Credit cards have played a huge role in how much we’ve been able to travel over the years. They can still be seen as a boogie man, and for good reason, in some circles. If used responsibly though, cards can go a long way in helping you book that dream trip, enjoy theme parks or just travel more in general. In this post, we’ll detail some of our favorite credit cards to use as well as others that are worth checking out.

Being a travel website, we will be focusing on cards that are travel focused. There are credit cards for all occasions, as I’m sure you’ve seen while going to the grocery store, getting gas, dining or just about anywhere other location that can put a sign on a register. You can easily find something that’s rewarding to your lifestyle. If traveling is a part of your lifestyle or you’re trying to figure out how to make it become more of a common things then this post is for you. If you’re not that interested in traveling, these cards aren’t worth your time and it’s a little strange that you’re reading this website. You’re probably here for the jokes, right? Right????

Before I get into the rewarding aspect of using these cards, let’s touch on why there is a negative connotation attached to them. We advocate for using credit cards when you’re paying them off monthly, not for spending freely and then going into debt. All of the miles/points/dollars you earn won’t be a positive if you’re late for payments. Don’t use them as a loan or a reason to finally spend big on a purchase. I don’t even pay attention to the financing and APR portion of most cards because I know that I’ll pay them off every month.

We pay all of our cards off almost obsessively. That’s not necessary, but we do recommend setting up automated payments for the full balance if you’re worried that you might forget. If you’re worried about overspending or not being able to stop yourself if you get a fancy new credit card then we do not recommend them for you.

With that out of the way, we have used many cards over the years to get us free nights at hotels, free flights, perks and much more. I’m not even great at getting the most out rewards, I know others who just never have to pay for flights because of the ‘travel hacking’ they do. While I do a little bit of that, I also try to keep it within the realm of what I can remember without having to look at too many spreadsheets or statements.

There are a few more terms to know before we get into the cards. I’m sure you’re familiar with some of these but I wanted to give my quick take on them.

• Annual Fee – Cards will charge you an annual amount of money to use them, it’s added to your statement. Some cards will charge a high annual fee and that scares many people away. Fair enough. That said, most of the high annual fee cards will offer statement credits that offsets the fee.
• Rewards – What you earn by purchasing things with your credit cards. Depending on what card you’re using, these can be shown in terms of points, dollars or miles.
• Rewards Rate – The percentage at which you’ll earn rewards as you spend money.
• Bonus/Intro Offer – Most cards will have a bonus that you’ll earn after signing up. That generally comes with spending a certain amount of money over the course of 3 or 6 months.
• Statement Credits & Benefits – Different from rewards, these will (generally) be annual credits you get for certain things like rideshares, TSA precheck, and whatever else the card partners with.
• Foreign Transaction Fee – We’re not even going to worry about this. If your credit card is charging you a foreign transaction fee in 2026 then get a new credit card!

That should get us off and running. I will say that the bonus/intro offer category can change frequently so some of our details my be outdated a few months down the road. I’ve included a referral to any of the cards we use (just click on the title of the card) if you’re interested and want to apply. That helps us out, in some cases, as well as adds convenience to this post. As always, if you have questions then leave them in the comments below. Here are the cards we recommend, starting with ones we’ve used before moving on to ones we consider.

What We Use or Have Used

Chase Sapphire Reserve

Annual Fee: $795
Bonus/Intro Offer: 125,000 points (equivalent to $125) after spending $6,000 in first 3 months
Rewards Rate: 8x points on Chase Travel, 4x points on flights and hotels, 3x points on dining, 1x points on everything else
Credits & Benefits: $300 annual travel credit, $500 credit for stays through TheEdit (luxury hotels), Priority Pass Membership, $300 credit through Sapphire Open Table, $288 credit for Apple TV and Music, $300 Stubhub Credit, $120 DashPass membership on DoorDash & more…

The credit card we use the most, and have had for the longest, is the Chase Sapphire Reserve. They’ve recently changed the annual fee as well as how customers can use points in the portal. We generally prefer the old system but the new way includes so many credits and benefits, making it easy to score some deals if you’re intentional about it. The credits total to more than $2,000 if used, and that’s on top of very friendly reward rates on travel and dining. If you get this card, you’ll become familiar with the Chase travel portal (Ultimate Rewards is the official name) where certain hotels and flights will be found at a discount if you use your points. All that to say, this is an excellent card if you take advantage of everything it offers. Heck, if you take advantage of half of what it offers then the annual fee pays for itself and then some.

Capital One Venture X

Annual Fee: $395
Bonus/Intro Offer: 75,000 miles (equal to $750) after $4,000 in purchases
Rewards Rate: 10x on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, 5x on flights and vacation rentals through Capital One Travel, 2x on everything else
Credits & Benefits: 10,000 miles ($100) every anniversary, $300 travel credit annually, $120 credit for TSA Precheck/Global Entry

If you’re not willing to go to the premium cards with the annual fees, the Capital One Venture X is a good compromise. They’re essentially giving $400 in credits every year against the $395 annual fee, you don’t have to work hard to cancel that out. On top of that, there’s a very good bonus offer along with a strong rate on the rewards. There’s not as many bells and whistles as the Chase Sapphire Reserve or AMEX Platinum but this is a strong card that we’ve found plenty of use for!

Disney Inspire Visa

Annual Fee: $149
Bonus/Intro Offer: $300 Disney Gift Card upon approval & $300 statement credit after spending $1,000
Rewards Rate: 10% at DisneyPlus.com, Hulu.com, and PlusESPN.com, 3% at most other U.S. Disney locations and gas stations, 2% at grocery stores and restaurants, 1% on all other card purchases
Credits & Benefits: 200 Disney Rewards Dollars after spending $2,000 annually, $100 statement credit annually after spending $200 on theme park ticket purchases, $10 monthly statement credit for Disney+, Hulu or Espn+, discounts at Disney destinations

We talked about this card when it came out a few weeks ago. As a reminder, I don’t think highly of the other Disney credit cards, as they just don’t rack up rewards as well as other options. This one is fairly strong though. The annual fee is higher but the credits more than make up for it, totaling $420 in annual credits against the $149 fee. That’s on top of whatever you earn from the reward rates and a strong bonus offer! Plus, you get the Big Cheese holding up a peace sign on your card. Even so, this is not the best travel card even if the only place you travel to are Disney Parks.

Delta Skymiles Platinum AMEX

Annual Fee: $350
Bonus/Intro Offer: 80,000 miles after spending $4,000 in the first 6 months
Rewards Rate: 3x on Delta purchases and hotels, 2x on dining and groceries, 1x on everything else
Credits & Benefits: Annual companion certificate, Free checked bag, $150 Delta Stays Credit, $120 rideshare credit, $120 Resy Credit, Credit for TSA/Global Entry

We just made the jump to Delta Platinum after having Gold for a while. The $400 credit they offered for us to upgrade as we were looking at international flights was too good to pass up. I don’t love airline credit cards in general as their conversion to miles feels like less of a deal than racking up points elsewhere. That said, the bonus offer can get you a long flight round trip easily here. On top of that, the benefits for this particular card are strong.

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Visa

Annual Fee: $95
Bonus/Intro Offer: 5 free nights after spending $3,000 over 3 months, $100 airline credit
Rewards Rate: Earn 3X points for every $1 on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases annually on grocery stores, gas stations, and dining, 2x points after
Credits & Benefits: Annual free night, Silver Elite Marriott Status

The Marriott card takes a backseat in our credit card vehicle but we do keep it active simply because it comes with a free night each card anniversary. With an annual fee cost of $95, the price of a one night hotel stay easily costs more than that. For what it’s worth, the bonus offer is exceptional right now so this is a strong option if you’re looking for a hotel specific card.

Other Good Options

AMEX Platinum or Gold Cards

If we didn’t already have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, the AMEX Platinum would be our pick. The steep $895 annual fee is daunting but the benefits are many – hotel lounge access, $600 annual hotel credit, $200 airline credit, $400 Resy credit and way more. On top of that, the bonus offer can get up to $1,750! If you make sure to use the credits then this card pays off.

The AMEX Gold is easier to stomach, with a $325 annual and a bonus offer of up to $1,000 within your first 6 months of use. The rate you get points back with this card is high, offering 4x on restaurants and groceries and 3x on flights. There are several credits for Uber, Resy, hotels and, weirdly enough, Dunkin’. No disrespect to Dunkin’, I love a cruller! I was just surprised to see it show up.

Chase Freedom Unlimited

For those looking for a card without an annual fee, the Chase Freedom card is our top pick. There’s a $200 bonus after spending $500 in 3 months and the reward rate is strong with 3x on dining, 5x on Chase Reward travel and 1.5x on everything else. We still recommend cards with annual fees over this because they will earn you way more in the long run but this is a great starter card or a relatively low risk one to carry.

Capital One Venture Card

This $95 annual fee card is just the lower version of the Venture X card. It’s a really strong starter travel card, including a good bonus offer and good rates that you earn rewards with. There are fewer credits offered (mostly just a TSA/Global Entry credit) but that’s to be expected with a low annual fee. If you’re looking for a card with an annual fee lower than $100, this is one of the best options.

Other Airline or Hotel Cards

There are plenty of other airline and hotel options. The Atmos Rewards card is fairly strong, as is the Southwest Airlines card. If either of those are your airline of choice then considering a card there is a good way to go. In terms of hotels, we’ve used the Hilton card to some success and have heard people sing the praises of the Hyatt card.

Overview

To conclude, if you go about using a credit card without overspending or going in debt then it can be a huge boon to your travels. We recommend going for some higher end cards at the moment, as earning becomes even easier with those despite the sticker shock of annual fees. If you have questions about any cards, leave them in the comments below and we’d be happy to get back to you!

What are your favorite travel credit cards? Let us know in the comments below! Planning a trip to a Disney Park? Check out all of our Planning Guides to help you along the way. You can look for discount theme park tickets at this site. If you enjoy what you are reading here on Wandering in Disney please share this post with your friends, as well as like our social media pages. You can also subscribe to the blog via WordPress or email. All of those links are on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!