Contrary to what you might think, there’s a travel credit card for every credit score. You just might have to lean more heavily on cash back if your score is on the lower end.
Poor
A poor credit score is a score of 579 and below. If your score is in this category, you unfortunately won’t have access to as many travel cards. However, that doesn’t mean all is lost.
Having a poor credit score doesn’t exclude you from earning rewards. It just means you have to be more mindful of your spending and work on rebuilding your credit in the process.
Cash Back
Your best bet is going to be secured credit cards that offer cash back rewards, which you can then redeem to help pay for travel.
One good option is the Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card. It leans heavily into travel card territory because it earns 5% cash back on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. You also earn 1.5% cash back on all other purchases. Capital One also periodically reviews your account for credit-line increases and a possible upgrade to an unsecured credit card.
The Discover it® Secured Credit Card is another solid option. It earns 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants (on up to $1,000 in combined purchases per quarter) and 1% cash back on all other purchases. Discover will also review your account after seven months and upgrade you to an unsecured credit card if you’ve used your card responsibly. See Rates & Fees
It’s worth noting, though, that since these are secured cards, you will need to provide a minimum security deposit of $200. This security deposit will then become your credit limit. But if you want to make sure your credit score continues to increase, only use up to 30% of your credit limit.
[Read: Best Secured Credit Cards.]
Points and Miles
The Bank of America Travel Rewards Secured Credit Card is another secured card, so it will require a minimum security deposit of $200. But you’ll be able to earn points with this card.
Cardholders can earn 1.5 points per dollar spent on every purchase (so no categories to worry about). Bank of America Preferred Rewards members also earn 25% to 75% more points on every purchase. That means you could earn 1.87 to 2.62 points for every dollar you spend.
Fair
With a fair credit score, your score falls between 580 and 669. A few unsecured options open up for you in this category. However, you’ll still likely have access to more cash back credit cards versus points and miles cards.
Cash Back
The Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card is one step up from its secured counterpart. It earns the same rewards: 5% cash back on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, and 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.
What sets this card apart from its secured version is there’s no security deposit required, and it has an annual fee of $39. Normally, I wouldn’t recommend a card with an annual fee for consumers with fair credit scores, but this card is a good option because that security deposit is essentially replaced by that annual fee of $39. And, if you use your card responsibly, Capital One will most likely allow you to upgrade after some time.
The Chase Freedom Rise® is another cash back card and even comes with a small welcome bonus. After signing up for auto pay within the first three months of opening your account, you receive a $25 statement credit.
This card earns 1.5% cash back on all purchases and does not come with an annual fee. What’s more, if you have a Chase checking or savings account with a balance of at least $250, you’re more likely to be approved for this card.
Good
A good score sits between 670 and 739. This is where you’ll start seeing far more options when it comes to travel credit cards. This is also when you can start planning your rewards strategy, thinking about how you can eventually juggle multiple travel cards to maximize rewards-earning.
Cash Back
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the Chase Freedom Flex® could be your first step to using the Chase Trifecta. This is when you pair two Freedom cards with another Chase card that earns points and miles (more on those later). This allows you to essentially always earn rewards, no matter the category or quarter.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited and the Chase Freedom Flex are similar. Both don’t have an annual fee and both earn:
— 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel?
— 3% cash back at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services
— 3% cash back on drugstore purchases
And that’s where the similarities end. See, while the Chase Freedom Flex earns 1% cash back on all other purchases, the Chase Freedom Unlimited earns 1.5% cash back.
But the Freedom Flex has quarterly bonus categories, whereas the Freedom Unlimited does not. So if you’re comfortable keeping track of rotating categories — and think those categories suit your spending habits — then the Flex might be the winner for you.
For the third quarter of this year (July 1 to Sept. 30), Freedom Flex cardholders can earn 5% cash back on:
— Gas
— EV charging
— Live entertainment
— Instacart
Past categories have included grocery stores, Amazon and spa services.
Points and Miles
The Discover it® Miles credit card is a good starter travel card. It earns 1.5 miles per dollar spent on all purchases, has no annual fee and comes with Discover’s mile match. At the end of your first year, Discover matches all the miles you’ve earned. So, instead of earning 35,000 miles, for example, you’d earn 70,000. And you can redeem your miles for travel purchases like airfare, hotels and ride-hailing. See Rates & Fees
The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card is actually near and dear to my heart. When I was starting out on my credit journey, I began with the Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card. After a few upgrades (spaced years apart), that secured card became my VentureOne card. So always keep upgrades in mind when applying for credit cards.
The VentureOne has no annual fee and earns 5 miles per dollar spent on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, and 1.25 miles per dollar on everything else. It also comes with a sign-up bonus of 20,000 miles after you spend $500 within the first three months from opening your account.
[Read: Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards.]
Very Good
With a score in the very good range, you’re looking at 740 to 799. Now, while that may not technically be an exceptional score, you still have access to some of the best interest rates. And some of the best travel cards.
Points and Miles
The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card has an annual fee of $95 (most of these cards going forward will have annual fees) and comes with a sign-up bonus of 60,000 miles after you spend $4,000 within the first 90 days from opening your account.
It earns two points for every dollar you spend on travel and dining purchases and 1.5 points on everything else. Bank of America Preferred Rewards members also earn up to 75% more in rewards. And you can receive up to $100 in statement credits each year for incidental airline fees — including seat upgrades, airport lounge access and checked bag fees.
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is the next step up in Venture cards. It also has a $95 annual fee, and it earns 5 miles per dollar spent on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, and 2 miles on everything else.
The Venture Rewards comes with a sign-up bonus of 75,000 miles after you spend $4,000 in the first three months from opening your account and with travel benefits like Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credits and the ability to transfer miles to at least 15 different travel partners.
Now, remember the Chase Trifecta I mentioned earlier? The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is one way to complete it. With an annual fee of $95 and a sign-up bonus of 75,000 points (after you spend $5,000 in the first three months from account opening), it earns:
— Five points per dollar on travel purchased through Chase Travel
— Three points per dollar on dining, select streaming services and online groceries
— Two points per dollar on all other travel purchases
— One point per dollar on all other purchases
One final card I’m going to mention in this category is the American Express® Gold Card, but I’m going to add a little caveat to it. Because while you do only need a very good credit score to qualify for this card, it does come with an annual fee of $325. See Rates & Fees However, the earnings are pretty substantial. It earns:
— Four points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then one point per dollar for the rest of the year
— Four points per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then one point per dollar for the rest of the year
— Three points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com
— Two points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com
— One point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases
It also comes with an introductory offer as high as 100,000 points after you spend $6,000 in the first six months with the card. So it’s a great card, as long as you make good use of the extra perks and benefits to justify the annual fee.
[Read: Best Credit Cards for Good Credit.]
Exceptional
An exceptional credit score means you have a FICO score of 800 or higher. You essentially have your pick of travel rewards credit cards with a score in this category. However, that doesn’t mean you have to pay the highest annual fee out there to get the most benefits.
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is a great example. With an annual fee of $395, it’s only slightly higher than the AmEx Gold Card. And it earns:
— 10 miles per dollar spent on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
— 5 miles per dollar spent on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel
— 2 miles per dollar spent on everything else
The Venture X comes with a sign-up bonus of 75,000 miles when you spend $4,000 in the first three months from account opening. The reason for the high annual fee is because the card comes with a plethora of travel perks. These include a $300 annual credit for bookings through Capital One Travel, 10,000 bonus miles every year starting on your first anniversary, access to over 1,300 airport lounges, and a $120 credit for Global Entry and TSA PreCheck. See Rates & Fees
Now, if you can afford it and justify the annual fee, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is another luxury option. With an annual fee of $795, it’s now one of the highest fees on the market. But it also does come with a slew of benefits.
The Reserve earns:
— Eight points on all purchases through Chase Travel, including The Edit
— Four points on flights and hotels booked direct
— Three points on dining worldwide
— One point on all other purchases
You can earn 100,000 bonus points plus a $500 Chase Travel promo credit after you spend $5,000 in the first three months from opening your account. You have access to over 1,300 airport lounges and can receive up to $150 in statement credits every six months for a maximum of $300 annually for dining at restaurants that are part of Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables. You also have trip cancellation/interruption insurance, lost luggage insurance and more. Just make sure the perks outweigh the cost of the annual fee.
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The Best Travel Rewards Cards for Every Credit Score originally appeared on usnews.com
