using the points to book flights. We have included a few of our recommendations below.
Travel Cards
Chase Sapphire Preferred
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a low-fee card with a lot of travel benefits, especially if you are a new card user. The sign-up bonus alone can sometimes get you a round trip international ticket and you get 2x points on all travel and dining purchases.
Chase Sapphire Reserve
The Sapphire Reserve card is the fancier version of the Sapphire Preferred. The annual fee is around $550, but you also get a lot of perks – like $300 in travel credits, access to airport lounges around the world, 3x points on travel and dining, and much more.
American Express Gold Delta Skymiles
The AMEX Gold Delta card gives you the best bang for your buck. You typically only have to spend $1,000 in the first 3-months to get the sign-up bonus points, which is much less than either of the Chase cards. We mainly use the Skymiles earned from this card to book international flights from the U.S.
Charles Schwab Debit Card
The Charles Schwab Debit Card is the best debit card for travel. There are no foreign transaction fees, no minimum balance requirements, no monthly service fees, and no ATM fees anywhere in the world. The Charles Schwab Debit Card was built for the world traveler.