Best credit card for travel

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Unidin

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The Sapphire Preferred is by far the best travel card out there right now.

-No Foreign Transaction Fees
-2 points/dollar on travel related expenses
-45000 (or 55k) points for sign up (If you don't do the 55k offer, the annual fee is $30 less)
-Point for point transfer to a bunch of different airlines/hotels
-If you book travel through Chase's website with your points, you get an extra 25% value out of your points (ie 500 points worth of stuff for 400 points)

As a disclaimer, I work for Chase, but I've looked for better travel cards and have not found one.
-With the new cards issued as of last week, they have chip and signature, which mean it's harder to clone a card.
 
Onoes

Onoes

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How is that better than the Barclaycard Arrival?

-No Foreign Transaction Fees
-2 point/dollar on ALL purchases
-40,000 points if you put $1000 on it in the first 3 months (Plus I had the first 4 years annual fee waved, but that may have been a deal)
-Get 10% of your points back when used to redeem travel expenses

I'm sure there is more. They also show you up to date FICA score information for free, do all the auto rental insurance, etc.

The only downside is that they are Mastercard.

But yeah, I researched this a few months ago and picked one up, I've been very happy with it.

One last thing, if you do get one, make sure to google around and find the best deal. I know when I called they gave me a pitch for a 10k bonus miles, etc thing for the same card. I told them I wanted this other offer and they had to transfer me to a different dept. But yeah, I've been very happy, lots of other free perks I haven't even looked into with it as well.
 
DickTrickle

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It being MasterCard is a pretty big downside. I know that at least in Italy MC was not an option in a lot of places and I think it has a reputation of not being very widely available.
 
U

Unidin

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Onoes_sl said:
How is that better than the Barclaycard Arrival?

-No Foreign Transaction Fees
-2 point/dollar on ALL purchases
-40,000 points if you put $1000 on it in the first 3 months (Plus I had the first 4 years annual fee waved, but that may have been a deal)
-Get 10% of your points back when used to redeem travel expenses

I'm sure there is more. They also show you up to date FICA score information for free, do all the auto rental insurance, etc.

The only downside is that they are Mastercard.

But yeah, I researched this a few months ago and picked one up, I've been very happy with it.

One last thing, if you do get one, make sure to google around and find the best deal. I know when I called they gave me a pitch for a 10k bonus miles, etc thing for the same card. I told them I wanted this other offer and they had to transfer me to a different dept. But yeah, I've been very happy, lots of other free perks I haven't even looked into with it as well.
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Looks to be similar except the travel bonus is worse. 10 vs 25%. The annual fee is even the same. On the other hand the metal card does get you some reactions when you use it. If you are only redeeming for trips the Barclay's card seems better.the sapphire rewards are more versatile though as the can be redeemed for cash.
 
G

Gadrel_sl

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Without making a new thread, what about travelingwithouta credit card? I have not had one in years, all I have is a debit card.
 
Eomer

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This thread is very useful for identifying people who have never left the lower 48.
 
Vinen

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Gadrel_sl said:
Without making a new thread, what about travelingwithouta credit card? I have not had one in years, all I have is a debit card.
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I hope you shop at Target.

Seriously, get a Credit Card and be responsible. You need an abstraction layer over your bank account.
 
G

Gadrel_sl

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Eomer_sl said:
This thread is very useful for identifying people who have never left the lower 48.
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Keep your smarmy comments to yourself, asshole. You have the quintessential Canadian affliction of proclaiming yourself superior to Americans at every possible juncture. It highlights how inadequate you feel on a daily basis.
 
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Gadrel_sl

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Vinen_sl said:
I hope you shop at Target.

Seriously, get a Credit Card and be responsible. You need an abstraction layer over your bank account.
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I've never shopped at Target in my life. I don't need a credit card to be responsible, that's the most idiotic claim that I've heard in a while. In fact, it would seem just the opposite... paying for everything out of cash on hand, as opposed to credit, seems much more responsible. Furthermore, the bank account with the debit card is one of several that I have, and at any time holds a very small portion of my liquid funds.

My bad for asking a legitimate question, guys. I see that the neckbeard patrol is out in force.
 
Eomer

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Gadrel, you're going to need to go back and flame the SHIT out of Adebro as well:

Adebisi_sl said:
People are mentioning a lot of card names that I have never seen in my travels. Leading me to believe many of you have never traveled outside merica.

Cancun doesn't count.

Get a straight up Visa.
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Coincidentally, he is also Canadian! Get at it, big guy! Oh, also, your user title istotally awesome! Look at you, thumbing your nose at The Man! You must be such a bad ass.
 
Vinen

Vinen

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Gadrel_sl said:
I've never shopped at Target in my life. I don't need a credit card to be responsible, that's the most idiotic claim that I've heard in a while. In fact, it would seem just the opposite... paying for everything out of cash on hand, as opposed to credit, seems much more responsible. Furthermore, the bank account with the debit card is one of several that I have, and at any time holds a very small portion of my liquid funds.

My bad for asking a legitimate question, guys. I see that the neckbeard patrol is out in force.
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Nowhere did I say a Credit Card was being related to being responsible. What I am saying is it's much easier to dispute with a CC company then with your Bank. In addition, the money isn't out of your account if your CC gets stolen... which is not the case with a Debit.

Next.
 
Lejina

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Vinen_sl said:
I hope you shop at Target.

Seriously, get a Credit Card and be responsible. You need an abstraction layer over your bank account.
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That right there.

A credit card puts a layer of security on top of your bank account. Using your debit card anywhere is opening yourself to the possibility that someone gets direct access to your bank account and if that happens you're properly fucked.

Some asshole somehow managed to clone my credit card when I was in Munich and spent 2500 Euros in a strip club. I called Visa, they canceled the charges and that was it. You try to do that with your debit card, lemme know how that works out. Carrying cash to pay for your entire travel? Have fun around gypsies.

Also, using a credit card nets you at least cashback or points and all the fees are offloaded on the merchant.
If you have the discipline to pay your credit card in full every pay check (that's where being responsible comes in play), there's no downside to it and in fact the credit card will work for you by netting you extras you won't get by using cash not to mention improve your credit score.
 
Falstaff

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Vinen_sl said:
Nowhere did I say a Credit Card was being related to being responsible. What I am saying is it's much easier to dispute with a CC company then with your Bank. In addition, the money isn't out of your account if your CC gets stolen... which is not the case with a Debit.

Next.
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Vinen this thread is about the best credit cards for travel, not debating the merits of credit vs debit and whether or not someone should have a credit card in addition to a debit card. You are free to start your own thread about that if you want.

wink.png
 
McCheese

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Lejina_sl said:
Also, using a credit card nets you at least cashback or points and all the fees are offloaded on the merchant.
If you have the discipline to pay your credit card in full every pay check (that's where being responsible comes in play), there's no downside to it and in fact the credit card will work for you by netting you extras you won't get by using cash not to mention improve your credit score.
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This is the biggest reason to use credit cards, in my opinion. After being buried under mountains of credit card debt for most of my late teens/early twenties, I spent the last few years using purely debit/cash in fear of falling back into debt.

Just in the last few months I finally decided to start using a credit card again (when I created this thread), but I wish I had started sooner. I've pretty much switched all of my expenses from debit to credit and I'm building up points like there's no tomorrow. It's amazing how quickly they add up when you're using your card to pay for rent, gas, insurance, car payment, tuition, groceries, and all other daily purchases. The key, as you mentioned, is to stay disciplined and pay it off monthly. I'm keeping disciplined by imposing an artificial limit on my card which is equal to the amount of money I keep in my checking account at any given time, so I'm never unable to pay off the card in a single month. Basically a debit mentality with a credit card.

Since starting this thread I've already built up more than enough points with my Capital One Venture Card to fully pay for a round trip plane ticket to anywhere in the continental USA. It's awesome. By the time I'm ready to head overseas for my planned traveling, I'll have enough points to take a huge bit out of the cost by fully paying for a plane ticket and/or some other expenses.
 
Vinen

Vinen

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Eyashusa_sl said:
Vinen this thread is about the best credit cards for travel, not debating the merits of credit vs debit and whether or not someone should have a credit card in addition to a debit card. You are free to start your own thread about that if you want.

wink.png
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Hey,
I'm not the one who derailed this thread!
 
D

Dabamf_sl

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Gadrel_sl said:
I've never shopped at Target in my life. I don't need a credit card to be responsible, that's the most idiotic claim that I've heard in a while. In fact, it would seem just the opposite... paying for everything out of cash on hand, as opposed to credit, seems much more responsible. Furthermore, the bank account with the debit card is one of several that I have, and at any time holds a very small portion of my liquid funds.

My bad for asking a legitimate question, guys. I see that the neckbeard patrol is out in force.
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Damn son tone down on the defensiveness...and the wrongness while you're at it

He used "and" as a conjunction, not how you read it
 
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