Unlocking the world of rewards: Discover the best credit cards for Travel, airlines, gas, and beyond.
Here is a list of our favorite cards that offer transferable points for Travel, airlines, gas, and beyond with Chase, Amex, Citi, Capital One, and BILT.
Let's start with Travel:
We love the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, which earns 5 points per $1 on all travel booked using the Chase travel portal. On all other travel, it earns 2 points per $1. The great thing about Chase is the qualification for “Travel” is broad. It includes airfare, hotels, cruises, tours, car rentals, campgrounds, vacation rentals, travel purchases on third-party travel websites (i.e., Expedia, etc.), trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, buses, subways, Airbnb, and parking lots and garages.
Chase also has the Sapphire Reserve, which earns 5 points per $1 on flights booked through the Chase travel portal and 10 points per $1 on hotels and car rentals booked through the Chase travel portal. It earns 3 points per $1 on all other travel, including the categories above.
The Chase Freedom and the Chase Freedom Flex earn 5 points per $1 when travel is included in their quarterly categories. This isn't often, but it can be a great option when it happens.
American Express Green card earns 3 points per $1 within its portal and also includes the categories listed above, with the exception of Airbnb.
Amex Platinum earns 5 points per $1 on all hotels booked through the Amex travel portal and 1 point per $1 on all other travel except for airlines. (We'll discuss this later)
The Amex Gold card earns 3 points per $1 on all Travel booked through the Amex travel portal. 1 point per $1 on all other Travel.
Citi Premier earns 3 points per $1 on all air travel and hotels, including purchases on Citi's travel portal, and 1 point per dollar on all other travel.
Capital One Venture X earns 10 points per $1 on hotels and car rentals and, 5 points per $1 on flights booked through the Capital One travel portal. 2 points per $1 on all other travel booked through other means.
Capital One Venture earns 5 points per $1 on hotels and car rentals booked through the Capital One travel portal and 2 points per $1 on all other travel.
Capital One Venture One earns 5 points per $1 on hotels and car rentals booked through the Capital One travel portal and 1.25 points per $1 on all other travel.
The BILT card earns 2 points per $1 on airlines, hotels, motels, resorts, cruise lines, and rental car companies.
Airline and airfare purchases fall under travel for most card companies except for the Amex Gold card and the Amex Platinum.
Both of these cards have a specific multiplier for airline and airfare purchases. The Amex Platinum card earns 5 points per $1, and the Amex Gold card earns 3 points per $1.
We use the Amex Platinum for all flight purchases and the Chase Preferred card for all travel purchases.
Gas for some households can be a huge expense and it can also be a huge opportunity to earn a lot of points. Here are some great options of credit cards with transferable points.
All Chase transferable cards earn 1 point per $1 on gas. Sometimes, Chase Freedom and the Chase Freedom Flex have their gas spend multiplier, which earns 5 points per $1 and normally happens at least one quarter per year.
All American Express transferable cards earn 1 point per $1 on gas, with the exception o the Amex Everyday Preferred card, which earns 2 points per $1 on gas.
Citi Premier earns 3 points per $1 on all gas purchases.
The Citi Rewards+ earns 2 points per $1 on all gas purchases.
The Citi Custom Cash earns 5 points per $1 in your highest spend category up to $500 per billing cycle. Using this card exclusively for gas can be a great option.
Capital One Venture X and the Venture earn 2 points per $1 on all gas.
The Capital One Venture One card earns 1.25 points per $1 on gas.
The BILT card earns 1 point per $1 on gas.
Our favorite in this category is the Citi Premier or The Citi Custom Cash if exclusively used for gas.
For all other spending that doesn't fall into multiplying categories, here are a few options that earn more than the average.
Chase Freedom Unlimited card earns 1.5 points per $1 on all spending.
Citi Double Cash earns 2 points per $1 on all spending.
Capital One Venture X and Venture earn 2 points per $1 on all spending. Capital One Venture One earns 1.25 points per $1 on all spending.
In this category, we use all of these cards.
Keeping tabs on which card earns the most points per category will help you reach your travel goals faster. Tracking this information is difficult. We use MaxRewards to keep our wallet organized.
